Overall, Hamas is still getting its butt whipped by the IDF (Israeli Defense Force). Their continued success has Hamas diving for cover and issuing wild statements that Israel has gone crazy (actually, it's just legitimate and focused military might). We continue to see reports that Hamas is falling apart and cowering in fear to such an extent that they've now signaled their readiness to make a deal, which always means that they've finally admitted to themselves that they're getting shellacked. Unfortunately for them, their puppet masters in Iran are telling them to keep up the fight or risk being hung out to dry. Sounds like they've already been hung out to dry, if you ask me.
Anyway, the U.N. continues to wail and moan about how the eeeeevil JEWS are killing innocent Palestinians and school children, but that's a studious ignorance of reality. The real human rights abuses are entirely on the side of Hamas, but the U.N. is a bunch of liberals, so they'll just ignore those inconvenient truths. Interestingly, it has now come out that at least one of the U.N.'s humanitarian aid trucks contained Hamas uniforms. Say what?? Is that the U.N. actually helping them out, or is that simply an illustration of the utter incompetence of U.N. security and operations? Does it really matter? Israel has rightly told the U.N. to get lost. It doesn't help the U.N. any that they've been employing terrorists at their schools for years.
Ah, speaking of those U.N. schools...they're Hamas' favorite rocket launching pads since they bring lots of collateral damage when Israel shoots back. Mosques make great rocket launching pads, too. For example, here's a link to where the IDF recently found an anti-aircraft cannon in a mosque. But it's just a place of worship, you know.
So who's the bad guy here? Well, let's look at a few things. Hamas is slaughtering people at weddings. They're continuing to steal the humanitarian aid that comes into Gaza intended for Palestinians. They're using children as human shields. They use fake videos to gin up anti-Israeli pressure (unfortunately, the Left-wing media in the West are happy to perpetuate the fakery). Heck, they even admit that they consider death as one of their primary industries! Connect the dots and form your own opinion on who's the bad guy.
One of the very few things Barack Obama has remained pretty steadfast on is his commitment to chat with terrorists. No surprise, then, to read that he's already planning to hold talks with Hamas leaders (also here, here). Yeah, I'm sure that'll help with people whose worldview doesn't include the existence of Israel or America.
From the PR perspective, the rest of the world continues to condemn Israel for its actions. It's insane, but that's what's happening. In response, more violence is erupting from pro-Hamas/anti-Israel demonstrations all over the world, including the U.S.(here, here, here, here, here, here). Talk about Nazis, ovens, and extermination abounds. Some even have the sheer gall to suggest that all this talk of killing JEWS is simply rhetoric, more or less a go-team sort of cheer for Islamic terroris...I mean, freedom fighters. Puh-lease! The backwardness of all this leads Michelle Malkin to characterize it this way:
It's Israeli Double Standard Time, which only occurs on days that end with a 'y.'
That about covers it, I think.
So, where are we now? There was talk of a cease-fire a few days ago, but both Hamas and Israel rejected it. Israel felt its security and objectives were still in jeopardy, and Hamas was apparently not going to risk Iran's wrath or withdrawal. For their part, Iran wants the deniability of having Hamas fight their battle against Israel and America for them, though everyone knows they're the power behind Hamas. Ahmadinejad reiterated his past statements of Israel's destruction, saying this time that Israel's existence was just 'not feasible' because it prompted too much fighting. How's that for twisted logic?
Thus, as Israel moved into Hamas' last stronghold, Gaza City, many Hamas members went into deep hiding but still rejected the idea of a truce. Israel is signaling that they feel their operations are nearing an end, though they still have some tough work to do to keep its citizens safe in the future.
Though the world is largely condemning Israel, it doesn't appear that there is any forceful movement to prevent them from finishing their mission this time. We'll see what happens when the Obamessiah takes office. I think that Israel is hoping for victory before that happens...for obvious reasons.
There's my two cents.
Related reading/analysis:
The Iran/Hamas Connection
Proportionality in Context
Let them Eat Rockets
Meditations on Moderation
Ending the Gaza War
Even Arabs Will Benefit if Israel Wins
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