Scoot'r-d:

The history of this article starts in a recent 1948 when the region now known as Gaza first became a geographic entity. Of course that is an extension of events that occurred well before that time that do very much impact the human and political events taking place since and currently. The United Nations establishment of Israel and the actions leading to that act by the League of Nations and and a post WW1 administrative occupying Great Britain were all opposed by the Palestinians and all surrounding Arab nations. Their protests fell on deaf ears and the welfare of the Palestinians put in second position. Ultimately Israel was forced down their throats and not unexpectedly armed conflict ensued. Israel prevailed in that initial conflict thanks in large part to communist Russia through arms support via Soviet controlled countries. During and after this initial war and for a variety of reasons some 750,000 Palestinians left their homes while another 230,000 remained in Israeli territory. Israel promptly forced the remaining 230,000 to leave. All of the Palestinian private property and lands were confiscated by Israel without reimbursement. The Palestinians were put into refuge arenas and not accepted by neighboring Arab countries. In 1946 Jewish settlers owned around 7% of Palestine and by 1949 the country of Israel owned 93% of that same area. Those lands were taken and kept to this day. The United Nations passed a resolution calling for the reinstatement or reimbursement for these lands in 1949. Israel refused to comply then and still refuses to do so today. Today we have the area known as Gaza. It is kept in a near concentration camp condition by the Israeli government that controls every aspect of its existence. The welfare of every occupant relies upon the good will (or lack thereof) of Israel. Israel took these peoples lands and have sequestered them in an adversely managed pig pin. Today there are close to 9000 Gaza Palestinians per square mile living under the constant eye of an occupying country (by UN definition) in virtual squalor. That they squirm and fight for their rights is only to be expected. The most recent act of Israeli management was to cut off all fuel for these people to the extent that zero power was available for any purpose (including hospitals). Israel made this problem and it alone is responsible for the deplorable plight of these people and their understandable armed belligerence. Israel finds itself in the unique position of meting out the same sort of treatment they once received from Nazi Germany. The intractable party here is not the underfoot Palestinians but the aggressor Israelis. The situation is nearly as utterly shameful as was Hitler's death camps.

You omit what I think is an important point; the lawfully elected government of the would-be state in question is engaged in a continuous program of randomly dropping rockets on civilian sites in Israel, as a result of the Israelis ceasing to occupy the area, no less.

Is anyone here of the opinion that any state in the world would be open-handed and generous with a neighbor state which was bombarding them? Even if the bombardment was "justified" by revenge for prior occupation? Would any state which came under similar bombardment as a result of pulling back its occupation then respond by opening all trade routes with the folks sending the rockets?

If the rocket launching is justified because the Gaza residents are in some kind of war of liberation from the Israelis, then aren't the Israelis engaged in the same war, and therefore within their rights to keep the border shut down?

If Northern Mexico were in the habit of randomly dropping rockets on small towns in Texas, under the management of the Mexican government, do you think the US would happily keep the border open, shipping them all the necessities of life?

(And I don't believe the Jews in the concentration camps of WWII were in the habit of dropping rockets on German towns).