for mutineers to attack an illegally-occupying army. It's called resistance.

* Never do anything to terrorists. * Israel is always to blame. * Palestinians have every right to kill Israelis.

When an organisation such as the aforementioned 'mutineers' attacks Israel from their own territory, i.e. Gaza, from territory that Israel no longer 'occupies', this is not resistance but terrorism and terrorism that is state (palestinian) sponsored. Sorry to confuse with the facts.

Indeed there´s nothing wrong or unlawful in attacking AN INTERNATIONAL BORDER.... What Mr. Ofer "lemming" Shelah is saying is that Israel has no legitimate borders, no right to exist. Bravo indeed.

will be lost if they target only military and intelligence facilities and personnel.

Terror has one goal- the destruction of human life regardless of it's cause. If you find that goal righteous, then you are unfit to live amongst other human beings. No matter how many watered down words such as *mutineers* or *insurgents* or *freedom fighters* you ascribe to their horrendous acts of slaughtering innocent life and the lives of the victims' relatives. am yisrael chai!

Is that like being *almost* pregnant?

Kidnapping and withholding proper medical care of enemy soliders is a war crime under international law. The atack itself. barring the kidnapping may be 'legal' if there is a state of war, but since the PA is not a state it cannot not legally be at a state of war. Now here is a question: If one holds that the PA is in a state of war and it doesn not honor the Geneva conventions what recourse does Israel have? The answer is the same recourse the allies took when they erased Dresden. Be careful for what you wish for, you may get it.

Attacking armed soldiers on duty, especially if the Palestinians were wearing some sort of uniform, is not terrorism. Rather, it is an act of war. But that does not make the attack legitimate. The official Palestinian institutions -- the PLO and the PA -- are formally committed to a policy of not using violence or the threats of violence against Israel. Seen as a violation of this commitment, the attack is illegitimate, just as would be an unwarranted invasion of another country. On the other hand, a defender of the attack might point out that Israel hasn't exactly been non-violent in its dealings with the Palestinians. While the legitimacy, or not, of the attack may be unclear, the current nature of the conflictis not: Israel withdrew from Gaza; the Palestinian authorities either are engaged in, or are unwilling or unable to stop, violence against Israel.

If one considers this as a legitimate action, it is in the sense that it is a military act, an act of war, and therefore it is appropriate to hold the Hamas government responsible for such military hostilities taken from their territory (terror-tory?). You will then also recognize the legitimacy of whatever military response Israel deems appropriate.

The guys paying the salaries of these militants expect some action for their money. The moneybags get their kicks and the naive militants are the dead suckers. When will these guys learn they are being used?

this is about poping the zit called hamas

This is the worst PR for Israel. The death of 1000 palestinian children would have done much less demage to Israel PR than the Israeli hostage.

The author says "the world will have a hard time comdemning" this attack because "It was an attack on soldiers, it took courage. It was not a cowardly act." To the contrary, it was an act of war demanding condemnation. Israel withdrew its forces and its citizens from Gaza at great cost. The Gazans, rather than take this as an opportunity to build, took this as encouragement to continue their so-called struggle. They remain under a state of semi-siege because they remain a threat to regional peace. Gazans continue smuggling ever more deadly weapons even as they claim to be "suffering" under international isolation. As the latest nexus of international terrorism, with Hizbullah and al 'Qaida adding their resources and skills to the mix, the PA is increasingly a threat not just to Israel but to Egypt and Jordan as well. Indeed, today Palestinian voices were heard threating the use of chemical and biological weapons against Israel. The PA under Hamas is in a declared state of war against Israel, and Israel should get up the courage to defeat it. It will NOT defeat it be giving them more weapons, or by ceding territory before reaching an end of conflict. Of course, we know the Palestinians will not be *allowed* to lose, so these "poor suffering Palestinians" can continue their aggression while hiding behind the skirts of the civilian population, the feckless UN, the gutless EU, and the morally bankrupt "human rights" community. Palestinian aggression, whether rooted in Arab nationalism or Islamic teachings, will only be discredited in defeat.

Shelah says none of the things you attribute to him. He doesn't even imply them. Did you even read his article before running your mouth?

Israel is no longer occupying Gaza. Had they done this in the WB it would be hard for anyone to remark on it. But once again, they COULD be building a peaceful and successful society in Gaza, which might even force Israelis to reconsider WB policy in the Pals' favor, but instead are using it for aggression against Israel, which simply tell Israelis: "why withdraw from the WB? There is nothing in it for us" But then, you don't care at all about the Pals, do you? Like Syria, like HAMAS, you would rather hurt Israel than advance the Pals' national aspirations.

The Pals weren't resisting anything. They were attacking Israel proper, and more specifically Kerem Shalom. Anyone who believes that the 67 borders are sacred needs to condemn any move by Pals to attack across them. Yes?

IU wonder why Israel doesn't simply a. declare war against the organized Palestinian government; b. Immediately close, permanently, all crossings into Israel, and not just as a "security measure" but in a deliberately announced decision not to trade with Arabs anymore; and c. Do as the Arabs do - they do not tolerate Jews living in their midst, therefore announce that within 36 hours, all Arabs must leave Israel proper.

Ellen displays much ignorance! They attacked a pre-67 area of Israel which means Ellen is somewhere to the right of Fatah but may or may not be left of Hamas. Hail to the moderates!!!

Thi is not an international border, it's still under occupation, and as long as Israel is not giving the Palestinians a free and independent state, then they have all the right to resist this ugly occupation

It is a legitimate Act of War and Israel is absolutely entitled to reciprocate in any way it may choose.

Must I remind you that Israel left Gaza and was not in Gaza. Also that rockets were being fire at Israel with no provocation for weeks. The only reason some Palis were killed was in response to attacks from them which they started. What we don't need is another apologist.

Afterall this is war. Send the Arabs back to Saudi Gammorah or Jordan Palestine. In a war, civilians and troups die. Obviously, the Arabs never wanted peace for their people or Israel so take the fight to them until they are gone. This is perfectly legal in War. No remaining hostile entity should be left in Gaza. If the Arabs want peace, let them sue for it, not LIE about it.

Why didn't these cowardly dawn-bandits come directly overland rather than through a tunnel, inorder to attack Israeli soldiers? These terrorists behaved just like low-life rodents or serpents. As usual, these attackers would have used their face masks to hide their identities. What's so 'brave' about these cowards?

Good. This will make severe retaliation by Israel against any armed Palestinians just as almost legitimate. Which, in turn, might make Israel's defensive response almost legitimate in the eyes of the Europeans. Which, in turn, could make the Europeans (all except Ellen) almost legitimate in many peoples' eyes. I think my reasoning is almost legitimate.

this act of resistance from brave fighters who don't have the cowardice to explode themselves nor technological equipment that idf has will never be condemned. why? because it's justified, and no one said Israel shouldn't exist in this article, your propaganda won't work.

Gaza (how many m2) is palestinian now, and.. ? does it mean israeli occupation ended? no. your line of reasoning is completely out of logic. do you mean that people, to resist must resist locally, ie, exactly where there are occupied? no, occupation is the bad thing, and ending occupation is the right thing to do, they'll all gain from it.

Legitimate for mutineers to attack an illegally-occupying army in Iraq called the British Armed Forces. For it is called resistance. So nice to see you are advocating violence not only against our army but against your own army, considering you don't ONLY single out the worlds ONLY Jewish army. Doing so would indeed make you anti semitic, which would not exactly please your imaginary Jewish friend : )

1) The occupation of Gaza is over, as no soldiers remain in Gaza. The attack was against soldiers over the Green Line. 2) There is always the choice of peace negotiations. That they choose war instead of negotiations is NOT "perfectly legal and legitimate".