Here is the basic question: Should Israel stop bombing Gaza? I am of several thoughts on this issue. I think that Israel has a right to exist and a right to exist peacefully. I think that Palestine has a right to exist and a right to exist peacefully.
The obvious problem is that certain factions in Palestine, and the Muslim community in general, want Israel destroyed and wiped off of the face of the planet. This will not happen as any attempt to truly do so would basically result in a kind of war to end all wars. I would think that any rational person in the Middle East understands this. Israel is here for the duration.
Do the Palestinians deserve a true nation-state homeland? Yes, I believe that they do. I do not want to get into the whole historic debate as to whose land is whose and who was there first. That is an endless loop. Time to deal in the NOW.
Why does Hamas think that they can shoot rockets into Israel and not get a response? Why do they think that any people would sit idly by and deal with rocket attacks day after day, year after year? When there is retaliation they get all pissed off. Like, what are they thinking? If you attack you will be attacked.
On the other hand, Israel must get off the fence and come up with a plan to help create a viable Palestinian state. The settlement incursions must stop. The 'powers' that be, including Arab nations, must sit down and decide, once and for all, the exact boundaries of Palestine. And, they must all agree that no matter what, these are the boundaries and anyone that violates them, Arab or Jew, will be dealt with appropriately. If Hamas tries to lob more rockets, then the world community must go in and end it. If Israeli settlers try to violate boundaries, they must be dealt with swiftly.
If the world does not act soon, this region will be the cause of the death of us all. It is clear why Israel does not open the Gaza borders. Fear. And they cannot be blamed for that fear, given past extremists actions. But, Israel must also understand that keeping people in poverty and in isolation only adds fuel to extremist hatred.
Time to end this nonsense before it ends us all. Enough is enough!
