worthy skepticism, promising development goals

Submitted by David (United States), Jun 2, 2022 at 23:12

... I think the Saudis are far from ideal, but they have certainly made progress as a country in recent decades, and are a worthy ally. Perhaps if Israel were a country with a stronger sense of unity and purpose, it could propose Saudi assistance to resettle some Palestinians in the Kingdom and provide them with a more prosperous life than is available in the limited confines of the territories, along the lines proposed by Martin Sherman years ago. Who knows if it would work, but as the author said then, it may be worth a try. Perhaps especially for areas and villages that, for cultural reasons perhaps, have become particularly egregious hotbeds of terrorism, for example Jenin. This is off-topic but there are speculations as to why it is that Jenin in particular has such a long history of serving as an incubator of violent "resistance." One reason proposed by some, is that it lacks the structural, tribal culture of other communities in the West Bank/Judea and Samaria, which in those places, promotes communal cooperation as well as some form of pragmatic coexistence with the neighboring Jewish communities, out of hierarchical deference to local authorities, Sheikhs etc. Perhaps the Sauds could make a humanitarian offer to build a Saudi "Jenin," with more prospects of territorial growth and enrichment.

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