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The brutality of Operation Cast Lead shocked some of Israel’s most devoted supporters, and divided the pro-Israel camp. Even as it was happening, some of the most shocking accounts of IDF conduct were emerging. These included sealing off a neighbourhood, bombing and shelling it, blocking medical and humanitarian entry, and knowingly leaving children to slowly die next to their already deceased relatives. They included the targeting of hospitals and ambulances, and the repeated targeting of schools

I think there should definitely be an investigation into the war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza. That’s without question, and it would be unthinkable not to have an investigation if this was any other state than Israel. Look at what happened in the aftermath of NATO’s attack on Serbia and the atrocities in Kosovo. The perpetrators of the attacks were hunted down and put on trial, and the search still continues for those responsible

We do not live in a totalitarian society – the public potentially has enormous power to interfere. The goal, then, is to persuade the public that corporate-sponsored political choice is meaningful, that it makes a difference. The task of politicians at all points of the supposed ’spectrum’ is to appear passionately principled while participating in what is essentially a charade

The one thing that people learned from the war was that when they rebuild their houses, they need to build an underground shelter to protect them during the next war. While people of the world reach the sky with their skyscrapers, the people of Gaza build their future underground.

Avigdor Lieberman has positions more extreme than Hamas — but will the US and EU be consistent and withdraw aid from Israel as he is made foreign minister?

Frank Barat explains the Russell Tribunal on Palestine.

Will is be possible to reinstate a sense of peace and hope in Gaza?

Barack Obama has a lot of domestic political capital and if he uses it to take on the crimes committed by Israel he has the potential to be a truly historic president.

President Obama knows all-too-well about the terrorism visited on the Palestinian people in Gaza. But he has refused to say anything of substance or break with the policy of the previous administration. This is once again “continuity we can believe in”.

The conception of self-defense is heavily loaded in the favor of the “upper castes” of states.

Much of the debate on the Israeli assault on Gaza has been around whether it was “legal” or not, but it was a blatant atrocity and we shouldn’t care whether establishment politicians deem it legal or not.

The BBC has refused to air a humanitarian appeal for Gaza. This is a disgrace.