After decades of fighting, misery, terror and death on both sides, can Israelis and Palestinians make peace?
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After 29 days of bitter fighting, terror and bloodshed that claimed the lives of at least 1,800 Palestinians and 67 Israelis, a humanitarian cease fire brokered by Egypt went into effect today. As the 72-hour truce took hold, Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza and took defensive positions outside the Gaza Strip on the Israeli side of the border. Israel and the Palestinians sent delegations to Cairo, Egypt to secure a permanent ceasefire after this 72-hour temporary one ends.
Both sides used the last minutes before the ceasefire went into effect, at 8:00AM local time, to launch attacks (Hamas fired 16 rockets at Israeli civilians and Israel launched 5 air strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza).
Ban Ki-moon , UN secretary-general, called for both sides to “commence, as soon as possible, talks in Cairo on a durable ceasefire and the underlying issues.” He went on to say that “in this regard, he welcomes the proactive engagement of the Palestinian delegation under the leadership of President Abbas.”
This sentiment was shared by former Israeli President Shimon Peres , who indicated in an interview with Wolf Blitzer that lasting peace cannot be had with rockets and tunnels and that Gaza should be controlled by the Palestinian Authority, which rules the West Bank. Perez went on to say that Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), is an essential figure in achieving an Israel-Palestinian peace since “he has the courage, more than any other Arab leader, to stand up and say, ‘I’m against terror. I’m against kidnapping…I’m for peace’.”
It is clear is that peace between Israel and the Palestinians will not only save many lives and bring with it great prosperity to the Palestinian, but will also greatly benefit Israel and surrounding Arab world.
Since all previous ceasefires ended up failing, and since this war (in one form or another) has been raging since 1948, is peace between the Palestinians and Israel possible, and if so, how and when?
Photo: EFFER LECEBE /Flicker
Tsach. Europe didn’t actually “accomplish” the current peace. Germany was smashed flat, millions of its citizens killed, infrastructure destroyed and the bulk of its fighting-age men dead, crippled, hiding in the ruins or prisoners. It was harshly occupied. See Capra’s orientation film for post-war occupation duty. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=821R0lGUL6A Then there was NATO (Needs Americans To Operate). We had 300k troops in Europe for half a century. It was good duty, after things got setlted down. It was known as a long tour–three years–and an accompanied tour–the military would put up your family, provide schools and whatnot. The Palestinians have not been… Read more »
SO you want the US to take credit as the good world police. USA has a long history of arming groups and then going to war with them. In fact US did trade with Austria-Hungry/Germany in WW1 and Nazi Germany in WW2 until it could no longer ignore the threats of war. USA even had plans of invading Canada in WW2, not becuase she possed a security threat but because the US was worried about competing with the British empires wealth. And the US has largely funded and supported the Israeli war machine since the inception of israel. Israel 60… Read more »
Richard,
Think big picture here, of course Europe accomplished the current peace. They created a common market and a common currency. Big departure from centuries of wars. Did the US play a role? Absolutely, but the US played and is playing a role in other parts of the world (Iraq anyone?) and peace is a fantasy for years to come.
The Israelis and Palestinians will get there in the end, the only question is at what cost to lives?
I don’t think they will get there anytime soon. Not until Hamas accept that the people of Israel are not going anywhere and until Israel admit that they were given something they had absolutley no right to take.
Neither of those will happen until the UN and the west remove themselves from the equation. Niether will it happen until the inhahbitors of Gaza become strong enough to make Hamas accountable and Israel pisses off its eternal victim complex. Until then this is the status quo.
Agree. There is no simple solution here and there are decades of anger, atrocities, killings, death and misery. However, there is no long term solution except peace. Other regions (Europe for one) have accomplished it after centuries of wars. Let’s hope it will take less time here.
To answer your question: When the Palestinians in their various groups and organizations cease trying to destroy Israel. See Hamas’ charter, for example.
So simple, but as Clauswitz said, in war even the simple things are hard.
To which the obvious answer is when Israel ceases collective punishment of a people, the illegal occupation of another country and crying antisemitism every time anyone anywhere legitimately questions Israeli actions – they may stop trying to wipe Israel off the map.