by Rory Walkinshaw

Created on: February 21, 2009

The current fighting in the Gaza Strip has followed some of the same patterns that it has for the last few years. Israel, frustrated by constant attack from terrorists, fights back. The United Nations naively demands that both parties institute a cease-fire to stop civilian casualties. The problem with all of this is that the U.N. refuses to acknowledge even the possibility that the Israelis have excellent reasons for implementing "Operation Cast Lead" and for continuing their attacks in the Gaza Strip.

Is Israel to blame for all the destruction and mayhem currently taking place? The Arab-Israeli conflict is complicated, to be sure. However, careful attention to the facts reveals that most of the blame for civilian casualties lies squarely with Hamas. One cannot obtain this information by watching CNN and NBC. One must dig deeper.

The fact is that Hamas wants the world to believe that the Israelis are deliberately waging a war of collective punishment and genocide against the Palestinian people. This makes for excellent public relations for the group when images of demolished neighborhoods and hospitalized children make the international news. Because of this, the terrorists take extraordinary measures to ensure that Palestinian civilians are placed in harm's way.

The evidence of Hamas' exploitation of the Gaza Strip's civilian population to further their goals is overwhelming. The most damning evidence comes from two detailed intelligence reports, complete with photographs, published by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center in Israel.

The first report, published in March of 2008, explains how Palestinian militants have a practice of establishing bases, weapons factories and arms caches deep within residential neighborhoods, hoping to increase the chances of civilian casualties. It also describes how Hamas uses women and children to collect weapons from gunmen who have been killed in the fighting.

The second report, published this month, is even more shocking. The Gaza Strip is one of the world's most densely populated places and, according to the report, "their (Hamas') military infrastructure is located, in addition to Gaza City, in eight densely populated refugee camps."

It goes on to say that "Military and security personnel, facilities and installations are situated within dense population concentrations (including residential dwellings and public institutions, such as schools, mosques and hospitals.)" Hamas' use of women and children as human shields to protect against Israeli strikes is also well-documented.

And what of the Israelis? Haven't they deliberately killed innocent women and children during their offensive? Again, all we have to do is look at the straight skinny, provided to us by detailed intelligence reports. A Jan. 1, 2009, report by the same Intelligence and Terrorism Center reported that the Israeli Defense Forces, by dropping notices and overriding radio frequencies and telephone messages, did their best to warn Gaza civilians of impending strikes on buildings.

So the question remains: Who are the real monsters in this latest conflict?

The Israelis? It would seem not.

Since the deaths of Palestinian civilians have taken up most of the media coverage during the last few weeks of fighting in the Middle East, finding out the truth about this latest clash is more difficult than ever.

The truth, as we have seen, is frequently not what it seems. It can take the average person a few hours of research before coming up with something detailed. People who believe that Israel is in the wrong have more than just a feeble grasp of world affairs: They have also been sold a bill of goods.

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