Registered: 02/04/05
Posts: 3499
Loc: The Dirty: 480
Quote: No but there is such a thing as proportionality.
I think that's overly idealistic and doesn't come close to matching the reality of the situation. Hamas has no sense of honor that translates to Western thought. They install rocket launchers in residential areas, store ammunition in schools, imbue their children with the most anti Semitic hate this side of Nazi Germany, and don't recognize the Geneva Convention.
I hope for a peaceful resolution to the whole situation in my lifetime, but the Palestinian leadership in Gaza is the unchained nihilistic fanaticism in this equation. Their sense of "Arab pride" or reclamation of "muslim land" has trumped any rational strategy.
If they could ever put these archaic notions aside, their best bet would be to play the Apartheid card and demand equal representation as citizens of Israel. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. This would be supported by precedence in S. Africa and would thus receive positive foreign support. Israel in turn would find this repulsive as they would lose Jewish majority and would make a bee-line towards breaking Palestine off into it's own country.
This notion isn't pie in the sky, it's a pragmatic solution that was brought to my attention by a friend, a former Israeli soldier and spook. The stumbling block is Arab humility and pride. Good luck with that.