[Aloofi]

Originally posted by teal:


1- I must disagree with your statement that "if the Palestenians stopped fighting their would be peace". If the Palestenians stopped fighting their would be no Palestein (in that sense there would be peace, but that's not what you meant).

2- The Economist published a map of the Isreali settlements in the occupied territories about a year ago. Its very hard, looking at that map, to reach any other conlusion than that Isreal has adopted the strategy of placing settlements to make it a fait accompli that the occupied territories are Isreali and belong to Isreal.

3- If the Palestenians do nothing then they will loose their homeland to the steady march of time and an expanding Isreal.

4- Madeline Albright has suggested in a speech that both sides know that the Isrealis must give up the settlements and the Palestenians must give up the right of return.

Teal

Well, I don't have the time now to get into an in-deep discussion, but here's what I see.

1- If the Palestinians stop fighting there would be peace, and they would get all that they want, because even under fire there is a very strong peace movement in Israel. If they had chosen Ghandi's path the peaceniks would have the mayority of Israel behind them. Israel is a Democracy, you know, and Democracies have a hard time not doing what their people wants.
Now, where's the Palestinian peace movement? I don't see an equivalent to Gush Shalom on the other side of the green line.

2- The economist? Please.
I bet they didn't mention that in 1948 Jordan occupied the West Bank and built twice as many settlements as Israel have built till this day, and Jordan brought in Arabs from everywhere in the Arab world to settle. Many Palestinians are either Arab foreigners are sons of foreigners, and the UN gave the status of refugees to people that have lived in the area less than 2 years in some cases! I thought a refugee is somebody uprooted from his native land, didn't you?
I'm also sure that they didn't mention the 850 000 Sefaradi Jews expelled from Arabs countries, including Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza, who's properties were confiscated. But Israel asimilated them, while the Arabs didn't asimilate the 420 000 Arabs that left Israel by orders of their own leaders. Did they mention the Jews of Gaza?
One other question, why are still "refugee camps" in the territory controled by the Palestinian Authority?

3- Lose their homeland? When the Brittish took 75% of the Palestinian Mandate, ordered by the League of Nations to be the Jewish Home, and created the Kingdom of Jordan, they created the Palestinian homeland. Very smart of them to not call it Kingdom of Palestine, so they can claim the other side of the Jordan river also.

4- Madelaine Allbright is not all bright, or maybe she is, depending of what she really wants.
So, we give a real tangible thing, we give land, and they give a promise? A promise that they can break after they get the land? With the Palestinian record of keeping promises?
You gotta be kidding.

.
Oh well, that was my rant. Not that it matters, since there is nothing that can be done.