With the information war in full gear, get a load of this article by the historian Michael Oren, reporting on (bragging about?)his new job as an official IDF propagandist.

So where are the Palestinians at TPM?
And without invited guests why would anyone else even bother?
There are Palestinian reporters in Gaza. How about contacting them? As I'm always left saying: all there is now here is a debate between men over the role of women.

Bronner: "Israel’s war on the Islamist rulers of Gaza."
There was an election. Hamas won. But then again, it's not like the Israelis have let anyone leave so how can anyone else be said to rule, other than the Israelis themselves?

And if Michael Oren is now a formal employee of the state of Israel, lets remember that it's still the informal model. The writers at the new Foreign Policy Magazine site consider themselves intellectuals but are first and foremost educated nationalists with a past or/and a future in US government service. Nationalism is always a dangerous thing: useful as a tool of the weak, as a tool of the strong it's corruption incarnate. Intellectuals in direct government service are hacks only slightly more than those in service to its general interests. Which is why American universalism is as mocked elsewhere as it is celebrated here,
So it doesn't matter if Bernard Avishai is being paid to lie or if he's lying from the heart he's still lying

Well, praise be the MSM is leading with the death of "dozens" of civilians and the attacks on 3 UN clinics and a health clinic.

As the leader of the British Invasion, Ray Davies famously said: Paranoia may destroy ya!

Robert Fisk has pointed out a benefit of the Israeli exclusion of "western" reporters:

That the Israelis should use an old Soviet tactic to blind the world's vision of war may not be surprising. But the result is that Palestinian voices – as opposed to those of Western reporters – are now dominating the airwaves. The men and women who are under air and artillery attack by the Israelis are now telling their own story on television and radio and in the papers as they have never been able to tell it before, without the artificial "balance", which so much television journalism imposes on live reporting. Perhaps this will become a new form of coverage – letting the participants tell their own story.
London Independent

There's a wrinkle...

WRT the UN School...Al Jazeera's correspondent reported from the scene followed immediately by an IDF spokesperson who claimed that the school was being used by Hamas. The IDF had information. He proceeded to rattle off a few names

Unfortunately those wiley Palestinians had removed the bodies ...under Merkava fire

Ben Nelson on Rachael Madow just tonight volunteered the example of the UN school ...repeating the same IDF line adding that "it wasn't clear"

Interesting anecdote from Jeffrey Goldberg, who is certainly not in the "Israel right or wrong" camp:

For the record: I defend Israel's right to defend itself, but I fear that Gaza will quickly become a quagmire. I fear for the lives of Israelis, obviously, but I also fear for the lives of Palestinian civilians -- I have friends there, in harm's way -- in part because the Israeli army (and I say this from personal experience) can be a big, rough bulldozer of an army, and in part (large part) because Hamas terrorists unblinkingly and ostentatiously use their own civilians as human shields. I've seen this up-close, and it's repulsive. One story the media isn't telling, because it's impossible to get this story in these circumstances (especially because Israel stupidly won't allow foreign reporters into Gaza) is how much resentment the Hamas policy of using Palestinians as human shields causes among Gaza civilians. Early reports indicate that Hamas mortar teams were firing from the UN School. This shouldn't surprise anyone.

He goes on:

One more thing, speaking of pornography -- we've all seen endless pictures of dead Palestinian children now. It's a terrible, ghastly, horrible thing, the deaths of children, and for the parents it doesn't matter if they were killed by accident or by mistake. But ask yourselves this: Why are these pictures so omnipresent? I'll tell you why, again from firsthand, and repeated, experience: Hamas (and the Aksa Brigades, and Islamic Jihad, the whole bunch) prevents the burial, or even preparation of the bodies for burial, until the bodies are used as props in the Palestinian Passion Play. Once, in Khan Younis, I actually saw gunmen unwrap a shrouded body, carry it a hundred yards and position it atop a pile of rubble -- and then wait a half-hour until photographers showed. It was one of the more horrible things I've seen in my life. And it's typical of Hamas. If reporters would probe deeper, they'd learn the awful truth of Hamas. But Palestinian moral failings are not of great interest to many people.

Perhaps Israel's suspicion of having the media in Gaza is rooted in long experience watching the media get played for patsies by the shameless propagandists of Hamas.

i am in no way trying to justify hamas's actions along the years as legitimate or helpful.they're obviously doing harm to the Gazans by running a violent policy against Israeli civilians and an extreme religious policy against their own people.

and still , a few points were missing from Sullivan's words,which are important for the explanation of Israel's state/threats and most importantly what should be done in order to give Israel any legitimacy to act militantly and to dare calling it defense or a "no choice" war.

we should never forget that since the "6 day war"
in 67 ,Israel is a de facto colonial oppressing force .im not even talking here about the great tragedy of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled from their homes in 48 after the big war who ran basically by British generals.
the Israeli leadership and brainwashed Israelis and media are denying this fact for years creating a collective consent over the issue in order to justify their acts and to leave their sense of security unshaken , the result is the strengthening of the right wing parties and a confused weak left wing, censorship of any kind of counter act/opinion over the situation in mainstream channels and rise of racism and fascism .all these are deeply rooted in the average israeli mind and its in itself a huge tragedy.

all attempts to achieve peace since then were futile and were approached with an already "neutered" conscious preventing any real effort to make justice , to take responsibility exactly for this reasons ,even when it was mainly left wing effort.
the oslo agreement which was rejected by the hamas for a good reason only deepened the occupation , made it a "legal" one , divided the Palestinian villages even moreand strengthen the settlers who are completely outlawed and are the most economically invested communities in Israel.

not reminding these facts is making the whole issue ambiguous and rootless , giving the impression that hamas or fatah's or any Palestinian counter Israeli acts are , reasonless and for the sake of pure evil only.

until Israel wont acknowledge these issues , and show good will ,she doesn't have the right to proclaim , "we tried everything" , "there is no partner for peace" and so on.if this wont change , the only way is to persuade Israel to do so , meaning united states has to force israel to do so ,since Israel is its yes man and dog watch since 48 and completely dependent on the u.s.
my hope , which is in big question at the moment is that obama will take responsibility and finish with all the "moderate" , hypocrite policy carried by the u.s.

secondly, the hamas was supported by Israel in the years when the fatah was the "threat" to Israel back in the 80's ,he invested in important social infrastructure and provided the sense of security and sanity to the gazans in the terrible reality.after the Oslo agreement the hamas became the official resistance to the occupation after the fatah has been neutered .actually the talks between Arafat and Israel were suppose to continue with the taba talks but then Ariel Sharon came into office(and bush came in too in the u.s)and refused to talk or even to meet him.

im Israeli and im naturally more concerned with my security since i cant feel exactly what the other side feels , but im sadden and angry and terrified by what israel is doing.

stop the ambiguity.gaza is under siege for a few years now . completly dependent on israel.
israel ran to the pentagon after 9/11 to add hamas to the list of the so called "axis of evil" and since then no one talks to them.
the hamas said clearly many times that peace is negotiable under the conditions mentiond above.
it is even implemented in their constitution.

israel can claim that its a "trick" but without even trying ,its forever an excuse to keep on the propaganda.