Understanding the Palestinian death wish
Over at the Captain's Quarters, Captain Ed understands the 'Palestinians' to a tee:They do not want peace. They want Israel. Nothing short of that will satisfy the Palestinians, and all of the talk in the world will do not one whit of good until they understand that we will not allow them to destroy Israel, and of course neither will the Israelis.
This, as Rubin explains, is why the Palestinians do not care about economic development or rational self-government. Hamas, Fatah, and Islamic Jihad emulate the Middle Eastern kleptocracies to the extent that they continue to keep their people poor and radicalized, ready to martyr themselves rather than live peacefully in prosperity. The Palestinians themselves support these leaders because they give them what they want -- a purpose in life and especially in death: the destruction of Israel and death to the Jews.
The West needs to shut down the negotiating process and allow Israel to defend itself. No one in the Palestinian political structure has any interest in peaceful co-existence with Israel. If they did suddenly endorse it, the Palestinians would realize how badly they have been led for decades and would probably rise up and kill them, and still would take another generation to figure out that their misery comes from their own bad decisions. Our interference in that process only delays the eventual epiphany.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:18 AM
2 Comments:
Yup, agreed.
As I said before, I am all for a bi-state solution, if I trusted the Palestinians to lay down their arms - but I don't trust that, because they have not been trustworthy in the entire history of Israeli-Palestinian relations.
*sighs*
Oh, I want to add something else...
Every single debate I have had with "moderate" Palestinians starts with how the Israelis had a land grab in 1948. The "moderate" Palestinians are still fighting that battle and still believe in the right of return.
In fact, and I do not exaggerate - I have yet to meet a "moderate Palestinian" who doesn't believe in the right of return and illegitimacy of the 1948 creation of the State of Israel. The gripe does not go back to 1948, even - they argue about the legitimacy of the Balfour Declaration!
While in THEORY I would be for a bi-state solution, I do not believe that the circumstances allow for it within my lifetime - and I am in my 20s. The Palestinians - including "moderate" Palestinians - are still fighting old battles. They still will cite Theodore Herzl and zionism as somehow the root of the problem. The best that can be achieved in the immediate future is a detante.
The only possibility for peace is when the current generation dies off - so 40 years, easily. But the hate is so deep, that I believe the kids of this generation will also be inculcated - so 80 years, easily. They are too indoctrinated with hate to accept peace. That is my sad belief and the reality I see.
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