"for a country that has been occupied by either of its neighbours for much of the past 50 years, I'd say it has held together surprisingly well. It certainly has a much better claim than Israel to being the only true democratic republic in the middle East."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=124x280523Or better yet wait for the "one state solution"
If I were a Palestinian negotiator right about now, I wouldnt take a Taba style settlement. I might be satisfied with the pre-1967 territories in their entirety. But ultimately, I would be quite content to wait for another 10 or 15 years.
Currently, there is no way that the West Bank and Gaza alone can support their populations as well as the refugees from Lebanon, especially if Israel keeps drawing water from the West Bank aquifer, which it shows every intention of doing. Why agree to a state thats not sustainable and have only yourself to blame when it goes to custard?
Far better to wait for circumstances that better favour you. That is what I am advocating. Let the Arabs keep popping out babies in the Galilee. Eventually the Israelis will have to pull back the 200,000 Jews living in the settlements because they risk being outnumbered at home.
Of course, the Haredi are pretty good at popping out babies as well. The prospect of an Israel that increasingly consists of the poor, the ultra-orthodox, and the Arabs, is not exactly a sure-fire recipe for happy smiles and sunshine. But that is for Israel to resolve. They chose to pick up the poisoned chalice of occupation, let them drink from it.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=124x210172