Bush did many times worst things in Iraq than the Israel last weeks in Gasa and he avoided the prosecution for war crimes, I do not expect anything against Israel.
The truth is that Hamas gave to Israelis the opportunity to fight them and I suspect Israel government had full support not only from Bush but from all Arab governments, ecxept Syria.
A normal, sort fight which benefited the coalision parties of israel government and of cause it benefited Hamas too!!
I think Hamas must stop the rockets and recognize the right of Israel to exist. Hamas must become more responsibble and more realistic.
Isreal government must stop to use Hamas for temporary party benefits and must stop to provoce and punish Palestinian people.
Antonios Symeonakis
Adelaide

Dear Antonios,

It is important to record the truth.
"When the truth is replaced by silence," the
dissident Yevgeny Yevtushenko said, "the silence
is a lie."

Therefore war crimes in Gaza should be justly,
and fairly, investigated by an independent
international body, and their findings and
recommendations recorded.

Journalist Anne Davis in Washington, reporting
in, The Age, Sat. 24th January 2009 writes:
"Obama redraws Middle East policy."

She tells us that US President Barack Obama has
dramatically shifted America's stance towards the
Middle East conflict. He has called on Israel to
open its borders with Gaza to allow humanitarian aid
and commerce to flow and said one of America's most
talented negotiators would try to broker a more
extensive peace in the troubled region.

According to Davis -
President Obama is offering a more even-handed
assessment of the problems underlying the conflict.
President Obama said: "Just as the rocket fire aimed
at innocent Israelis is intolerable, so too is a
future without hope for the Palestinians."

"I was deeply concerned by the loss of Palestinian and
Israeli life in recent days, and by the substantial
suffering and humanitarian needs in Gaza...

As part of a lasting ceasefire, Gaza's border crossings
should be open to allow the flow of aid and commerce,
with an appropriate monitoring regime with international
and Palestinian Authority participating."

It seems that the US will "actively and aggressively
seek a lasting peace between Israel and the
Palestinians" in the wake of the recent Gaza conflict.

That can only be a good thing.

Dear Foxy

your statement:

"Therefore war crimes in Gaza should be justly,
and fairly, investigated by an independent
international body, and their findings and
recommendations recorded."

Immediately limits the scope of any investigation to "What Israel did"
Oh sure..the idealist might think "But surely they would also investigate Hamas use of women and children as human shields as well"

But the REALIST knows where such investigations come from... and impartial/balanced/fair/even handed is certainly NOT where they come from.

So...what you have done..is to be a willing tool in anti semitic leftoid propaganda, by passing on the limited scope of this idea of 'war crimes..IN GAZA'

If any such investigation (I would call it a kangaroo court where the outcome is decided well in advance) is to have even the smallest thread or shred of credibility..it would be a CONTINUATION of the one which SHOULD have been formed years ago to deal with HAMAS and it's attacks on Israeli women and children with rockets which have no guidance systems.

When you say you can't do much about what interpretation I place on your words.. ur quite incorrect. You could have completely avoided my rather terse response by simple begINNING the whole thread with a few more indications of fairness and justice and even handedness.

Had you mentioned War Crimes BY ALL sides, including Hamas it would have been better.

Why am I 100% cynical about any such 'independant' investigation? hah! because it only arises AFTER Israel STRIKES BACK against genocidal terrorists in Gaza.

WHERE were these 'righteous' voices over the past years? why were they not condemning HAMAS.. Ismael Haniya, Mahmoud Zahar..Sheikh Yassin, Rantisi and their terrorist thug/pseudo-nazi party workers while they were mercilessly dismembering Israeli women and children with their rockets?

Foxy.. more.. "I'm not taking sides"...? really.. good grief.

The article you linked us to says this (my emphasis added)

QUOTE:
GENEVA, Jan 22 (Reuters) - There is evidence that ISRAEL committed war crimes during its 22-day campaign in the Gaza Strip and there should be an INDEPENDANT inquiry, U.N. investigator Richard Falk said on Thursday.

The mental anguish of the civilians who suffered the assault is so great that the entire population of Gaza could be seen as casualties, said Falk, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip."
UNQUOTE:

To which any Israeli would respond..WHAT THE HECK ABOUT the mental anguish the million plus inhabitants of Sderot, Beer Sheeba, Ashkelon and other places, have been suffering for a HECK of a lot longer than the 22 days of the Gaza self defense operation?

ISRAEL targeted specific individuals for assasination. Those individuals were the hard core of HAMAS dedicated to the OBLITERATION of Israel as a state and Jews as a people in the region.

ISRAEL had every right to do so... they still have, and will continue to have it. They did not deliberately 'randomly' attack civilians or even (though they have the moral right to do so) send a few rockets into the many Hamas rallies which glorify the genocide and terrorism they practice.

If you have any doubts about the moral right to assassinate political opponents who are doing nothing more than 'talking with' your enemies.. I refer you to MOHAMMAD BIN ABDULLAH founder of Islam.. to whom HAMAS looks for guidance.. as the prime example of doing just that on repeated occasions, but the best example is Ka'b bin Al Ashraf.

Any enquiry which uses the word 'INDEPENDANT' in the same paragraph as 'Israel committed' is NOT independant! nor is it impartial.

In fact..such a commission of enquiry deserves to be flushed down that place where the rest of those like it are or should be flushed.

Boaz_david,

You’ve finally lost it,

You went from someone with strong convictions now to a rent a crowd haranguer and bigot. I think you’ve been to too many protest meetings. This site isn’t soap box corner where you scream people down with your excessively aggressive idiosyncratic take on reality.
To attack those who choose to bate the weirdo is one thing but to refuse to accept the word of someone who clearly stated that they take no sides and they don’t is another thing entirely. Foxy, of all the people to attack as an aggressive adversary... you HAVE lost the plot.

Instead of venting your spleen waiting to get banned surely a better approach would be to calm down and approach the issues and other posters more reasonably.

She is right your current approach has sunk your credibility and this might explain why you don't get discussions anymore.

On second thought go back to your soap box that way you’ll hasten your banning and we can get on with DISCUSSING issues rationally.

BOAZ_David,

Kindly read my posts.

I refer to war crimes in Gaza. I don't refer
to any particular side.

The issue of war crimes was raised by senior UN offcials,
Human Rights Groups, including Israeli Human Rights
Groups, and the local chapter of Amnesty International,
and World News Media, all of whom feel that there
should be an independent investigation into whether
war crimes have been committed. in Gaza.

I raised the topic as a thread
because I thought it would make for an
interesting discussion.

I cannot understand how this is being "Anti-Semitic."
I don't mention either party.

You assume that an independent investigation is going
to be a 'Kangaroo Court.' Why would this be the case?
War Crimes trials have a history - and none that I am
aware of were ever accused of being "Kangaroo Courts.'
Certainly not at the Hague, or other civilized
institutions.

I've already explained why I gave the Reuters website.
Richard Falk (A Jew), is an expert in international law
at Princeton University, and the United Nations Special
Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory. He is a international law authority.

Having an investigation is not an esoteric abstraction
but an urgent responsiblity that falls to those with
the privilege of a platform. We can't only allow
vigorous debate within unmovable invisible boundaries,
ever fearful of the smear of anti-Semitism.

If we do we are diminished as a civilised society.