Special Focus: Operation Cast Lead (27 December 2008 - 18 January 2009)

OPERATION CAST LEAD: The 1,400 Palestinian dead, most of them civilians, not to mention the staggering devastation revealed when Israel finally had to allow journalists into the Strip after it ended the assault, had a powerful impact on international and Arab opinion. Unfortunately, the shock of the assault was not sufficient to overcome the venomous split between the Fatah-backed Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the Hamas government that took over the Strip by force in July 2007.