UN Chief Ban Ki-moon: Gaza Situation “on Knife-Edge”

Israel and Gaza continue an unending cycle of rage and retaliation, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warns the region "cannot afford another full-blown war," reports BBC News. “He demanded that Hamas militants stop firing rockets and also urged the Israeli government to exercise restraint and respect international obligations to protect civilians.” The most recent exchange of rockets began after three Israeli teens were kidnapped in the West Bank area, shortly after Hamas and Fatah formed a unity Palestinian government opposed by Israel. Israel blamed Hamas, which denied a role in the deaths. Shortly afterward, a Palestinian boy was burned alive and then Israeli police were filmed beating a young US citizen. Israel’s military capability far outweighs that of the Palestinians, and the country also has a missile defense dome. The exchange of rockets and violence emerges as civil war rages in nearby Syria and Iraq and hundreds of thousands of desperate, frustrated refugees wait in horrific conditions in Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen and elsewhere. Governments lack control over the extremists in their midst who are intent on triggering waves of violence. – YaleGlobal