Quote:
Originally posted by jaguar
Am i the only one that remembers Hamas agreeing to a ceasefire? Or for that matter the fundamentals of the theory of the subculture of poverty? Bloody hell people baisc sociology defeats that statement.
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Indeed. Jaguar asks the right question. The answer puts Sharon, Intafada 2, and Arafat in proper perspective:
Quote:
from The Economist of 15 Jun 2002
The Palestinian perpetrators are young, nurtured on the hopes of the Oslo peace process but now consumed by an enormous sense of betrayal. Their actions are buttressed by a radicalised national culture that increasingly views all violence against the occupying power as heroic and legitimate. Militant factions are gaining in public esteem, at the expense of the Palestinian Authority and its security forces.
This shift in power precedes the April invasions. Back in December, Mr Arafat persuaded the factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, to agree to a ceasefire. For three weeks, armed attacks in the occupied territories were reduced to a trickle, and suicide bombing inside Israel was stopped altogether. But Israel continued its armed incursions into Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank and Gaza. More than 20 Palestinians were killed during this period, including a Palestinian militant who was assassinated in Tulkarm. The relative quiet came to an end when Hamas guerrillas killed four Israeli soldiers, in revenge for the death of three teenagers in Gaza, and Israel responded by destroying 66 refugee houses in Rafah.
From then on, the factions began to see a ceasefire as about as germane to their cause as Mr Bush's “vision” of a Palestinian state. And the suicide bombers started to be dispatched not only by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, but also by Mr Arafat's own Fatah movement and its new, radical offshoot, the al-Aqsa Brigades.
Can Mr Arafat once again tame his vengeful young? He might be able to do so, but on three conditions. Elections that reflect the new power that has emerged on the street, tangible relief from the Israeli sieges and incursions, and a political process that takes steps toward ending Israel's 35-year military occupation.
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Ariel Sharon understands this. Therefore Sharon must encourage anything that can justify more sieges and incursions. It is why Sharon accelerated the confiscation of Arab lands. He acclerates the establishment of new West Bank and Gaza settlements - to make a peaceful settlement impossible. He loves how those suicide bombers and Israel's extremist responses make it easier for him to destroy Oslo and settle the occupied territories. Everything Sharon does, including the murder of Palestinian teenagers, including direct lying into George Jr's face, all has only one objective: to confiscate, to steal the occupied territories and inhabit it with Likud settlers.
Today another right wing extremist Israeli actually slipped and told what they really want. He said, "The West Bank belongs to the Jews". Wait. Did he mean Israelis? No. Israel is one of the worlds most racist nations. Even non-Jewish Israelis have few rights. Non-Israelis have the right to have any land confiscated. That is morality according to Religious Right Extremists Jews.