In a chain of atrocities it is purely arbitrary which you call reprisals and which you call provocations. Or rather, the word used is just a way of letting the listener or the reader know which side the person telling the story is on.

The truth is the chain of atrocities sttretching back decades is made up of horrible things done by both sides, which are simultaneously provocations and reprisals.

The number of people killed by the Israeli forces is far far larger than the number of people killed by Palestinians - a reflection of the disparity in fire power and resources. More dead children, more dead civilians, more dead soldiers. Somebody has to stop killing first - maybe the ones who have killed the most people?

All good wishes to all the people in the Holy Land. But ethnic cleansing is not something to rejoice about, ever.