My Take on the Israel-Palestine Issue

Here's my two cents to add to the countless news sources / blogs out there on the Israel & Palestine conflict:

Number 1, whoever has to power to, PLEASE FIRE THE ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER. She's bad for PR, and I'm refraining myself from further, much less respectful comments by saying just that.

While I sometimes think that people use the holocaust card whenever they feel like it, I can understand for someone that has lived through the horror of the holocaust, the idea of being stateless is terrifying if not utterly unacceptable. It is not a get-out-of-jail-free card, but I believe it needs to be kept in consideration.

However, saying that Israel should have the right to exist as a state does not imply it has rights to specific plots of land, and I don't care what their ancient documents say. The world simply does not operate by allocating land ownership to whomever can show the oldest document claiming rights to it. (and I think the Brits ought to pay for playing the game of Monopoly with that piece of land when they oh-so-graciously decided to end their era of colonial rule -- aka that land no longer belongs to you, and not yours to give away).

To begin negotiations, Palestinians need to agree on one party that can represent them. And by that I mean a group that represent their interests not just vis-a-vis Israel, but that can ensure their survival and development as a nation independent of their issue with Israel. I am personally unconvinced that any political entities in Palestine's recent history can realistically (and separate from the Israel issue again, even though I know it's a big part of it) achieve all the above.

Any casualty / death / property damage from here on counts as negative points as far as their position in the land negotiation. I'm still trying to formulate the specifics of the negotiation rules and terms I have in mind, but my initial leaning is on Israel & Palestine bidding on land by paying the other side, with financial constraints accounted.

The actual structure is much more complicated than what I just described, of course. But the fundamental goals are to 1) figure out who-wants-what-parts and how-much-they-want-it; and 2) compensate and assist those that need to resettle; and most importantly 3) stop the wars and killings, what else!!

Well, dare to dream, right?