If you can't negotiate with extremists, you take away their platform. People who are enraged and have nothing to lose because their homes have been destroyed or loved ones killed will strap bombs on their backs or confront an overwhelmingly superior military force like Israel. People who are somewhat angry, but have hope in their lives that they can have some space and freedom and can live a normal life are not likely to do such things and are less likely to seek refuge in extremist religion.
The Gaza Strip was a start, but it was not so much generosity as pragmatism -- the land was no good, and Israel was going to great expense to protect a tiny population that had pushed its way into the very midst of a far larger and unappreciative Arab population. Israel simply has to give back most of the West Bank to form a Palestinian state, including reasonable supply of water, reasonable land, connected with road access throughout. They've also got to take at least some of the refugees from camps and into permanent settlements within Israel and the occupied territories -- for the rest they should pay for resettlement of them in other areas, like maybe buy land in an unpopulated part of Egypt or somewhere. If they paid some compensation, Egypt would probably be happy. Some radicals won't agree to this -- both Israeli and Arab, but I'm willing to bet Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordon would welcome a Palestinian state as a final geopolitical solution. I would be more scared about the Israeli radicals than the Arab ones. Here's an idea -- if trouble-makers on either side cause trouble, their own side pays restitution out of their government funds -- a sort of legal contract. If a religious leader gives an edict to commit acts of violence, jail them.
I think that is true that much of the world would love freedom, secularism, and a consumer culture in the absense of outside forces. They need to be led to this gently. When outside forces try to impose things through somewhat indiscriminate military force, it just leads to tribal extremist reaction, as in Iraq. |
