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• Tuesday, January 13, 2009 02:31 PM

  @Xanthro

  Xanthro: "if someone is a Jew Hater, I will continue to be disagreeable."

  Not agreeing with Israeli policy does not demonstrate that one is a Jew hater.

  Xanthro: "Israel no longer insists that all the West Bank and Gaza be part of Israel"

  Israel, as a country, has never "insisted" on that, even though that was clearly been the goal of much of the Israeli-right and Israeli-right leaders (including Israel founding-era terrorist Menachem Begin - who was Israel's PM during the '82 Lebanon War).

  Xanthro: "A two state solution is now a workable solution. Both sides now agree with the goal, it's the details that require work. Previously, even the goal itself wasn't agreed upon. That is a huge change."

  That two state solution was agreed upon during Rabin's tenure as PM -- a tenure was cut short because an Israeli religious radical assassinated Rabin over said agreement because he thought it was his religious duty to do so.

  And in that aftermath of Rabin's assassination the Israeli-right came back into power, now with Benjamin Netanyahu as PM. And although they paid lip service to said agreement Netanyahu and Co. proceeded to undermine it - in part by accelerating settlement expansion in the West Bank.

  Xanthro: "If the PLO ran the West Bank and Gaza as competently as Hamas has run Gaza over the last year, Palestine would already be a State."

  Possibly, though Israel's continued settlement expansion would have undermined said peace process. That said there's plenty enough blame to go around on both sides for the continuing conflict, to be sure.

  Xanthro: "If like in 1982, Hamas understands that they can't military defeat Israel, and that a two-state solution is the only possible outcome, then Israel gains, because it has another entity to peace talks."

  While I hope that's what happens here I'm far from optimistic on that. And if Hamas is instead rendered to weak to govern then it may be that the al Qaeda-types will gain control of Gaza - a decisive victory for the anti-peace elements in both Israel and Palestine.

  —Publicola Read Publicola's other letters
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