I understand what you're saying, but I believe if you give it some more critical thought you'll find you succumbed (as we all do) to some very clever Israeli white-washing.

First, Israel had near full control of Gaza through the wall and naval blockade (and not allowing Palestinians to build an airport, which was their right). Whether one labels Gaza a prison, or not, one MUST accept, I believe, that Israel understood Hamas was trying to kill Jews and had the military and economic might to contain Hamas within Gaza--which they've done fairly well for 17 years.

Therefore, if Hamas gets out it can only be because Israel believed Hamas was no longer a threat. When did that happen? Or because Israel wanted to divert military power elsewhere (West Bank).

The terrorist of 9/11 came from Saudi money. Why Iraq? Why haven't there been more terrorist attacks against the U.S.? There are more vectors than just domestic plane flights. My point is that the argument that these geopolitical events are motivated by protecting people just doesn't hold up even to a cursory review of the events.

How does Israel bombing 30% of Gaza and going in with 300 tanks make Israel more safe? Again, the wall was working. Someone in Israel almost seemed to beg for an attack. I won't go into conspiracy theories, but aren't you at least a bit skeptical here?

You'd have to explain to me how Gaza is an existential threat to Israel. An existential threat would be tanks, fighter aircraft, a navy, etc. Boys with crude rockets, RPGs and guns? Seriously?

I'm with you on the adage. But if good men need to do anything they would need to go after the source of Hamas's training and planning. It so reeks of state-sponsored help. Why isn't Israel bombing Qatar?

Finally, do you believe in the next year, when Israel finally eradicates most of Hamas that Israel is going to rebuilt the Palestinians homes it destroyed? That its going to give the remaining people citizenship. What end game do you see here?