The democratically elected authority in Gaza is Hamas. The Israelis have killed over three hundred Gazans since November. Four Israelis have been killed, two by Hamas rockets. Gaza has been sealed from the outside world for almost two years. Not content with stealing the Palestinians land, the Israelis hem in their victims in a ghetto which they proceed to ransack at their whim, (sounds like history repeated). Today the Israelis have killed another 8-10 Gazans. In contravention of international law they are performing a collective punishment of a whole people. Armed to the teeth with free American military aid to the tune of $100 million a day. In the last 72 hours of their last disgraceful escapade in Lebanon, they dropped four million cluster bomblets, (according the UN) to make the southern part of Lebanon virtually uninhabitable. When will the Palestinians get a just settlement and reparation of that which has been stolen from them?

Dr David Crowley, Tomintoul, Scotland

The US and the UK tell the Palestinians that they need FREE elections, and then turn around and say that they voted for the wrong people. If the West is going to insist on installing democracy in countries (Iraq, Afghanistan), it has to face the consequences of free elections. How free is an election if the choice is vote for a West approved leader, or suffer sanctions that are almost lethal?

Adam, Stoke, UK

tell us more about the people - interview them. Do they have a choice? what are their veiws? why are they doing this?
C'mon times.

ll, Beds,

Maybe better to light a candle than curse the darkness?
Let's hear the voices of the Palestinians in the refugee camps. There are approximately 2 million refugees/diaspora over the age of 18. Let them vote for representatives who can speak for them. How about releasing their voice through the ballot box? From the Lebanon to Jordan and around the world?
Recently, 850,000 Afghan refugees voted using Out of Country Voting (OCV) - and the election results were valid inside Afghanistan, and internationally accepted. It took 80 days to organise, including voter registration.
For any solution to the land, returning, compensation, it's likely the refugees would like a referendum - the sooner you start voter registration , the sooner you can organise referendums.
For more information, google: afghan ocv

Hugo van Randwyck, London, UK

All they have to do is stop firing their murderous rockets into Israel and the border would be opened. The Palestinians are the ones who are creating their own problem.

D Case, Newquay,

How can the article claim that Hamas took over Gaza by a military coup, when it was voted in by the people of Gaza?

Carol Sanders, Headley Down, Hants, UK

5,000 showed up, mostly children leaving school early. Again, Hamas puts children in the front line.

Hamas is a terrorist organisation because it purposely targets civilians for murder - full stop. Israel is not a terrorist state because it does not target civilians for murder - full stop. Do you get the difference people (Farrukh, Robyn Landry) or are you so thick and blinded by propoganda? And please, what type of "holocaust" in it when the death toll is in the thousands over a 7 1/2 year period, mostly consisting of militant/terrorist deaths? Enough hyperbole.

Final simple equation: no more rockets aimed at Israeli towns = no more blockade. When there were no terrorist attacks coming from Gaza, the local Palestinians were able to travel into and work in Israel-proper. The Palestinian Arabs own actions led to the blockade. Even if Israel has been heavy-handed, it has done so under fire.

If you want to support the Palestinians, then protest to Hamas, not Israel or UN.

C Bozner, London,

Callous, vile and inhuman. Israel as always playing a victim while being the perpetrator of crimes against humanity, in what could be called a slow genocide of people and the ironic part of that is the “Jewish” people claim to be the sole owners of the holocaust. That being the reason for the state of Israel in its current incarnation to exist. Yet what you look at the plight of people who can do nothing but continue to be victims of a slow genocide given an inhuman option to flee but with no where to run. It is almost comical that people still view the Israeli government as anything but a terrorist organization. I think it would be wonderful to see a Jewish state with respect for Jewish traditions and the torah. But this incarnation of what is called a Jewish state is nothing more then a farce and will only serve to incite hatred of Jews every where. Zionism is the problem and it is the Zionist state that is the major problem. hamas/fatah also needs to go,

tommy, bearspaw, east of you

To Robyn Landry, Nowit, USA/Colorado
Currently, terrorists are defined more by their methodology than by their goals, though, admittedly, there are gray areas. Suicide bombers and people who launch missiles into civilian areas are generally labeled as terrorists, for good reason.
Hamas control Gaza and have the power to halt the attacks, which in themselves are a form of collective punishment. Stop the attacks, the blockade will be lifted. Perhaps the Gazans should be protesting the policies of their own leaders as well.
Labeling them "Freedom Fighters" would simply be inaccurate. Nothing in Hamas' stated goals mentions anything other than fighting for land and the destruction of Israel. They are not democrats.
As for not being proud to be American, well, a lot of issues here, and, in the end, some problems are personal.

Dale, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

This is one more indication that all of Israel's policies of "iron fist" repression of the Palestinians for the past sixty years are a total failure. Israel is in a trap entirely of their own creation by the adamant denial of justice, and the embrace of all the injustice that in previous eras was visited upon the Jews.

They forgot nothing, and learned nothing. And worse, due to the unrivaled power of the "Israel Lobby" as documented by Professors Mearsheimer and Walt who could not even publish in the US, there is no political will to confront them, ironically so, because it would be in their actual best interest.

tarquinis, Seattle, USA

This makes me ashamed, and I also feel deep futility - what can one do? Besides gnashing of teeth and writing to newspapers, the outcome will be - nothing. The western world of politicians do not give a minutes sleep up, over starving and hurting men, women and children. There is nothing a person can do but feel.

susan, kielvale, new south wales

live and let live.......prosperity, joy and health should be available to all.

shawn walton, s.s.i., canada

israel are the only victims here as usual

maurice, ottawa, canada

How can the U.S. and the international community continue to support Israel's inhuman treatment of the Palestinian people and the take over of their land? Wouldn't any human being fight for their land and children? Why do we continue to call these people terrorists and not freedom fighters? Every agreement and treaty made by the United Nations has been ignored, and the rest of the world just watches. The U.S. continues to support Israel with money and weapons. It is such a U.S. hypocrisy to talk about "democracy, freedom and free elections while this occurs! There was a time when I felt proud to be an American, but not now.

Robyn Landry, Niwot, U.S.A./Colorado

Actually the numbers involved were about 5,000 mainly schoolkids.

Anthony Lustigman, London, UK

We read day in day out about the injustices of Iraq and other countries, but rarely are the injustices against those in the in the Palestinian holocaust reported.

Farrukh, Woking, UK