When Hamas decided to fire a Blitz of Missiles DIRECTLY into urban civilian centres of population into Israel four weeks ago (some 3500 fired over 4 weeks) WITH NO END IN SIGHT indeed with Hamas emboldened they warned the firing would go on INDEFINITELY There was no option for Israel or indeed any other country on earth but to act to protect her citizens and put a stop to this murderous onslaught by aerial attacks on Missile Launch Sites and Hamas Military Infrastructure But there was more The discovery of a VAST underground network of Tunnels INTO ISRAELI TERRITORY primed to channel THOUSANDS of Terrorists into Israel with the SOLE INTENT of MASS MURDER So not only was Israel faced with the challenge of stopping Missile Fire but it was imperative to destroy the Tunnel Network before Hamas could (as they had already attempted) use them to enter Israel With Missiles still firing at unprecedented rate ON TO CIVILIAN CENTRES (around 175 A DAY!) the only way to neutralise the Tunnel Network was on the Ground to search for the Tunnel Entrances inch by inch MOST of which were INTENTIONALLY hidden DIRECTLY in or in the viscinity of civilian areas as were Launchers and some Rocket Dumps Watching the GRAPHIC DISPLAYS on YA - the breaking Colour Coded Warnings of incoming Missiles into Israel - second by second minute by minute - on and on and on incessant, terrifying, indiscrimate...and while all this is going on...the world watched, a few condemnations of Hamas, suggestions that Israel should talk or 'wait for world opinion' to intercede whilst 5 million Israelis were now under the shadow of attack. Even in the heat of battle against an enemy clearly with no care for Gaza (or Israeli or indeed Palestinians in the West Bank) civilians by putting them in harms way even in these built up areas Israeli Soldiers making SPLIT SECOND LIFE OR DEATH DECISIONS had to react instinctively - some lost their lives in doing so - others fought to protect their lives and that of their comrades first For those who suggested that Israel reacted disproportionately when the ONLY Proportionate Response would have been for Israel to fire back Rocket for Rocket into Gaza is obscene Ultimately there is no victory. The loss of all life and destruction on both sides is painful for us to see, for Gazans and Israelis But Hamas are - no matter how some try to rewrite events, cast condemnation censure, criticize, heap emotional blackmail on Israel or gloss over Hamas OUTRAGES - it is Hamas who are FIRST and FOREMOST responsible for the carnage and will have to answer FOR THEIR DESPICABLE CRIMES

How much do your Arab mates give you for an anti-Israel op-ed? $10,000 or is to more for your "charitable fun". I'm sure you pen your anti-Israel screeds for love, but I'm sure the money helps as well. Is QATAR your new best friend now?

so is he senile or stupid.

obama has to hide it somewhat because he knows that israel is popular in the US and it would cause him problems to do what old jimmy is doing. but anti-americanism,anti-israelism is in his heart and we will start seeing it once he's out of office.

He makes a statement to the US & the EU to recognize Hamas. Tomorrow he will advise the US & the EU to recognize al-Qaida. Is he not making a dumb fool of himself?

How can Jimmy Carter even consider to recognize Hamas.How will there ever be peace in this area when Hamas say that Israel does not have the right to exist and that every Jewish person here should Die!!!! God save America if thats the road they go down

- are a menace to the whole Worldpopulation. If my Opponent goes on the Offensive against me, and breaks all the rules, I dont make myself guilty by doing the same thing to him. Gazas Civil population has in democratic election voted Hamas to the political rule of Gaza, and is therefore also responsible to what Hams Has done. May Mr Carter burn in Hell !. Arn.Sweden.

that IDF does not target civilians. After the latest operation probably only those who desperately try to delude themselves to prevent the cognitive dissonance between myth and reality from tearing their heads apart. Even if all those civilians were used as human shields by Hamas, the fact that Hamas rockets are mostly neutralized by Iron Dome should stop Israelis from shooting and bombing around like crazy. You had better tackle the underlying issues of this conflict because the absence of a two-state solution is a breeding ground for terrorists. But I guess the compromise needed for peace is more difficult than going on a killing rampage.

"deliberate attacks on civilians" !! This because the opposite is quite true. Had we been intent on killing civilians, we would have flattened Gaza.

If it wasn't for the fact he used to be president and he had a nobel prize nobody would take any notice of the rantings of once of the worst US presidents in the 20th century. I just never get the logic that in dome way Hamas were this victims in this conflict because of the casualty comparison. By Carter logic just about every conflict in the world the US has ever got involved with the US is the bad guy because they have the better technology and weapons to ensure more enemies die than US soldiers. I think the only way we will be able to fight wars in a way the likes of Carter will consider acceptable is pistols at dawn. One bullet each although even then Carter and the UN would moan Israel used a marksman & Hamas shooter didn't know one end of a gun from the other so he would accuse Israel of committing a war crime.

I agree that Hamas should be recognized by the US and the EU...as the terrorist organization that it is. In "rebuilding" Gaza, effective supervision and continuing oversight needs to be in place to ensure that the funds go as needed and not diverted for terrorist activity or to government leaders for their own bank accounts. It is time to break the insidious paradigm of the past and build a viable economy for the Gazans so that they cease to be refugees.

I don't think everyone who criticizes Israel is an antisemite, but in the case of Jimmy Carter I really believe he is. I am convinced that he is a hater of Jewish people based on his hateful comments over the years.

Not surprising coming from the worst American president since Millard Fillmore.

He Is Speaking To Influential People. While there are factions of the hoi polloi that hate Carter he is well respected in thinking circles. Israel's/Netanyahu's poorly thought out attempt to crush Hamas and the Hamas/PA unity government has failed miserably. It has made it even stronger and governments and people all over the world now recognise the there must be some sort of just solution for the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank. Pretend the world hates you and pretend that world is not fair and pretend that Carter is an old has-been but time and history will be on the side of Palestine.

as a condition of rich pensions ex US presidents should by law be required not to stick their noses into controversial matters that confuse even more an already complex problem.

HEY JIMMY-the DUPE of the arabs! WHAT ABOUT THE 4,890 hamass' rockets, missiles and mortars that were MEANT TO KILL innocent civilian JEWS INDESCRIMINATELY....that Carter does not see...that's what makes him the biggest myopic hypocrite on the planet with his head in gaza sand. oh yes, then there is the IGNORING by Carter of ongoing terror tunnels' attacks, the 3 teen kidnapping/assassinations, the Jihad snipers and freelance rocketeers, , the 64 fallen IDF soldiers, etc... TO wrong way CARTER, THIS death of Jewish peoples, DOES NOT COUNT ... only the hamass' human sheilds/the martyrs with their AK-47's, billions in stolen funds, the (funda-) mental cases' crazies who just want to kill Jewz and die, and also kill their children just to blame Israel. They are what Carter ONLY wants to see... for CARTER, JEWish peoples', DON"T COUNT...he's always sticking his born-again-and again- christian nonsense into others affairs...what hasn't changed is he's still the worst president we ever had...(I've lived through 11 presidents and he really sucked at it. No wonder Reagan and the voters, tossed him out of office for his massive ineptness while in office (22%) inflation, gas crisis, etc etc etc.

Blind hatred, outright unsubstantiated accusations of Israel, the emotive and highly inflammable language of Israel wilfully 'murdering children' NOT A WORD about Hamas or the 3500 indiscriminate missile attacks DIRECTLY INTO Israeli civilian populations which BUT FOR Iron Dome would have resulted in over 7000 deaths in Israel Worse was to follow the SNP diatribes Demands for boycotts. complete dismissal of the outrageous rejection of Israels participation in the Racist Edinburgh Festival..(everyone however notorious IS welcome to the Edinburgh Farcival except Israel and by the way anyone who vocally supports Israel)...so is that SNP now Policy? But even worse was to follow You then have the entire SNP clique CHEERING and banging desks then CLAPPING like some sort of grotesque medieval trial about triumphantly taking Israel to task, making Israel ALONE ACCOUNTABLE for this war and the casualties and proceeding with some sort of hateful vendetta to isolate and damage Israel as if this was the END IN ITSELF because this had no reference or context to the Missile Attacks Israel endured in the first place that ceasefires could not stop but the use of force did This is NOT SNPs finest hour

There are many more important news than what a well known terrorist supporter and closet Antisemite hallucinated yesterday.

Perhaps President Carter should read the Hamas Charter of 1988. Aside from encouraging the killing of Jews and denying Israel's right to exist it also says it is not interested in discussions international forums or negotiation. It prescribes only Jihad. These people neither care about or deserve recognition.

ex-president Peres. Compared with ex-president Carter, Peres was the greatest thing to happen to Israel since houmous and matkot.

Where have you been for the past twenty years? we've called carter an anti-Semite for twenty years and in the same time take a look at your own journalist's video smuggled out of gaza showing hamas setting rockets and firing out of civilian places.

Who cares what the treasonous little piss-ant has to say about anything !

Many nations have benefited from the continued destruction of this place. But they are not going to gain any more because of the destruction. They are in the trap themselves.

hates the Philistines in Gaza (Palestinians in modern lingo) and is going to kill them all according to the prophesies of Zephaniah in the Holy Scriptures unless they leave before that to the 50+ Arabic speaking nations (not the USA or EU) to avoid judgment by Elohim that can come at any time from the plates of the earth shifting that will destroy Gaza with earthquakes and tsunamis I have deduced from many Scriptures on Gaza in the latter days of Gentile world rule.

I was going to say as soon as we recognize Al Qaida we will recognize Hamas but many others already stated that. However the problem with Jimmy is that if he were president today he might have recognized Al Qaida. Several members of the Taliban were brought to US to study at Harvard. I sometimes wonder if Jimmy had something to do with it.

In another news at Ynet: Palestinians attacked Sami Abu Zuhri out of anger at Hamas for causing the latest round of violence with Israel Even Palestinian Arabs may be waking up to the reality of Hamas terrorism. Time for Carter also to wake up.