Israel vs Palenstine: What the..?
- Earthfriend
- <i>Haruchai</i>
- Posts: 569
- Joined: Tue May 13, 2003 2:32 pm
- Location: The Hills of Andelain
Israel vs Palenstine: What the..?
Does anybody have any clue to what is happening between the Israelis and the Palenstinians at the moment? One day i hear that at UN brokered peace accord has been reached and the Israelis are going to remove settlers from the West Bank as part of the agreement. It all sounds great!! - maybe the cycle of violence can be de-railed
The next thing i know, the Israelis have launched rockets from helicopters, killing a Hamas leader (which from their POV is a good thing), but also killing and injuring civilians who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Now Hamas promises an increase in suicide bombers, and the merry-go-round starts again...
Just what is going on?
Sometimes, resisting the Despiser seems impossible...
The next thing i know, the Israelis have launched rockets from helicopters, killing a Hamas leader (which from their POV is a good thing), but also killing and injuring civilians who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Now Hamas promises an increase in suicide bombers, and the merry-go-round starts again...
Just what is going on?
Sometimes, resisting the Despiser seems impossible...
Stone and Sea are deep in life,
two unalterable symbols of the world;
permanence at rest, and permanence in motion;
participants in the Power that remains.
two unalterable symbols of the world;
permanence at rest, and permanence in motion;
participants in the Power that remains.
- I'm Murrin
- Are you?
- Posts: 15840
- Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2003 1:09 pm
- Location: North East, UK
- Contact:
- Earthfriend
- <i>Haruchai</i>
- Posts: 569
- Joined: Tue May 13, 2003 2:32 pm
- Location: The Hills of Andelain
Surely the must be more to it than that...i mean, ive seen tv programs,(always a completetly reliable source of info! ), but ive seen shows where families in the Gaza strip talk about living together - Jew and Muslim - with no troubles, just being part of one community. And from personal experience here in OZ, we have people of very different cultural/ethnic/religious backgrounds living in the same suburbs without such disturbing acts of violence.
Stone and Sea are deep in life,
two unalterable symbols of the world;
permanence at rest, and permanence in motion;
participants in the Power that remains.
two unalterable symbols of the world;
permanence at rest, and permanence in motion;
participants in the Power that remains.
- Damelon
- Lord
- Posts: 8545
- Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2002 10:40 pm
- Location: Illinois
- Has thanked: 2 times
- Been thanked: 4 times
Until the religious leaders sign off on some kind of agreement, there will probably be little progress over there. So many of the actions done there are justified under the cover of religion. That crutch has to be removed from the zealots of both sides before anything approaching a settlement can occur.
- Lord Mhoram
- Lord
- Posts: 9512
- Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2002 1:07 am
- [Syl]
- Unfettered One
- Posts: 13020
- Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2002 12:36 am
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 1 time
Same thing that's been happening since at least '95 (as long as I've been following the area). There are deals and agreements, then one party doesn't live up to its side so the other party backs out of the agreement. This is generally followed by a whole lot of finger-pointing and namecalling. Things quiet down, agreements are made... wash, rinse, repeat. Oh yeah, and a liberal dose of bombings, riots, retaliatory strikes, etc. in between and during all phases.Earthfriend wrote:Does anybody have any clue to what is happening between the Israelis and the Palenstinians at the moment?
I still think things are looking a little bit better now that Arafat's being shoved out. If only Abbas had enough clout to control Hamas and the other militants and the Israelis could elect a decent peace-oriented leader (yeah, I'm hawkish, but I can also see there are times when it just doesn't work. not that I don't agree with the retaliatory strikes somewhat, but... blah, not gonna get into that) who didn't have to pander to the orthodox to keep his coalition together...
"It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”
-George Steiner
-George Steiner
- danlo
- Lord
- Posts: 20838
- Joined: Wed Mar 06, 2002 8:29 pm
- Location: Albuquerque NM
- Been thanked: 1 time
- Contact:
Suicide bombers, missles, suicide bombers, missles...then they take Saturday off 2 discuss peace then it starts all over again...I wonder if there's some gruesome average of how many people die per day over here?
Last edited by danlo on Sun Jun 15, 2003 7:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
fall far and well Pilots!
- Damelon
- Lord
- Posts: 8545
- Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2002 10:40 pm
- Location: Illinois
- Has thanked: 2 times
- Been thanked: 4 times
I saw that article. Israel is already, apparently, working on that wall.Lord Mhoram wrote:An article in the Atlantic Monthly about 'future headlines' predicts a Berlin-style wall seperating the West Bank from the rest of Israel; but this would be bad for Israeli settlers in the West Bank, and it would basically destroy any chances of a better Palestenian economy.
- Worm of Despite
- Lord
- Posts: 9546
- Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2002 7:46 pm
- Location: Rome, GA
- Contact:
Looks like the dark facets of religion at work again. They've caused the indifferences that led to borderlines of hate between Israel and their enemies. No excuse or side is right--there's no black or white. Both sides are killing each other. Blind peace (not blind faith) is the only answer.
"I support the destruction of the Think-Tank." - Avatar, August 2008
- Earthfriend
- <i>Haruchai</i>
- Posts: 569
- Joined: Tue May 13, 2003 2:32 pm
- Location: The Hills of Andelain
Religion does seem to be to blame for a great deal of the suffering going on there - but i wonder how much of it can be tied to economics, as well?
(From what ive seen and read - admittedly not much! - Israel seems to have a 'first-world' economy, if you'll pardon the label/generalisation. Palestine, on the other hand, seems decidedly 'third-world'. )
(From what ive seen and read - admittedly not much! - Israel seems to have a 'first-world' economy, if you'll pardon the label/generalisation. Palestine, on the other hand, seems decidedly 'third-world'. )
Stone and Sea are deep in life,
two unalterable symbols of the world;
permanence at rest, and permanence in motion;
participants in the Power that remains.
two unalterable symbols of the world;
permanence at rest, and permanence in motion;
participants in the Power that remains.
- Lord Mhoram
- Lord
- Posts: 9512
- Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2002 1:07 am
- [Syl]
- Unfettered One
- Posts: 13020
- Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2002 12:36 am
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 1 time
I'd like to quibble a little bit on the religion issue. Religion is only an issue to the militants involved. The Israelis are not killing Palestinians because they're muslim (there are, in fact, muslim Israelis... like Moshe Dian, a former Minister of Defense, IIRC). Other than the religious wackos who cause the biggest problems (for instance, the jewish extremist who assassinated Rabin), the main differences are socio-political (a rather broad term to define pride, prejudice, and stubborness). It's mostly a matter of "us and them," not "Y***e and Allah."
"It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”
-George Steiner
-George Steiner
- Earthfriend
- <i>Haruchai</i>
- Posts: 569
- Joined: Tue May 13, 2003 2:32 pm
- Location: The Hills of Andelain
So what's the answer?
I heard this morning that the Egyptian government is now trying to negotiate a 6 month cease fire - sort of a stop gap measure to bring a halt to the violence and get both parties back to the table...
But how can the situation be more permenantly reconciled? And why hasn't the UN gotten more directly involved - surely a UN-led peacekeeping force in the area would help ease tensions on both sides, or am i just being naive?
I heard this morning that the Egyptian government is now trying to negotiate a 6 month cease fire - sort of a stop gap measure to bring a halt to the violence and get both parties back to the table...
But how can the situation be more permenantly reconciled? And why hasn't the UN gotten more directly involved - surely a UN-led peacekeeping force in the area would help ease tensions on both sides, or am i just being naive?
Stone and Sea are deep in life,
two unalterable symbols of the world;
permanence at rest, and permanence in motion;
participants in the Power that remains.
two unalterable symbols of the world;
permanence at rest, and permanence in motion;
participants in the Power that remains.
- [Syl]
- Unfettered One
- Posts: 13020
- Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2002 12:36 am
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 1 time
Neither side wants the UN involved, and besides which, the UN has a rather poor record of keeping the peace in the area (Lebanon).
"It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”
-George Steiner
-George Steiner
- Earthfriend
- <i>Haruchai</i>
- Posts: 569
- Joined: Tue May 13, 2003 2:32 pm
- Location: The Hills of Andelain
ok, so the UN is out. What about a package from 'developed' countries to help raise Palestine's standard of living? If part of the motivations behind the violence are socio-political and economic, maybe an attempt to create more social equity between the two countries would help?Caer Sylvanus wrote:Neither side wants the UN involved, and besides which, the UN has a rather poor record of keeping the peace in the area (Lebanon).
I don't know way this issue has got stuck in my craw all of a sudden...there's death and violence and injustice everywhere, including my own backyard, without getting involved in something so far from home...It's just that, in many ways, the middle-east is the birth place of 'modern civilization' - and the people there seem to have been fighting each other for most of that time. I guess i feel that if they can't work out the humanity's need to grow beyond violence, what hope have the rest of us got?
Well, now i'm really depessed! Time to put on my Billy Connelly tape and have a good laugh!!
Stone and Sea are deep in life,
two unalterable symbols of the world;
permanence at rest, and permanence in motion;
participants in the Power that remains.
two unalterable symbols of the world;
permanence at rest, and permanence in motion;
participants in the Power that remains.
- [Syl]
- Unfettered One
- Posts: 13020
- Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2002 12:36 am
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 1 time
I'd say the main reason people don't offer the palestinians more economic aid (other than the fact that they are not a sovreign state, thus of only political interest) is that they make a better poster child of victimization by the zionist/american imperialist machine than they do allies.
"It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”
-George Steiner
-George Steiner