I should have thought that, as a fellow Brit. you would have a better idea of what Israel is dealing with here. How often did concerns for 'innocent' Catholics in Ulster stymie efforts to winkle out the Provisional IRA and their ilk?

Those 'innoicent' Catholics all knew who the Provos were and where they lived and hung out. They outnumbered them hundreds, if not thousands, to one. Yet at no time did they gather the moral fibre to push the Provos out, and pathetically few of them ever did anything other than aid and abet the terrorists.

The situation re Gazan 'civilians' and Hamas is the same.

The solution in Ulster is, was and should be simple. Honour the democratic will of the Irish people as a whole and cede the province to Eire.

The situation in the Middle East is more complex, and I can understand why some Israelis take the view they do, which is "Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out!"