I read an interesting article in the International Herald Tribune. The premise was that if Israel were to pull out of the Gaza Strip as they had pulled out of southern Lebanon they would regain the moral "high ground" and weaken Hamas.
I've thought for quite a while that the Israeli army was acting more like Nazis than I would have believed possible ten or fifteen years ago. And I can see little or no justification for these settlements in the occupied territories. To my mind, they seem to be guilty of the worst kind of racism in endorsing these settlements.
I think Israel has to withdraw from Gaza and come to terms on sharing the West Bank and Jerusalem. This whole state of affairs appears to be morally bankrupting Israel and I cannot see a positive resolution without some sort of land-sharing agreement.
But then, this is probably just moot. They are the same race of people, divided by culture and religion. At the very least, the US should threaten (and mean) removing foreign aid unless they negotiate a lasting peace. But with the NeoCons in power, and given political realities (like neither side wanting to give up either New York or Florida's votes) I don't think this is likely to happen either.
Posted by artandscience at June 15, 2004 11:24 PM