Operation Protective Edge

Jewish and Palestinian women are holding a hunger strike outside Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem to call for a renewal of peace negotiations. Members of the group Women Wage Peace have been fasting for the past month in alternating shifts, sitting in an open-air tent and inviting passers-by to discuss how best to wage peace. The group has dubbed their mission "Operation Protective Fast," a twist on "Operation Protective Edge" — Israel's military operation that left 2,200 Palestinians, including 550 children, dead last summer. On the Israeli side, 73 people were killed; all but six of them were soldiers. The attack destroyed 12,000 homes in Gaza. Another 100,000 were damaged. None of the destroyed homes have been rebuilt so far, due in part to the ongoing Israeli blockade.

Israel has acted on the assumption that there is no occupation; there may be disputes about how much land Israel has the right to annex to the state of Israel in the West Bank, but Palestinians do not have any particular right. Such is the situation in the Middle East today where the Palestinians suffer at the hands of the Israelis.

Ted Rudow III, MA
CA, USA