Gandhi helped bring about the independence of India with nonviolent resistance. Martin Luther King Jr helped overturn the segregation laws with nonviolent resistance. An important part of Barack Obama's trajectory to the presidency was his objection to the Iraqi war. I hope he will continue to try to turn the US away from the path of violence in his presidency.

The article implicitly assumes that the only way to resist oppression is through violence. Governments rarely eschew violence. They have the tools at hand. However, as the examples of Gandhi and King show nonviolent resistance can work. It doesn't always work, and there are casualties. However, violent resistance doesn't always work either and is almost always accompanied with casualties.

Nonviolent resistance may have its effects years later. Henry Thoreau went to jail for refusing to pay a tax which was going to support the Mexican War. It did nothing to stop the Mexican War, but his "Essay on Civil Disobedience" which he wrote as a result of that experience influenced King and Gandhi over a hundred years later.

Are there any Gandhis, Martin Luther Kings or Thoreaus in the Middle East?

Those Gazan Palestinian men women and children must cease getting in the way of Israeli bombing...Violence will get them nowhere.....

Dear maracas1,

Israel is using inadmissible violence. The rocket attacks by Hamas did not do much damage to Israel compared to the damage Israel is inflicting but gave Israel an excuse to make their incursion. Without the rocket attacks there would have been no incursion. Did the Hamas rocket attacks help the Gazan people?

Again the attention is drawn away from Hamas who is low enough to use children as human shields. Their supporters are totally blinded of any common sense by their own prejudices and dogmas. Just look at the mob in Britain and France who have been given a good life. In thanks they poop over the country. Surely the most simple can see if Hamas stopped firing rockets at innocent people and sending in suicide bombers innocent lives would be saved. Instead Hamas use their kids as human shields to win the sympathy vote of the gullible.

“Spin doctors” “mentioning only the rockets…”! What about those defending Hamas mentioning ONLY the Israeli “offensive”. The Israelis started the DEFENCE only when they had given up hope of being able to stop the Hamas terrorists (remember that Hamas is an OFFICIALLY recognised terrorist organisation) from firing rockets into Israel. The fact that it was ‘democratically’ elected doesn’t change that; in fact, it gives the civilians who elected it less right to the sympathy they are getting from misguided and anti-Semitic people now.

And, it is now obvious that the West did know better “… than the Palestinian people about what was good for them.” The author is “stupid” (his opinion of the West) if he believes that “Hamas (had) no alternative but to use some form of violence: limited as the damage may be that is caused by rocket attacks on Israeli towns.” Stephen Keim needs to a long hard look at himself if he thinks it’s OK for Hamas to kill Israelis just because the West will not treat with terrorists. His “limited though the damage may be…” is also a disgrace. If Hamas and its supporters expect to trade blow for blow , they should not have picked on Israel. The continual jabber about the ‘disproportionate’ response of Israel is just another loony left ploy to take the heat of Hamas terrorists and what they really stand for.

Of course, like all those of his kind, Kleim also rubbishes lack of action by his own Government. The current Government, like the former one, does not negotiate with terrorists; and, it is arguable that most Australians would not want their Government doing so at any price.

“The 660 people killed in the current Israeli offensive in Gaza (might very well) not stop moderate Muslims (or moderate Israelis) from urging peaceful solutions to the suffering and conflict in Palestine. Nor will Hamas rockets killing and frightening Israelis convince the Government of Israel to stop defending itself.

There will be no peace while Hamas and other terrorists exist in the Middle-East.

You might also want to mention Hamas massacre of their political opponents after the last "election"

I guess they learn from the Magabe school of Political Science, yes no doubt that the Palestinean people made a hugh mistake.

They voted in a group of people, who promise that they will kill their neigbours, these people are now wondering why their neigbours are killing them .... they are not very smart