Since it seems like our Jewish members have some strong opinions on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, I would for once like to stop the blame game and hear on what terms you think there should be peace. Not just "stop the terrorism", but how should the real issues behind the conflict be resolved?
Peace in the Middle East
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Jane_the_Bane
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Give the Palestinians a state of their own (under the premise that they cease hostilities and no longer follow the rationale of "driving the Jews into the sea").
Declare Jerusalem a neutral zone shared by both factions.
In the end, this whole vicious cycle of violence boils down to the classic schoolyard fight situation. No one's ready to back down, and everybody points at the other shouting: "But HE'S started it!"
Just leave it. Every retaliation merely creates another "blood debt". Wounds don't heal if you constantly claw at them just to prove how much you've suffered at the hand of your opponent.
Declare Jerusalem a neutral zone shared by both factions.
In the end, this whole vicious cycle of violence boils down to the classic schoolyard fight situation. No one's ready to back down, and everybody points at the other shouting: "But HE'S started it!"
Just leave it. Every retaliation merely creates another "blood debt". Wounds don't heal if you constantly claw at them just to prove how much you've suffered at the hand of your opponent.
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Jane_the_Bane
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That's hardly for me to decide. I'm not familiar with the territory at all, and randomly drawing lines on a map is pretty dangerous business.
The most important aspect that I *can* determine is that religious tensions ought to be defused by not handing Jerusalem over to the exclusive control of either party. People attach far too much significance to that heap of stones. Too many lives have been lost for it already.
Apart from that, both territories should be able to sustain themselves. Drinking water, arable land - that sort of thing.
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Ave Maria
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As for where the borders should go, I have no idea. I am not familiar with the area and so have no idea what would be a fair partitioning of the land.
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When it comes to drawing borders, I think that what's more important than the actual position of the border, is that nobody gets displaced when the border is drawn.
Worship of the nation-state (also known as "nationalism", "patriotism", etc) is not only idolatrous, but quite hazardous too. National borders are abstract lines on the map. But there's nothing abstract about being expelled from your home to make way for the people of another state.
Worship of the nation-state (also known as "nationalism", "patriotism", etc) is not only idolatrous, but quite hazardous too. National borders are abstract lines on the map. But there's nothing abstract about being expelled from your home to make way for the people of another state.
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Jane_the_Bane
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I agree completely! Without nationalism, most of the atrocities of the 20th century would not have happened.
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Kutte
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The question, "Where should the border between Israel and Palestine go" reminds me of the animal kingdom where some species (dogs for instance) mark their territories by relieving themselves at certain spots. Some conflicts do arise, however, but nothing compared how humans under the banner of "nationalism" defend their borders.
We are still a very immature species compared to animals.
One way to resolve the Middle East conflict would be if all Palestinian became Israeli citizen with rights to be elected to important government posts. After this happens then they could still decide to rename the entire region "Palestine" by a popular major vote.
Oh well, common sense is not common.
Kutte
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We are still a very immature species compared to animals.
One way to resolve the Middle East conflict would be if all Palestinian became Israeli citizen with rights to be elected to important government posts. After this happens then they could still decide to rename the entire region "Palestine" by a popular major vote.
Oh well, common sense is not common.
Kutte
</IMG>
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That depends. Are they real enough issues to shed blood over? Is it more of religious issues or political or racial? Are not both Israelis and Arabs middled-eastern Semites?
One "way out there" scenario could be that the US governemnt just buy up the whole country of Israel and turn it into a state like Texas or California, where religion/color/race/creed is mainly a non-issue in most disputes. [Just kidding folks
]
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Secundulus
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Like others, I have no idea how one might draw the borders.
But I am pessimistic that any border redrawing can solve this issue within the current political climate.
The legally elected government of the Palestinians has stated outright that their only interest is in the total elimination of Israel.
As long as they continue to stand by this position, no lasting solution, other than the elimination of one or the other, is possible.
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How would a wise king resolve this issue?
Ok, how about, remove everyone from the land, and destroy the land so that it remains uninhabitable for a good number of centuries... unless, of course, the one side agrees that the other can have it.
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Kalevalatar
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One of the most important issues to settle is water. Currently, over 80% of the West Bank water is diverted to Israel for Iraeli use. It's an ussustainable situation: a viable Palestinian state cannot be if the state of Israel sucks all the water from beneath it.
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T
Till
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Putting the border into dispute is actually already accepting some of the Israeli preconditions to peace negotiations. Legally the situation is very clear. Israel in 1967 occupied the West Bank during a war. Which Israel did not start so the occupation in itself is not illegal. However Israel then started to build settlements on this occupied territory and - as was mentioned - diverted water sources. This building of settlements is going on till this very day. Now Israel has also started to build a separation wall on occupied territory. Now all this is completely illegal and has to stop and be rolled back. Meaning the settlements have to be dismantled and the wall broken down. Then Israel has to leave the occupied territory and an international peace force - dieally under US leadership - has to be deployed along the Israeli-Palestinian border.
Any other compromise that Palestinian leaders might accept would inevitably lead to more violence in the future.
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