In a previous post I criticized Israel's fundamentally corrupt policy of keeping the occupied territories in a perpetual limbo, denying the residents freedom, independence, prosperity or any sense of certainty about the future.
Add to that the indiscriminate slaughter of children.
Gaza is an area little more than twelve miles to a side into which over 1.8 million people are trapped, literally, like fish in a barrel, with borders that are closed and no square inch of the territory safe from Israel's guns.
So, Benjamin Netanyahu knows that launching mortars and 100 lb. explosive rounds into Gaza is going to create unbelievable carnage and result in the death of many innocents. But he doesn't care, which makes him a war criminal.
Clearly, there are a large number of very angry men residing in Gaza who are hell-bent on seeing Israel pay. But, this fact does not justify the use of weapons what will inevitably cause collateral damage on a massive scale. Nor does it justify the inadequate review of targets that has resulted in the shelling of an outdoor market and U.N. shelter. Never mind that the average age of the occupants of Gaza is 18 years old and that the vast majority are women and children.
If Israel wants to dismantle the underground shops where the bombs and crude missiles are assembled, they will have to send troops and armor into Gaza and search, block by block, until every workshop is shut down and every tunnel destroyed.
In any event, Hamas and most Gazans are so demoralized by decades of a virtual prison camp existence that they have literally stopped caring. So, if Israel thinks they can bomb Gazans into submission they are going to have to keep bombing until everyone is dead.
Which, 21 days into the assault and with well over 1,000 Palestinians dead, seems like it might just be the plan.
