I wonder if people who bring up genocide actually know the definition of it, because Israel is doing no such thing. 

So would it be O.K. if I destroyed your hometown and attacked your family just for no other reason there is a doubt that your neighbors they don't like are hiding near you? 

You will find lots of people who will agree with that.

But killing human shields is not a war crime and killing a few hundred people during a war is not genocide.

Redefining the meaning of those crimes just because one wants to accuse Israel is a common strategy. But it won't end the war.

USING human shields, on the other hand, IS a war crime.

And firing rockets into cities devoid of any military target is an attempted genocide.

Why are you accusing Israel of crimes committed not by Israel but by Hamas? I don't get it.

So you think that accusing Israel of "genocide" is "criticism" of Israel?

Over the last few years a _real_ genocide happened in Sudan, but few people care. (I myself don't care much; merely give 50 dollars a month to a Darfurian charity.)

And suddenly, when Israel kills a few hundred Arabs (which is something Hamas were also doing on a regular basis), we have a _genocide_?

That's what a genocide is?

That's the problem with this world? Arabs die when Jews shoot back at them?

I want to live on that planet!

Little whip: "........any criticism of Israel is gonna get you shot down......"

Thanks Whip-----I enjoyed your sarcastic comments.

Leauki: " The author .............is lying"

Do you mean lying as in: I'm making it up, or lying as in:There are WMD's in Iraq.Here are some facts for you and other Joeusers:

1. I support Israel and am bitterly disappointed in them. The Oxford dictionary defines Genocide as:" The deliberate killing of a very large number (1000 and counting not enough for you?),from a particular ethnic group or NATION." I believe Israel is guilty of this.

2.There were no Hamas in the UNWRA compound when 40 women and children were killed.This has been verified.

3. Israel has blocked vital aid to people who need food, medicines, fuel etc. (One example: An Iranian vessel carrying 1000 tons of medical supplies and food was turned away from the Gaza coast by the Israelis. It has been verified that there were no arms on the vessel.

4. Here's an example of blatant lying: " Israel says it is not targeting Gaza civilians." How do you fire a shell from a huge gun and pinpoint Hamas warriors only. That's like saying only selected areas of Hiroshima were targetted in 1945.

5.This war has been planned so badly to teach Hamas a lesson and stop their rocket launches. At what price? Like the Lebanon war two years ago, the Israelis have no idea how to tackle a terrorist organisation without killing innocent civilians.

6. 300 children have died, many with bullet wounds ---don't the Israelis learn how to aim straight?

I've said my piece and I have only two questions: Bush professes to be a Christian---By what standards?

I know many of you don't agree with my views but the millions marching in London, Indonesia, Australia etc--and even Washington, seem to agree with me!

Yes, I'm afraid they do.

And they are prolonging a war that should have ended decades ago, that should have never started.

And, ironically, they refer to themselves as "anti-war"protesters.

Leauki, you are fight a pointless battle but sometimes these pointless battles need to be fought. More often then not people (like adnau) will take American Media and say they are lying and Americans are dumb enough to believe it but when the news comes form the same people who are the terrorist, they swallow the story hook, line and sinker.

This is why this world will never be a better place to live. These kinds of situations will happen for all eternity and all we can do is live with it. So long as there are people willing to look the other way, willing to point fingers at one side while dismissing the other for the same actions or worse, while some chose to be blind simply out of hatred for the other side, innocent people will die, Gov't will be corrupt and ignorance will be the universal language of this planet.

However, Charles, your second paragraph is wise and a good summation of what's happening in the World today.

I am afraid in this case, you are very wrong. YOu may not agree with Leauki, but you will be hard pressed to find anyone more informed on these issues than him.

And I agree with him.  Blaming the victim for the criminal's behavior is no way to have the criminal stop his crimes.  The people do have a choice, stop shelling Israel.  ANd if it is the "innocents" that are getting killed, they have 2 choices as well.  They can get rid of the criminals or move.

You dont blame the police for crime in your neighborhood.  They are not doing it, they may not be preventing it, but then neither are you.  In this case they are trying to stop it.

War crime - training child soldiers

Not a war crime - shooting back at child soldiers

War crime - using civilians as human shields

Not a war crime - killing civilians used as human shields to get at the person who is hiding behind them and shooting at you

Also not a war crime - killing civilians by accident even if they are not anywhere near any combatants due to a mistaken identification.

Of course, those are what the countries of the world hold THEMSELVES to, not what they hold israel to, if israel calls off most attacks on military targets due to proximity to civilians, and occasionally hits a civilian, well, that is a war crime, because there are special definitions for israel.

PS. The us nuked japan. And in vietnam 20 million vietnamese civilians died, which was 10% of tht total population of 200 million, and also was orders of magnitude more than the amount of combatants killed (on both sides, american casualties numbered in the 50 thousand).

If you think those things above that are not warcrimes should be considered warcrimes, than israel is the LAST in the list of countries to be tried... Where there are murderers and rapists (other countries, if you change the definition of warcrimes) about you don't put a pickpocket (israel, if you changed the defintions of warcrimes) on a public sham trial... well YOU DO because the people conducting the trial are the murderers and rapists... but its not just.

I think you have hit the nail on the head.  Today's society (for the first world - the third world still has to work 7x24 to eke out an existance) is said to be very lazy.  And have too much idle time on its hands.  That is neither good nor bad, just a reality.  But that idle time has allowed them to become more informed (at least superficially) and to "care" about others outside of their responsibilities more.  And in that, they seem to think that there is a way to wage a humane war. And that everyone "could just get along if we had a daily hug".  The danger here is demonstrated both in the US, Europe and Israel, that when a war is needed, they no longer understand the basic concept of it.  To eliminate the enemy's capacity to wage war against you - so they "feeL" the war should be sprinkling daisies over houses to force the others to see the error of their ways.

Israel, being caught in teh first World, is suspectible to this thinking and pressure.  And that is why they have not done what every nation did before the advent of mass hysteria and delusion.  They are trying to wage a "humane" war.  Basically a losing proposition.

What everyone else fails to grasp is that there is a very simple solution to all of this!  Have the warring ARabs stop attacking Israel!  War over and all can go home!  The solution is simplicity itself, but do you see any of these Israel bashers ever even attempting to broach that solution?  Not even Obama has stated that.  And in 5 days he will be the leader of the largest economy in the first world.

I wonder how the fools that yell "InHumane" can doubt that if they wanted to, the Israelis could cleanse the Gaza completely.  Instead of counting a thousand the total would be millions.  And all the Hamas would be among them.  yet they restrain.  Why?  They are "trying" to wage a "humane" war.  Which has 2 problems.  One is that war is not humane and cannot be (Ever see Star Trrek - A Taste of Armegeddon?  even that was not humane even though it was clean!).  The second is that those they are trying to appease will not be appeased with any thing less their their erradication - in other words they are playing to the wrong audience.