Ninety percent of regimes throughout history would have made their point by executing the family of the bombers, and maybe everyone he knew, just for added impact. Some regimes would have killed everyone in the village.

This tactic would work flawlessly. Suicide bombings would stop in their tracks.

Killing every last Palestinian would end the conflict. So, just to keep it in perspective, would killing every last Israeli. Genocide settles political issues like nothing else ever has.

That's what makes it so very tempting. Evil is ever so much easier.

And that's what makes remaining civilized harder work than being barbaric.

The fact that Israel responds to mass murder with simple property damage, however extensive, shows a restraint that is not common in human history. Hell, they might as well just levy heavy fines. Given the civilized perspective of most Americans, it's not surprising that few would realize just how close to oblivion the Palestinians could be under other circumstances.