I Can See Gaza From My Front Porch...

The European Union has asked Israel to consider another ceasefire, giving the Hamas leaders a chance to scurry from their bolt-holes to meet and regroup. The Arabian League is meeting today to consider their options. All press reporters have been banned from Gaza.

In a misdirection ploy, Turkey has unleashed several jet fighter raids of its own on Kurdish separatist groups that it considers threatening, flying over the border of Iraq. Pakistan halted recent NATO convoys going to Afghanistan to deploy soldiers in a surprise raid on tribal fighters in the Khyber Pass area.

The official White House response has been, please try not to hit many civilians. Since people are packed in Gaza like sardines, and Hamas has put its military warehouses in densely packed neighborhoods, that's just not gonna happen. Also, about half of the Palestinian population in Gaza is under 18 years old, many of the deaths are going to be children.

Egypt has had pressure put on it to open up the Rafah crossing, which separates Gaza from Egypt. They don't want any Hamas members in their country, for fear that their brand of radical Islamism may spread. They have opened Rafah for medical and humanitarian aid, accepting some Palestinians into Egyptian hospitals. Now that the tunnels have been destroyed, Hamas has asked citizens of Egypt to rise up and forcibly take over and open up the Rafah crossing.

Hamas forcibly took control of Gaza in 2006. Since then, their popularity has gone downhill, from over 30% in favor to under 19% this year. Now, every uneducated street punk throughout Arabia is suddenly in favor of Hamas, and sympathy is about all it has going for it. They have consistently refused to sit down at any peace talks, and all negotiations have had to have been done indirectly, which was bringing Syria into the fold as mediator. And yes, all they have to do to stop the Israelis is agree to no more funky homemade rockets being fired across the border, but then what would Omar and Hassan have to do on those days they got bored?