. All the proIsrael people on this thread seem to say the Palestinians have no legitimate claim, but all the folks on Bill Moyers' show, had antique keys to houses that they say were bulldozed, or had antique deeds to land they say was expropriated. I guess they are liers.
I heard the grandmother on the show. She did have keys, and did you hear her explanation of how she left her village? She said, "the Jews killed people in Deir Tassin [she got the name mixed up a little; it was Deir Yassin]. They took the women. Will you wait for your mother's daughter to be taken?...so we left"
In short, they left because of the radio broadcasts, they didn't wait to see any soldiers. As I said, there was a general panic, largely spread by the Arabs themselves, who had thought that the news of Deir Yassin (suitably exaggerated) would stiffen resistance; instead, it fomented a panic.
What must be the conditions like for these people that so many care nothing for their own lives, can so easily strap a bomb on their bodies and say good bye to this world so effortlessly
Maybe the ad campaign from their rulers in the PA calling the suicide bombers the most honorable people on earth, and paying big bucks to the surviving families, are also having an effect. Most the humiliating conditions, let's not forget, are not the cause of the campaign of suicide bombers, but the result of it. This is also by design. If Al Quaeda begins a suicide bombing campaign in New York, don't you think we will see checkpoints, and humiliating examination for anyone who looks Arab?
Here's an interesting quote from an article about suicide bombers.
Publicly, suicide attackers are regaled among Palestinians as war heroes. Yet, simmering beneath the surface is the issue of the role of Palestinian leaders in arranging suicide bombings. Other than exceptional cases, most suicide bombers are outfitted and dispatched by organized groups: Hamas, Islamic Jihad or al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. While it is easy to hear despairing comments about the state of youthful minds, it is harder to find criticism of the agents who, confronted with disturbed persons, send them out to kill and be killed.
At Dareen Abu Aisheh's wake, a reporter asked for opinions about the people who might have sent her to her death.
There was silence for a moment, then random talk about the breakdown of leadership, injustices to Palestinians, large numbers of Palestinian deaths and deep economic problems. In the end, there was no criticism of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Hamas or any other group. The flags of each organization waved over the wake, as did the red, green and white Palestinian banner.
Silence and random talk? do you suppose that the family might have had a few critical words if they had been free to speak their minds? Criticising Arafat's policies (make no mistake, Al Aqsa is carrying out Arafat's policies) is not at all healthy in PA territory.
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