Sorry, that's a dumb joke. I picture RAFO as a quiet cafe with not mcuh passers by.
From my POV, there's much merit to both your talking points. I mean, the pro-Palestinian supporters seem to be so righteous and unquestioning I tend to think maybe they have the right attitude for their cause. I don't seem to recall such disruptive protests when Assad was killing 300000 Sunnies, but hit Gaza with a fraction of that force and you get tehm all riled up.
I think Isrsel needs to adopt a carrot and stick attitude, give more carrots to Fatah. What those carrots should be, I'm not sure.
You and I always agreed Israel should withdraw to the 1967 borders with some land swaps, but if there is something Gaza has shown it is that things are never that simple. Why wouldn't Hamas take over the west bank and continue its resistance from there ? There are plenty of children and civilians to hide behind in the West Bank too, and you know the pro-Palestinian crowd will keep at it no matter what.
There was a good comparison somewhere between the Palestinians and Iraqi Kurdistan. Barazani said they also had the option of terror, but chose nation building instead. If Gaza had chosen nation building, they could have forced Israel via popular opinion to lift the blockade in 6 months, a year tops. You and I know that if Israel lifts the blockade they would use it to bring in even heavier weaponry, which will result in more children dying when playing at the beach.
Anyways, that's just talk because it's the time for a stick now, and that's something Bibi is doing very well right now. There is really no choice. Bibi cannot allow routine rockets on Tel Aviv, even if they do get intercepted. Because rockets and sirens day in and day out will make anyone who is young and capable or has a dual citizenship leave to Europe or the US. He's got Egypt in our corner now and Hamas must be hit as hard as possible.
I really cannot see how he can do anything different.
Israel had a golden opportunity during the unilateral withdrawal in 2005 to prop up a faction which was not hamas when they retreated. instead they left hamas its own golden opportunity to seize power over fatah and the other factions, ending in the bloody takeover in 2007. at some point Israel needs to acknowledge that their actions are destroying a two-state solution to the conflict, and that it is in their best interests to be beneficent toward the Palestinians. after all, people who have nothing to lose are much more likely to turn to terrorist organizations like hamas, but if they have something to lose (like a stable life, food, water, etc) they are less likely to seek out violence as a solution to their problems. continuing the occupation and subjugation of the Palestinians just breeds more terrorism and more extremists, thus perpetuating the violence on both sides.
bibi also missed out another golden opportunity to diminish hamas by accepting the power arrangement of the Palestinian Authority, but instead he walked away and accelerated the settlement programs. There have been way too many missed opportunities by Israel to negotiate an actual peaceful arrangement at this point, especially if they continue to insist that all of the settled land is part of the official state of Israel. they can't have it both ways by pretending to be a partner in peace, then destroying any possibility of peace by expanding settlements and building bigger and stronger walls on the borders.
"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman
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So much for shortening.
- 29/06/2015 08:46:35 PM
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