I don't think the wife-beater metaphor is apt, but the rest of it - yes.

Or perhaps the more immediate reason is the steady stream of rockets fired from Gaza.

Don't get me wrong, Israel is all kinds of fucking wrong. But I think that thesis is more wishful thinking than reality.

I rather think the rockets are a primary factor.

It's cynical, but I'd have an easier time believing the rockets were primary if the rockets caused more casualties. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian…

The rockets seem more like a political tool that *both* governments use to wag their respective dogs with a criminal indifference to primary or retaliatory casualties.

The only reason the rockets don't cause more casualties is because of their inaccuracy, the ubiquity of shelters, a good alarm system, and the iron dome.

@3: Yeah, but if Israel had not illegally invaded, murdered and subjugated the Palestinian people (and continue to do so), there would be no rockets.

The invading army does not get to call "defense" when the subjugated fire back. The invading army is never on "defense."

I feel for the innocent slaughtered on both sides, but Israel does not get a free pass on what they do every day to the Palestinians.

I hear you say on here that critique of Israel that does not always also reference the atrocities committed by Palestine is by default anti-semitic. By that same token, would not critiques of Palestine without the acknowledgement of the atrocities committed by Israel anti-arabic, and just as bad?

#7 should read:

"...atrocities committed by Israel be anti-arabic, and just as bad?"

@6 - Exactly. Blare some klaxons, make everybody go underground, and you've got a perfect Two Minutes Hate followed by airstrikes. It's a perfect gift for hawks on both sides.

It's the only attribute of the rockets that could possibly be called "efficacious."

@7,

Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip seven years ago, in the face of major opposition from the country's right wing. Were Hamas not deliberately provoking Israel, there would be no new invasion.

And illegally invaded? Illegally occupied maybe, but war (which was not started by Israel, for the record) often has the unfortunate result of the victor occupying the losers' land.

It's too bad that the Palestinians chose Hamas to run Gaza. Had they made even the slightest attempt to coexist peacefully, perhaps the left wing in Israel could have successfully fought for withdrawal from the West Bank, but now who knows if that will ever happen.

@7: The occupation of Gaza ended years ago, and pretending that it is still occupied is both intellectually dishonest and unhelpful at stopping the bloodshed. There hasn't been an Israeli occupation of Gaza since August of 2005.

The thought was that by leaving the Palestinians alone and letting them run the place, they might become less interested in pushing the Jews into the sea.

That didn't work out, rockets kept a flying from Gaza into Israel (have to prove that they're still fighting the good fight, regardless of it's effectiveness), and the IDF responded with Cast Lead in late 2008 to 2009 (about three weeks).

That didn't work out either, mostly because the Egypt - Gaza border is incredibly porous and Hamas can smuggle in small arms and small rockets easily.

Barring an actual reoccupation of Gaza by the IDF, the rockets will continue to fly as they have for years. They'll muddle through various low intensity wars for years, until both sides finally figure out that neither has both the means and the will to defeat the other.

@10, 11: You guys need to keep us with the news. I recommend the BBC, as they report the facts without having to worry about the influence Israel wields over the American media.

It is not just Gaza. There is a reason that basically only America thinks that Israel is not an illegal invading army.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_set…

#11 sez "There hasn't been an Israeli occupation of Gaza since August of 2005."

Yet here is a high-ranking Israeli general that says the BLOCKADE of Gaza by Israel should end. [Blockading the Gazans is easier for the Israelis than occupying. But almost as deadly.]

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-de…