A Dispatch From The Border With Gaza

This is Beit Hanun, Gaza, in a telephoto picture taken 300 yards from
the Israel/Gaza border (not shown). Photo from Iron Rain.

From Michael J. Totten:

Not since the Second Intifada, when more than a thousand Israelis were murdered by Palestinian suicide bombers, have Israeli civilians suffered in a way that makes for compelling news copy or TV reports.

The southern Israeli city of Sderot sits right next to the border with Gaza, and it is the target of choice for Hamas and Islamic Jihad's Qassam rocket barrages. The first time I visited the city under fire was immediately after the Second Lebanon War in August of 2006. Israeli civilians were still on their way back to Haifa, Kiryat Shmona, and other urban areas that had been emptied of people when Hezbollah turned the northern sixth of the country into a free fire zone. Lebanese villages were still smoldering, and their dead were still being cleared from underneath rubble. Sderot, by contrast, seemed downright sedate even though rockets packed tight with metal fragments and ball bearings still fell from the sky every day.

Read more ....

More News On The Israeli - Palestinian Conflict

UN to resume aid supplies to Gaza -- BBC
Hamas returns seized Gaza aid: UN -- AFP
Hamas says it accepts 18-month truce with Israel -- China View
Hamas leader ready for truce with Israel -- The Telegraph
Hamas Delegation in Egypt for Cease-Fire Talks -- Voice of America
New drive for Israel, Hamas cease-fire deal -- Christian Science Monitor
Israel and Hamas on Verge of Ceasefire -- Daily Telegraph
Can Mitchell Kick-start Mideast Peace? -- Christian Science Monitor
Obama Envoy Heads into 'Inherited Mess' -- The Times
Egypt invites rival Palestinian groups to meet -- AP
Egypt invites rival Palestinian groups for talks -- International Herald Tribune
Survey: Only one in four Gazans supports Hamas -- Haaretz
Palestinian: Hamas attacks tied to Israel election -- International Herald Tribune
Can Mitchell Kick-start Mideast Peace? -- Christian Science Monitor
Obama Envoy Heads into 'Inherited Mess' -- The Times
Israeli election: Where they stand -- The BBC
Israel: Netanyahu Stokes Fears to Take Poll Lead -- The Times
Gaza operation boosts Israel's right-wing parties -- China View
Netanyahu Set for Return to Power in Israel -- The Australian
Israeli far-Right to Broker Power -- Daily Telegraph
A Hard-Liner Gains Ground in Israel -- New York Times
Israel's election cliffhanger as Livni closes gap with Netanyahu -- The Guardian
Israeli Right Eyes Election Jackpot -- Agence France-Presse
Israeli election battle seen too close to call -- Reuters
Livni Turns to Women and the Left for Votes -- Los Angeles Times
Israel: Preelection press roundup -- L.A. Times