len, it is really very simple, there were (and maybe still are) parts of the Zionist movement that wanted to claim both sides of the Jordan river (what was "promised" in the Balfour declaration, and what the original League of Nations supported). During 1948, David Ben Gurion, took the Jewish militant groups to task, and with the force of arms, got them to "fall in line", accept the partition and dismantle their independent armed forces and bring all armed forces under one single organization (what is known as Zahal or IDF), subservient to the civilian government, like in any democratic state. Until Arafat does what Ben Gurion did, he has no chance of helping his people to a state of their own. The longer he waits, the less he gets. That may not be nice, but it is an historical fact. It is not unique to the Israeli conflict. Other conflicts have resulted in land losses (Sakhalin from Japan, Breslau and Koenigsberg from Germany part of the Punjab from India and the list goes on). The world has created close to 100 MM refugees in the last century (the Taliban themselves are responsible for 4 MM Afghan refugees as we write), all these refugees problems, as painful as they were (and I was one myself, I know the pain) were resolved in time. Only the Palestinian refugees problem has not been resolved but kept simmering for political reasons. The Arab leaders, unfortunately, are willing to fight the existence of Israel until the last drop of Palestinian blood. It is time for the Palestinians to recognize that the PLO's long term strategy ("Time is on our side...") has not worked for fifty years, and every year that passes, the dimmer are their prospects for a national expression. They will end up as "South Syria" (what Palestine was for a long time under Ottoman rule), or as East Jordan (as they were for 20 years between 1949 and 1967, during which, there were no Palestinian national "aspirations"). Israel will not commit national suicide, and the world has no moral right to request such from Israel. You posted yourself the words of the wise Doctor (and they reflect the thoughts within mainstream Palestinian political movements, not necessarily all Palestinian people) : "What is the final goal of Islamic peoples everywhere?" he said. "It is to establish an Islamic state in Palestine, in Egypt, in Lebanon, in Saudi Arabia—everywhere under a single caliphate. There is no role for a Jewish state in this.". Well, the Israeli do not want to be part of that "great "Caliphate". At least, not now.
Zeev |
