Reason number (what) 4? 8? 20?

Submitted by Ron Thompson (United States), Jan 2, 2008 at 18:03

Here we go again - another trenchant, factually irrefutable reason to affirmatively reject the idea of a Palestinian State, or at the very least, make the idea of such a rejection a topic for open debate and discussion in Israel, the United States, and even timid Europe. Why is there this continuing void in the Western Mind which neither political nor intellectual or moral leaders are willing to fill?

Now granted, an end to this pusillanamous mass silence (not broken, alas, by Dan Pipes), would undoubtedly cause an initial increase in 'fuss' throughout the Arab and Muslim World. (Although who knows, given the pattern of ever-spreading murderous, senseless violence of Muslim against Muslim, maybe a lot less than might be expected).

But after that initial fuss, what would happen? For the first time since the aftermath of the 1967 war, we might have the Arab world where it should long since have been - on the defensive over the issue of what to do about - not the "occupied", but the DISPUTED territories called the West bank and Gaza. (Even that one word change would be politically and usefully seismic)

Conversely, we can be absolutely certain that as long as we go observing this idiotic taboo against discussing and debating whether it any longer makes sense to seek a Palestinian State, we, or rather Israel on the frontline but the rest of the West as a back-up target, is going to go on reaping lunatic violence, and statements from bin Laden and many others that "not one inch" will be surrendered.

It is time to take a stand against that behavior and those comments by debating whether to flatly and affirmatively reject the idea of a Palestinian State.

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