No so fast.

What if Morsi decides that in order to guarantee the cease fire that the Egyptian military needs to set up posts in Gaza?

Netanyahu has come out well in domestic politics, but this is dangerous uncharted territory. He doesn't care because he is arrogant about Israeli military power. Morsi is not Mubarak and may not simply turn a blind eye to Israel's policy on settlements in the occupied territory. By international law, and existing treaties that Israel is party to, their actions are illegal.

Netanyahu's stance is similar to that of Andrew Jackson's reaction to the Supreme Court rulings that his removal of indians from their lands was illegal. "So who is going to make me obey your ruling?"

That is an argument of raw power. Yet Hamas is regarded as criminal for confronting that argument with a raw exercise of power. This is the illogic of unqualified support for Israel.

US presidents must strengthen the US's relationship with the Israeli Left rather than behave in a manner that rewards militarist right wing zealots like Netanyahu who have no interest in peace or justice in Palestine.

The announcement left bibi out in the cold as the weak link and war monger!

Hope this holds! and they force bibi out in January..then there can be peace!

Ok John

First off Bibi would NEVER let another nation (Egypt) set up posts in Palestine. What you don't know or realize is that the main goal is to remove the Palestinians from their lands period. That goal was spoken by benGurion way back when "Israel" was created and European Jews landed after WWII, and it is still the goal today. And frankly, I'm sorry but the US hasn't been an "honest broker" between the Israeli's and the Palestinians and I find it hypocritical when I hear Americans speaking about freedom and democracy in and for Israel - as though the native Palestinian people are interlopers on Israeli land - it's called "Occupied Palestine" for a reason.

Of course that is the goal of the fanatics who are a significant part of Netanyahu's power base- and may well be Netanyahuu's private position.

The question is, how would Netanyahu stop Turkey and Egypt setting up a peace keeping force in Gaza? As far as I can see there is no treaty agreements that stop them. Do I have that wrong?

The difference in numbers is because Hamas deliberately strikes from and hides amongst innocent civilians. When the Israelis send a warning that they will be striking in an area (where leaders / attackers / bombs etc. are hiding out) and all innocent civilians should vacate an area, it goes unheeded. I do not condone the killing on either side. This is just an explanation for the difference in the numbers

No, the difference is due to the Isreali military armed with US supplied offensive and defensive weapons firing into a barrel of fish versus the fish using outdated weapons and pot luck.

Naughty boy.

Yes, Bibi is right wing. But cut the guy some slack for holding back his tanks. Hopefully the embargo will indeed be eased to allow more goods and food in to Gaza.

Why do you think that there is even a chance that Nutinyahoo will even consider easing the embargo? The long term plan of the Zionists since before Israel was a nation is to eliminate the Palestinians, and what better way than to starve them? The claim that the embargo is to prevent the entrance of weapons is ludicrous because if they were worried about weapons, they wouldn't be stopping the entrance of food, medicine, fuel, construction supplies, vehicles, and all the rest of the things that make life possible. The Israelis would't be stopping people from going overseas to study. They wouldn't be shooting people relaxing on the beach.

"The long term plan of the Zionists since before Israel was a nation is to eliminate the Palestinians..."

Citations please?

You also realize, I hope, that following the Israeli War of Independence in 1948, Jews resident in Iraq, Syria, (Trans-)Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Tunesia and Morocco were forced by threats of violence from their homes in those countries? Where is the outcy for allowing those Jewish refugees to return to their homes?

Where is the condemnation of Jordan for not accepting it's fellow citizens as full and equal citizens? Or Egypt for corralling the refugees into Gaza in the first place and refusing to let them relocate if they so desired?

Where is the condemnation of those Arab countries that, for three decades and except for Egypt still do, maintain an "Israel must be destroyed!" foreign policy? The results of that policy must be factored into any condemnation of Israeli actions or one risks losing any credibility.

This current mess does not, and never has, rested solely on Israeli malfeasance and Israel, by herself can't clean it up. Those countries that helped create this also need to be involved.

Where are they?

Hi Patsy, You can talk about the embargo as a driving force, but I think it's important to ask something else: Why did Hamas only get weapons from Iran?

Iran certainly isn't concerned about saving the lives of Palestinians. If Iran was worried about their care, then there WOULD have been shipments of food, water, or medicine. (In the past other rebel forces have been sent those items.) Instead Iran provided only weapons. Why is that?

It would seem that the Arab nations are using Palestine and its people as a disposable weapon - one that has little meaning to them. Iran would not be sad to see both Palestine and Israel gone. It would leave no one left to bargain with, just a useful trading coast, and important historical locations to divvy up. So, why not let them destroy each other? --- or at least set up Hamas to enflame Israel and start a war that will end Palestine and horribly weaken Israel.

The problem is, on their own, Hamas isn't enough of a threat to start a war. They have to have rockets, helpfully provided by Iran. Without them, they're not enough of a threat to cause Israel to roll out, and put her own people in direct combat.

You need to look at the whole region to see how this began and then escalated. Please realize, I am not excusing the original hit by Israel, just trying to give you a different perspective on the way things seem to have developed afterward.

P.S. Notice that in this story Britain sent 5 million pounds in "Body armour, medical supplies and communications equipment" to the Free Syrian Army rebels, providing civilians a better chance at survival --- what they didn't send was guns.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2186617/Britain-Syria-rebels-equipment-worth-5million-fight-President-Assad.html

Hence the massing and call-up of troops....This fighting will go on until one cannot continue.....

I have to question the sincerity of someone who goes on about the "existence of the State of Israel" but has absolutely no problem with the Israelis denying the Palestinians their own state and actively taking their land from them. If the Israelis have the right to self-defence, so do the Palestinians.

I share your optimism; this is a respite and not a resolution. Israel is making a huge mistake in not allowing Gaza to export. I do understand their reluctance to not allow imports unless Israeli inspectors clear them. Just for scale of this latest dust up, compare the losses (daily) in Syria. Very little hand wringing over the constant carnage there.

@dkm...

The Israelis have put a two state solution on the table. Hamas rejects Israels right to exist....different ideas no?

Sort of like negotiating on parallel lines...not really communicating at all.

even if Israels stops defending itself, the Palestinians will want to end their existence.

The problem goes back to just after WWI, when Great Britain received a mandate for "Palestine", which is now that area occupied by Jordan, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.

The British had issued the Balfour Declaration in 1915 which supported the establishment of a "Jewish Home" in Palestine by allowing Jews to emigrate to Palestine. That's it. In 1925, "Palestine" was divided into two parts; today's Jordan (then called Trans-Jordan) and everything else west of the Jordan retained the name Palestine.

Until the mid-1920s there was little or no friction between Jews and Arabs in Palestine. As best I can tell, what then happened was that a group of Arabs, in order to maintain and strengthen their power, began organizing riots against Jews and protesting allowing any more Jews to enter Palestine. While doing that, these same Arabs also began eliminating, as in assassinating, any and all Arabs who opposed their policies.

During the 1930s, the British kept decreasing the number of Jewish immigrants allowed and ceased permitting Jews to enter Palesting completely during WWII. something to do with oil, I understand.

After WWII, and the discovery of the Holocaust, Great Britain continued to prevent any Jewish immigration and finally, in 1947 dumped the whole mess into the lap of the UN. The UN Commission drew up a plan for a federated Arab-Jewish state where the Arabs received about three-fifths of Palestine and the Jews the remainder. Jerusalem was to be under joint Arab-Jewish control.

The Jews accepted the UN plan, the Arabs of Palestine, at least those in charge, rejected it and went to war, aided by Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Trans-Jordan and Iraq. They lost. Rather than accept defeat on the battlefield and accept the existence of a Jewish state, for three decades these countries maintained a policy aimed at the destruction of Israel. Three times, 1956, 1967 and 1973, these countries' attempts to destroy Israel were defeated. In 1978 Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel recognizing Israel's right to exist, the only one of these countries to do so. Sadat, who signed the treaty for Egypt was assassinated for that.

For six decades, the populations of the countries bordering and near Israel have been told that Israel must be destroyed. For six decades the Israelis have faced one inescapable fact: if Israel is ever defeated, Israel will be destroyed.

Until the cycle of violence is broken, this is going to continue. The only way to break that cycle is for the Arabs of what was Palestine, or more likely their descendants, to make peace with Israel and admit Israel's right to exist. Then we can start worrying about borders, etc.

Dippiscott: what an amazingly sexist and absolutely superficial comment. Cut and color yourself...maybe with a less petty personality. If our secretary of state was male...would you say that to him? Your priorities are obviously flawed. Go join a beauty contest.

Mike: They got TV in Georgia? Put the peach down for a second and get with it...

If you'd like to have a contest to see which side said more inhumane things I'm in. In your "unbiased reporting you left out all the rocket fire and attacks that came from Gaza prior to the blockade.