Israel has to stop assassinating Hamas leaders, lift the embargo on Gaza and the West Bank and actively promote economic development in the Palestinian Territories. If you ever travel in the West Bank, you will surely notice the economic disparity between Palestinian towns and Israeli settlements. This “separate-but-equal” practice must be stopped. It will take considerable political courage by Israeli leaders in the face of incredible racism within elements of Israeli society and similar courage within the Palestinian leadership as well.

This will have to be jump started by external forces – an Obama or Clinton boot in the ass, so to speak. Let’s see what happens. See Global Investment Watch on this.

M.J. Rosemberg made a very good point the other day. Hamas was willing to negotiate a ceasefire and hold to it, until the Israelis tightened the blockade almost completely, in violation of the agreement. Hamas makes and keeps deals with the Israelis. If Hamas is destroyed, the replacement is not going to be the Quisling Fatah government. It will be al Qaeda, who do not make deals with Jews or infidels. Al Qaeda, M.J. says is already in Gaza.

As for Hamas winning, consider that Abbas is finding his support in the West Bank weakening because of his lack of support for Hamas. There is an increasing possibility that at the next election, Hamas could take over the West Bank. Mubarak is also feeling political heat, with sentiment flowing towards Hamas and the Gazans. No surprise there, since Hamas is an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood to begin with. Don’t be surprised if Mubarak has to crack down further in Egypt to keep his job. Will some young army officer find a way to displace him as Nasser did to King Farouk in 1952? The neighborhood is getting more dangerous for Israel as their best Arab allies have to distance themselves because of internal political reactions to the Israeli invasion of Gaza.

Unfortunately, I don’t see the Israelis as trusting the Gazans not to take the a cease fire and opening of the crossings, rebuild their economy, and then go back to firing missiles. The Israelis appear to have run out of the capacity to trust their enemies.

Below that it gets even more complicated and uncertain. What certainties there appear to be are all quite bad. And right now, both Hamas and Israel think they can still win the end game of this mess, so neither is willing to accept surrender or even apparent surrender. That’s what’s keeping this going now. There’s too much price already been paid, and no one is willing to abandon the sunk costs without getting something big for them.

This is a classic Gordian knot, and Alexander is nowhere to be seen.

Hamas–the legally elected government Gazans voted upon–ran afoul of Israel’s desires and intents that Gaza not break out of Israeli overt/covert political/martial overlordship. Fatah–Israel’s chosen/favored Palestinian puppet–lost the election–not because Hamas was so much better but because Fatah is so corrupt/undermined by Israel.

Now Israel(and WashingtonDC which stupidly has become Israel’s pawn) has set out to wreak ruin,mayhem and lots of death on Gazans to rid Gaza of Hamas and demoralize Gazans and remind Gazans who indeed runs Gaza Prison.

One can hope the Israelis will have exposed themselves to much deserved international scorn and sanction after this brutal Israeli attack on Gaza gets a full reveal.

Hamas will now only have become more radicalized and will have learned that the rules of the game are at whim of whatever Israel thinks it can inflict and get away with which appear to be anything short of outright genocide of Gazans so far. Expungement of Gaza and Gazans clearly Israel’s deeper intent and sought outcome. The Gazans are a surplus population that Israel does not need yet they stand between Israel and full Israeli colonization of Gaza. This is the deeper nut of this 21st century–surplus human populations being badly treated because they are of no perceived inherent value. See Mynamar for another example of this.

It is not pretty seeing what Israel is doing to Arab Palestinians. Israel is trying to expunge Arab Palestine. Gazans are getting the full treatment over past three weeks. Will Israel succeed? All in all it is doubtful Israel can short of Israel becoming an international pariah.

Israel is only getting away with any or all of this because WashingtonDC is stupid enough to be played by Israel for lots of money,military backing and political cover. Olmert’s derailing Condi Rice at UN via WH string pull a full illustration of how WashingtonDC has been perverted by Israel.

Israel is a throwback to 18th and 19th century European colonial era and as such faces deep set political fissures with the displaced Palestinian refugee issue and trying to expunge what remains of Arab Palestine.

Israel surely has now driven Hamas deeper into radical politics. Fatah is a spent,corrupted and bought Israeli puppet. Israel claims there is no peace because there is no authority to broker peace with. This is an Israeli lie. Israel does not want any vestige of Arab Palestine to come into full sovereign status. Israel wants Arab Palestine land. Not peace with Arab Palestinians. Claiming otherwise is simply a big lie.

Israel is going to suffer from the consequences most when this current attack on Gaza is revealed in fullness as to what Israel did to too many helpless Gazan civilians. Israel will try to place responsibility and blame on Hamas but that is a lie. Lies bring down the liar who is telling them.

After telling too many lies too often Israel will have little credibility going forward. That is the lasting fate of telling lies and being a liar.

The 2nd monthly shipment of death from the US MIC is so big the usual contractors are farming it out:
http://www.alertnet.org/thenew…..736369.htm

OT: Ian, I found a great explanation of the money supply in the online Chapter 37 from Ellen Brown’s book, Web of Debt, at http://www.webofdebt.com/ and Chapter 1 is a great read also.

karen