Israel could be a lot more efficient...

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"When a civilian picks up a weapon with the apparent intention to use it against you, they are no longer a civilian but instead a combatant."

[-Paraphrased from a friend of mine who has served with the US Army in Iraq.]

There are virtually loads of media propaganda against Israel with the exception of FOX News and conservative radio stations. Every time an anti-Israel organization such as the PLA, or Hamas and Hezbollah now, attack Israel and Israel fights back, Israel then gets crap coverage which basically seems like it were intended to sound as if Israel intentionally went after civilians. However, if Israel were actually intentionally going after civilians then they could be a lot more efficient in doing so. Forget needing a precedent, as the liberal media would just paint the same picture that it alway has anyway, just send in the tanks. For all the garbage speech about "imperialist tyranny", if Israel wanted to act as an empire, Gaza wouldn't exist. Under Roman rule, legion after legion would be sent in until the Philistinians were pacified. Under Napoleonic France, the ringleaders would be rounded up and sent to the guillotine. Under Assyrian rule, the cities would be burnt to the ground. Israel is not after civilian casualties, but they will defend themselves against their enemies which surround them on all sides.

While I don't disagree with the factual basis of what you say, I am concerned that it smacks of, "We aren't behaving as egregiously as we could be, so be thankful for that!"

The problem, as I see it, is that there are two different programs happening. One is the blockade of Gaza, for which a tactically valid military explanation can be found. If Gaza is being used as a staging ground for attacks, then Article 51 of the UN Charter provides scope for Israel to act to neutralize those attacks.

But, on the other hand, Israel's continued encroachment into the West Bank, successively eroding the Palestinian majority in strategic areas, is a needlessly aggressive strategy which does not respond to a threat of armed aggression, but rather seeks to displace a population seeking self-determination.

So, while the military response might be seen to be proportionate, I am not at all convinced that the Settlements can be similarly characterized.