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Advice is not permission.
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Thats the way I see it. It seems to be the way most people are seeing it. Maybe we can agree do disagree on this point?
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So? You think we have a lot of leverage in the Muslim world? The US will never abandon Israel as long as it is a democratic and free society. As long as millions of Arabs surround her and threaten to kill her we will protect her. We would do the same for any nation; we promised to do as much in 1948. So did the rest of the free world.
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Like we will ever have the confidence or the good will of the Arab/Muslim world. As long as we support Israel's right to exist, we will forever be on wrong side of Islam.
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Yes, I do think we have a lot of leverage in the Muslim world. If we will never have the confidence of the Arab/Muslim world, why bother trying to build a democracy in Iraq? For that matter, why bother trying to encourage democracy anywhere in the region? Why bother maintaining embassies and giving financial assistance to Arab states?
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It also required that Arab nations recognize Israel's right to exist and the "termination of all claims or states of belligerency". Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon have all agreed and their land has been returned.
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There is peace between Israel and Egypt and Jordan. There are also no outstanding land issues between these three nations. However, in the case of both Lebanon and Syria, Israel still hasnt returned land claimed by these nations. (Sheba farms and the Golan Heights, respectively) It is no coincidence that these nations have not as yet made peace with Israel.
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As we can see, the PLO and organizations like Hamas have never ceased to threaten Israel. As such, Israel is well within international law to maintain control over the contested lands; not only because the Palestinians have yet to live up to the Resolution, but also to protect herself.
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The PLO in 88 accepted the idea of the 2 state solution, implying Israel's right to exist. The idea behind the subsequent Oslo framework was known as "land for peace". They were also quite succesful at preventing terrorist attacks against Israel during this period, indeed much more succesful than Israel has been lately, acting on her own. It is also important to remember that from the Israeli side settlement building continued during this period, negating the "land" side of the equation.
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Huh? The British began establishing a "Jewish State" as early as 1917. They took this land from the Ottomans and gave it to the Jews. Wasn't that "illegal"?
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I don't think it was at the time (1917) though I could be wrong about this.
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They got everything they demanded in the Oslo Accords except the elimination of Israel. When they returned for Oslo II their demands had changed.
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Huh? Was the elimination of Israel part of the negotiating platform of the PLO during the Oslo process? They got everything else they demanded? Oslo II? What changed?
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I thought you had said earlier that Hamas was a humanitarian organization whose goal was NOT the destruction of Israel. Did I read that wrong?
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You must have. What I said is: "A large part of the HAMAS movement is about providing charity and assistance to poor Palestinians. In this sense Hamas is a humane movement."
I also never said that the goal of HAMAS was NOT the destruction of Israel. The goal of HAMAS is to destroy the Jewish state of Israel and replace it with an Islamic one.
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But there will never be a one state solution.
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I wouldn't be so sure about that. Frankly, I would be very surprised if Israel survived (as a Jewish & democratic state) to her 100th birthday. It remains to be seen whether this will come about through violent or peaceful means. Hopefully the latter, maybe something like this:
http://www.cato.org/dailys/03-23-04-2.html