Would that there were a speck of a grain of a skerrick of truth in these rumours; or that a serially duplicitous Israel had any intention of reaching any actual agreement?

Or actually honoring one; given such an agreement would end her current ability to purloin arab land, with impunity, for the sole purpose of making sure that Israeli Arabs never gain numerical superiority at the ballot box.

Meaning, rather than disappearing into the sea, Israel would simply disappear into the pages of history!?

Rumors of speculation are just that, which in no way can ever be allowed to stop the one thing forcing a peace plan everyone can agree to, on Israel?

Namely the commercial boycotts!

Only to be repealed when the deal is not only done but seen to be done!

When there is a bona fide agreement on the table, maybe there will be an actual opportunity to grasp?
Rhrosty.

Amen, Alon.

Hmmm .. sounds like sugar and spice and all things nice but I remain unconvinced and opposed to a 2 State solution. And I say that even though I have a degree of sympathy for Hamas and do not like to see them under the boot of the Israelis.

However, I certainly wouldn't put up with their ongoing antics.

Furthermore, despite all the superficial pleasantries, my opinion is that the Israelis will never give the Palestinians the opportunity to do them more serious harm, which of course they could if a 2 State solution came to be, and given the history I find that to be understandable.

So, whilst I remain ever open to better solutions, I currently remain of the view that Israel should inflict a forced exodus on Hamas, and push them into the desert and the loving arms of the N.G.O.'s

Of course, I am told that doing something like that could well lead to a serious widening and escalation of tensions between Israel and its supporters and the wider Arab world.

Even so, I am left wondering if the reason the Israeli's haven't as yet come down harder on Hamas is because they are not confident of their international support being in place well before any escalation took place.

And when n.america seems split over the 2 State solution issue then perhaps this should come as no surprise?

..

The hatred in some corners on both sides of the conflict remains too deep and these two warring factions need to be forcibly separated i.m.o.

Dear DreamOn,

Israel should not go for a two-state solution because it likes the Palestinians' shiny beautiful faces: it should do so to save itself from its forces of darkness within.

*Yuyutsu*

I can accept that the treatment of the Palestinians is quite awful and that this in turn continues to fuel the hatred.

However, there is an active minority within the Palestinian population that by their own admission won't be satisfied until Israel is wiped off the map and they are once again in control of JeruSalem, and unfortunately it is they who are dictating policy.

So, if you want both sides to have peaceful and more prosperous lives, surely it is best to separate them?

I also accept that certainly some Jews do not want to do anything remotely similar to the kinds of things that they suffered at the hands of the Nazis, but even so .. when some Palestinians and some Israelis would sooner stick a knife in each other as opposed to say "Good Morning" then ..

It's all very well for do-gooders to say turn the other cheek but that is not a view that I can give any serious consideration to.

No, I would not ask that the Israelis should have to live side by side Palestinains anymore than Palestinians should have to live side by side Israelis. The situation as is quite intolerable.

Perhaps if they are seperated and let go of their hatred then in time, a "New Peace" can come to be, but as things are, that is but a noble aspiration for the future.

Dear DreamOn,

There is a considerable number of both Jews and Muslims who respectively would never accept the prospect of the Land permanently not belonging to them. They could however accept a temporary truce based on their weakness.

The question of Israelis and Palestinians living side-by-side is too simplistic because neither the Israelis nor Palestinians can live peacefully side-by-side even among themselves. However, those Israelis and those Palestinians who do not subscribe to the "religious" notion of having to own the whole land, have no problem living together, while amazingly, those Israelis and Palestinians who do subscribe to that notion, also live together relatively well and cooperate economically in the West Bank.

My concern is different altogether, it's an internal Israeli matter which has practically nothing to do with Palestinians: Israeli society was shattered and corrupted by the "victory" in the 1967 war and Israel will never be able to recover without getting rid of those territories and most importantly, of Eastern Jerusalem and that wall which has become its national-militaristic fetish. It was initially claimed by the Israeli government, straight after the 1967 war, that the territories are held for security purposes and will be eventually returned in a peace deal, but meanwhile the damage continues and Israel bleeds from within. Israel is well and beyond strong enough militarily to defend itself from its Arab/Palestinian neighbours even without those cursed territories, so it's not about turning the other cheek - it's about Israel doing what is in it's own true best interest.