I said I would be crazy to enter into this debate. But I can’t keep silent anymore. It’s too much.

My posts until now have been mostly pro Israel.

But Israel can not be allowed to defend itself by ignoring 17 pleas from the UN to not bomb an international safe shelter at a school. The UN even provided the coordinates to assure safety.

Israel saying “mortars were being fired from the vicinity of the school” is not sufficient justification. It’s just not. The innocent Gazans have nowhere to flee if Israel won’t respect any safe shelter at all. It’s a war crime.

Obama has condemned the attack, as has the UN Secretary General.

Israel has gone from a position of moral advantage at the beginning to this. It has to stop.

I believe Hamas is a vile terrorist organization. I believe it cynically and cowardly uses its own Palestinian citizens as human shields to create war propaganda. I believe Israel has the right to defend itself from rockets from Gaza and to destroy their arms and the terrorist tunnels. I am not anti-Israel. Israelis deserve security and safety. I even supported some of the actions taken at the beginning as a basic right of self defense.

But this is too much. Israel does not have the right to destroy UN protected safe havens after being warned 17 times exactly what the nature of the shelter was. There is simply no other place for these people to go. Mortars “from the vicinity” just does not justify it.

I no longer stand with Israel in the current confrontation. Even if there was justification to begin the campaign for self defense, there is no justification for all they are doing, no matter how vile Hamas is. Such disregard for life will not win the security they want in the long term.

Peace now.

Read the full report: http://www.apnewsarchive.com/2014/Israeli-strikes-hit-UN-compound,-shopping-area-in-Gaza;-Palestinian-death-toll-surpasses-1,350/id-11f637f9cf3842cfb197f200a52c34e5