This entire discussion is premised on the belief that Palestinians have no rights. If you accept that Palestinians presumptively have the same rights as everyone else in the world, there is absolutely no justifying what is going on.
I call bravo sierra.
For an easy counter-example, take a gander at the majority-Palestinian country to Israel's east: Jordan.
Any air raids by the Israelis over Amman, blasting Jordanian government buildings? Why not, if they are Palestinians with no rights? Might it be because Abdulla is not a fool who allows Palis to launch rockets from his territory?
IOW, it is the actions of the Palis in Gaza which has brought about air raids & other unpleasantness, not their identity.
The Palis in Gaza have had an Israeli-free zone for some time now. All the Jewish settlers were removed and the Palis did in days/week what it takes African countries years to do: destroy the infrastructure left behind by the more advanced culture.
The Palis got the gov't they deserve in Hamas and are reaping crop of destruction they have so lovingly nurtured.
The Israelis have talked, imposed sanctions, etc., but those launching the rockets have not responded to civilized overtures.
But folks in America and Israel don't believe that, and so when agricola points out that killing people for "looking suspicious" is crazy, that's just rejected out of hand.
It is also recommended to not break out the airsoft guns on your front lawn when your neighborhood has been locked down and the SWATties are raiding your chomo meth-dealer neighbor's house.
And at the same time as the Palestinians are not recognized to have any rights, we're all demanding that they refrain from any violence and just play nice.
I predict two long term consequences of this war:
1. Upwards of 1000 Palestinians dead.
2. Israel/US friendly government in Egypt will collapse. Maybe in Jordan too.
1. I hope there are enough Pali casualties to, in a paraphrase of one of my all-time favorite generals*, "Make them howl."
2. I doubt it, on both counts. Much of the anti-Jew hostility has required a steady drumbeat by the gov't to keep it at a fever pitch. In the absence, most will just go about their business.
Also, the "Arab street" is not worth paying any attention. They are not much of a factor in what actually happens in the ME.
* William Tecumseh Sherman quotes relevant to the current fracas:
I can make this march, and I will make Georgia howl!
You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out.
You have heretofore read public sentiment in your newspapers, that live by falsehood and excitement; and the quicker you seek for truth in other quarters, the better.
My aim then was to whip the rebels, to humble their pride, to follow them to their inmost recesses, and make them fear and dread us. "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."
If they want eternal war, well and good; we accept the issue, and will dispossess them and put our friends in their place. I know thousands and millions of good people who at simple notice would come to North Alabama and accept the elegant houses and plantations there. If the people of Huntsville think different, let them persist in war three years longer, and then they will not be consulted. Three years ago by a little reflection and patience they could have had a hundred years of peace and prosperity, but they preferred war; very well.
Next year their lands will be taken, for in war we can take them, and rightfully, too, and in another year they may beg in vain for their lives. A people who will persevere in war beyond a certain limit ought to know the consequences. Many, many peoples with less pertinacity have been wiped out of national existence.
You people of the South don't know what you are doing. This country will be drenched in blood, and God only knows how it will end. It is all folly, madness, a crime against civilization! You people speak so lightly of war; you don't know what you're talking about. War is a terrible thing! You mistake, too, the people of the North. They are a peaceable people but an earnest people, and they will fight, too. They are not going to let this country be destroyed without a mighty effort to save it… Besides, where are your men and appliances of war to contend against them? The North can make a steam engine, locomotive, or railway car; hardly a yard of cloth or pair of shoes can you make. You are rushing into war with one of the most powerful, ingeniously mechanical, and determined people on Earth—right at your doors. You are bound to fail. Only in your spirit and determination are you prepared for war. In all else you are totally unprepared, with a bad cause to start with. At first you will make headway, but as your limited resources begin to fail, shut out from the markets of Europe as you will be, your cause will begin to wane. If your people will but stop and think, they must see in the end that you will surely fail.
