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[thespot84]

Shocking what happens to the mindset of a people when you combine dwelling on the persecution of your ancestors and 'chosen ones' rhetoric.

It's a despicable attitude, to be sure. It doesn't bode well for peace when neither side really recognizes the rights of the other...

I would say the act of sitting down and negotiating is evidence enough of a willingness to negotiate. Asking to negotiate as much so as actually doing it, regardless of the demands of the other side. If it weren't the charter issue (and it's not like this charter is registered by a local notary public or something), Israel would demand they not ask for right or return. Or dismantlement of settlements.

It seems like whenever it comes time to negotiate, Israel insists that the negotiation be done and entirely in their favour before it even starts. Not that Hamas and Fatah haven't done the same, but Hamas and the PLO united on negotiating based on the 67 borders is already a HUGE shift towards reasonable terms and Israel won't even negotiate with Fatah anymore because of the unity government, which is a huge step back from the table on their side.

I agree, and israel hasn't had a fair negotiation since olmert (can we blame arafat for that one?) but I'm not trying to determine who's right and wrong in the negotiations. So hamas shouldn't change the charter because israel has been a bunch of cocks? They don't even have to do it, they simply have to promise to do it, but their excuse is that it can't be changed for 'internal reasons'. Without more explanation I call bullshit; it's being used for hardline political reasons, just as what happens with likud. It's despicable on both sides.

EDIT: to elaborate, think about it this way. You're sitting down to negotiate with someone who has done some shitty things to you and you've done some shitty things to them. Palestine wants control over it's borders and and end to the blockade, fine. But the negotiation hinges on a basic promise. Palestine, even thought it now has access to weapons through more open borders, is promising not to continue attacking israel (and israel of course promises not to attack the new Palestinian state). But there's this document, that the Palestinians have complete control over, that says their stated purpose is the destruction of the state of Israel. So Hamas is saying: "we totally won't attack you, we're cool now, don't worry about it, just ignore that document over there that says otherwise." Assuming agreement is reached on all other issues, this one still remains, however small it is. It's super easy to fix, yet everyone refuses. Why? It's seems like the lowest cost thing to give up as a first concession to get people to the table.

 

[SymbiantXenos]

12hr truce from 8am gmt.

I'll give it less than an hour before it's broken.

 

[Zaph]

It's a despicable attitude, to be sure. It doesn't bode well for peace when neither side really recognizes the rights of the other...

One side has been under siege for decades, treated like herded animals without any ability to improve their quality of life nor international support for their plight and peaceful resistance/negotiation has only made their situation worse. Meanwhile the other side prospers economically, receive billions in aid and munitions, take as much land as they like by displacing others, live in relative peace with very low chances of injury or death and have the absolute political support of the world's largest superpower.

Only one side is morally justified in their resentment.

 

[Chariot]

12hr truce from 8am gmt.

I'll give it less than an hour before it's broken.

I am wondering of Israel will use the first hours to position their troops and then make a false flag operation to break the truce and clash in on the people who thought that there are still hours of truce, since they will surely will expose themselves while trying to reinforce defenses, help people, etc.

 

[LNBL]

I am wondering of Israel will use the first hours to position their troops and then make a false flag operation to break the truce and clash in on the people who thought that there are still hours of truce, since they will surely will expose themselves while trying to reinforce defenses, help people, etc.

There was a tweet earlier with news that Israel is preparing to enter Gaza further, i'll look it up once i get on my laptop.

 

[sangreal]

There was a tweet earlier with news that Israel is preparing to enter Gaza further, i'll look it up once i get on my laptop.

already posted on this page

 

[Kiraly]

I am wondering of Israel will use the first hours to position their troops and then make a false flag operation to break the truce and clash in on the people who thought that there are still hours of truce, since they will surely will expose themselves while trying to reinforce defenses, help people, etc.

What? Hamas is the one that is regularly using truces to (re)position themselves and break the ceasefire as soon as they're in a favourable position.

 

[Dai101]

What? Hamas is the one that is regularly using truces to (re)position themselves and break the ceasefire as soon as they're in a favourable position.

Lay off the kool-aid man. The ones that have been breaking every truce so far is israel.

 

[NullPointer]

Yeah, here are a couple of more instances of Hamas "missing" its target:

Hebrew University bombing

Passover Massacre

Café Moment bombing

Well, if you wanted to make me feel like shit for letting go with a flippant and cynical comment, it worked.

 

[KtSlime]

Lay off the kool-aid man. The ones that have been breaking every truce so far is israel.

Israel only does it first because they know Hamas is going to do it eventually...

 

[RiZ III]

So reports are coming in that Israel is finally saying that Hamas wasn't behind the kidnappings which started this whole escalation even though Bibi claimed he had hard proof ..

 

[zer0blivion]

So reports are coming in that Israel is finally saying that Hamas wasn't behind the kidnappings which started this whole escalation even though Bibi claimed he had hard proof ..

It Turns Out Hamas Didn’t Kidnap and Kill the 3 Israeli Teens After All
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/07/hamas-didnt-kidnap-the-israeli-teens-after-all.html

 

[Chariot]

Israel only does it first because they know Hamas is going to do it eventually...

Oh my god. This is a weak and stupid argument.

 

[-Silver-]

Israel only does it first because they know Hamas is going to do it eventually...

Is this sarcasm?

 

[LNBL]

Oh my god. This is a weak and stupid argument.

Is this sarcasm?

He's being sarcastic

 

[KtSlime]

Oh my god. This is a weak and stupid argument.

Sorry, Poes law in effect, thought the ellipsis would protect me, guess not.

 

[Dai101]

It Turns Out Hamas Didn’t Kidnap and Kill the 3 Israeli Teens After All
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/07/hamas-didnt-kidnap-the-israeli-teens-after-all.html

israel LIED??? SHOCKING!!!!! SHOCKING I TELL YOU!!!!

 

[SRG01]

Somewhat old (Oct 2012) but still very relevant:

Israeli poll finds majority would be in favour of 'apartheid' policies

Wouldn't be surprised if the numbers were even higher today.

That's not really surprising. Israel had good relations with Apartheid South Africa.

 

[Chariot]

Sorry, Poes law in effect, thought the ellipsis would protect me, guess not.

I see them all the time in tbis argument when people think the person or persons they speak too are dumb. Its no clear sign of sarcasm for me.

Also I think sarcastic statements are bad in political threads. They don't add anything, but angry people and drifting away from the issue.

 

[KtSlime]

I see them all the time in tbis argument when people think the person or persons they speak too are dumb. Its no clear sign of sarcasm for me.

Also I think sarcastic statements are bad in political threads. They don't add anything, but angry people and drifting away from the issue.

Point taken. I'll be more careful.

 

[sangreal]

It Turns Out Hamas Didn’t Kidnap and Kill the 3 Israeli Teens After All
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/07/hamas-didnt-kidnap-the-israeli-teens-after-all.html

nothing new

 

[YaGaMi]

So reports are coming in that Israel is finally saying that Hamas wasn't behind the kidnappings which started this whole escalation even though Bibi claimed he had hard proof ..

Yet folks will still defend Israel's actions. Sad times.

 

[All Hail C-Webb]

Israel only does it first because they know Hamas is going to do it eventually...

The previous cease fire was set up to allow for humanitarian work to be done, and was broken by Hamas. Israel has publicly stated that they might expand their ground attack, so there are no misconceptions that this upcoming break will be different.

In reading more about the tunnels, I'm beginning to realize how dire the situation is. As things are now, Israel has an enemy that can enter their land undetected through underground tunnels. Given some more time, Israel has to be concerned that these tunnels could be used to smuggle in bombs,and do some serious damage.
Hamas has made their desires clear (67 borders, no blockade, no Israeli oversight), and if Israel isn't secure with things as they are now, they'd be a sitting duck if they made these concessions.

I think the situation continues as is for a while; quiet periods with Israel coming in occasionally to slow down Hamas and hurt their military capabilities.

Eventually though, Hamas weapons capabilities/cache reaches a point where they can seriously damage Israel. At this point Israel will either try to overthrow them and take full control of the region, or Hamas will attempt to fulfill their doctrine.

 

[Dead Man]

That the Palestinians elected a terrorist group that has publicly called for the murder and kidnapping of Israelis and has declared ALL Israelis as legitimate targets isn't really helping the Palestinians' case.

And Israels parliament includes right wing lunatics who want to exterminate all Palestinians. Do they help the Israeli case?

 

[m_shortpants]

And Israels parliament includes right wing lunatics who want to exterminate all Palestinians. Do they help the Israeli case?

Not only that, but the Israeli side actually HAS killed a lot of Palestinians. Now we even know the "evidence that Hamas kidnapped the teenagers" was a load of bullshit as well. All this on lies.

 

[maharg]

The previous cease fire was set up to allow for humanitarian work to be done, and was broken by Hamas. Israel has publicly stated that they might expand their ground attack, so there are no misconceptions that this upcoming break will be different. .

You mean the one where apparently 2 hours into a 5 hour ceasefire one mortar was fired and then it continued in relative peace for the remainder of it? If we're to take Israel shelling children on a beach as an unfortunate accident, I think we can accept that a couple jackasses on Hamas' side firing once when they shouldn't doesn't constitute a full breach of the ceasefire.

 

[LNBL]

The previous cease fire was set up to allow for humanitarian work to be done, and was broken by Hamas. Israel has publicly stated that they might expand their ground attack, so there are no misconceptions that this upcoming break will be different.

In reading more about the tunnels, I'm beginning to realize how dire the situation is. As things are now, Israel has an enemy that can enter their land undetected through underground tunnels. Given some more time, Israel has to be concerned that these tunnels could be used to smuggle in bombs,and do some serious damage.
Hamas has made their desires clear (67 borders, no blockade, no Israeli oversight), and if Israel isn't secure with things as they are now, they'd be a sitting duck if they made these concessions.

I think the situation continues as is for a while; quiet periods with Israel coming in occasionally to slow down Hamas and hurt their military capabilities.

Eventually though, Hamas weapons capabilities/cache reaches a point where they can seriously damage Israel. At this point Israel will either try to overthrow them and take full control of the region, or Hamas will attempt to fulfill their doctrine.

At this point the situation is the worst for Palestinians, you are using hypothetical scenarios which can turn out completely different. However, history has told us that military interaction by Israel always results in more civilian casualties than militant casualties. The Palestinians are currently the sitting ducks you talk about. And Israel can try and overthrow what they want, but they have been doing a poor job so far.

 

[speculawyer]

Three out of four are in favour of segregated roads for Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank, and 58% believe Israel already practises apartheid against Palestinians, the poll found.

Too bad Kerry didn't know this when he got in trouble. He could have cited this statistic.

Spoiler

And gotten himself into even more trouble.

 

[Myoclonic Jerk]

So another war breaks in the middle east for no valid reason.. "Deja vu" x10000000

 

[Particle Physicist]

Sure but lets not play false equivalencies here. The Fuck you might be equivalent, in the long view, to a bloody near death last swing with a knife right before you get curb stomped.

I wasn't playing a false equivalence in the least. Israel has disproportionate might and response. Has killed way more civilians. But the fact that directing attacks towards civilians by Hamas or other groups results in few deaths or injuries does not make it okay. That is basically the same excuse that other poster was giving when he stated that Israel using human shields when entering buildings was okay because there have been only very few injuries to those civilians.

 

[Particle Physicist]

So reports are coming in that Israel is finally saying that Hamas wasn't behind the kidnappings which started this whole escalation even though Bibi claimed he had hard proof ..

Yeah, people earlier posted a comment from an Israeli official admitting it.

To those defending Israel's attack on Gaza. What is the end game here? What do you believe Israel is looking to do? They won't get rid of Hamas. I am pretty sure they aren't going to disarm Hamas either. At some point they are going to decide its time to pull back, but when will that be? I just don't understand what the point of all this is. I don't see any benefit to Israel at all. They go in. Kill tons of people. Maybe kill a bunch of Hamas top dogs. Finish up operations, pull out and then what? Wait until they have another excuse to start again? This certainly won't bring peace. I doubt it will increase security and safety of Israeli's. This will just make the Palestinians hate Israel even more, become even more desperate, and when people become desperate they resort to acts they may not otherwise take. How the hell do the people in charge justify this to themselves? It just makes this worse on all fronts.

 

[Maninthemirror]

People on twitter are saying the Gaza offensive is due to the rocket attacks when told Israel admitted Hamas didnt kidnap the 3 boys

So when told rocket attacks have been going on since 2001 why now the response is they had had enough


Ok

 

[All Hail C-Webb]

At this point the situation is the worst for Palestinians, you are using hypothetical scenarios which can turn out completely different. However, history has told us that military interaction by Israel always results in more civilian casualties than militant casualties. The Palestinians are currently the sitting ducks you talk about. And Israel can try and overthrow what they want, but they have been doing a poor job so far.

I agree with pretty much everything here.
Obviously some of what i said is hypothetical, as it hasn't happened yet, but do you see another way in which things might play out?

Yeah, people earlier posted a comment from an Israeli official admitting it.

To those defending Israel's attack on Gaza. What is the end game here? What do you believe Israel is looking to do? They won't get rid of Hamas. I am pretty sure they aren't going to disarm Hamas either. At some point they are going to decide its time to pull back, but when will that be? I just don't understand what the point of all this is. I don't see any benefit to Israel at all. They go in. Kill tons of people. Maybe kill a bunch of Hamas top dogs. Finish up operations, pull out and then what? Wait until they have another excuse to start again? This certainly won't bring peace. I doubt it will increase security and safety of Israeli's. This will just make the Palestinians hate Israel even more, become even more desperate, and when people become desperate they resort to acts they may not otherwise take. How the hell do the people in charge justify this to themselves? It just makes this worse on all fronts.

I commented on this earlier on this page. I don't think "resorting to acts they might not otherwise take" is a concern to Israel, as the only thing holding back more severe attacks by Israels enemies in the area is their ability, not their desire.

 

[ambientmystic]

What is the end game here? What do you believe Israel is looking to do? They won't get rid of Hamas. I am pretty sure they aren't going to disarm Hamas either. At some point they are going to decide its time to pull back, but when will that be? I just don't understand what the point of all this is. I don't see any benefit to Israel at all. They go in. Kill tons of people. Maybe kill a bunch of Hamas top dogs. Finish up operations, pull out and then what?

Not a defender here, but I've always wondered why they take these "half measures" when they have more than enough military assets to completely wipe out Hamas (and by extension the Palestinians) from the face of the earth.

Why don't they just stop pussy-footing around already and go all in? They have the means to wage a full scale military campaign in the region against Hamas ala the US in Iraq(Saddam)/Afganistan(Taliban) but are still doing these two-bit ops that are grossly inefficient in the long run.

A singular, extensive and thorough campaign would save time, money and prolonged negative media exposure. Sure the verbal condemnations will come from an otherwise impotent UN and other Muslim countries of the world, but so long as the USA is 110% behind them, no external physical reprisals will be possible.

 

[speculawyer]

I've always wondered why they take these "half measures" when they have more than enough military assets to completely wipe out Hamas (and by extension the Palestinians) from the face of the earth.

Why don't they just stop pussy-footing around already and go all in? They have the means to wage a full scale military campaign in the region against Hamas ala the US in Iraq(Saddam)/Afganistan(Taliban) but are still doing these two-bit ops that are grossly inefficient in the long run.

A singular, extensive and thorough campaign would save time, money and prolonged negative media exposure. Sure the verbal condemnations will come from an otherwise impotent UN and other Muslim countries of the world, but so long as the USA is 110% behind them, no external physical reprisals will be possible.

Are you suggesting genocide?

BTW, Iraq is a complete mess right now and the Taliban are still quite active.

 

[Gordon Shumway]

People on twitter are saying the Gaza offensive is due to the rocket attacks when told Israel admitted Hamas didnt kidnap the 3 boys

So when told rocket attacks have been going on since 2001 why now the response is they had had enough


Ok

How sad..

 

[theignoramus]

People on twitter are saying the Gaza offensive is due to the rocket attacks when told Israel admitted Hamas didnt kidnap the 3 boys

So when told rocket attacks have been going on since 2001 why now the response is they had had enough


Ok

These people said the same thing during Operation Cast Lead

 

[theignoramus]

Not a defender here, but I've always wondered why they take these "half measures" when they have more than enough military assets to completely wipe out Hamas (and by extension the Palestinians) from the face of the earth.

Why don't they just stop pussy-footing around already and go all in? They have the means to wage a full scale military campaign in the region against Hamas ala the US in Iraq(Saddam)/Afganistan(Taliban) but are still doing these two-bit ops that are grossly inefficient in the long run.

A singular, extensive and thorough campaign would save time, money and prolonged negative media exposure. Sure the verbal condemnations will come from an otherwise impotent UN and other Muslim countries of the world, but so long as the USA is 110% behind them, no external physical reprisals will be possible.

It's been said by Israeli officials that if they were to have a full blown military exchange with an enemy state , Israel, under the guise of security reasons, would seek to drive as many Palestinians as possible out of the West Bank.

 

[squidyj]

How did this all start again?

No I don't mean World War II or Munich - I mean, this latest round of attacks between Israel and Hamas... how did it start again?

The palestinians formed a unity government between hamas in gazs and fatah in the west bank, leaving Israel unhappy and itching for a pretext to bomb the fuck out of gaza in order to put pressure on the unity government.

So they decided to use this incident to engage in first a campaign of missile strikes against gaza, which was later expanded into a ground offensive.

 

[hukasmokincaterpillar]

A singular, extensive and thorough campaign would save time, money and prolonged negative media exposure. Sure the verbal condemnations will come from an otherwise impotent UN and other Muslim countries of the world, but so long as the USA is 110% behind them, no external physical reprisals will be possible.

International Law is powerful to the degree that it is arbitrarily enforced. From the liberal interventionist point of view (which tracks closely with liberal zionism), you don't want to depreciate your best asset, which is the belief that the law exists in the first place. Hence the intense focus on public relations/media manipulation.

Desperate energy is spent on shaping "the why" of the conflict. Why? Because "Killing them all" is no longer rational. At least for now. People still believe in the law. The Geneva Conventions are still a thing, sorta.

But when Israel engages in brinksmanship, this actually makes "international law" more powerful. Eventually BDS is going to become a real factor, because people still believe in the law. The fear is your prediction is more likely. Instead of making political concessions, the Israeli establishment wants to "buy time" until the unthinkable is thinkable enough.

 

[Dominican Power]

Not a defender here, but I've always wondered why they take these "half measures" when they have more than enough military assets to completely wipe out Hamas (and by extension the Palestinians) from the face of the earth.

Why don't they just stop pussy-footing around already and go all in? They have the means to wage a full scale military campaign in the region against Hamas ala the US in Iraq(Saddam)/Afganistan(Taliban) but are still doing these two-bit ops that are grossly inefficient in the long run.

A singular, extensive and thorough campaign would save time, money and prolonged negative media exposure. Sure the verbal condemnations will come from an otherwise impotent UN and other Muslim countries of the world, but so long as the USA is 110% behind them, no external physical reprisals will be possible.

You can't be serious.

 

[Orenhy]

Yeah, people earlier posted a comment from an Israeli official admitting it.

To those defending Israel's attack on Gaza. What is the end game here? What do you believe Israel is looking to do? They won't get rid of Hamas. I am pretty sure they aren't going to disarm Hamas either. At some point they are going to decide its time to pull back, but when will that be? I just don't understand what the point of all this is. I don't see any benefit to Israel at all. They go in. Kill tons of people. Maybe kill a bunch of Hamas top dogs. Finish up operations, pull out and then what? Wait until they have another excuse to start again? This certainly won't bring peace. I doubt it will increase security and safety of Israeli's. This will just make the Palestinians hate Israel even more, become even more desperate, and when people become desperate they resort to acts they may not otherwise take. How the hell do the people in charge justify this to themselves? It just makes this worse on all fronts.

On the broad state of things, Israel is trying force hamas to drop its arms, or to be more accurate, deter/stop them from using it since for a prolonged time, since when they do, its almost always targeting civilians.
Sadly, the day after plan is lacking, as i view it, Israels (my) administration led by bibi is a status quo government, they prefer to keep current balance as is, fix the holes in the ship, keep people moderately satisfied in the country, and be pleased there is no one driving a strong alternative to compete.

 

[Hackworth]

The previous cease fire was set up to allow for humanitarian work to be done, and was broken by Hamas.

Is this the cease-fire that was set up between Israel and Egypt without Hamas's knowledge or some other cease-fire?

 

[-Plasma Reus-]

That the Palestinians elected a terrorist group that has publicly called for the murder and kidnapping of Israelis and has declared ALL Israelis as legitimate targets isn't really helping the Palestinians' case.

And you don't think the Israeli government consists of people that want destruction of all Palestinians?
The only difference between Hamas and the Israeli government is that they don't have the same military resources.

 

[Kai]

Israel supporters in this conflict really need to read this:

http://m.thenation.com/article/180783-five-israeli-talking-points-gaza-debunked

 

[Razgreez]

That the Palestinians elected a terrorist group that has publicly called for the murder and kidnapping of Israelis and has declared ALL Israelis as legitimate targets isn't really helping the Palestinians' case.

The same tired argument which, even if taken as hypothetically acceptable (it's not) cannot explain why the west bank is still seeing more and more settlements, checkpoints and deaths.

The script is so worn out that its usage only serves to perpetually embarrass zionist supporters

 

[ramuh]

The same tired argument which, even if taken as hypothetically acceptable (it's not) cannot explain why the west bank is still seeing more and more settlements, checkpoints and deaths.

The script is so worn out that its usage only serves to perpetually embarrass zionist supporters

This is true. I don't think anyone is saying that HAMAS isn't a terrorist crap organization that only brings harm on it's own people. Israel is stupid with how they approach the West Bank though. They could do so much in patching up ties between the two peoples. They live right on each other's doorstep. Geez.

 

[Orenhy]

Israel supporters in this conflict really need to read this:

http://m.thenation.com/article/180783-five-israeli-talking-points-gaza-debunked

Lets go one by one through these claims ill try to capture his points, and provide criticism if needed.

1) Israel is exercising its right to self-defense.
writer claims : "Israel does have the right to defend itself against rocket attacks, but it must do so in accordance with occupation law and not other laws of war. Occupation law ensures greater protection for the civilian population. The other laws of war balance military advantage and civilian suffering."
Gaza is not militarily occupied, west Jerusalem is. for more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli-occupied_territories

2) Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005.
writer claims : " Israel maintained effective control of the Gaza Strip and thus remains the occupying power as defined by Article 47 of the Hague Regulations."
Sorry, as writer claimed in first point, israel has a right to defend itself, this is basically a semantics copy of his first claim.

3) This Israeli operation, among others, was caused by rocket fire from Gaza.
writer claims : "Israel claims that its current and past wars against the Palestinian population in Gaza have been in response to rocket fire. Empirical evidence from 2008, 2012 and 2014 refute that claim"
Then he goes on about other cases where israel broke truces and other events preceding this event that point to israel for initiating this war.
according to this his claim should be "i think israel started this war" not "This Israeli operation, among others, was caused by rocket fire from Gaza." Because in fact israel initiated its operations is response to the rocket fires. it Could be true israel looked for this war, this both remains to be proven, and if so Hamas fell strait for and in a clear illegal manner, some of Israels starting moves were either legal, or debatable and require trial, for example, the rearrests of shalit prisoners is legal if israel proves they broke their release terms.

4) Israel avoids civilian casualties, but Hamas aims to kill civilians.
writer claims : "With the use of drones, F-16s and an arsenal of modern weapon technology, Israel has the ability to target single individuals and therefore to avoid civilian casualties. But rather than avoid them, Israel has repeatedly targeted civilians as part of its military operations."
Sorry, but there is yet to be a public weapon that is able to target someone genetic composition, this claim is invalid, in many cases israel decided to target hamas officials they almost always hit civilians while doing it, that's their policy, can argue for or against it, but its bullshit to make it seem as if IDF is what its not. The next point of the author relates to this so we can move on and it should shed light on this -

5) Hamas hides its weapons in homes, mosques and schools and uses human shields.
writer claims:" Israel has yet to prove that Hamas has used civilian infrastructure to store military weapons."
Yes it has, UNRWA CONDEMNS PLACEMENT OF ROCKETS, FOR A SECOND TIME, IN ONE OF ITS SCHOOLS - http://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/press-releases/unrwa-condemns-placement-rockets-second-time-one-its-schools.
Besides like the dozens of ariel pictures provided by THE IDF regarding weapons placement as pictures taken by aeroplanes.

 

[deathkiller]

Lets go one by one through these claims ill try to capture his points, and provide criticism if needed.

1) Israel is exercising its right to self-defense.
writer claims : "Israel does have the right to defend itself against rocket attacks, but it must do so in accordance with occupation law and not other laws of war. Occupation law ensures greater protection for the civilian population. The other laws of war balance military advantage and civilian suffering."
Gaza is not militarily occupied, west Jerusalem is. for more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli-occupied_territories

From your link:

it continues to be designated as an occupying power in the Gaza Strip by the United Nations Security Council, the United Nations General Assembly[12] and some countries and various human rights organizations.[13][14][15][16]

 

[Orenhy]

From your link:
Originally Posted by Orenhy

it continues to be designated as an occupying power in the Gaza Strip by the United Nations Security Council, the United Nations General Assembly[12] and some countries and various human rights organizations.[13][14][15][16]

Very well, i completely agree israel is occupying the Palestinians, but its not some black and white issue, and its not a military occupation, israel does not rule the civilians and one cannot just go and say "military occupation rules apply" as an easy claim.