There has been a lot of unfortunate animosity on this website amongst supporters of Israel and those who lift their voices against the current carnage in Gaza. For a more balanced view, it might be of interest to review the 2009 objective report of Human Rights Watch, regarding human rights violations on both sides of the fence in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict:
Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT)Israel’s blockade of Gaza and restrictions on movement to protect illegal West Bank settlements, along with indiscriminate Palestinian rocket attacks on Israeli towns and serious abuses by Fatah and Hamas against each other’s supporters, were major components of the human rights crisis in the Israeli-occupiedPalestinian territories in 2008.Palestinian civilians accounted for around half of those killed in Israeli military operations in Gaza prior to a June ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. More Palestinians were killed in Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the first half of the year than in all of 2007 in both the West Bank and Gaza. Israel’s blockade of Gaza has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis affecting Gaza’s 1.5 million residents. In the West Bank, Israel maintains onerous restrictions on freedom of movement for Palestinians.Palestinian armed groups fired rockets and mortars indiscriminately into Israeli towns, particularly Sderot, killin… >>>
