two sides

Submitted by paul murphy (Ireland), Dec 6, 2006 at 07:48

Well Davod,

The Israeli government representative (as always) gave the refusal of Hamas to recognize Israel ahead of settlement-talks as a reason for refusing to engage with the Palestinians - either Fatah or Hamas.

The settler representative, when he raised the issue of Hamas' recognition of Israel, refused to answer whether or not he was pledged to the destruction of the possibility of an independent Palestinian state on the West bank and Gaza.

It seems that there are two sides to the non-recognition issue. However, it seems that the vast majority of Israelis want a viable two-state solution. The problem is that both sides are afraid of the threat of violent disorder posed by their fundamentalist minorities.

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