jsanders said:
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They have a stated public goal of the total annihilation of Israel, and they have killed thousands in that quest.
If this is not annihilation what is?
"Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages. You do not even know the names of these Arab villages, and I do not blame you because geography books no longer exist, not only do the books not exists, the Arab villages are not there either. Nahlal arose in the place of Mahlul; Kibbutz Gvat in the place of Jibta; Kibbutz Sarid in the place of Huneifis; and Kefar Yehushu'a in the place of Tal al-Shuman. There is not one single place built in this country that did not have a former Arab Population." Moshe Dayan, Israeli military leader and politician in an address to the Technion, Haifa; as quoted in Ha'aretz (4 April 1969).
jsanders said:
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My reaction to the news is less than 200 words, in the last 5 years I have probably dedicated two or three hundred thousand words of thought to it. It is highly unlikely you have any clue as to how I much I know about them.
Please direct me.
jsanders said:
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Of course. But an overwhelming majority of their people voted in a group with an agenda of Israel’s demise.
Or they voted for a Government who would represent and protect them from Israel's aggression. Yet again it depends on if you have the guts to stand in the other man's shoes and see his point of view. You seem to be missing the long term view. If Israel and Palestine are ever to resolve their differences then those parties from both sides who advocate violence must be bought to the table. If radical groups like Hamas represent the people then they will be at the table by default. If Israel has the nerve - and i think it does - then this is the first step to a truce. This public posturing by Israel on the situation is an opening gambit, it appeases the fears of the extreme right within Israel - those Israelis who believe Palestine should be destroyed - and allows the real negotiations in the background to take place. This is exactly the tack that successive UK governments took with the IRA even during the worst parts of the conflict.
jsanders said:
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Yes, but did the Irish have 10 times the birth rate of the British?
The birth rate of Irish Catholics in Northern Ireland has always been an issue in Northern Ireland. It is an attributed reason for the unwillingness of the Protestant population to accept referenda on the re-unification of Ireland. Once the precident is set it would only be a matter of time before the vote would go against them. Studies of the 2002 census suggest however that the Catholics may never reach a majority. It does take into account a survey that suggests only 37% of Catholics would support re-unification. By 2021 however 47% of people of voting age in Northern Ireland will be Catholic - an easy caculation as all people in the 2002 census will be of voting age and the age of adult mortality is rising at a predictable rate. There is no clear answer to the question of how many Protestants would vote in a referendum so the answer is it would be very close.
What this has to do with the creation of two seperate sovereign states i'm an unclear on. Are you saying that a larger - and therefore majority - Palestinian population would not have their voice heard in a single Israeli state? Is this not the reason that a Palestinian state of sorts exists, to prevent such a situation?
jsanders said:
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I think I argue both side of most issues quite well thank you.
Then do so because i have yet to see it.