lego,

To which of the withdrawals from Gaza are you referring ? 2009, 2012 or 4014

The blockade was the cause of the current war. No one doubts that fact except you.

May my god forgive you believing in fairies. The one you support would try to destroy the fairies tunnels by bombing the cr.p out of the top floor of my garden apartment block or UN school.

Ima

In case you don’t remember, the blockade was actually triggered by the violence in Gaza, not the other way around. I realise it was a long time ago, but you should still be able to recall that Israel withdrew unconditionally from Gaza in 2005, leaving behind infrastructure that should have been used for improving the Palestinian economy and living standards. Instead it was completely destroyed by the Palestinians, and the violence in the form of rockets lobbed over the border on Israeli civilians started shortly after. That was the trigger for the blockade. No one doubts THAT fact except you, it seems. Claiming that the violence is a result of the blockade is misleading and dishonest as I’m sure you are well aware.

Avw

Both sides share blame in this conflict. Each side thinks its own violence is a response to the other’s provocation. Trying to discern “who started it” is a fruitless exercise. The question is, how to end it?

Israel can continue is current policy of periodically battering Gaza to deplete its enemies’ leadership and military capability and waiting a few years until they build up again. The destroyed homes and innocent dead of Gaza give Hamas a propaganda victory. Israel is losing friends in the Western democracies and gaining fresh enemies in its neighbourhood. Comparative moderating influences, like Turkey, are alienated. Israel’s military are far superior to anything its Palestinian enemies can throw at them right now. But one day they, or their supporters in the region, may strike a major blow, perhaps even lethal.

In 1984 the IRA bombed a hotel in Brighton (UK) that was hosting the Conservative Party’s Annual Conference. It did some damage but did not hurt any of the senior government politicians that were its target. Afterwards, the IRA issued a statement:

“Today we were unlucky, but remember we only have to be lucky once. You will have to be lucky always. Give Ireland peace and there will be no more war”

Israel’s strategy is to rely on being lucky all the time. Its enemies only have to be lucky once. Better to make peace.

Rhian:

There is no doubt that Israel is not entirely blameless. There are many policies and decisions taken by Israel in the past that could have been better handled. However Hamas is the only entity that has the power to stop the violence, not Israel. You have to remember that Israel’s retaliations are for Hamas’ rocket firing against Israeli civilians. There have been times in the past when Israel refrained from responding. It did not stop the firing of rockets. If Israel stops retaliating tomorrow, as it has tried in the past, the rockets will not cease. Rocket firing from Gaza started well before any Israeli retaliations, before any blockades, when there was no occupation of any area of Gaza. It is not related to any retaliation by Hamas against Israeli strikes or because "the other side started it". The reason for the violence is simple. It is the uncompromising policies of Hamas calling for the destruction of Israel above all else. You cannot negotiate with such a fanatic organisation bent on killing you. They are really no different to ISIS, other than the fact that the area they control is much smaller.

The one where the Israeli Army fought their own settlers and tore down the Israeli settlements to comply with the peace process, which the Palestinians did not honour.

Trying to get the Muslims to honour an agreement is like trying to get the Greens Party to honour one.

The blockade of Gaza is to stop HAMAS from importing rockets and arms into Gaza to toss over the border into Israel. You know the rockets, don't you Julianuttter? They are those whooshy wiz bangs that the Palestinians fire over the border into Israel to amuse themselves. They are the things they hide in schools and hospitals in the hope that the Israelis will shoot back, so that misguided people such as yourself, with no depth of understanding of the real issues can get all puffed up and self righteous about it.

Dear Avw,

You wrote;

“You have to remember that Israel’s retaliations are for Hamas’ rocket firing against Israeli civilians.”

Well sir you have to remember Hamas' rockets were retaliations for the brutal shootings of scores and the kidnappings of hundreds of Hamas members in the West Bank along with the trashing of their charities, the demolition and vandalism of hundreds of their homes and businesses plus hitting targets in the West Bank.