The Los Angeles Times is running an article that caught my eye about the Intifada.
I think that we may be witnessing the beginning of the breakdown of popular support for the Intifada. And that is very necessary and a good thing for all people. Because the best way to try and reduce the violence is to marginalize the terrorists.
And one way of doing this is to make the Palestinians police themselves. They need to look to each other and force the guns to be put down and the pens to be picked up.
“RAMALLAH, West Bank — When Abu Fahdi joined a Palestinian militant group and took up arms against Israel, he thought he was serving his people. Now he believes he did them only harm.
“We achieved nothing in all this time, and we lost so much,” said the baby-faced 29-year-old, who, because of his status as a fugitive, insisted on being identified by a nickname meaning “father of Fahdi.” “People hate us for that and wish we were dead.”
“We have witnessed the destruction of Palestinian society — its civil institutions, its economy, its infrastructure,” said Zuhair Manasra, the governor of Bethlehem. “The result has been a complete disaster for the Palestinians, at all levels. Now we must think how to rebuild.”
This month, a poll commissioned by An Najah University in the northern West Bank city of Nablus — traditionally a stronghold of militants — found that more than two-thirds of Palestinians surveyed supported seeking a cease-fire arrangement with Israel. In the past, a similar proportion lent support to continued fighting.”
Anonymous
These reports are shit. I always said the majority of the pals were mere victims between the crossfire of terrorists and israeli retaliation. I remain my case. The majority of either populations, in israel and gaza/westbank, want a cease-fire and enduring stability.
It’s the cycle of violence that fuels public acceptance of terrorism in pal regions and authorization of military oppression in israel.
If you want to break the deadlock foremost you must exclude the pal militant organizations(al-aqsa/hamas) as well as israeli hardliners(likud/shas) from the diplomatic negotiations.
One i don’t see happening with sharon in charge of israel, arafat in charge of pal enclaves and bush in charge of the white house.
Zeruel