By an offensive in gaza:
7 Palestinians killed, 2 IDF soldiers hurt in Gaza
Israel Defense Forces tanks and infantry crossed into the central Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing seven Palestinian militants, including six from the Islamist Hamas group that controls the coastal territory. Three of the militants were killed in an Israel Air Force strike that followed a gunbattle on the ground.
snip
Palestinian medics said 13 people, including children, were wounded. A Hamas cameraman who was injured by what witnesses said was a tank shell was seen later being shot in the legs from afar as he lay on the ground.
Film on CNN shows young unarmed men running and being shot.
Human shields:
Palestinian ambulance worker Azmi Abu Dalal said IDF forces seized him and several of his colleagues when they tried to evacuate a wounded Palestinian from a security post Hamas gunmen had been using and which the army took over.
Abu Dalal said soldiers took them to a nearby house and then used them as human shields to exit the area.
http://www.haaretz.com/...
And how does Israel respond to Syria's call to "talks":
IDF carries out massive exercise on Golan
The Israel Defense Forces this week carried out one of the largest infantry exercises of recent years in the Golan Heights region, training for conflict with Syria and Hezbollah.
Supplies were air-dropped, tanks provided covering fire and infantry forces trained in nonconventional warfare and countering anti-tank missile attacks.
"We are training for every possible scenario. Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas in the Gaza Strip and terror organizations in the West Bank," an officer says.
http://www.haaretz.com/...
And with all this going on what do our democrats have to say:
What would be your policy on Gaza's transformation into an Iranian-influenced "Hamastan"? Isolation? Engagement with Hamas? Encouraging Mahmoud Abbas to rebuild ties to Hamas, or to try and wrest back physical control?...
Read it here:
http://blogcentral.jpost.com/...
Meanwhile we ignore the destruction of Gaza:
Gaza’s Economy is being Erased -75% of Factories have Closed
Israel has banned the import of all goods not defined as "humanitarian".
The business sector is collapsing, and most of Gaza’s residents are already dependent on food distribution from the UN and religious charities.
According to Sari Bashi, Director of Gisha, "Israel is attempting to achieve political objectives by exerting pressure on 1.4 million women, men and children, whose suffering is supposed to bring about the change it wants - toppling Hamas control in Gaza. In reality, a policy of collective punishment is being imposed upon 1.4 million people, in violation of international humanitarian law and contradictory to Israel's interest. Destroying Gaza's economy only exacerbates dependence on extreme elements".
http://www.gisha.org/
'Israel ruining economy in Gaza Strip'
More:
http://www.jpost.com/...
Yet despite our politicians being in lock step behind Israel, at least some Israelis are actually debating the issue:
Give Hamas a chance
Negotiations on long-term ceasefire with Hamas should be considered
Israel is currently enjoying clear tactical superiority and it appears that it is holding the entire deck of cards.
However, it would be a mistake to boycott Hamas. The rational mode of action would be to listen to what its leadership has to say and to try and reach an agreement with them.
The hysterical calls are blinding us from seeing the positive sides of the Hamas takeover. Following years of idleness on the part of Mahmoud Abbas and his cabinet, Hamas has begun restoring an organized rule in the Strip. The leadership is intent on disarming the militias, cutting the clans down to their natural size, and running the area as a government. The Palestinian Authority never did this. In my opinion, Hamas has a reasonable chance of succeeding; unfortunately, probably more so than Abbas in the West Bank.
snip
And what is the danger to Israel of a ceasefire?
And what will happen in 2017? It is likely that in a decade from now Hamas would succeed in organizing, gathering weapons, and threatening our security. However, as we have seen, this probability exists even without a ceasefire as well as in circumstances of ongoing warfare. Contrary to this, perhaps after 10 years of calm, conditions and standards of living may be created that even Hamas would be interested in maintaining, and perhaps even an ideological shift would occur in the Gaza Strip.
Whole article worth reading:
http://www.ynetnews.com/...
And another bit of news:
Hamas security forces in Gaza have detained members of the Palestinian militant group which claims to have abducted BBC reporter Alan Johnston.
Among the arrested was Khattab al-Maqdisi, a spokesman of the Army of Islam group, Hamas said.
"The arrests were carried out after all negotiation attempts... failed to free the abducted journalist," the Hamas-run interior ministry said in a statement.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/...
UPDATED:
Palestinians: Hamas cameraman shot by IDF troops
A Hamas cameraman was seriously wounded Thursday when he was shot several times by IDF soldiers in the Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera quoted Palestinian sources as reporting.
snip
Palestinian medical officials told Al Jazeera that Ranen had both his legs amputated as a result of his wounds.
http://www.jpost.com/...