Oh, so if only they went back to a total lockdown of Gaza and treated it like a more maximum security prison, then this wouldn’t have happened?
What if they didn’t treat it like a prison, or Palestinians like subhuman prisoners? Do you think that maybe then they wouldn’t want to go on raids and kill people? That those 1400 soldiers and civilians would still be alive?
Fighting Jews is explicit in the Hamas Charter, and elections haven't been held since 2006, so I don't think it's clear that more appeasement could have prevented any violence.
What should Israel do differently? Israel disengaged from Gaza in 2005. They immediately elected Hamas and started shooting at Israel.
What specifically should Israel do to "not treat Gaza like a prison"? Allow more goods in, which would specifically mean that Hamas gets even more weapons? What other steps would you want Israel to take, given that they left Gaza and gave it into Palestinian hands to run?
The Israeli viewpoint in some circles is that the number would then be higher. And they may well be right, but that doesn't mean that the situation can continue the way it has been going for the last 20 years. The fanatics on both sides will have to be brought to heel.
What would you do if you were the leader of Israel? They have pulled out of Gaza in 2005. Hamas goal is destruction of Israel, I doesn't want any peace talks.
I would ask myself first where I want Israel to be in two centuries and then steer course for that even if that means losses in the short term. Because long term this won't end well if there isn't a real change of course even though in the short term it looks as if Israel has the upper hand.
Note that 'The State of Israel' is not synonymous with the Jewish people - even though there are a lot of people on both sides of this who seem to want to propagate that, and that religion and land (the two major things this conflict is all about) are not worth millions of lives lost.
'Solving' it without losses on the Israeli side and without giving up settlements and giving guarantees about the future is not going to happen.
'now' implies that both sides back down from their frankly ridiculous stances and that in turn would require both sides to drop some fragments of their religion and to start controlling the hardliners in their factions. But as long as Arab money and Iranian weapons subsidize Hamas, as long as Israel sabotages any kind of compromise or real government on the Palestinian side and as long as settlers continue to piecemeal expand the size of the state of Israel this isn't going to happen.
You can't have change without wanting change and you can't solve a problem if neither side really wants it solved. Israel would like Palestine to disappear and pretty much all of the Arab world wants Israel to disappear. If that doesn't change eventually one of these groups is going to get their way and that would be a loss for the world as a whole because I predict that that stain will not be easily washed away if at all.
>> all of the Arab world wants Israel to disappear
Most, but not all of them.
>> Israel would like Palestine to disappear
There is more than a million Palestinians living and working in Israel as its citizens. They hold positions in offices even such as a supreme court judge.
>> as long as settlers continue to piecemeal expand the size of the state of Israel this isn't going to happen.
Israel removed all its settlers from Gaza in 2005. In return it received shelling from Hamas.
Hamas in not interested in solving anything, having talks about anything or making any kind of compromises.
> There is more than a million Palestinians living and working in Israel as its citizens. They hold positions in offices even such as a supreme court judge.
You equate 'Palestine' with 'Palestinians', that's not the same thing. It's on par with equating Israel with Israeli's and many would point out that there is a very important distinction between the two.
> Israel removed all its settlers from Gaza in 2005.
Yes, but they kept on settling more and more area in the West bank and continue to do so even today, almost two decades later. It's akin to removing 'whites' from areas that were to be turned into 'homelands' prior to the establishment of the 'Apartheid' doctrine in South Africa, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bantustan , there are a lot of parallels between those and Gaza / West Bank.
> In return it received shelling from Hamas.
In 2005 Hamas was a fringe group and all eyes were on the Palestinian Authority, which Israel has structurally undermined while at the same time supporting Hamas.
> Hamas in not interested in solving anything, having talks about anything or making any kind of compromises.
Neither are the Israeli hardliners who make a lot of policy.
What if they didn’t treat it like a prison, or Palestinians like subhuman prisoners? Do you think that maybe then they wouldn’t want to go on raids and kill people? That those 1400 soldiers and civilians would still be alive?