The army said that this was a routine operation "against the terror infrastructure," and not indicative of a larger operation.\
nope. NOW it was a routine operation. Tell me.. how quickly would yo ube to entertain peace when being fronted on by 'copters, tanks and 'dozers? Even if you were not actively resisting yourself who would you empathize with if ANY nation were to treat AMERICA like israel treats the pals?
'Routine operation'
The Israeli force cut traffic on the main road between Khan Younis and Rafah, and encountered fierce resistance from Palestinian fighters, witnesses said.
A petrol station was reportedly demolished, and three Islamic Jihad militants were killed when an Israeli missile struck a house.
But correspondents on the scene said it looked anything but routine, with bodies lying amid the rubble of a destroyed building and Israeli tanks pushing deep into Palestinian territory.
Schoolchildren ran through the streets of Khan Younis, the largest town in southern Gaza, after schools closed so they could take refuge at home.
Dozens of people were detained in house-to-house raids by the Israeli troops, residents said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7138076.stm
Israel launches Gaza incursion
"The Israeli policy of escalation aims to sabotage and place obstacles before the negotiations even before they start," Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Abbas, said.
An Israeli military spokeswoman sought to play down the offensive near the town of Rafah saying it was a routine operation "against the terror infrastructure" in Gaza.
But a spokesman for Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian president, described it as a "heinous crime" that undermined the peace process.
Israel frequently attacks armed groups in Gaza in response to the firing of rockets and mortars.
"The extremists in Gaza are trying to kill Israeli civilians. The Israeli operations are defensive and designed to protect our civilian population that has been the target of barrages of daily rocket attacks," Mark Regev, Israeli government spokesman, said.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/79CFFF6E-7570-4F75-95AF-EA2EDE1E6503.htm
Here.. just so we can all see that pals are just as human as the rest of us.. Even the new master race.
I tellya.. nothind says DEFENSE quite like terrorizing an entire population into violent reaction! Sounds like SOMEONE needs to reaffirm that blank check since the iranian nuke report.