Antiwar Alert: Israel declares new war on Gaza Strip

Ugly news from Occupied Palestine: The violence triggered by the killings of three Israeli teens and one Palestinian teenager burned alive has reached a new and menacing turn as Israel declares "Operation Protective Edge," the largest attack on Palestine since "Operation Cast Lead," also known as the Winter War.

Full Report on Israel's new war by International Middle East Media CenterPalestine Today for July 8

Today, the 8th of July, the International Middle East Media Center is reporting that Israel has dropped over 50 bombs into the Gaza Strip from aircraft. A father and his young son were among those killed by the bombings. Meanwhile, Israel is calling up 40,000 reservists for war. Israeli officials claim they are preparing for a long war. They had better-when they invaded Lebanon in 2006, they were still fighting in the same villages on the last day of the war as on the first day of it!

As of about 8PM EDT on July 8, at least one TV news station reported Israel is threatening a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.

At the beginning of this spiral, Israel responded to the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers with house to house searches and collective punishment, possibly causing their captors to execute them if they hadn't already. This was equivalent to sending the National Guard to occupy all of Anacostia after a gangland shooting kills three people. In reponse to these three young people being killed, far-right Israeli settlers burned a 16 year old Palestinian alive in a horror not seen since the white phosphorus bombingd of Operation Cast Lead. That in turn may be the spark that ignites a 3ed Intifada, possibly the one thing the Israeli government fears above all else.

Antiwar activists, NOW IS THE TIME to step up to the plate and put pressure on Israel to cancel their war plans-or for the US to stop sending them weapons and money if they refuse.