Approximately 300 people have been killed as a result of Israeli/Palestinian violence, including many women, children and non-militants, since the renewing of peace talks in November.

On Friday Hamas scaled back the number of rockets fired from 40 down to nine. Israel however, stepped up the level of violence by carrying out attacks in Gaza first by air and later by ground that lead to the deaths of over 100 Palestinians, many of whom were civilians. So far the Israel death toll since Wednesday is at three, two soldiers and one civilian.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Sunday that, “Israel has no intention of halting counter-terrorism actions, even for a second.”

Although many Israelis want negotiations with Hamas to broker a cease fire of the rockets and rid their lives of daily worry, Israel and the United States refuse to negotiate with Hamas because they consider Hamas to be a terrorist group. Since they will not allow Hamas a seat at the table, a move they believe would legitimize Hamas, Israel and the U.S. can only hope that Eygpt is able to pressure Hamas into halting the rocket attacks.

This puts the U.S. in a difficult position at a time when United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is soon expected in the region to broker the now suspended peace talks. As I write Israeli forces are withdrawing from Gaza after the United Nations condemnation of the violence and Hamas is declaring victory. It is unclear whether or not this troop withdrawal is temporary, the purpose may simply be to deliberately align the withdrawal with Rice’s imminent arrival.  

Gordon D. Johndroe, a White House spokesman, said late Saturday that the United States wanted to see “an end to violence and all acts of terrorism directed against innocent civilians…there is a clear distinction between terrorist rocket attacks that target civilians and action in self defense.”

And so the argument in the region is back to this question: Which party was the instigator? Washington and Israel always points to rocket attacks by militant Arabs, in this most recent case from Hamas militants in Gaza and in the past Hezbollah in Lebanon as well as suicide bombers. In public statements the U.S. does not seem to weigh the effect of crushing economic pressure and the isolation of the Gaza Strip by Israel as an instigating force in the present conflict.

Mahmoud Abbas officially suspended peace talks with Israel, declaring it a protest against harsh military tactics by Israel in Gaza. So peace talks are currently lacking any Palestinian representative. Palestinians in the West Bank have taken to the streets in public demonstrations in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza who were recently under attack. Some Palestinians in the West Bank are hoping that the mass protests will have a voice that will be heard and replace the seemingly never ending cycle of violence.

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