Bush's Israel switch divides US from world

[dArKeR]

By Jonathan Freedland
THE GUARDIAN , LONDON
Monday, Apr 19, 2004,Page 9

Most observers of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians threw away their rose-colored spectacles long ago. But if they were to put on a pair now, they would be stunned by what they see. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, godfather of Greater Israel, travelling to Washington to win the US' blessing for a surrender of territory he fought so hard to keep. Hard-man Sharon, still renowned for his 1982 surge into Lebanon, now preaching pull-out from Gaza. No wonder US President George W. Bush embraced Sharon's gesture, hailing it as "historic and courageous."

But take off the rose-colored glasses and what do you see? Yes, Sharon proposes "disengagement" from Gaza, but that is only half the picture. The other half is a promise to keep hold of large chunks of the West Bank, those which now house more than 200,000 Jewish settlers. Sharon sees this as a quid pro quo: Israel gives up Gaza and in return gets to keep choice cuts from the West Bank, not for the time being or until a final peace deal but, as Sharon puts it, "for all eternity."

It is a mark of his achievement that Sharon has persuaded the US to bless this move. By packaging it as a withdrawal and a painful concession, he has won what few thought possible: US backing for the long-held dream of Sharon and the Zionist right -- a permanent Israeli grip on crucial segments of the West Bank.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/edit/archives/2004/04/19/2003137288

We're way past divided!

[Jim Sagle]

1. I guess the esteemed editorialist didn't think we were ALREADY divided

from the world, huh?

[aquart]

2. I guess the esteemed editorialist didn't look at a map.

Israel's original boundary creates a narrow nearly indefensible strip of land between the Arabs and the sea. Israel doesn't want to deal with that again. And no sane negotiator would ask them, too.

It's moot, anyway. Hamas and Hezbollah, hell, even the PLO will never feel anything but aggrieved, jealous and determined to take back what was "taken." Their people will always live in poverty and the past because no one will invest in a community that builds bombs. That's their culture and it is as doomed as they intend Israel to be. Perhaps they'll go together in some suicide or murder/suicide pact. Won't that be a victory.

Unfortunately for Europe, even that won't help. Not all Jews are Israelis. And most Arabs aren't Palestinian.

[dkf]

3. In a few months this title will be

"Kerry's Israel switch divides US from world".

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[adjwilli]

5. Bush once argued for a Palestinian state

and he still does today. Just a much smaller Palestinian state with no right of return. In other words, a state that is given semi-automony as Israeli guns will be pointed at it until the end of time.