I agree most of the time, but...

Submitted by Anon (United States), Apr 4, 2006 at 16:00

I agree with your brilliant insights most of the time, but a major point I disagree with is your contention that "An aggressive step like "transferring" Palestinian Arabs out of the West Bank would be counterproductive for Israel, prompting greater outrage, increasing the number of enemies, and perpetuating the conflict." would not work.

Surgery by it's very nature creates a temporary wound that is not there at the moment of incision, in effect, adding to the damage, but it's result after recovery is often life saving transformation to health. This is the untested case for Israel. The problem is not land or occupation as Israel's detractors sometimes claim, the Midle East has plenty of land and the Arab population is not technicaly occupied. The problem is that Israeli sensitivity and willingness to negotiate is taken for weakness, which gives a glimmer of hope for those who pursue a political strategy thru violence to stubbornly press forward.

I oppose appeasement in all forms. Obviously the Arab population were content to live under Jordanian rule since there was no effort to establish a third Palestinian state. I suggest they would be happier living there now.

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