March 23, 2010: The head of the UN has demanded that Israel lift its blockade of Gaza. This was originally imposed to cut off weapons and other supplies for terrorist groups. But the UN now believes that this policy undercuts moderates and encourages the extremists. The Israelis point out that the extremist groups like Hamas thrived when there was no blockade, and are having more problems now that there is a blockade. But the UN has its mind made up, and will not be dissuaded by reality. Israel refuses to lift the blockade, and put more of its citizens at risk. Being a democracy, Israeli politicians have to respond to the demands of the voters. The voters demand protection from terrorist attacks, which is all the Palestinians have offered for the last decade, since they rejected a negotiated peace deal by resuming terror attacks on Israel. The terror campaign was defeated (largely rendered harmless) after four years, but the Palestinians keep trying, and telling each other that Israel will be destroyed. The UN largely ignores all the internal Palestinian propaganda and political pronouncements calling for the destruction of Israel (not negotiations or peaceful coexistence.) No one wants to admit that, until there is a major attitude adjustment within the Palestinian community, negotiations are futile.

An example of how the mass media goes out of its way to ignore this reality, consider the recent Palestinian decision to name a town square for a Palestinian terrorists who led an attack, back in 1978, that killed 38 civilians (men, women and children.) Their first victim was an American, all the rest were Israeli. The Palestinian leadership has become more enthusiastic about honoring terrorists who had succeeded in killing Israelis (most of the victims have been civilians, not soldiers or police). The UN, and the West in general, gives this a pass. No one wants to openly discuss the main problem; that the Palestinians are neither united nor trustworthy in negotiations. The Palestinians tell each other that Israel must be destroyed, and tell non-Arab foreigners whatever seems likely to advance Palestinian goals.

March 22, 2010:  An Israeli soldier was killed by other Israeli troops when two Israeli rapid reaction teams troops responded to sensors showing Palestinians trying cross from Gaza into Israel. The two Israeli teams thought they were the only ones responding, and one team fired on the other, killing a soldier. The three Palestinians, who were unarmed and apparently trying to enter Israel to find work, were arrested.

Israeli aircraft bombed northern Gaza, hitting open areas where rockets were launched into Israel. The targets were suspected storage sites for rockets. The teams firing rockets must be quick, because Israel has northern Gaza constantly watched by UAVs and aircraft. Sometimes, rocket launching teams are caught in the act of setting up rockets, and killed by artillery or missile fire.

March 18, 2010: A Palestinian rocket from Gaza landed in Israel and killed a foreign worker from Thailand. Over the last decade, Palestinian terrorism has caused most Palestinians to be blocked from working in Israel. Many of those lost jobs were taken by legal, and illegal, migrants from non-Islamic parts of the world.

Israel reopened the al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. This compound has been a flashpoint for Palestinian violence of late, with rioters particularly enthusiastic about throwing rocks at foreign tourists, and religious Israelis come to pray at the wailing wall down the hill from the mosque. The current riots were in response to an Israeli decision to built 1,300 more units of housing for Jews in east Jerusalem. This part of the city is claimed by the Palestinians, but the Israelis have controlled the entire city since 1968, and increasingly ignore Palestinians protests (which tend to increase the more you pay attention to them.)

March 15, 2010:  In the West Bank, Israeli police arrested senior Hamas terrorist leader Maher Uda. Police has been after this guy for over a decade. Uda is accused of planning terror attacks, since the 1990s, that have killed over 70 Israelis.

March 13, 2010: Another rocket was fired into Israel from Gaza.

March 12, 2010: In response to increased rocket fire from Gaza, Israeli aircraft bombed smuggling tunnels and weapons manufacturing workshops in Gaza. Israeli UAVs and intelligence collecting aircraft are constantly over Gaza, collecting information on terrorist activities (weapons smuggling and manufacturing, especially). When the Palestinians break the ceasefire by firing rockets, the items at the top of the target list are hit.