THE GAZA WAR : WHO WON?

Not the many Palestinian dead and injured children, that's for sure.

Accounts of the ratio of the dead vary, but very roughly 10 Palestinians to every 1 dead Israeli.

And what seemed to escalate the violence was the classic typical shooting dead of a mentally ill Palestinian man by the IDF, followed by the IDF murdering a 13 year old Palestinian boy a few days later after Israel invaded Palestine.

On this question of is Gaza occupied?

No Israeli troops are permanently posted in Gaza. They withdrew in 2005. This is why Israel says Gaza is not occupied. But Gaza is under a blockade. The Israeli air force patrols the skies of Gaza. Israeli tanks and troops enter Gaza at will. Finance for Gaza comes through Israel, and Israel has threatened to withhold this finance several times. And there is much much more which means that Gaza is virtually under occupation. The UN believes this is the case. You would think that Israel would gladly give Gaza its independence. But for weirdo reasons Israel still wants total control over Gaza.

But let us reflect on what the Israeli Interior Minister said as the war got underway:

"The goal of the operation is to send Gaza back to the Middle Ages," Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai, a member of the ultra-orthodox Shas party, said, according to the leading Israeli daily Haaretz. "Only then will Israel be calm for 40 years."

[source : Israel interior minister vows to send Gaza back to Middle Ages, Digital Journal, http://digitaljournal.com/article/337132#ixzz2CvzbLmRu, 18th November 2012]

But Gaza still stands. Yes, some buildings have been destroyed, the civilian infrastructure has been illegally attacked. But Gaza still stands.

And under the terms of the ceasefire Hamas has got Israel to resume talks about the illegal blockade of Gaza.

If the war was designed to draw in Iran, as some speculated, then it has failed.

If the war was designed to send Gaza back to the Middle Ages, then it has failed.

If the war was designed to save the beastman Netanyahu's political skin, then it may have failed. There were actually protests to continue the war in Israel yesterday! Netanyahu now looks the weak incompetent fool, reduced to negotiating with Hamas and easing the blockade. A lot of Israelis are realising that the irrational slippery slope to never ending war will never bring peace. But a lot of Israelis still believe that Palestinians are subhuman scum who should be chased into the Mediterranean Sea to leave Palestine for Eretz Israel. Netanyahu had already alienated the first set. But he has now alienated his core support.

I believe that Netanyahu could have continued the war. He may still do so.

But beastman Netanyahu has bowed to US pressure and will soon resume talks about easing the blockade of Gaza.

Meanwhile, there are several funerals of slaughtered Palestinian children to be held...