Israel occupied Palestinians for the same reason an advanced species of extraterrestrials likely wouldn’t trust our species to react peacefully to them were these aliens to present themselves to us. The advanced society protects itself from the relative savagery of the inferior society.

How delightfully, and accurately, Darwinian! Colonizers colonize if, and only if, they can colonize. Colonizers must arrive with superior technology (broadly defined to include social, economic, and governmental technologies), or their colony will fail. When the colonists come, the colonized must assimilate, leave, or die. That's how our species rolls, and it is the only way we'll be able to marshal the available resources to keep the Malthusian wolf at bay.

The Jews took over Palestine because they were nearly exterminated in Europe and they were not wanted in the West. They had no choice, other than to go out of existence. That did not appeal to them. The rationalizing window-dressing is just that.

I applaud your suggesting alternatives to Israel's devastation of Gaza. I'm not as sanguine as you about the success of those steps, but at least you have offered them.

I do disagree with the implication that Israel has a moral obligation - as opposed to a geopolitical need - to take into account the fact that HAMAS would hide behind its own people. That, as they say, is the terrorists winning. I take a tougher view on the moral question. That's not to say that the Human Shield tactic is not effective, just that it imposes no moral burden on the party it is used against.