A Palestinian_State is OUT of the_Question!

Strange, but true. I'm not speaking from an ideologically this time. (believe_it_or_not)... I'm saying it this time purely on the basis of the network of Israeli settlements and linking roads which have cropped up in the West bank.

Personally, I am in agremeent with this state of affairs. But the ugly other side of that coin is: The Palestinian aspirations for Statehood are at best, a vague mirage keeping hope alive, but the closer they get to it, the more it simply fades.

As time goes by, not less but MORE Settlements are arising (from what I observe)... and any Palestinian state would be fragmented as to be completely unworkable.

The Settlers have very strong views about the status of the land, and I suggest many of them are living in the spirit of Genesis "This land I give you and your descendants for ever" said God.

But if this was just a creeping land squabble, it would be no more important than the 100s of others in the world.

What separates the 'Middle East' (particularly Israel) from 'the others' is the status of Jerusalem, and in particular there also, the Temple Mount.

I'd be interested in the results of a survey done among settlers alone, on the issue of the Mosque and Temple, I think it would be quite different from such a survey on that issue done in Tel Aviv.

AL AKSAH MOSQUE ILLEGAL. In reality when Caliph Omar went to Jerusalem, he refrained from entering the St Marys church (where the Mosque is) at that time to prevent his Muslim followers taking it as 'Muslim' This is the assurance that Fellow Human is always telling us about. "Rights of Christians and Jews ..guaranteeed"

It lasted but a short while, and today we see the mosque built over the destroyed Church.

In summary, all Christians, Jews and Muslims have a strong spiritual interest in that location. I as a Christian would prefer to see the Jewish Temple there. The "Church" is the living body of believers, not a building.

Bazz,

Luttwak is not advocating ignoring the Middle-East. His suggestion is that we're giving the problems in the Middle-East too much airtime and most of the pontificating is worthless.

Maybe in the end all we can do is let the various factions, internal and external, in Iraq, Lebanon, etc get on with the business of killing each other, or not, as they decide. There may be nothing Western countries can do to save the protagonists in the Middle-East from themselves.

Steel,

The depressing thing is that threatening to nuke Iran is among the LEAST bizarre things the GOP candidates are saying.

Abu Boaz Basheer:-)

I am watching you..
Speaking of Jerusalem Noble Sanctuary (al aqsa mosque) I was reading this interesting article by an Israeli regarding the 1969 fire.

"In the morning of August 21, 1969, a fire at Masjid al-Aqsa, the al-Aqsa Mosque opposite the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, gutted the southeastern wing of the mosque. By the following day, it become apparent that a non-Jewish tourist from Australia was responsible for the blaze. On August 23, Dennis Michael Rohan was arrested for arson, suspected of starting the fire. Rohan was an Australian Protestant follower of an evangelical sect known as the Church of God. By his own admission, Rohan hoped to hasten the coming of the Messiah by burning down the al-Aqsa Mosque. Rohan told the court that he acted as "the Lord's emissary" on divine instructions, in accordance with the Book of Zechariah, and that he had tried to destroy the al-Aqsa Mosque in order to rebuild the Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount. He was hospitalized in a mental institution, found to be insane and was later deported from Israel."

So over to you Boaz, any comments?

wooo..Bashir ? :) I've seen that dude in court.. notttt a pretty site. But at least you're being a bit entertaining now instead of morose :)..well done!

I prefer being compared to Martell (Tours).. or Sobiesky (Vienna) but thats cool.

Regarding that dill who set fire to the Mosque.. wow.. way2go eh.. kidding.. no, he was misguided in his eschatology. We can do nothing to 'hasten' the coming, we can only be faithful in proclamation, and rest in the assurance that Christ will return "Like a thief in the night" ie.. at a time we least expect. The events which precede the Return, are so cataclysmic and broad, that no individual human can speed it up, unless you wish to claim the name and work of 'AntiChrist'.. now THAT might move things along a bit.

I checked out the "Worldwide Church of God" - (from Wikipedia)

[the WCG under Herbert Armstrong had a significant, and often controversial, influence on 20th century Christian broadcasting and publishing in the United States and Europe, especially in the field of interpreting biblical end-time (eschatalogical) prophecies]

[Under Armstrong's leadership, the Worldwide Church of God was considered by many to be theologically a cult with unorthodox and, to some, heretical teachings]

cheers

Why are Palestinian children killed ?

Here is one good reason, but the amazing thing is the RESTRAINT of the Israeli soldier who could quite justifiably blown this little suckers head off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjjOhaokqkA

That little boy is ONLY alive because the Israeli soldier had restraint.

But this incident also shows the Palestinian Muslim mentality. If you are kind, they see it as weakness and futher.. a sign of their own strength.

How many times do we hear of the "cruel Israeli's" I guess this little boy had been fed a constant diet of "The Israeli Satan" and a corresponding side salad of "Islam will triumph... remember Khaybar" etc.. to the point where he actually believed it.

When a society programs its children to this extent...(the Palestinian Muslims) it is not far away from the old 'Child sacrifice' when they gave their children to the flames to appease Molech the pagan god.
Interestingly, many Palestinians are the SAME PEOPLE who used to do that. (Canaanites) The Arab ring ins, invaders, migrants of victorious opportunism, (taking Jewish land) simply peddle the Islamic paradise of 70 virgins to play with .... all in all, its a mess of apocalyptic proportions.

The tragedy is, Palestinians ACT as if Israel could 'not' shove them into the sea if they decided to do so. This silly child epitomizes that attitude of lunacy.

Boaz, do you really believe that the YouTube piece was genuine?

That a fully armed Israeli soldier would run away from a stone-throwing kid?

That the entire piece was filmed - just like that, as it happened - by a passing cameraman?

You have to be the most naive, gullible and ingenuous person I have ever encountered.

Except...

I don't believe for a moment that you are that stupid.

You are deliberately buying into the propaganda that supports your anti-Islam hatred and paranoia, without even the most cursory questioning.

You do it without blushing, without remorse when you are found out - "The virginia Uni massacre.. done by a Muslim? 'Ismail X'", and without the slightest regard for the fact that you are deliberately attempting to reproduce your hatred in others.

This is just another example of your underhand, tacky and altogether despicable campaign against people who choose a religion that is not yours.