Did you see the streets of Gaza filled with Palestinian men, women and children killed by the Israeli air raids? The terrible scene shook the world to its core. It seems that Israel decided to launch a criminal operation against all the Palestinians to end a six-month truce. The Israeli air raids are a dangerous indicator of a new cycle of violence that will lead to the death of more innocent victims. Israel's top officials claimed in cold blood that using such excessive military action is a justifiable means of protecting Israeli citizens! The Israeli prime minister alleged that the air raids targeted only Hamas military headquarters and rocket-launching bases. Those allegations are certainly false, since Israel chose to launch their air-strikes during Gaza's rush hour which increased the deathtoll. Innocent civilians were directly targeted including pedestrians and school children who have nothing to do with Hamas whatsoever. The Israeli defense minister lied when he asserted that the hundreds of Palestinian victims were all Hamas operatives. He denied targeting residential areas where civilian casualties are inevitable. TV coverage of the Israeli air raids on Gaza prove that Mr. Barak's claims are false. Gaza is a densely populated area making civilian casualties unavoidable. This humanitarian crisis comes at a difficult time for the Palestinian people. Internationally the whole world has seemingly refused to respond to the suffering of the Palestinian people. The Gaza strip has been under an intensified Israeli blockade for several months and seemingly noone was ready to respond to the ever increasing calls for help. At home, the Palestinians themselves are at odds with each other. The two major Palestinian parties, Fatah and Hamas, are engaged in a stupid conflict over power. Each organization fights to dominate the scene and eliminate others. The members of Fatah and Hamas introduce themselves as patriots and label their opponents traitors. This only causes the Palestinian house to fragment further. Moreover, the Arab nations do not seem capable of effectively stopping Israeli aggression. The state of disarray amongst the Arab nations only weakens a unified Arab position and prevents any help from being sent to the Palestianian people. Arab nations can play a far more effective role in stopping Israeli aggression provided they come together to produce a strong unified front against the current military incursion. Arab nations should spare no effort to motivate the international community to increase pressure on Israel to stop the air-strikes. What happens in Gaza is genocide by any definition. The Israeli air-raids didn't distinguish between civilians and militants. Every body on the streets of Gaza was been struck by Israeli weapons. Behaviour like this proves that Israel is an aggressor, willing to use state terrorism to reach its goals and destroying the image that Israel is a country of peace. The hundreds of Palestinian deaths should be countered with a severe reaction from the international community. The United Nations should bear its responsibility to protect the unarmed Palestinian civilians. __
