As CNN and other News channels in the US spent most of yesterday showing its viewers an empty US Airways Airbus 320 floating in the Hudson river, the citizens of Gaza ran for their lives from the indiscriminate bombing by the Israeli forces. But in a place as small as Gaza, there is not much place to run and hide from the firepower of Israeli forces..

So the weak and the hopeless of Gaza continue to succumb to Israeli bullets in their homes, mosques, hospitals and streets as the world looks the other way.

Among the bombed last two days are the UN headquarter and main relief center in Gaza and a crowded Red-crescent Hospital. Number of dead in last 48 hours: over 200 – at least half of them are women and children.

An enraged UN chief Ban Ki Moon, currently visiting Israel, asked for an explanation from his host Prime minister Olmert — for the bombing of the UN headquarter in Gaza . Olmert’s reply was that Israeli soldiers were fired upon from the UN compound.

Does Mr. Olmert think that the world is so gullible that it will believe his repeated lies?

Mr. Olmert’s assertion is tantamount to saying that UN headquarter has become the headquarter of Hamas and Ban Ki Moon didn’t verify facts before asking him for an explanation.

Not unexpected from Israel — as it  is in the habit of repeated affront to the UN and conscience of the world as this brutal and ongoing murder of civilians in Gaza shows — despite a UN resolution to stop the atrocities immediately.

A few days ago Israel bombed refugees living in a UN-run school designated as safe-house and used the same lie tactic – “incoming fire from the school” – to justify, although  Israeli soldiers themselves later denied ever having been fired upon from that school where more than 30 unarmed men,women and children were slaughtered.

As this one-sided ‘war’, as most biased news channels here in the US like to call it – enters its 21st day – Israel is engaged in an elaborate charade of ceasefire “talks” – by sending their officials to Cairo to talk with the Egyptian mediators as their Army, Navy and Air-force intensifies attacks on Gaza population. As reported by Gideon Levy of Israeli daily Haaretz:

“It may seem as though the cabinet hasn’t decided on the “third stage” of the war yet, Amos Gilad is discussing a cease fire in Cairo, the end of the fighting seems close - but all this is misleading. The streets of Gaza Thursday looked like killing fields in the midst of the “third stage” and worse. Israel is arrogantly ignoring the Security Council’s resolution calling for a cease-fire and is shelling the UN compound in Gaza, as if to show its real feeling toward that institution.”

The ‘third stage’ being pushing people from northern Gaza and Rafah border area to the major population enclaves in Gaza city to isolate them further.

The desperation of the population of Gaza is reported by Mr. Levy of Haaretz:

“In the streets, people are running back and forth in panic, holding children and suitcases in their hands, helpless as the shells fall around them. Nobody in the diplomatic corridors is in any hurry to help those unfortunates who have nowhere to run.”

One can rightfully ask, Why is Israel behaving like a mad dog?

Is it fulfilling what  late Israeli Defence minister General Moshe Dayan once said :  ’Israel must be like a mad dog, too dangerous to bother.’ ?

Or is Israel making good on former Prime minister Golda Meir’s degenerate comment : “We can forgive you for killing our children but we can never forgive you for making us kill your children”

But when did the Gazans kill Israeli children?  Only 10 israelis died between 2001 and 2007 by Hamas rockets  and none of them  were children.

So it is not a mad dog act without a motive, even though it may seem like one.

The most plausible explanation may be that  it is in fact the beginning of Israel’s  war on Iran -  as explained by Muriel Mirak-Weissbach of Center for Research on Globalization :

“Perhaps the massive military onslaught, which has killed over 800 Palestinians and wounded thousands, has nothing to do with Kassam rockets. Perhaps it is not a tactical military operation by Israel, but a strategic decision on the part of Israel’s Anglo-American backers, whose ultimate aim is war against Iran. Perhaps the military calculations in Tel Aviv are that continued massive pounding of Gaza by air and in house-to-house fighting, will take such a ghastly toll on the Palestinian civilian population, that Iran, touted as the backer of Hamas, will be forced to move into the conflict. Perhaps that is precisely the reaction Israel desires, in order to justify launching its war against the Islamic Republic, a war which has been on the drawing boards of the Israelis and their neocon sponsors for many years.”

This motive is all the more believable with outgoing Vice-President Richard Cheney’s  endorsement of the attack as written by Muriel Mirak-Weissbach :

“The neocon faction, led by outgoing Vice President Cheney, is viewing the Gaza war as a preparation for aggression against Iran, and the spark that ignites regional conflict. John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., and one of the most outspoken among the neocon war party, announced on December 31, that the Gaza war was the first step towards an attack against Iran, which he deemed necessary. “I don’t think there’s anything at this point standing between Iran and nuclear weapons other than the possibility of the use of military force possibly by the United States, possibly by Israel,” he was quoted by Fox News. “So while our focus obviously is on Gaza now,” he went on, “this could turn out to be a much larger conflict. We’re looking at potentially a multi-front war.”

The timing of the attack itslef had a lot to do with lame-duck status of US presidency before Barack Obama’s inauguration on January 20.

Israeli politicians knew very well that George Bush would not interfere in their misdeeds in his last days as president and Obama would have no power to intervene as he is not the president yet — shows an example of Israel’s calculated affront to the American public and their government even though it gets an official 3 billion dollar charity from the American taxpayers each year and not to mention those F-16s, Apaches and bombs that are being used to kill the Gazans.

Essentially, Israeli ploy to involve Hezbollah of Lebanon and Iran into the conflict by killing Gazans indiscriminately has failed miserably. The world has seen through the lies of the state of Israel and is unanimous against its brutality and barbarism in Gaza and there is demand all over the world of war crimes trial of Israeli leaders.

Whether or not Israel will stop Gaza attack before Barack Obama’s inauguration, it is certain that Barack Obama will have plenty of things to ponder and decide on his first day in office. It remains to be seen if Barack Obama can fulfill his election promise of ‘Change’ and can finally become an American president who can take a tough stand against Israel if need be as it is now, and become an honest broker of peace in the Palestine-Israel conflict.