For me this raises two questions:

The bankrupt terror methods of Hamas, and PLO before that, can only reinforce the Zionist myth that Israel represents the antithesis of the supposedly atavistic states and peoples that surround it.
Hamas, PLO…(all the political groupings, who find themselves opposing Israel) use these bankrupt methods of terror because the only alternative they see is the pushing of Israel to the table for negotiation, for concessions.
And they have this outlook because for them (Hamas et al) the mass of the people are not an actor in the drama.
Rather the 'People' whom nationalists always claim to speak for (not lead, mind you) are a passive, amorphous entity that things can only happen to. The 'People' are never capable of taking the initiative, combining, engaging in a struggle with the reactionaries, and for a new futur).
Hamas' ideology is the other side of the same coin of the Zionists' claim. Hamas say 'No! Our people are good people. They are not savages!'

Both Hamas and Israel fear the masses mobilized. They fear above all politics!

You cannot understand what is happening in the Midddle East (for want of a better term) without studying the history of Zionism, Arab Nationalism, Nazism, counter-revolutionary Stalinism, American Imperilaism,…..
All these issues must be studied closely (and they have been). An understanding of the war crimes in Gaza does not end in revealing what the IDF did – that is only the start of an understanding, not the end. You cannot defeat Zionism without knowing what it is.

So, for me this raises the second question. If nationalist (superficial) approaches to the struggle do not work (and they have not) then what is the struggle?

Is it enough to condemn Israeli atrocities? I put this question most seriously. Not as a petty attempt to score points.

The butchery of the IDF is, I believe, only a taste of what Imperialist and capitalist powers have on offer for us, as the economic crisis unfolds.

For me this raises two questions:

The bankrupt terror methods of Hamas, and PLO before that, can only reinforce the Zionist myth that Israel reperesents the antithesis of the supposedly atavistsc states and peoples that surround it.
Hamas, PLO…(all the political groupings, who find themselves opposing Israel) use these bankrupt methods of terror because the only alternative they see is the pushing of Israel to the table for negotiation, for concessions.
And they have this outlook because for them(Hamas et al) the mass of the people are not an actor in the drama.
Rather the 'People' whom nationalists always claim to speak for (not lead, mind you) are a passive, amorphous entity that things can only happen to. The 'People' are never capable of taking the initiaitive, combining, engaging in a struggle with the reaction (and for a new future).
Hamas' ideology is the other side of the same coin of the Zionists' claim. Hamas say 'No! Our people are good people. They are not savages!'
Both Hamas and Israel fear the masses mobilised. They fear above all politics!
You cannot understand what is happening in the Midddle East (for want of a better term) without studying the history of Zionism, Arab Nationalism, Nazism, counter-revolutionary Stalinism, American Imperilaism,…..
All these issues must be studied closely (and they have been). An understanding of war crimes in Gaza does not end in reveling what the IDF did – that is only the start of an understanding not the end. And you cannot defeat Zionism without knowing what it is.

But regardless of that, people killing those who want to live at peace indeed exist on both sides (for the Palestinians don't count just the rockets, count also the numerous suicide bomber attacks). If Israel chooses to investigate itself, that should not stop anyone else from investigating, like I said, I'm sure HRW will issue a report of their own, so why would you say anything negative about that (if I understood you correctly)?

http://www.counterpunch.org/cook09302008.html

Recommend Sternhell's book, "The Founding Myths of Israel"

It is a mistake to view israeli society as completely representative of Zionist rreaction.
There are fissures within Israel, which will split that country apart, under pressure of events to come. Just as there are fissures within Ireland.

I suspect that some people are focussing on Gaza because they perceive the Israeli position to be hypocritical. All right-thinking people are appalled by the treatment of European Jews and yet they see Israel creating a ghetto all of its own. A ghetto which it routinely bombs in the name of security.

Ofer, you have killed 1300 people and maimed countless others. I don't know how many you have crippled. And you have done this in response to rocket attacks that were, as I have already said, of no military significance. You have justified the attacks by telling us what Hamas wants to do to Israel. In other words, what Hamas is thinking.

If we bombed everyone who hates us the world would be in a constant state of war.

In a place like Gaza there is no such concept as collateral damage. When your military bombed and shelled this crowded place, you knew you would kill huge numbers of civilians, and that is what happened.

Furthermore, you continue to blockade Gaza, limiting supplies of basic necessities. You shell their coastline. You systematically destroyed their civilian infrastructure in the latest attack, which is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.

These Palestinians are the people who had nowhere left to run after you took their homes, and now you confine them behind your wall, where you bombard and starve them.

Why are you surprised that they fire rockets at you?

Stand back and look at what your country is doing.

Firstly, this piece is not about the Congo or Sri Lanka. It's about Gaza. Please don't try to change the subject.

Secondly, it doesn't matter what the nature of your enemy is. You were still wrong to blast your way through civilians to get at them. That was a crime.

[Note to everyone: if you include more than two links, your comment will automatically be held in moderation until released.]

I wonder what are the chances for such reports to be read by you guys:
Hamas has 'overwhelming responsibility' for Gaza war: EU

If you're really looking for war crimes, just wait for investigations to clear up, I'm sure HRW will conduct theirs, and hopefully there will be more concrete data later on. In the meantime, save your energy, or if you're really that conscious, turn it to some real war crimes, like in Sri Lanka or Congo.