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ntluser · 15-01-2009, 17:02

I think to some extent we are going over old ground.

For the last 60 years, both Israel and the Palestinians have been guilty of some atrocious acts.

They have both employed the same methods and have been responsible for the killing or maiming of thousands of men, women and children so neither side is innocent here.

As long as the fighting goes on more people will die so the first priority has to be a ceasefire.

Neither side is paying attention to the International Community, despite the fact that the conflict has been condemned and there have been many pleas for a ceasefire.

The scale of deaths is horrendous but no other country will place troops or personnel in Gaza unless there is a ceasefire.

The situation will not be resolved unless there is a ceasefire.

Maybe, it will continue until Obama is active as President. Will he persuade Israel to stop? And how will he do it? If he stops supporting Israel, will the Palestinians still continue to attack?

There still seems to be a revenge element to our discussions. No-one is looking for a peaceful solution or a legal solution to the problem. Are we talking about Israel being accused of war crimes in an International court or are we talking about the wholesale massacre of Israelis? If the latter, then that's no better than the wholesale massacre of Palestinians.

Given too that there does not appear to be any faith in the International community, where do we go from here? Economic sanctions take time to work.The death toll in Gaza could be well into the thousands by then.

The only country capable of influencing Israel is probably the USA. If Israel remains uninfluenced what would you expect the USA to do? Suppose the only solution was a military one. Would the Palestinians really want an American peacekeeping force in Gaza to keep out the Israelis? Though such a force would offer protection and possibly support to rebuild Gaza, they would also prevent Palestinians from arming.

On the other hand, would the Americans really want to enter another theatre of war while they have troops in Afghanistan and Iraq? Maybe they will opt as you suggest for the sanctions and diplomatic moves until the fighting stops, which may be some time.

Once the fighting stops, the question to ask is what happens next? How will the Palestinian-Israeli matter be resolved?

15-01-2009, 17:02	#575
ntluser Inactive Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Manchester Age: 79 Services: Virgin Media XL Telephone,TV with Tivo box & Superhub3 upto 150Mb Broadband, Sky World, & Freeview+ Posts: 1,901	Re: Scores die in Israeli air strikes I think to some extent we are going over old ground. For the last 60 years, both Israel and the Palestinians have been guilty of some atrocious acts. They have both employed the same methods and have been responsible for the killing or maiming of thousands of men, women and children so neither side is innocent here. As long as the fighting goes on more people will die so the first priority has to be a ceasefire. Neither side is paying attention to the International Community, despite the fact that the conflict has been condemned and there have been many pleas for a ceasefire. The scale of deaths is horrendous but no other country will place troops or personnel in Gaza unless there is a ceasefire. The situation will not be resolved unless there is a ceasefire. Maybe, it will continue until Obama is active as President. Will he persuade Israel to stop? And how will he do it? If he stops supporting Israel, will the Palestinians still continue to attack? There still seems to be a revenge element to our discussions. No-one is looking for a peaceful solution or a legal solution to the problem. Are we talking about Israel being accused of war crimes in an International court or are we talking about the wholesale massacre of Israelis? If the latter, then that's no better than the wholesale massacre of Palestinians. Given too that there does not appear to be any faith in the International community, where do we go from here? Economic sanctions take time to work.The death toll in Gaza could be well into the thousands by then. The only country capable of influencing Israel is probably the USA. If Israel remains uninfluenced what would you expect the USA to do? Suppose the only solution was a military one. Would the Palestinians really want an American peacekeeping force in Gaza to keep out the Israelis? Though such a force would offer protection and possibly support to rebuild Gaza, they would also prevent Palestinians from arming. On the other hand, would the Americans really want to enter another theatre of war while they have troops in Afghanistan and Iraq? Maybe they will opt as you suggest for the sanctions and diplomatic moves until the fighting stops, which may be some time. Once the fighting stops, the question to ask is what happens next? How will the Palestinian-Israeli matter be resolved?