Quote:
Originally Posted by NathanATX
A few weeks ago, I received a photo of a pile of dead Palestenian children that were killed during an Israeli bombing.
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We're seeing these images every day now, and indeed they are extremely upsetting. And fury at the Israelis, while understandable, must be countered with fury at Hamas for putting these children in harm's way.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NathanATX
What kind of difference would a non violent approach make for Palestenians? For Israelis?
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Someone once remarked about Yassir Arafat that he never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity. In my own lifetime I've seen public sentiment grow sympathetic to the Palestinian cause only to be squandered by yet another hijacking, yet another failed peace initiative, etc.
"Violence is violence", yes, but the reality is this: the State of Israel is not going away, and any strikes against it will be met with the kind of disproportionate response that comes from two millennia of survival tactics. Israel is fully aware that this current conflict, now over 60 years old, cannot be won militarily, but that will not stop them from firing back when fired upon.
Go ahead and try to explain to these grandchildren of the Nazi's Final Solution about non-violence. The holocaust, sadly, is as much of a defining moment to Israelis as our revolution is to us. The safety of Israel -- the state and the "tribe" -- is paramount; they will never back down...basically because they cannot.
Fatah seems to understand this at long last, but Hamas still refuses. Until
they understand they cannot win anything through violence, Israel will continue to answer violence with more violence.
Hamas, like I said earlier, has the power to stop this now. If they stop firing into Israel, the Israelis will no longer have any excuse to respond.
Then they can talk.