if you view the figures of how much aid the us has given Israel and then look at how much it would take to eradicate homelessness and poverty in the us, that aid is MORE then enough to cover it. the us is basically giving money to a country whose president has an arrest warrant against him and who has consistently denied aid and rights to Palestinians and treats them like they are not human beings. and hamas is a false excuse the first nakba was in 1948 hamas was established years after what is the justification then? killing off thousands of innocent people is NEVER acceptable.

I think its really great that you wrote this article! So many people have a misguided perception about Israel. The media distorts things and poses Israel as the aggressor, when in truth its people are victim to hundreds of terror attacks year. Israel is just trying to protect its innocent citizens and the more countries that support it, the more security we have that it will not be wiped off the map. Thank you so much for sharing this with everyone!

Israel is already receiving tremendous amounts of U.S. aide despite consistent human rights violations and denial of rights to Palestinians. Why don't we focus on helping the poor and improving education in our own country before we invest so much in killing people abroad?

@joecool101 About that prosperous society thing. That isn't going to happen, not with Israels current PM. After the last election to office, he made a speech to members of the upper class, emphasizing that there will never be a Palistinian State. Currently, Israel is infringing on the borders of Palistine and Israel, building walls to keep Palistinians out of Israel, but the walls are miles from the border on Palistinian soil.

@joecool101 "Maybe if Hamas hadn't hidden its women and children behind military targets, the civilian casualties would have been smaller." Where would you suggest they go? Not infront of them I'd hope.

What about Israel hitting pulib buildings with no connection to "terrorist groups", or infringing certain agreements between Palistine and Israel that has led to armed conflicts between Palistiniens and Israelis.

That's SO ignorant! How would you like it if you were forcefully chucked out of your own home? @joecool101 Think about it, as soon as you're rid of the British, the U.N. decides (FOR YOU) that the Jews (whom no country wanted to take in in the first place) can kick you and your family out and live in your home instead of you? You'd be pleased, wouldn't you?

Israel is “suffering from terrorism”? Excuse me for saying so, but do you have your head on backwards or something?!! How is it that a nation who only sought independence from the tyrannical British in the past, and is now attempting to gain their rightful Land from the Israelis, considered a “terrorist nation”? Why is it that children and teenagers who are fighting with mere stones are considered “terrorists”, while GROWN MEN driving around in military vehicles and using lethal weapons against innocent people are considered “heroes”? Denying the fact that the Israelis are the ones using terrorising methods against children and women is a sure sign of naivety and utmost ignorance. For every 1 Israeli man that’s been killed, 200 young Palestinian children have been mercilessly slaughtered. And do you realize that the word “terrorist” is used so often that it’s become yet another stereotype? Hmmm… I wonder who’s mainstreamed this term to be the equivalent of Arabs and Muslims? Media. Where does media get from? Well, it’s only an only know fact that the media is the government's sweet little puppet. And of course we can’t neglect the U.S. government’s backup team: the U.N.. So much for freedom of the press. Kudos to you, U.S..

Let me respond point by point. In 1947 the UN voted to partition Palestine into a state for the Jews and a state for the Palestinians. The Jews gladly accepted, while the Palestinians rejected the offer. Instead, surrounding Arab countries declared war on the new-born state of Israel with complete destruction of the Jewish state as the stated goal. The Arabs failed. Thus, the Jews had a state while the Palestinians did not. Now, the Jews did not give up hope for a Palestinian state just because the Arabs rejected it and declared war against Israel (including again in 1967 and 1973.) Multiple times the Palestinians were offered by the Israelis land to form their own state. In 2005, Israel even unilaterally withdrew from Gaza (because the Palestinians were unwilling to accept any offers through negotiation.) What happened? Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007. Instead of improving the lives of Palestinians in Gaza, Hamas announced (in its charter) that its goals were the complete destruction of Israel as a Jewish state, and the killing of Jews worldwide (in Israel and everywhere else.) Hamas decided to attack civilians in Israel (ie us terrorist methods) to achieve its stated goals. These terrorist methods include not only aiming rockets at civilian populations, but also hiding these rockets in Gaza schools and hospitals, using civilians to shield their weaponry. Thus, Hamas uses terrorist tactics against Jews and Palestinians alike. Now, you ask "what other choice" do Palestinians have, except supporting Hamas. I'll tell you. What about trying to build a prosperous society in Gaza which, instead of trying to commit genocide against Jews, would improve the lives of Palestinians?

Thanks so much!

Very right, Chin-Chin! Thanks for the support!

Arguably Israel has the most ethical military on the face of the world. Literally before they sent missile IN SELF DEFENSE against Palestine they literally told all the civilians in the area to evacuate before hand. Compare this to all the secret tunnels that were made by Palestine in order to enact terrorist attacks on the civilians of Israel. Anyways, I also think that we should be sending more support to Israel, literally who else do you think would help us in the area? Would it be Iran? Afghanistan? Heck no, the only people that would and in fact do and continue to cooperate with us is Israel they provide us with so much of the intelligence that we need from that area of the world.

Great article! It had many good points.

Absolutely, we should stay with Israel! Don't be so naive to think that Israel is just some little country cowing from the terrorists surrounding it. They are one of the most technological advanced country's in the world and have impressive weapons. That includes top secret nuclear power that no one knows much about. They're also not afraid to fight. Almost every Israeli citizen has been trained in the military whether they're a man or a women as it is a requirement. Also if you've ever visited Israel which I know someone who has. You'll notice that most everyone over there literally carries machine guns with them everywhere they go. School teachers over there carry Ak's strapped to their back as they teach. My teacher ,who had visited Israel, said even the teenagers carry weapons. Even one of our politicians said it would be stupid for ANYONE to attack Israel because it's one of the world most powerful nation.

I agree that Israel must cede West Bank, Gaza Strip and Arab East Jerusalem to the Palestinians, evacuate their troops and right-wing Israeli Jewish settlers from those territories, and allow an independent, sovereign Palestinian nation-state to exist in the above-mentioned territories that're presently occupied by Israel. The two-state solution is the only way to go. That is how it was supposed to be, back in 1947-1948, when the land in question was partitioned: The Jewish-majority nation-State of Israel, and the independent, sovereign nation-State of Palestine right alongside each other, with Jerusalem an international city and a shared Capitol between the 2 nascent states: Jewish West Jerusalem to be Israel's Capitol, while Arab East Jerusalem would be the Capitol of Palestine. That didn't happen, due to the Arab world's obstructionism back then, but Israel, sadly, has taken its turn at going on the offensive and being obstructionist, and that has to be stopped. Israel's survival absolutely depends on their withdrawing from the occupied territories and forming a permanent and just peace with the Palestinians in the form of granting the Palestinians self-determination in the form of their own state where they'll have citizenship and be able to run their own lives/destinations. Another obstacle to peace in the region, which, sadly, has continued to occur on both sides of the I/P debacle, is the persistent refusal of both sides to come out and openly and squarely face up to their accountability in this debacle, because they've both got a long, long history of taking turns going on the offensive, and the persistent refusal to come out and face up to their accountability and get past the finger-pointing stage is also a huge obstacle to peace. If the Israelis and the Palestinians were to come out and openly face up to their accountability tomorrow, there's no guarantee that peace would set in immediately, but it would certainly be a huge step in the right direction, as would Israel's withdrawal of their troops and right-wing settlers from West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. There's no guarantee that conflagrations would stop right away, but, at least two things would result: Israel would have an easier time protecting a smaller area of land and its people in the event of another conflagration, and they'd also regain the high moral ground, and much sympathy and support from the International community. So, the International Community, including the United States, needs to help both Israel and the Palestinians to make peace and to implement the necessary 2-state solution, as the survival of both peoples depends on it.

The United States has never, ever been an honest broker regarding the Israeli/Palestinian debacle. The United States, the UN, and the International Community should exert pressure on Israel to evacuate its troops and Right-wing Israeli Jewish settlers from West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, stop the humiliating, ugly treatment of innocent Palestinian civilians, and to allow the Palestinians residing in the above-mentioned occupied territories to create their own, independent, sovereign nation-state alongside Israel, and not in place of Israel, the way many people advocate. The two-state solution is the sanest, safest and most sensible solution to the decades-old I/P debacle, because both peoples, due to their long history of being oppressed and exploited, need self-determination in the form of sovereignity and independence (2 states alongside each other), for normalization, as well as protection against history repeating itself for both peoples, if one gets the drift.

The US should not help anyone who does wrong on others, whether it be Israelis or Palestinians. Wrong is wrong. Check out my recent article further expanding on a part of this point. TeenInk.com/opinion/current_events_politics/article/813863/Islam-and-Modern-Peace/

I can totally agree with a lot of people when we say that America does NOT NEED Israel to sustain. By wasting our resources to help fund missions that are killing innocent civilians is not a very "noble" cause. If you really want a "noble" cause then why not help give relief to those Israeli bordering countries that actually deserve compensation for their sufferings.

What about the Holocaust-- "never again"?

Maybe if Hamas hadn't hidden its women and children behind military targets, the civilian casualties would have been smaller.