A huge swathe of the public backed Netanyahu's decision to free Gilad Shalit from his prison; Israelis will similarly support the prime minister in a courageous decision to finally free them from the prison of the occupation. ... A MUST read from Haaretz: http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/netanyahu-is-holding-israel-hostage-1.391646 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Will he do it? I am so disappointed and pessimistic about Israel's will to seriously want peace...I won't hold my breath. What is your opinion?
Why should Israel give something for nothing? Why aren't you disappointed about the Arabs' will to seriously want peace, what have they ever done (besides a few cheap PR tricks) to demonstrate that they are serious about peace (hint nothing). Let me remind you that UN resolution 242 (aka Land for peace) does not demand Israel to withdraw unilaterally and unconditionally, it requires withdrawal in exchange for peace and secure defensible borders (which the arab world is not willing to accept) And here is a little history: 1. Israel unilaterally withdraws from Lebanon -> years of Katyusha rocket attacks culminating in the abduction and murder of Israel soldiers and the 2nd Lebanese war. 2. Israel unilaterally withdraws from Gaza -> years of Qassam rocket attacks culminating in the abduction of Gilad Shalit and the Gaza war. 3. Israel withdraws from Egypt (the Sinai) in exchange for peace -> years of peace and quiet on the Egyptian border 4. Israel does not withdraw from the Golan Heights -> years of complete peace and quiet on the Syrian border 5. Israel does not withdraw from the West Bank -> years of relative peace and quiet in the territories. Now back to my original question, why would Israel give something for nothing when each and every time it did it led to unmitigated disasters and thousands of casualties on both sides?
Israel hasn't withdrawn from the west bank. If they had, Israel would had nothing to give. this is what i don't get about Israel supporters. They don't want a one-state solution, but yet they do everything in the darnedest to deny a viable Palestinian state. They don't want a two-state solution, because they support settlement expansion, which is contradictory. Its like they expect Palestinians to disappear. Its a forgone conclusion, Israel doesn't want peace because it think it can ultimately steal more land. There is no other way to see it, Israel has the 4th best military in the world, they are a superpower in the region, they have the backing and support of America and England in any defensive war. A future state of Palestine is no real existential threat to Israel. Yet they oppose it. WHY?
As usual, poor Israel...always the victim! It is like a record gotten stuck on the turntable. Armed to their teeth with the latest and greatest war toys they still play that sorry tune about the Pals threatening their existence, although it has long been reversed - Israel threatens and harasses the Pal people on a daily routine basis. To answer your original question: Israel only needs to give back what it has stolen over many decades and still continues to steal today! Look at the map and tell me who owes whom? Since these maps were printed another 12 years of land robbery has passed. It is even less than what it shows here in 1999. Any comments?
Yawn, these maps have been fully debunked in another thread here http://www.politicalforum.com/middle-east/212952-map-palestines-true-story.html But let me just repeat my points (and a few others) from that thread to settle the matter once and for all: 1. Most of the green colored land on the left-most map did not belong to the Arabs. About 40% of the land belonged to the Arabs at the time and they got 45% of the land during the partition. The rest belonged to the government (non arab government). Case in point - the Negev desert, the entire southern part of the land which was virtually uninhibited and unsuitable for human life and agriculture at the time, yet somehow it's colored green. The desert made up more than half of the Israeli land during the partition 2. the second map from the left while mostly accurate, shows Jerusalem as a Palestinian city while in reality it was to be placed under international administration. Let me remind you that the map represented the partition resolution which the Jews accepted and the Arabs did not and invaded the newly founded Jewish state. 3. The green-colored areas on the 3rd map (1949 - 1967) did not belong to the Palestinians, the land belonged to Egypt and Jordan during that period of time. 4. The white-colored areas of the West Bank on the right-most map don't belong to Israel, the presence of Israeli troops there does not constitute Israeli ownership in any way, shape or form.
