December 2, 2008: Most of the war between Israel and the Palestinians goes on out-of-sight. For example, most Palestinians live in exile, the descendents of those who left, or fled, Israel in 1948. Few Arab nations accepted these people as migrants (who could settle), instead they were considered refugees, who must live in refugee camps and remain foreigners as long as they did. These refugees, as well as Palestinians still living in Israel, the West Bank or Gaza, all (the vast majority) believe that Israel must be destroyed. This is no secret, in Arabic. But to foreigners, a softer line, pledging conciliation, is preached. But this is a scam, one that is becoming harder to maintain. Many Europeans have bought into the Arab language attitude towards Israel, and agree that Israel must be destroyed (everyone is a little vague on what would happen to the Israeli Jews, although many Hamas and Hezbollah members come out in favor of mass murder).

The current mythology in the Arab world, and much of Europe, is that whatever damage done to Israel is deserved, and any harm that comes to Palestinians, even terrorists, is not. Good versus evil and all that. The good guys can do no wrong, and the evil ones are evil in whatever they do. So when Palestinians continue to fire rockets and mortar shells into Israel, and Israel responds by cutting off supplies going into Gaza (rather than launching a military operation to shut down the terrorist groups, and rescue one of their soldiers), the Israelis are declared the bad guys by the Arab world, and by many in Europe, and elsewhere in the West, as well.

The Arabs see all this as a victory, and celebrate it as such. According to Arab thinking, the Israelis are losing their fight for survival, and it's only a matter of time before the Arabs win. This kind of thinking has influenced the Arabs for centuries; the idea that time is on their side and that eventually there will be an Arab triumph, despite centuries of defeat and failure. So far this hasn't worked, but this myth is optimistic and future oriented. However, many Arabs are getting tired of the myth, but the majority continue to believe. This means that, while most Moslems condemned the recent Islamic terrorist attack in Mumbai, India, many believed that the slaughter of six Jews there was somehow justified. The Mumbai massacre has put this entire pro-terrorist media scam in a difficult position. But it won't matter, because many Moslems believe that it's all God's Will.

All this does not mean Hamas does not come in for some criticism. Many in Gaza do not care for Hamas attempts to set up a religious dictatorship, that includes lifestyle police (as in Saudi Arabia and Iran). Gazans also note that, while Israel allows enough supplies into prevent starvation or epidemics, Gaza controls the smuggling tunnels, which carry a lot of non-essential consumer goods, and Hamas taxes this trade heavily. So Hamas benefits from the Israeli blockade, which keeps out cheaper products. Hamas also tolerates competing terror groups in Gaza, because Hamas knows it can depend on these terrorists to help out if the more moderate Gazans tried to rebel. In short, Hamas, once elected to power in Gaza, is never going to give up control. Gaza is, in effect, a religious dictatorship like Iran. And like Iran, Gaza is now dedicated to the destruction of Israel.

Hamas continues its feud with rival Fatah, which controls the West Bank. This extends to Hamas not allowing anyone from Gaza from going on the Hajj (the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia). Every Moslem nation has a deal with Saudi Arabia regarding how many may make the Hajj, and Saudi Arabia issues visas for the two million people allowed to visit. But Saudi Arabia is hostile to Hamas (which is backed by Iran, which in turn believes it, and not Saudi Arabia, should control the Moslem holy places in Mecca and Medina). So Saudi Arabia asked Fatah for a list of those from Gaza going on the Hajj, and ignored a list from Hamas. In response, Hamas refused to allow the Fatah approved pilgrims from leaving. Hamas also denied doing this, despite the many Palestinian and Egyptian witnesses to it.

November 21, 2008: Palestinian terrorists in Gaza fired a long range rocket at the Israeli port city of Ashkelon. There were no injuries. These longer range missiles, if fired in large enough quantities (at more populous areas of Israel), could trigger an Israeli invasion of Gaza.