Israeli-Arab Conflict

Weighing in on this particular issue with what I think are the perspectives of either side on several issues.

-- The charter of organisations such as Hamas and Hezbollah explicitly call for the destruction of the State of Israel. The Iranian PM publicly declared his will to "wipe Israel off the map", which received widespread support amongst Arab League politicians rather than condemnation. Apart from being totally uncivilised, this creates indescribable fear for Israelis, who feel there is a permanent existential threat to themselves
** Israel cannot continue to refuse to deal with Hamas and Hezbollah. It is stubbornly looking for ways to prevent making more concessions. Palestinians and other Arab citizens cannot be blamed for supporting Hamas along with their violent policies, for there are few credible alternatives, and Hamas runs Arabic schools and supports other infrastructure projects.

** The US has assisted Israel militarily and economically since 1948 far more than it has Palestinians and other Arab peoples, which is seen by Arabs within the framework of ongoing US hostility towards Islam
-- The US says its support for Israel is due to Israel being the only democratic, stable nation in the Middle East, and one which shares its goals, and trades freely

** The Israelis humiliate the Palestinians on a day-to-day basis. The Israeli security fence prevents Palestinians from leading ordinary lives, interfering with their families and businesses, and Arab-Israelis are discriminated against severely in Israeli society
-- The Israeli military can prove that these measures have caught hundreds of would-be suicide bombers, although whether this exceeds the number of bombers created out of peaceful people is debatable

** Palestinians are poor, humiliated and desperate and see no way out of their present situation. Israel does almost nothing to assist them in their plight. Other weak, corrupt Arab governments blame Israel for all of their problems in order to deflect criticisms from themselves
-- Israel says this is mostly their own fault, and that of the corrupt leaders that they elect. Further, Jews are critical of Arab families which are prepared to send their 10 year-old daughters on suicide missions to kill innocents.

** Ariel Sharon was said to have 'provoked' the 2nd Intifadah by his controversial visit to the Temple Mount. He indeed had no other reason to go other than the fact that he felt he should be able to, and he knew it would create hostility and resentment.
-- Israelis should be able to go where they want in their own country. Israel's population is 20% Arab and these citizens have the same rights as Jews, whereas in places such as Mecca, Saudi Arabia, simply being present at certain times is illegal for a Jew

-- Preceding the recent Lebanon conflict, there were hundreds of rockets fired in to Israel from Southern Beirut, killing many and terrorising more. If Australians set up rocket batteries in Cronulla and fired them at New Zealand, and if the Australian government repeatedly failed to respond to requests made by New Zealand to dismantle these rockets immediately, New Zealand would be justified in bombing these batteries
** Israel responded very heavy-handedly, and hundreds of innocent Lebanese were killed, and hospitals and other infrastructure were badly damaged or destroyed

-- The Palestinians were offered 90% of what they demanded for their new state at the 2000 Camp David Peace talks, and they rejected it. It is said that they "never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity"
** Israel delibarely has undermined the leadership of many Palestinian representatives and has encouraged factional disputes amongst the Palestinians for their own benefit.

-- In London, there has been 1 suicide bomb. There have been >400 suicide bombs in Israel since 2001, all of which have targeted civilians, bombs packed with nails in crowded market-places etc
** Ordinary Palestinians are being punished for the actions of their compatriots. -- Israel at least attempts to pick out terorists from civilians

-- Israel is so small it fits 3 times in to Tasmania - you can drive across it at its widest point in one hour. Elderly Israelis have seen their country give away more than 50% of its land as peace offers to various hostile neighbors since 1967, none of which have ultimately stemmed the hostility from those countries (Egypt is an exception)
** When Israel defeated its aggressors in 1967, it gained some areas of useless land which it has since refused to give back, and religious fundamentalist Jews continue to settle some areas of the West Bank against all international advice and agreements, thinking that the land is "holy".

Much of the land on which Israel was created was Palestinian territory prior to the 1948 mandate. Before that, it was often occupied by Jews. Throughout the ages, various parties have alternately occupied that territory, and it's clear that both groups have claims to joint ownership of vast swathes of land.