Reply #13: You just said it - nobody with whom to negotiate. That's been [View All]

[Colorado Blue]

the problem since 1967 - actually since 1948, but since '67 with regard to the Palestinians in the West Bank/Gaza. With whom can the Israelis negotiate? The Israelis WANT to negotiate. The PLO wasn't an option. Those of you who were alive during those ancient times might recall Munich, Black September in Lebanon, the burning airliners, the terror attacks. And none of the Arab states would negotiate. Even today only Jordan and Egypt have peace agreements with Israel. Withdrawal from the territories was predicated on peace agreements. So where are they?

Oslo attempted to change that, to make the PLO/Fatah a legitimate political body - but the violence has soared since then instead of diminishing. Nonetheless some hope remains as long as the P.A. center holds.

Civil war would be terrible for Palestinians and Israelis alike. For the Palestinians the scenario is obvious - beyond the bloodshed, the destruction of hope, of what economic promise still exists. For Israel, chaos on their borders, in a country so small there is no room for error or the chaos will threaten them as well - plus the creation of a region even more traumatized and impoverished than it already is. This is no recipe for regional stability - other countries would be affected as well: Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria, possibly even the Arabian peninsula. That of course would be a nightmare scenario for the US.

Violence is no way to solve problems. But no matter how often people say that nobody seems to listen and the violence rages on.