Re: [Merged] Arafat Dead.
 

Sorry, seems I read a bit too much into it, I thought you meant the whole cause and vision to be good in Arafat's case.

Xaccers: I never knew there was any million dollar homes in Gaza. I have noticed before though, that the Palestinians have some really nice brand new ambulances for some destitute people. Then there is always the fact they can't buy things like food, or supplies, but seem to manage to afford guns and weapons.

I have often wondered what the Palestinians think the Jews should have as their homeland. The jews have been reduced to this tiny spec of land engulfed in Muslim countries. I suspect they would say they shouldn't have any land at all, then that would be interesting. The by far the oldest religion would have no homeland.

Also, noone has yet managed to give me an answer to the question: "If Judaisism goes back to 2000bc, and Islam was founded in 600ad, how can Islam have any claim on Jewish land when it is obvious that they were there first?"

Dr Wadd: I think he had that power. Look at the chaos surrounding his funeral. He could have stopped the intifada (that he started?) if he wanted to.

Re: [Merged] Arafat Dead.
 

The ambulances are either supplied by Israel or the UN.
Just before I was last over there they found one which had been stolen and under the seats were suicide belts, so you can understand why the IDF initially thought that they may have photos of rockets being loaded into one.

It was only a few years or so ago that the PLO removed the destruction of the Israeli state from their mandate.
The way I see it is you had this land, with democracy and freedom, and prosperity, and the countries around it felt threatened and so attacked straight away. They told the native arabs that the jews were coming to steal their land and rape their women hoping to get an uprising, instead they fled and became refrugees. Israel foolishly denied them the right to return (haven't found out why yet). These people fled into Jordan, Lebenon, and Egypt. I've seen the refugee camps that were under Jordanian control (or at least what's left of them) and they are appauling!
They didn't call themselves Palestinians until later, when Yasser etc started their movement and started calling for the destruction of Israel and the creation of Palestine.

Islam is a decendant of Judaism, therefore Jewish sites are also important to Islam, hence why Mohammad went to Jerusalem and ascended into heaven there (or at least the rock he used to get up there is in the mosque)
As with Christianity, a prophet came along saying that the old religion (Judaism) is not right and the new one is, therefore anyone following the old religion is no longer following god.