To Israeli:
Very thoughtful, and candid reply! You explain yourself well, and I can tell you are willing to find peaceful solution, yet are frustrated by the ongoing hostilities, and the lack of a serious partner in peace on the other side.
I understand many Israelis consider the expansion of the West Bank settlements a potential obstacle to a future peace accord. Why does the government continue to expand them? If a peace accord is ever reached, the most outlying settlements would likely have to be demolished (like in Sinai and Gaza), so why build them? Is it a political move to satisfy the religious parties? A need for cheap housing? Or is it simply because, given the lack of a credible partner to negotiate peace, there really is no impetus to prepare the road for a peace accord? They do give the impression the Israelis are slowly encroaching on the West Bank, and the news stories regarding some settlers harassing Palestinians don’t help Israel’s image.
I understand some territories bordering the Green Line will likely never be returned (though they could be compensated for). A buffering tract of land is justifiable, given that the Green Line is at some points only 15km from the coast!
I still feel the blockade of Gaza, and the security measures in place in the West Bank, besides causing undue grief on the Palestinians, could ultimately backfire on Israel. But I will concede that our difference of opinion is likely due to a difference in perception. Living in America, I do not feel the potential threats you feel in Israel, so I don’t sense the urgency for these security measures. It’s ironic how Palestinians, in using violence to protest their grievances, invite violence (and greater misery) upon themselves. Had they followed the path of Gandhi or Martin Luther King (who “resisted” the greatest Western powers) they may have gotten more concessions, with much less suffering.
I’ll tell you my interest in the region is very personal. Two of my dearest friends live in the Middle East: one in Tel Aviv, the other in Beirut. It’s interesting to hear the stories each tells me. At the same time, it’s heartbreaking for me to think it’s far easier for a message to travel from there to here in America, than between the two of them. I’ve always dreamed of driving from Tel Aviv to Beirut. Maybe someday in our future.
