I hope that you agree with me that while Deir Yassin was a monstrous crime, it does not excuse all Palestinian terrorism that came before it nor does it “provoke” all Palestinian terrorism that followed it. I also hope that you would regard this incident involving the smugglers, which is infinitely more minor than Deir Yassin, similarly.

But we are getting off topic. All I asked was for you to not compare “Hamas leaders” with Israeli civilians, as you did in your blog post. You seem reluctant to admit that it was a false comparison. Fine. Go ahead and write a book. I’m sure it will sell well even if it gets panned by every major newspaper and expert on the subject.

every minor indecent in which Israel did something questionable

Interesting. When you allege w/o proof that Hamas uses civilian shields then it’s a major issue. But when Israel actually does the same thing and there is proof of it, then it’s a “minor incident.” YOu sound about as fair & balanced as FoxNews.

The Israeli bombing of the smuggling tunnel killing 6 smugglers provoked Palestinian militant retaliation in the form of rocket fire against Israel. This in turn led to Hamas refusing to renew the ceasefire. Haaretz reports at the time said that the tunnel attack was actually a ploy by Israel to get Hamas to retaliate, destroy the ceasefire so Israel could take the action it eventually ended up taking: invading Gaza. The tunnel attack & subsequent retaliation is not a “claim.” It is a fact. An inconvenient one for you, but a fact nevertheless.

Secondly, what you said before “that Israel has only provoked terror when it has had every opportunity to prevent it.” I criticized you for blaming the victim. You answered my criticism by telling me of a minor indecent involving the bombing of a tunnel used for smuggling, as if to say that this indecent “provoked” all the terrorism that followed. Do the comment rules of this site say as much about credible arguments as it does about credible claims?

I have explained & proven my claim to support Israel’s right to defend itself & I’ve written this repeatedly here. You’ve expressed empty words & not backed them up in any way shape or form such that one can see how those words can actually lead to real peace. My readers will have to judge which of us is more credible.

The problem is that Israel has only provoked terror when it has had every opportunity to prevent it.

I suppose the sorority girl in the sexy outfit had it coming to her when she was raped at the party. She “had every opportunity” not to come to the party. Furthermore, she didn’t have to “provoke” the rapist by wearing a sexy outfit.

I’m sorry I haven’t convinced you that I am in favor of peace and not using empty words. If it is any consolation, I’m unconvinced that you support Israel’s right to defend itself and not using empty words.