The Yediot poll found a statistical tie when it asked Israelis about whether Netanyahu or President Barack Obama is to blame for the current crisis. But when Haaretz asked about the US president's treatment Israel, a surprising 69 percent cast it in a positive light. Just over half said it was business-like, 21 percent said hostile, and 18 percent friendly.
Unlike some people seem to think, most Israelis are truly interested in peace and willing to reach consensus on a constructive solution with the Palestinians, which is why it really shocks me when I read here on ATS that some people wish Israel to be wiped off the map.
These people were given the land and if Palestinians cannot accept this, they should move away. However, Israel needs to withdraw to the borders of 1967 and that is going to be very difficult do the large number of illegal settlements, which are illegal as indicated in a secret memo: click
A short quote:
The database also shows that, in more than 30 settlements, extensive construction of buildings and infrastructure (roads, schools, synagogues, yeshivas and even police stations) has been carried out on private lands belonging to Palestinian West Bank residents.
The author put it very well:
The settlements are like those blood sucking vampire bats which remove just enough blood from their victims so as not to kill them, but too much to do much good for their health. Or to put it another way, settlements are the Count Dracula of Israeli society. They suck up the lifeblood and nothing can kill them except a stake through the heart. And which Israeli leader has the courage to face the deadly Count and plunge the dagger?
Unfortunately, the previous governments did not have the courage 'to plunge the dagger.' The current administration on the contrarily actively supports the development of settlements.
I remember the pictures from a dismantling of an illegal settlement that happened a few years ago very well.
An impression:
These people are so determined and radical - they really believe that the land they stole from Palestinians is truly part of their 'promised land' and they don't even consider giving up their settlements. Considering the pretty significant number of settlements, abolishing all of them would create extreme instability, unrest and perhaps even uprisings.
Obviously, the Israeli government is never going to ban the construction of settlements, let alone demolish those that already exist. This is also one of the most important reasons why so many Israelis and Palestinians unnecessarily need to suffer. As a consequence, I don't see peace happening anytime soon.
[url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2010/0319/Nearly-half-of-Israel-supports-Quartet-call-for-Israeli-settlement-freeze]www.csmonitor.com[ /url]
(visit the link for the full news article)
[edit on 19-3-2010 by Mdv2]
