I agree that implementing it will be hard as hell. But the suggestion that Israeli should continue its current policy is not compatible with peace aspirations. It is important to realize that neither side is "innocent" in this conflict, both have split great deals of blood. The situation will progress nowhere until both sides agree to work for peace, at this point both sides seem half-hearted at best.

This is why the UN has to play an active role in this, like in Lebanon, there must be buffer between the two forces. It worked rather well in the "surrendered" parts of the Golan Heights, and I believe a similar style monitoring could work again.

Potentially, Palestinians might strike the first blow, but the Israelis have an itching trigger finger too, so the second either side commits the slightest transgression then all hell will break loose, again.

Again, I'll stick to supporting Niceguy's draft, unfortunately there is no way in hell that it would pass through the Knesset.

theres no way in hell it would go along with Palestinian plans... any way you look at it, it will be almost impossible to implement. *sigh* this is a tough one. We have to remember the very beginning of the problem: Palestine believes the land is theirs and Israel believes the land is theirs. With or without propaganda, people will defend what they believe.

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Save the environment! Plant a Bush back in Texas.
The last time people listened to a bush, they ended up wandering around the desert for 40 years.

Also realize that you make three huge assumptions. 1. The U.N. wants to be involved in that degree. 2. The Pals want the agreement 3. The Israelis want the agreement.

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"Democracy is a process by which the people are free to choose the man who will get the blame."

-Laurence J. Peter

I remember, a few years ago that the UN indeed wanted to be involved in this way and so wanted the Palestinians, the sole reason why it didn't happen was that the Israeli government refused to let in any UN troops in the area. I cannot give a link to this since the info is in my memory but I can give you a parallel, the Jenin incident. Israel did indeed prevent UN to send rescue teams into this area causing a disaster. Since the UN has no military arm to force it's way to people in need of help, they was left to die under the rubble of collapsed buildings, other atrocities happened as well.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/mid...st/1937387.stm
http://www.hrw.org/press/2002/04/un-inquiry0424.htm

Here are an report about international police aid:
http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr85.html

I'd presume one is allowed to assume both sides want peace when working out a peace settlement, for otherwise the whole thing is pointless.

1. As Niceguy said, the UN does want to be involved, it is Israel who doesn't want the UN to be involved.
2. Moderate Palestinians do...
3. Moderate Israelis do...

Only the extreme wings on both sides want to extend this conflict to the bloody end. The clear majority on both sides want peace if it can be found within reasonable terms.

Last week, Israeli Parliament rejected Sharon's proposed withdraw from Gaza. :heart breaker: There is no love in the region.

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"Democracy is a process by which the people are free to choose the man who will get the blame."

-Laurence J. Peter

Violence only hardens attitudes and pushes reconciliation further away. Such attitudes get passed on to the next generation. The Israel/Palestinian conflict will not be resolved by violence.
The Israeli state is a gangster state as much as any , a parasite of America, serving statist dreams and those of 'Jehovah', which sends young people off to blow up other young people.

Palestinians are called terrorists, while Israelis are said to defend their right to exist. Every other day the Israelis kill half a dozen Palestinians, demolish the same number of their houses, where they eventually construct houses for Israeli settlers. The whole world knows that the Palestinians are refugees in their own lands as elsewhere. The "civilized world" looks the other way when Israel brutally shoots down Palestinian children. Israel gets the maximum amount of US aid and all kinds of weapons including fighter planes, tanks and God knows what else.

This has been going on for half a century. Even the land which was permitted by Israel to be under the Palestinian Authority is being gradually taken by the Israelis. UN have passed dozens of resolutions censuring Israel, which doesn't care two hoots for such resolutions. Any important decision against Israel in the UN is promptly vetoed by the US.

The problem of Palestine is basically a conflict between The Israelis (who occupy the land of the Arabs) and the original people of the land; actually the original people of the land are mostly Muslims, but there are Christians too. Really it is not a fight between Islam and Judaism.

This struggle in Palestine has been going on for generations now... I think both sides have pretty much forgotten what it is like to live peacefully beside each other. All they know is war. It is ingrained in both of their cultures.

Interestingly enough I don't believe Israel should be destroyed. I think the Jews have a historical and cultural right to live there. But I do think Israel's policies towards the Palestinians should end. Too many excuses are given which have really no argument. Many pro-Israelis complain that the plight of the Palestinians is the direct result of their own actions. Had they accepted the 1948 partition then they would have a land of their own. Although there is some truth in that, at it's basis the argument is flawed. Anyone with an ounce of brain matter can tell you that if after defeating your enemy you grind him down to the dust, then the war never really ends.

Look at World War II. At the end of the war the Allies could have very well carved up and occupied Germany indefinitely. They could have abolished the German flag, the German national anthem and prohibited German refugees to return to their country. This of course would have created the exact situation that we have today: Germans would grow up in a devastated land without hope for the future and eventually they would turn to extremist groups that advocate violence and terrorism. Peace would never arrive.

Instead, the Allies rebuilt Germany, created a democratic government, strengthened its economy and included it in their global affairs. The result: Germany recovers rapidly and become a peaceful, prospering nation.

Those lessons should have been applied to Palestine a long time ago. The only cure for terrorism is hope. If Israel built schools and hospitals in the Occupied Territories instead of exclusionary settlements and military outposts, we would see a real change.

Based on what facts do you assume that

I've been to Israel many times and the fact is that the culture is not violent. In fact both Palestinians and Israelis would live normal, peaceful lives save the anger evident in some Palestinians. The Jews do not seek to exterminate the Palestinians (at least the Israeli leadership doesn't) and yet the Palestinian leaders have claimed time and again that they do not want peace. The foremost Palestinian officials have said that given the land, they would exterminate the Jewish population. Yet both sides are violent, true. Now how on earth can you conclude that all they know is war? What evidence do you have to support that? Ingrained in both their cultures? Do you KNOW about both their cultures??

And YES, this is a problem between the Jews and the Arabs. The Jews were there over 1000 years ago, and they find identity with Jerusalem and the ancient places that are holy to them as do the Muslims. But indeed, this is a conflict between Muslims and Jews. Face it, the Palestinians have said time and again that they despise the Jews. Perhaps some or even many Israelis despise the Muslims, but the leadership of Israel does not yell it out to everyone. You talk about how Israel is killing people all the time but you don't mention that Palestinians have been murdering innocent civilians as well.

Also, this is not a discussion about who did what- this is a discussion about what should be done to fix the problem. So please refrain from too much emphasis on the wrongs...

Thanks!
Freedomisntfree[/i]

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Save the environment! Plant a Bush back in Texas.
The last time people listened to a bush, they ended up wandering around the desert for 40 years.

There is not nearly enough war-weariness among either the Israelis or the Palestineans. The problem is that neither side (but particularily the Palestineans, because they have lost so much) is willing to compromise enough. I can't see any peace before a lot more blood is shed.

If the Palestineans were smart, they'd launch a non-violent civil disobedience program, but that isn't glamorous enough for the arab soul. As it is, Israel can point to its murdered pregnant settlers and justify the odd Apache missle strike.

If the Palestinians were smart, they'd accept what Israel is offering them: a country. But for now, the choose to remain the "poor refugees with no place to go" and nothing to lose- thats why they do the suicide bombings, they have nothing to lose. And I think that's how they like it. To show the world that wrong is being done in Israel. Accepting a two state solution would be much simpler yes, but they want worldwide attention.

__________________
Save the environment! Plant a Bush back in Texas.
The last time people listened to a bush, they ended up wandering around the desert for 40 years.