Israel may be making headway on the diplomatic front but in the humanitarian arena, Jerusalem is on the defensive. According to Hamas sources quoted by international organizations, over 1300 Palestinians were killed in the 22 day war, many of them civilians. The percentage of civilians killed
is disputed, but it is clear that hundreds died in the urban warfare. Hamas, as a terror organization showed no regard for civilian casualties, as they shelled almost exclusively Israeli towns on over 600 occasions. (There are serious claims that the Palestinian casualty count is exaggerated – more about that in a later article.)
A month ago the Likud won the Israeli elections and Pres. Shimon Peres chose Benyamin Netanyahu to form the next government. The Likud did not gain the most seats in the Knesset but rather their right wing faction was the only one with the choice of establishing either a center-right coalition with Kadima as their major partner or a hard line right/religious government which would include bringing in four to five other parties. 
will once again be premier as his right of center Likud faction is expected to take close to 30 seats in the 120 member Knesset. Kadima, led by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Kadima will poll in the vicinity of 25 with former PM and present Defense Minister Ehud Barak (Labor) getting 15 seats. The big surprise is former minister Avigdor Leiberman's Yisrael Beiteinu faction which may receive up to 20 mandates. A right winger, Leiberman is demanding loyalty oaths from Israel's Arabs while quoting anti-Israel statements by Arab MKs and local authorities. In the shadow of the recent Gaza conflict and Hamas/Hezbollah demands for the destruction of Israel, his voter support appears to have surpassed that of Labor. Playing on the fear of Israeli Arabs as a fifth column through support of Israel's enemies and in particular Jihad, has driven many into his camp.
ism? This issue is a continuing open wound for Israel supporters and even the average Jew who would like to feel comfortable in his/her Diaspora community. Furthermore many Jews consider themselves liberals identifying with most messages purveyed by the news media and "intellectual" classes. Yet when it comes to Israel and Jewish identity, the extreme Liberal/Left condemns Jewish national self-expression and in particular the right to self-defense as evidenced by the never ending media slant against Israel when reporting the recent Gaza operation. An investigation of Hamas hostilities against Israel and its ideology demanding the destruction of the Jews are in very short supply.
s. Berlusconi – Italy, PM Zapatero – Spain and EU President Todolanek of the Czech Rep.) show up for a one day tour in the Middle East including a stop in Sharm el-Sheikh to give support to Egyptian Pres. Hosni MuBarack and his Saudi counterparts and then continuing on for dinner with Israeli PM Ehud Olmert where they accord full backing to Israeli policy. The uniting factor is to halt Hamas (the Moslem Brotherhood) rearmament and by extension make clear their goal of curtailing extremist Islam and Iran. Israel declared a unilateral cease-fire at 2AM on Jan. 18 and Hamas followed suit half a day later. All this coincided with the European diplomatic initiative. But why so fast?
