As to you other comment re: stopping retaliation (I paraphrase). Think about it. What if we did not respond to Pearl Harbor, what if Britain did not respond to The Blitz, and so on. It is a rhetorical query.

Bill H

If the US has responded to Pearl Harbour by bombing people who hadn't attacked them then World War II would still be going on. It would be a 65 year war. Just as Israel v Palestinians is a 56 year war. Hamas and Likud (and the "settlers") are both served by the constant escalation of the conflict. Peace will not come until the power to provoke is taken from them. On both sides.