The article seems well reasoned and rational argument.
Violence only ever begets violence!
Nobody wins a war!
War only ever produces victims, massive loss of life and even more massive loss of property and public treasure!
And it seems to me, that Israel, with her quite massive overdone response, to the bee stings of small missiles, are simply playing the fanatical evil doers game for them?
Early warning, shelters, and a lead storm that takes out the missiles, rendering them and or their intended purpose completely impotent, would be a better response, as would be, continued completely covert sanctioned assassinations of bloodthirsty fanatical leaders, who seem to be spending their own people's life support funds on, highly inaccurate missiles!
Israel, could respond with drones, that simply monitor missile launches and respond immediately in kind, but only as a last resort, that indicates all attempts to negotiate a lasting truce have failed.
As mentioned elsewhere, one catches more flies with a teaspoon of honey than a whole jar of vinegar, or indeed, responding exactly like hated Nazi SS storm troopers!
And it could be costing them critical allies or almost equally critical neutrals, in their possible future, armed life and death struggle, I believe, with a psychotically led and possibly already nuclear armed Iran.
If Iran's other enemies weren't so absorbed by the Israel/Palestinian conflict?
They may refocus a very disapproving gaze on Iran and its absolutist regime, who I believe, see themselves as the natural leaders of the entire middle east and its extremely important oil supplies?
Israel needs as never before, to settle all of its differences with its neighbours.
And that can only ever occur at the negotiating table and not at the point of a gun!
Rhrosty.

No, the article is neither well reasoned nor rational. It betrays an alarming ignorance of Middle eastern history from the appalling Balfour Declaration up to the present time. In order for Israel to exist in the first place it had to displace the original inhabitants, which it did with a ruthlessness that continues to the present. Our government rightly condemns ethnic cleansing when it occurs in Africa or the Balkans but is conspicuously silent when it is carried out by the government of Israel.

Such is the arrogance of that government that it does not even bother to hide its intentions which are the creation of a 'Greater Israel" at the expense of its neighbours. Just one of many recent examples was Israel "retaliating" because a Syrian mortar fell on an Israeli military base on the Golan Heights. The Golan Heights are Syrian territory, illegally occupied by Israel since 1967. They have no intention of leaving peacefully.

Israel behaves the way it does because it knows it can continue to defy world opinion as long as the US remains on side. Despite occasional huffing and puffing from Washington that is never in doubt. Australia remains conspicuously silent on the latest Israeli outrages as it has reliably done so in the past.

Reliable opinion polls in the Arab countries of North Africa and the Middle East overwhelmingly identify Israel and the US as the greatest threats to world peace. That is the opinion of ordinary people, not the dictatorial satraps that the US supports.

A mighty conflagration is looming in the Middle East and when it erupts responsibility will firmly lie with the outlaw gang in Tel Aviv and those who support them.

LOL

David G,

James O'Neill...[9/11 Truther extraordinaire :) ]

Maybe we evil Jews will at last have our way and destroy the world.

I mean we've been accused of wanting to do this often enough so maybe we should just get on and do it.

With nukes it's possible. Boom there goes Tehran. Boom there goes Cairo. Boom, Boom, Boom Damascus, Baghdad, Beirut, Riyadh, Mecca, Aleppo, Alexandria, Qom, Istanbul, Ankara, Amman all gone.

100 million dead with another 200 million to die of radiation sickness, thirst and starvation. More deaths in and hour than both world wars combined.

ka Boom - there go the Middle-East's oil fields and oil and gas terminals. Petrol at $20 / litre

Oh well, till then Shabbat Shalom all

(Exits stage right with evil smile on face)

@Steven Meyer. Quite what my views on 9/11 have to do with the topic under discussion evades me, but then you like red herrings and your post is an extended exercise in reality avoidance.

The facts about Israel's behaviour are there for all to see for those who bother to look beyond the misinformation steadily served up in the mainstream media, and OLO for that matter, as Singer's periodic contributions witness.

Just to take but one small example. Look at the votes in the UN over the past 30 years on resolutions involving Israel. Overwhelmingly they condemn Israel's conduct. You might see that as evidence of some rampant anti_jewish conspiracy. I see it as the majority condemning conduct that is unacceptable in the international community. The same would be true if the inhabitants were Buddhists, Catholics or worshippers of green cheese.

The World Court has also condemned various acts of the Israeli state. Israel ignores them too. Settlements on the West Bank; the "diet" imposed on the Gazans; the Wall; the use of excessive force; the arbitrary detention without trial of thousands of Palestinians; the regular invasions and attacks on neighbours such as Lebanon; targeted assassinations of foreign citizens; etc etc etc.

You may prefer to see that as plucky little Israel defending itself in a hostile world. The majority clearly see it for what it is: international outlawry on a grand scale.

For information about how it began, Ilan Pappe's book "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine" is a must-read. As a genuine Jewish citizen of the territory (born there, didn't settle on someone else's land) Professor Pappe has meticulously studied the recorded history of the Zionist enclave, town by town, village by village. The title of his book says it all about the information he compiled.

Israel has no legitimacy and its best inhabitants could be profitably helping Palestinians take on board the moral lessons of the Enlightenment to prepare for a livable democratic home for the whole population, exiles and all, with a birthright to Palestine. As the oil runs out and the Israelis' position at the American teat fades, it will have to look at building a one-state life with its neighbours.

Well, Israel is calling up 75,000 reservists. It only used 10,000 in the 2008-9 massacre in Gaza so it must be planning to kill ten or twenty thousand Gazans this time or drive them all into the Mediterranean.

Of course, Australia has given it the green light along with the U.K., the U.S. and other warmongering members of the Immoral Western Imperialists Cabal.

Perhaps Australian troops will be called up to go and kill Gazans as well, join in the turkey shoot. Oh, what fun!

With Gillard, you'd never know.