How the West Chose War in Gaza: Facts & Analysis on 'Operation Protective Edge'

Seeing a region swept by popular protests against leaders who couldn’t provide for their citizens’ basic needs, Hamas opted to give up official control of Gaza rather than risk being overthrown. Despite having won the last elections, in 2006, Hamas decided to transfer formal authority to the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah. That decision led to a reconciliation agreement between Hamas and the Palestine Liberation Organization, on terms set almost entirely by the P.L.O. chairman and Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas.

Israel immediately sought to undermine the reconciliation agreement by preventing Hamas leaders and Gaza residents from obtaining the two most essential benefits of the deal: the payment of salaries to 43,000 civil servants who worked for the Hamas government and continue to administer Gaza under the new one, and the easing of the suffocating border closures imposed by Israel and Egypt that bar most Gazans’ passage to the outside world.

Full Article by Nathan Thrall
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/18/opinion/gaza-and-israel-the-road-to-war-paved-by-the-west.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0

Accountability

The Nation: If Israel is not brought to justice, it will commit the same crimes again and again
http://www.thenation.com/article/180683/war-gaza-and-cycle-impunity 

Ceasefire 

Ali Abunimah: The "ceasefire" was a ploy to give Israel a pretext to escalate its attacks http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/hamas-did-not-reject-ceasefire-israel-did

IMEU: FAQ on Failed Effort to Arrange Ceasefire Between Israel and Hamas
http://imeu.org/article/faq-on-failed-effort-to-arrange-ceasefire-between-israel-and-hamas

Ira Glunts: Hamas Offers 10 Conditions for a 10 Year Truce
http://mondoweiss.net/2014/07/report-israel-conditions.html

Yousef Munayyer: Gaza Cease-Fire Dynamics Explained - What Cease-Fire will Work?
http://blog.thejerusalemfund.org/2014/07/gaza-cease-fire-dynamics-explained-what.html

Mitchell Plitnick: A Tale of Two Ceasefires 
http://mitchellplitnick.com/2014/07/18/a-tale-of-two-ceasefires/

Children 

Bill Van Esveld: Explaining Four Dead Boys on a Beach
http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/07/17/dispatches-explaining-four-dead-boys-gaza-beach

DCI Palestine: Death Toll of Children Rises as Israel Pummels Gaza
http://www.dci-palestine.org/documents/eight-children-killed-israeli-airstrikes-over-gaza

Human Shields

Nicola Perugini & Neve Gordon: On Human Shielding in Gaza 
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/07/human-shielding-gaza-2014717154428830848.html

Norman Finkelstein: Of Human Shields & Hasbara 
http://books.google.com/books?id=RRxiILpsxtwC&pg=PA7&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false

Context 

Ramzy Baroud: A War on Palestinian Unity
http://maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=713641

Gisha: What you need to know about Gaza
http://gisha.org/en-blog/2014/07/11/what-you-need-to-know-about-gaza/

J.J. Goldberg: How Politics and Lies Triggered an Unintended War in Gaza
http://forward.com/articles/201764/how-politics-and-lies-triggered-an-unintended-war/?p=all 

Amira Hass: With 192 Dead in Gaza, Is Lasting Ceasefire Possible Under Israeli Occupation?http://www.democracynow.org/2014/7/15/after_192_killed_in_gaza_is

Amira Hass: Israel showed restraint in Gaza before attacking? You must be kidding
http://www.councilforthenationalinterest.org/new/israel-showed-restraint-in-gaza-before-attacking-you-must-be-kidding/#.U8qfCfldWSq

Finkelstein & Rabbani: After Palestinian Unity Deal, Did Israel Spark Violence to Prevent a New "Peace Offensive"?
http://www.democracynow.org/2014/7/15/after_palestinian_unity_deal_did_israel

Avi Shlaim: How Israel brought Gaza to the brink of humanitarian catastrophe
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/07/gaza-israel-palestine

Media 

Ali Abunimah: BBC World News Interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1YL240pyRs

Marwan Bishara: Israel's Media Strategy - What Lies Beneath
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/07/israel-media-strategy-2014716114935957662.html

Glenn Greenwald: Why Did NBC Pull Veteran Reporter After He Witnessed Israeli Killing of Gaza Kids?
http://www.democracynow.org/2014/7/18/glenn_greenwald_why_did_nbc_pull

Amani Al-Khatahtbeh: An Open Letter to Wall Street Journal from a Palestinian Woman
http://muslimgirl.net/7856/open-letter-wall-street-journal-palestinian-woman/

Amena Saleem: Protesters force BBC to confront its pro-Israel bias
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/amena-saleem/protesters-force-bbc-confront-its-pro-israel-bias

On the Ground

Noah Browning: Israel 'Pinpoint' Strikes Kill Mostly Gaza Innocents — Entire Families Wiped Out 
http://forward.com/articles/201961/israel-pinpoint-strikes-kill-mostly-gaza-innocents/

Yasmeen El Khoudary: Gaza child - Three wars old
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/07/gaza-child-three-wars-old-2014716505446437.html

Sharif Abdel Kouddous: Death and Destruction in Gaza as Israel Launches Ground Invasion
http://www.thenation.com/article/180705/death-and-destruction-gaza-israel-launches-ground-invasion

Muhammed Omer: 90% Darkness in Gaza
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/90-darkness-gaza-656782201

War Crimes

Amnesty International: Further War Crimes Must Be Prevented After Israeli Ground Assault
http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/press-releases/further-war-crimes-must-be-prevented-after-israeli-ground-assault

B'Tselem: Military demand to evacuate rehabilitative hospital in Gaza unlawful
http://www.btselem.org/press_release/20140716_al_wafa_hospital

B'Tselem: Bombing family homes of activists in armed Palestinian groups violates international humanitarian law
http://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20140709_bobming_of_houses_in_gaza

Human Rights Watch: Unlawful Airstrikes Kill Civilians 
http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/07/15/israelpalestine-unlawful-israeli-airstrikes-kill-civilians