A question on timing: Everyone is aware that Barak Obama will be inaugurated as US President in just over two weeks. Is it beyond the realm of possibility that the Israeli decision-makers, knowing well that the change in the White House could signal a more active, positive US policy vis-a-vis the Middle East, felt it was "now or never"?

I don't think President elect Obama will be effective in handling the situation between Israel and Hamas, I am saying this for a number of reasons.
1. President elect Obama never served in the USAF and doesn't know anything about war, especially the Middle Eastern conflict. After 140 days in the Senate, he was elected a president. His inexperience have already been felt when he made conflicting remarks on Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and off course, Israel and Palestine. There is a very huge chance that President elect Obama will be effective in handling the situation.
2. President elect Obama decided to pick a Jewish man as his chief of staff (the brain behind the presidents domestic and foreign policy). He was the Chief of Staff for Bill Clinton, and many people know that Clinton was the softest of all Presidents when it comes to Middle Eastern issue. President elect Obama is likely to be a pro-Israeli president. In a statement made a few days ago, Obama said that if someone sent missiles to his home where his children live, he would do everything to protect them. Such statement had been the justification of the invasion by Israel.
3. President elect Obama is elected by Americans and American issues must and will be his priority. Which means that majority of Americans are pro-Israel and it will be his downfall if he chose to do the opposite. US and other major countries in the world also declared Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Right now President elect Obama is running out of ideas.
With that said, the Arab world may never see their favorite man on their side. He is an America, a country that supports Israel 100% of the time and whose ballots did President elect Obama entered the White House.

Dear Harry G (and MX2)

I'll try to make this a very short post so as not to bring too many issues at one go.

HAMAS CHARTER.

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp

First..note the source.. Yale Law school. This is from a documentary history of the conflict..including various UN resolutions.

FIRST WORDS: (Addressed to the Muslims)

"Ye are the best nation that hath been raised up unto mankind:"

SAME PAGE

"Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it"

REQUEST to you.. HARRY G. Please look at that document, note what it says... and try to explain to us exactly how you would respond to this if you were an Israeli.
OR... If Indonesia had a similar document regarding Australia... how you as an Australian would respond to it? Do you see any room for 'negotiation'?

Once we determine this issue, we will know exactly where you stand regarding those committed to genocide. Then..we can speak from a better understanding of whether you support genocide of Israel or not.

Does this insight not help you to understand why Israel is doing what it is doing right now? Does it not help you to understand why Hamas continues launching rockets at Israeli towns? It has nothing to do with minor time line scurmishes or breaking of cease fires..but EV-erything to do with the overiding ideology.

matangi you are correct re obama

the link reveals a list of those in obama's elect,with strong ties into israel by virtue of their religious beliefs

[it is quite a loaded up field]

http://www.civilrights.org.nz/forum/index.php?topic=364.msg1062;topicseen#msg1062

asnyhow dont be expecting nothing from usa
[except more aid ,90 billion so far]
more bombs and more winks

ps it has occured to me that EVEN aid given to palistein has to go through israel

noting a lot of cash 'aid' will be forthcomming
as a result of this attack to 'rebuild
that us bombs are destroying

and every penny goes into/through israel

[it is not beyond the realm of an israelie think tank having the idea that the huge cash injection to rebuild the war torn gaza will yet further proffit israel, who does quite well from seizing the assets [as well as the elected palistein parlement[when it isnt'surgiclly'murdering them ,or locking them into jail without trial

the israel cure for the cash crisis will have figured the 're-build funds' into the equation ,as well as the free prison labour and many other facts and advantages phycopaths are able to concieve to justify murder

have you noted how the murderers are on tv actually smuggly smiling , is that the predicted collective euphoria predicted in the bible [or simple religious mania[zeal]

jesus weeps ,who woulda thunk the end time could be so much fun for the so many trying to bring armogeddon and the faulse prince of peace..mess-iah that will destroy palistein for them

obama may well be mabos ,more of the bloody same

all life is sacred...[because he who gave it is sacred]
that we did to the least we did to him

what happend to love god [love neighbour]?
why is the pope so silent?

Polycarp, thanks for your concerns.
I do have a fairly good understanding of the issues surrounding the conflict; I do have a fairly good understanding of Hamas's vows and its policies. I do also understand the view that the best way to world peace is to kill everybody that you don't agree with, or does not agree with you.
Understanding is a necessary pre-requisite to resolving the conflict, but not the only one. I reject the "peace by killing everybody" because it is against my basic humanist (as well as humanitarian) views. If Indonesia were to start bombing us, I would want to know why, and try to resolve their particular grievance. I would not attempt to retaliate by bombing them into oblivion.
There is a letter in today's Sydney Morning Herald by a Russell Mills which would better explain my view as to what Israel should be doing. I accept there are risks associated with this (bombing Hamas into oblivion carries relatively little risk to Israel - only the world's opprobrium, and ongoing sniping from its neighbours) but I believe itshould be the model used for resolving this and other conflicts, rather than bullying by the mighty. I believe that being fair to all sides is the long term solution to conflict. Anything else breeds resentment, hatred, and conflict.

If Indonesia or any other nation bombed Australia we wouldn't be entering into secular humanist discussions. we would be hitting back and rightly so.
Hamas do not have negotiation in their dictionary; nor do they respect the rights of Jews to their own State.
The UN offered a two State solution in 1947 which the Palestinians and their Arab neighbours rejected.
The secular liberal journalists are perpetuating false hopes and creating a terrible 'poor sorry me' wallowing type mentality through thier ideology of appeasement with Islamicists. The populations of the West are being fed on this rubbish which is sickening.
Arabs know the solution now is to clear out gaza and send these whingers to their existing Palestinian homeland which is callec Jordan. Jordan contains within its own borders 77% of the former British mandate of Palestine.