B"H The military escalation is a painful consequence of removing the peaceful Jews from there. When the peaceful elements are yanked, only the violent elements remain, and the situation heats up. There was a complete consensus between Hamas and Kadima on the removal of Jews who were farming land in peace with their neighbors who benefited financially from the agricultural activity under their careful watch. I am not sure why the IDF needed the Jews out, instead of fully arming them to defend themselves. Was it to prevent these sorts of casualties among the Jewish population instead of arming that population to defend itself? If so, why not drive the "innocent" Arab civilians out now also, if this is the correct approach to deal with "innocent" civiilians in the area? Where exactly would you drive them to? They are not Israeli citizens. The Hamas government has come to power over them in its war on Israel. There is nowhere for them to go since the Hamas government sponsors the violence against Israel. They are about as concentrated and isolated as possible, and Hamas works directly within their population centers to create casualties with every Israeli retaliation, as a PR benefit for Hamas. The difficulty is that Israel (and the International community) did not want to impose the occupation over the Arabs, so it did not control the elections enough to qualify candidates that would make war on Israel to make sure they would only do so from designated zones away from the civilians. I suppose after Israel won the war, it could always ask for a revote and it could impose weak qualifications on the Arab candidates like it does for Arab citizens. But Israel is attempting to isolate this hotbed of hatred, and as Sharon was concluding Israel really does not have the will at this stage to impose a full military occupation over the Arab civilian population with an Israeli civilian administration. It is leaving the civil administration to Hamas to fill in the gaps, and Hamas has more widened them than filled them in in any case. In short, the Jews living in these areas were providing a huge benefit to the entire country of Israel as well as to the Arabs. Their forced removal which was a concensus of both Arab and Jewish governments has had the readily predictable outcome of more bloodshed on the Arab side especially with its violent missile launches. Kadima continues to promote the same approach of Jew uprooting, which I see as having an even more enhanced outcome because of the numbers of Jews involved as well as the closer proximity to population centers of the Arab combatants. The overall purpose is that the Jews of Tel Aviv should see that their brother's condition is the same as their own, so that they actually vote for and provide full backing for Jewish settling the entire land of Israel. "G-d is sanctified through those close to him."

When I read this I think of the horror and sorrow of these palestinian children, and I want to blame Israel, and take the side of the media and most of the world.... But then rational thought sets in. While I still feel sorrow for the civilian deaths, and realize how awful it is, I come to think, what in the world are they doing in an area that just fired rockets at Israel? where are the parents protecting their children? why did they not leave after the rocket fire knowing there could be a retalatory strike? A war is not one sided and Israel has every right to protect its own people and children. The US didnt wave and blow kisses at the Japanese after Pearl Harbour, and neither did Europe get chummy with Hitler.... I am amazed that Israel even gave the land to these people to reward them for their terrorism, but I digress. To get to the point, Israel has to defend itself or there will be a whole lot more dead children, Jewish this time, and more than likely without the warning these Palestinians had. .....When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

Sure its a shame that the girl was killed but these things happen. How many Israeli kids and others were close to being killed by the multitude of Kassams being fired. My advice to the IDF: Keep firing at all Kassam launching sites, including Gaza City.

The terrorist killers fire their kassems indiscriminately towards Israeli homes and schools . They do this proudly and without remorse ,hopeing to kill Jewish women ,nemn,children babies it matters not to them. We know Israel is careful to target only the terrorists ,so the terrorists attempt to put Israeli's on a guilt trip of their own making. IF the PALESTINIAN'S were not firing KASSEM'S into Israel ,the little PALESTINIAN girl would be alive today. You Palestinian's are RESPONSIBLE for her death.

Firing rockets from heavily populated areas is bound to draw a backlash. The palestinians are the ones responsible for the death of the child.

it seems israel sees no value or benefit from showing restraint, especially with the US and EU cutting ties and support with the palestinians. i guess the they have really gone and messed things up above and beyond their usual abilities now. pretty impressive, palestinians.

you end up killing ur own children. palestine has only itself to blame for her death and everyone else's

Finally the Israeli government has learned how to respond to criticism of its self-defense - the death of a civilian, of course, is a terrible thing, but Israel is entitled to defend itself and it is the Arab Palestinian terrorists who are responsible for the tragedies because they launch their murderous attacks from within civilian areas. The parents of the child who died should be furious with the Arab terrorists whose actions caused the death of the 9 year old child.

The Hamas wants civilian casualties, it makes for good press and great photos. Nothing brings the Arabs more sympathy than the bloody body of a child, killed by them or by the IDF, it doesn't matter. Like Muhammed al-dura, who was a poster boy for the PA, who it turns out, was not killed by the IDF but by his own people. The PA deliberately puts children in harms way so as to evoke our sympathy. They are cold hearted, cynical, murdering bastards who sacrifice their own children for their god. They are no better than the Amalekites and cannanites who worshiped their god baal.

Yes , we have seen that sensitivity , after killing a 9 year old child, you are nothing but a brutal killing machine design to Genocide Palestinians, only people with dead conscious will believe you. Every time I hear the news, IDF claims those Qassam missiles have no civilian casualty, not killed anybody yet , why you killed Palestinian civilians in last two days..this is nothing more than cold blood killing.

should go back to Poland and Russia to where they belong. The real Jews are not any more... They either become christians or muslims... The so-called todays Jews are not necessarily Israelites. As a matter of fact, Palestinians have more Israelit blood than most Jews... They where in the Holy Land from the time of Abraham until today. They are the natives and have the whole right to defend their land from this zionists agenda....

the institutionalized homicidal Hamites whose right of return should be enforced to their homicidal Hamite peninsular homeland. Havlaga didn't work aginst the brits nor these Jew haters. Get some leadership who aren't putsch artists and have some self respect and expel those will be as pins in your eyes in a much more humande maner than they expelled you from their homeland and Hamite institutionalized controlled areas. RESPECT YOURSELF!

Keep thinking that and we'll see how far you will get. That kind of talk is exactly what gives you dead people. Instead of defending yourself diplomatically you 'defend' yourself targeting civilians while we try to target your terrorists although they hide in civilian buildings and areas. Who is to blame? us or you?

you are MONSTERS! I can imagine the israeli army in front of an international human rights court....with the only Defense argument : " They want to kill us, antisemites!!!!!" ....You should wake up and beware, you are harming everyone, starting by yourselves! I'm glad you are auto destroying your lovely image of the " Victims" of the planet, because now, its us! WE ARE THE VICTIMS! thanks to you! we are the people under an existential threat! no matter what you say, you can't deny it! i guess in 50 years or so, all the world will be talking about your digusting massacres....your attempt to exterminate us...u will stink !

This travesty of justice will only result in more killing on both sides. All Israelis have to realize that by pressuring Palestinians in this manner you will only alienate moderate factions. I live in one of the worst hit cities and I am willing to call myself a moderate (for now). I can’t justify any moderation given the unnecessary humiliation, killing and injustices inflected by Israel on our people. Although you have better and bigger guns, you have so much to lose. On the other hand, Palestinians have nothing – and I mean nothing to lose by continuing this mad vicious cycle. Israelis: prepare yourself for a new neighbor: Hamastan. A nation of extremists and no future – what a neighborhood this part of the world is becoming! Peace, love and coexistence is the only answer.

It amazing to witness this nonsense on daily basis: "Israeli murderers are called commandos. Arab commandos are called terrorists!" George Carlin. Enough said.

IDF REGRET?? HAHAHAHH!!! THAT'S AN OXYMORON!! SPECTATOR, FROM CANADA, RIGHT ON!!! COULDN'T HAVE SAID IT BETTER!

You didn't claim your victory over your existential enemy. Instead you let your enemy remain in your midst, proliferate, aid them and let their numbers grow from external sources. While they commit pogroms against you not only in their homicidal Hamite homeland but in other lands they forcibly converted to the faith in Hamite values. It is not a matter of completing an equation. You had a victory to claim but by not doing so you allowed the war of nations turn into allowing your population to suffer the acts of terror. There is no moral equivalence in what they do to the non-belligerent population of your people in the lands they control and if you would finally claim your victory on your reclaimed land, act like a humane sovereign for them and your own, and enforce your enemy’s, terror institutionalized population’s right of return to their homicidal Hamite, ancestral, peninsular homeland in the historically accepted manner as has been demonstrated but denied to Jews who have no self-respect. You are so enlightened and progressive, with less than 25% of the vote you megalomatically claim a mandate to commit pogroms without regard to age, sex or condition, and without bloodying the traditional pogromnik goy hand. To tirelessly engage the most force since ’73 to bash the brains in and break the limbs of the best of you who love the land that protects all of you. To not compensate them or respect them for their loss of there occupation, immeasurable toil and suffering in any justifiable manner can only be called collective punishment, political persecution and you top it off by forcing them to continue to service their loans and insurance obligations. You will tirelessly seek victories over those who love the land sewn with the blood of those who reclaimed it, protected it and lived on it. You committed these crimes without an elected party ordering the pogroms if not pigua (as the vacated land is now a terror launching ground). You did this while ignoring the elected party’s charter and referendum you swore to abide by. You consolidated your dictatorial powers under the guise of democracy and etrog status in the eyes of your appointed law enforcer by breaking coalition agreements and employing something called United Torah Judaism in name alone to allow the government survive long enough to push through the pogroms and destroy over fifty Torah centers of learning. And the sick brain and unbound heart of the arelim makes the putsch official claiming to be the PM without the leadership position of the elected party and party authorized to form the government. Who elected the list of the putsch party? As if you or crazy uncle Simon Perske were? The last time I heard you were elected thirty-third to the party list of the elected party. Then there was the arelim putsch and low and behold you are slinking in the shadow of a dictator as his number two without a mandate. With victories over your best, changing circumstances for the worse by making yourself more vulnerable, I can see why you would be tired since you hate the land and its people. A land and a people you and your family have never served in uniform to defend but vigorously, perfidiously destroy.

How do you like Harper as your PM? He was smart enough to cut aid to so-called "palestinians". I bet you cried all night when he got elected.

Havlaga didn't work againts the brits. You alolow Jews to be subject to the remanat and otherwise of uniformed aries at war for far too long. You know it betar than US. But you have no self respect and should expel those who whall be as pins in your eyes. Simple enough. But noooo! you have no self respect you hate and torture your people with havlaga. That is the mereit of your champions. Your self hating mapai prgeny and om;et too who never served in an uniform nor his Jew hating smadik family. You and the diaspora Jews hate all those who make the land bloom and respect the blood of those sewn in it.

point1)why don't you learn english in order to understand this rubbish point2)on the other hand,who cares to understand your ravings?

my positive answer to you is, it won't take 50 years but less than 10. my negative answer to this, every anti jew/israel will be faced with justice... how exactly? that's a surprise, wait and see.

those 2 articles were NOT written by the same person/#20 is coherent in his own twisted mind,and # 22 can't even be understood,which in fact,doesn't matter! To spectator:wish you could join the martyrs enjoying themselves in heaven? with the virgins(still virgins?they must have been veeery busy lately!) by the way,Israeli members of the IDF,isarel defend force,are not murderers,it's the opposite,you moron/they are just defending our country,and so many die in doing so/maybe the paradox is in your head?

This land is Israeli soil, Jewish country, not an Arab land. Most Arabs came during early twenties and thirties , a wave of influx the Britons were aware of but unwilling/unable to control. Arabs may stay if/when Israel allows it. Amen

Disgusting selfpity. Wake up to reality. There is Israel. No "Palestine", never has been and never will.

Finally some sense of clarity. You have something: you can start respecting Israeli life and stop killing them. You can benefit peace and prosperity. It's up to you, Israelis are willing this. It's up to you. This means: stop hating Israelis and recognize their right to exist where they are.

You may yell hysterically as long as you wish, but you have proved to the whole world that the islamists are the worst monsters. For some time you people succeeded in playing the innocent victim by using the wooden language of shallow slogans and manipulating the truth and historical facts. Now that the mask of innocence is ripped off your ugly bloodthirsty face, you start to realize the depth of the abyss at the edge of which you are standing now. If you are capable to think rationally and don't take your fantasies for reality, a suitable solution could be found for both sides. But if you continue with your vicious ways to go, you will lose all of what is still left of your credibility in the eyes of the whole world. This is what I can bid to my worst ennemy.

Excuse me to congratulate ISRAEL Leaders for showing the innocence face to the world and hiding the devil face . when someone believe that Lions can be treated like cats then we all can believe that Israel is going to be honest with the world . finally . i would like to say that every thief must face it's horrible END