Keith, so your objection isn't what I thought, ie. you did not suggest that the land was not legally Israel's to do with as they please? That is a suprise, but a welcome one.

So your concern is the current political leadership of Israel and the incompetence of the political appointees of the same as demonstrated so recently in Lebanon? Well, with the qualification that most units did as well as could be expected while fighting with both hands strapped behind their backs (by idiotic politicians), then I would agree wholeheartedly and would point out that this is the topic of some serious debate in Israel at present, which should see the problem fixed.

So your other concerns, the ability of Israel to take effective action against Iran, if that becomes necessary are also dealt with. Given the likely consequences of an attack on Iran, the political situation would change rapidly, plus there would be no place for restrictive political motivated restrictions upon the fighting ability of the IDF.

As to your discussion on the agreement with Hamas, there is some possibility that Hamas could morph into a Palestinian Likud (which after all is derived from the terrorist group Irgun). They originally arose from a group who did volunteer work to help the communities and they still mantain clinics, etc. In this respect they are far preferable to the seriously corrupt Palestinian Authority (PLO/Fatah).

Whether they can mantain authority without undertaking military action against Israel remains to be seen, they will not last long if they do.

What about Obama?

So far, it is usual talks of terrorists' rights to kill Israelis-both the Jews and Arabs, indiscriminately.

keith

I suggest you read the following study of Israeli Arabs made by a team from Harvard University. Guess what?

77% of Arab citizens would rather live in Israel than in any other country in the world.

http://content.ksg.harvard.edu/leadership/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=511&Itemid=115

Perhaps Israel is not so bad after all.

Of course the leader of the research group has a Jewish name, he might be Jewish, but even that does not mean he is pro Israel in any case Harvard has a high reputation it cannot afford to publish poor research.

Thanks logic

I've never thought Israel bad ... only some of it's illegal behaviours... and it's dishonest claims as a non-sectarian liberal democracy.

I wonder at the questions asked by the researcher.
Particularily I wonder whether he asked those arabs if they'd prefer if Israel didn't exist or if they'd prefer to live in true non-sectarian democracies.

keith

Follow the link, it leads on to the original report.

Perhaps the Arabs there would prefer a modern Islamic democracy with western levels of freedom, but it seems that they doubt that there is one. Their way of life in Israel, which they seemingly prefer, is primarily a result of the efforts of Jews.

Perhaps Hamas and Fatah should take note. Gaza and the West Bank could be similar to Israel if they would follow the Israeli example. It would be nice if Christians, Jews, Baha'i and Druze were given equality with the Muslims in those areas. Would you support a right of return for displaced non-Muslims in these areas?

Logic

The report was not merely researched from Harvard. The fact is researchers from the University of Haifa conducted much of the enquiry.

I cannot open the original report. Does it have a discussion of methodology or any information on who contributed exactly what.