The siege in Gaza might end if Egypt opens its border with Gaza in the south and works to integrate the Gazan entity with the Egyptian state and economy. Having a viable market for Gazan goods and services in Egypt might help to legitimatize Gaza and allow it to develop opportunities for its people.

Any thought of free borders between Gaza and Israel while Hamas remains committed to the destruction of Israel is but a destructive pipedream for the Gazan people. Any thought of a truly viable Palestinian state combining Gaza and the West Bank is a similar pipedream, for the needed access across Israel cannot be tolerated while peaceful coexistence is not possible.

Gaza is compared to the Warsaw Ghetto and a disgrace to Israel and the USA !!!!!

Gazans have been reduced to eating grass to survive !!!
Bringing an end to the Israel maintained Gaza siege and massacre would be very good indeed.

Before the recent "pounding" Israel allowed only barely enough food and fuel to enter to stave off mass famine and disease. Such a policy of collective punishment, initiated by Israel to punish Gazans for political developments within the Gaza strip, constitutes a continuing flagrant and massive violation of international humanitarian law as laid down in Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. ...

Hamas is the Democratic --freely elected - Government of the Palestinian people but the USA who called for the free elections has refused to recognize the result and continues to support the over 60 years of brutal treatment and occupation and theft of Palestinian land by Israel !!!!

Nowhere do we hear the Palestinian side.

martin011 is correct when he says that for Israel, killing civilians is (unfortunate) collateral damage. The rest of his post is without merit.

For the Palestinians, killing civilians is the goal. They used the "cease fire" to smuggle in bigger and more accurate rockets. They fill these rockets with ball bearings, razor blades, and rat poison (to prevent clotting, making the damage more likely to be lethal).

The fact that their rockets don't kill more is no "defense" for their actions. It's like my shooting at 100 people on the highway and "only" killing 3 - doesn't mean I'm not guilty of murder, nor does it show that I didn't want to kill every one I could.

The fact that the Palestinians have shown the smuggled in rockets can now reach 12% of the Israeli population shows they have left the Israeli no choice but to neutralize the Palestinian rocket threat. The Palestinians insist on bringing disaster on their civilian population, rather than looking towards a peaceful, productive future (like Egypt and Jordan, which have peace agreements with Israel). Lest anyone forget, Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by countries around the world. They refuse to recognize Israel's right to exist, the live in peace, and to recognize prior agreements.

Unfortunately, Israel (and I want to make a peculiar emphasis on Olmert administration) they aren't willing to change their policy towards non-Israeli and Middle East people, they will urge to participate on this (full of unrest) world killing more civilians as collateral damage.

I predict that sadly, many Palestinians will continue to support organizations that incite violence rather than organizations that are striving toward peaceful coexistence, and they will keep blaming the failures of peace initiatives on Israel.

When Gaza was freed from the Israeli occupation, Hamas should have used the new freedom to improve the situation of its population. If instead of refusing to recognize Israel and use violence, they would have concentrated on the population's needs, the Israeli blockade would not have been so bad and the results would have been much more profitable to all.
It is true that Israel should have stopped to create new settlements and advance in the negotiations for a Palestinian State.
In conclusion DIALOGUE is certainly more constructive than VIOLENCE, so let us hope that 2009 will see a free and sovereign Palestinian State.