powerclown

Israel needs to be a little careful though because to date it has actually had tacit acceptance, if not approval, from other countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia who both denounced hamas publicly over this latest situation. If it treats the Palestinians with too heavy a hand, it will lose that. I imagine those aforementioned Arab countries wouldn't mind seeing Israel destroy hamas outright, establish law and order in Gaza and stabilize what is essentially Egypt's eastern border. The idea of giving up hard-fought land only to have it hijacked by terrorists has proven to be nonproductive for all involved.

The Middle East is changing. There are now Arab countries that are trying to join the global economy, and are becoming more tolerant of Israel. Iran is starting to be seen as a more dangerous force against Arabs than is Israel. Hamas and Hezbollah are now discovering that they are not getting the automatic support of other Middle Eastern nations when they screw with Israel.

This is a great opportunity for Israel to build more bridges into the Arab world and to gain acceptance. So it must walk a very careful line in Gaza. On the one hand, indiscriminate rocket attacks cannot be tolerated and should not be, but on the other hand there is such a great disparity of power between Israel and the Palestinians that it must respond with measured force. I just hope Israel finishes off hamas before people start to forget exactly why they attacked in the first place and criticism against them builds up again. It sucks to be Israel, knowing you only have 3 or 4 months to find and eradicate the group who shoots rockets at random civilians before the world decides you're not allowed to chase them anymore.