Despite the danger, Walid Abuzaid couldn't be separated from his home in Gaza for very long. And though coming home means facing possible death, he refuses to give in to hate.  By Walid Abuzaid Thursday, June 27 I was in Cyprus when it all started. When we heard about the kidnapped teens, we were thrilled by the possibility of another prisoner release. Hamas would be held responsible for the kidnapping, but we treat our prisoners well – at least the one prisoner we've ever had. It's my last night in Cyprus and one of so few in which I smile…

Palestinians reported numerous incidents of looting by IDF soldiers during Operation Brother's Keeper in the West Bank. Here’s the first case documented by Yesh Din. By Yossi Gurvitz for Yesh Din During Operation Brother’s Keeper, IDF soldiers invaded thousands of houses in the West Bank, under the pretext of looking for the three kidnapped teenagers. These raids give us brief glimpse at the differences between Palestinians living under Israeli control and Israeli citizens. For instance, were someone to be kidnapped in Petah Tikva, no one would imagine placing the city under curfew, preventing its denizens from traveling abroad or carrying…

The real aim was to annihilate anything within marching distance of the border - including, it turns out, a hospital housing elderly patients and international activists there to protect them. When he launched his war on Gaza 10 days ago, Benjamin Netanyahu instructed his military commanders to "take the gloves off." Yesterday, they put on brass knuckles. Shedding even the pretense of "precision" - a lie that has so far left at least 45 Palestinian children dead - Israeli tanks and warships shelled Gaza indiscriminately ahead of a ground incursion that Netanyahu claimed was aimed at destroying tunnels along the border…

Israel has no problem asserting an inviolable right to self-defense, while repeatedly denying the same right to Palestinians. The same state that decries Palestinian violence has no qualms meeting non-violent protests with fully armed aggression. By Nadia Naser-Najjab The ongoing conflict in Gaza has led international actors to reassert Israel’s right to self-defense. Any objection that these same actors have repeatedly failed to recognize, much less support, a Palestinian right to self-defense is routinely rejected upon the basis that it is not the international community’s role to take sides. Needless to say, in a context of open oppression and subjugation, this…

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli army to begin a ground incursion into Gaza on Thursday night. According to a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office, both Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon called for the ground operation in order to damage underground tunnels leading into Israeli territory. The move came just hours after the Israeli army thwarted an infiltration attempt by armed Palestinians through a tunnel from Gaza. According to the statement, the order was "approved by the security cabinet, after Israel agreed to the Egyptian cease-fire proposal which Hamas rejected and proceeded to fire rockets at…

No amount of Tweeting, tagging, posting or liking will save Gazans from an Israeli ground invasion. So why bother? By Corey Sherman Recent political upheavals in the Middle East tend to have a social media subplot, whether it's how savvy youth use it to subvert harsh authority, or how states manipulate access to it so as to stop such subversion. There’s the story about how State-Department-Official-cum-Google-Ideas-Chief, Jared Cohen, requested that Twitter delay a scheduled maintenance of their network to enable Iranians to continue to use the platform to organize during the harsh crackdown on post-election protests in 2009. Or how…

By Eli Valley Eli Valley is a writer and artist whose work has been published in New York Magazine, The Daily Beast, Gawker, Saveur, Haaretz and elsewhere. He is currently finishing his first novel. Eli’s website is www.EVComics.com and he tweets at @elivalley. More from Eli Valley: Why even god can't reach a two-state solution The hater in the sky / By Eli Valley

After more than a week of violence in Israel and Gaza, the Palestinian death toll stands at 230, with one Israeli casualty. Negotiations are ongoing in an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire proposal between Hamas and Israel. Related: Why there is no room for diplomacy in Gaza This is a war of choice. Netanyahu's choice How an army of defense became an army of vengeance