THERE apparently is a divergence of opinion in the Israeli government as to what that country is attempting to accomplish through its attack and now invasion of the Gaza Strip. As originally voiced, the intent was to put an end to Hamas firing rockets into Israel by essentially putting and end to Hamas. Now, there appears to be a contingent that is arguing that the intent is simply to curb Hamas's activities. Israel has met with failure time and time again when it launches its troops into battle with neighboring lands. In 1996, an invasion of southern Lebanon to quell rocket fire was aborted when an Israeli artillery shell slammed into a camp of villagers next to a UN post and killed 100 people. In 2006, Israeli forces withdrew from northern Gaza after a shell hit a house, killing 18 members of a family, including eight children, setting off an international cry. Rocket fire aimed at Israel resumed immediately. Its various invasions and occupations of Lebanon also ended in failure, for all intents and purposes. The Palestinian resistance continues and the specter of unexpected Palestinian attacks continues to haunt Israel. There has been no pacification and, if anything, Israeli attacks have served only to radicalize the very people who Israel would most like to pacify. Even if Israel were able to kill every last member of Hamas during the current campaign, another body of freedom fighetrs would rise up in its place. The Arab Peace Plan made it abundantly clear that “land for peace” is the only viable solution to the issue of Palestine. There is no alternative to Israel dismantling its colonies on occupied lands and returning those lands to their rightful owners. Then the two-state solution that has been accepted by most of the world can be implemented. Massive invasions of your neighbor – like lobbing rockets across your border – will never bring a resolution to anything. __
