Thursday morning. 6.30am. I am sitting quietly in my kitchen, when the radio announced another Kassam alert in the Sderot region. Hence began the last day of a 6 month ceasefire, when Hamas and its allies have launched 236 non-guided rockets and mortars into Israel.

Move forwarded another  two and half days. As my peaceful Sabbath ended, my mobile beeped a message at me. 10 rockets and 24 mortars had been fired on the day of rest. The targets – Bedouins, Jews, tourists, whoever was in the path of terror.

This has become a humanitarian problem! Over the past few years, over 20% of Sderot’s population have been fled. Trauma levels became intolerable a long time ago. The papers show pictures of kids running in to schools, escaping the path of the deadly weapons.

Yes, during the truce, Israel has responded sporadically. So, is there a difference between the two sides? Well consider these facts.

Christian communities. In Jerusalem, the municipality has been handing out Christmas trees to the needy. In Gaza this year, the American school and the YMCA have been bombed, and the culprits have not been apprehended. Strange, as hamas controls the region with an iron fist.

Prisoners. Last week, as part of a good will package, Israel released around 230 Palestinians prisoners, all of whom had received constant Red Cross supervision. Hamas holds one prisoner, Corporal Gilad Shalit, who has spent over 900 days in captivity, without one visit from any overseas go-between.

Protests. A quick search will find a myriad of  overseas bloggers, resident in Israel, whose writings strongly oppose the country. In Gaza, the distribution of newspapers such as Al Ayyam and Al Hayat al Jadida are prevented. they do not support Hamas opinions.

Pilgrims: The New York Times reported that Hamas refused to allow 2,000 pilgrims to join the Haj pilgrimage. In parallel, Israeli authorities are working even closer with the Bethlehem municipality to ensure that Christians are able to visit the holy sites over Christmas….And so the list goes on.

Before the truce ended, Israel sent a high ranking envoy to Egypt to see if the agreement could be extended. The Hamas leadership made an announcement, carried on the international media, that such a deal was not on offer.

Would you allow a “peace” like that on your borders? Is that the kind of future you want for the Middle East? What will make Hamas learn that this is not the way to bring quality of life for any of the people involved?