If everybody would just back off with the whole 'my god is better than your god' thing, this whole discussion would be unnecessary. The entire middle-east conflict is based on religious zeal and here we are debating the value of Jesus versus the Jewish. Are you two, with your Christian rhetoric, any better than the Muslims with theirs?
Furthermore, many of the posts in this thread seem to imply that the Palestinians must be oppressed because they resort to terrorism. One could just as easily say that the Palestinians must terrorize because the Israelis resort to oppression. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? I will go further than TD and say that we ought to force Israel to give the Palestinians a chunk of land. It has belonged to both groups in the past. Why should only one group own it now? However, unlike TD, my views are not based on anti-Semitism or religious convictions of any sort.
I believe the Arabs were deceived, lied to, and generally not given a fair shake after WWII. The Allies promised them the disputed land if they would support our efforts in the war. They held up their end of the bargain. Once it was over and Hitler's atrocities were discovered, we decided that the Jews needed a refuge, a homeland. The Palestinians have been forced by Britain and the U.S. to live under the military rule of their hated enemies, in the land they were promised, for decades. This is why they resort to terrorism.
Their land, sovereignty, and military were taken from them and given to their oppressors. They deal every day with Israeli soldiers in their homes, false arrests and interrogations, tanks, helicopters, poverty, and death. Again, both parties have a historical claim on the land. Both parties were promised the land. The Arabs controlled the land before WWII (among other times). Why not give some of the land to each party? Until this happens, there will be no peace. The Palestinians will not ever give up their claim on the land or their quest for sovereignty. Would you? The only other option is elimination of the Palestinians or of the Israelis. Both options would obviously result in a massive destabilization of the region.
Here's my scenario. There was a huge ethnic holocaust deep within Mexico, unknown to the world. The survivors need a place to live, out from under the government thumb. Let's say the entire world got together and decided that they didn't like the way Americans took Texas from Mexico long ago. They decide to give Texas to the Mexican survivors of the holocaust and take all weapons away from the Texans. American government agrees due to intense political pressure.
Mexicans take over with a massive military force. They roam the Texans' homes day and night looking for weapons, kicking their children in the faces, arresting the men, raping the women. Texans believe the land is rightfully theirs and can't believe this is happening to them after the years of being loyal Americans. They also refuse to leave their 'homeland.' Furthermore, America begins to supply the Mexicans with tanks, fighters, and weapons of all sorts. The Mexicans won't leave because they have the power and a historical claim to the land. My question is...would anybody blame the Texans if they started terrorizing? Should they just leave? They really have no other option other than submission.
This analogy, like all analogies, isn't completely accurate but it is a pretty strong parallel. Please don't respond with...'America would never allow it' because that's not the point. The point is that people have a strong attachment to the places they live in and a strong hatred for those who will take it and oppress them. There can be compromise in the Middle East but it will have to entail a concession of land and sovereignty to the Palestinians.
I don't care about either group more than the other, although I usually root for underdogs when I don't have a favorite. I have read much literature by both groups, however, and realize that the sticking point is and always will be the land. Neither group will live landless in peace so the only solutions are:
1. Split the land
2. Eliminate one of the groups
3. Continue to fight
The third option will include terrorism, as it is the only form of fighting available to the Arabs. By supporting Israel's lack of concessions, we are thus creating/causing terrorism.
