President Bush and United Nations Secretary Kofi Annan may be pursuing their three-year timetable to establish a Palestinian state, but Hamas Sheikh Ahmed Yassin has unveiled his personal 23-year plan: Destroy Israel.
Yassin told Hamas supporters at a mass rally in Gaza City on Friday, December 27, "Resistance will move forward, jihad will continue, and martyrdom operations will continue, until the full liberation of Palestine. The Zionist entity will fall within the first quarter of this century."
Probably, supporters of the Palestinians would contend that he was talking about Israeli control of the territories. They have some imagination. These same backers of the Palestinians will also claim that the Palestinians will be happy with their own state. Many Jews and other supporters of Israel contend that creation of a state will be one giant step toward driving all Jews into the sea.
I hope that the former is the case, but after the events of the last two years, how can any reasonable person believe that a Palestinian state will be the end of all serious hostilities? One fact is clear after following this crisis since violence erupted in late September 2000: a large number of Palestinians in Israel?s territories want not only a state, but also the destruction of Israel. But we must also recognize that a fair number of Palestinians are perfectly willing to live in peace with the Israelis, and some probably don?t care whether they have their own state or live under Israeli rule, so long as they are treated fairly. Unfortunately, it is impossible to quantify how many fit either category, which makes it all the harder to determine if the extremists can be controlled should a Palestinian state be established.
The following recitation on this insanity is nothing new: the zealots among them indoctrinate their children to hate Israel and train them to kill and to die, if it will help kill infidels. Thousands of them danced in the streets after the September 11 attacks and following a bombing at Hebrew University. Not only do they murder Israelis, but also fellow Palestinians who might be considered collaborators ? even when they can?t prove it.
It?s obvious that peaceful Palestinians remain silent because they are terrorized by the fanatics. But can anyone say with a straight face that extremists like these will settle down if they get an independent state?
The likelihood is that a sizeable segment of the Palestinians won?t give it up. They might have far less support than they have now, but there will probably be enough extremists to cause Israel serious trouble. Such a force is one of the most volatile factors, in an extremely complicated situation, which must be addressed in order to reach an accommodation. Anyone who denies this reality is, well, in denial ? an attitude which benefits neither side.
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Bruce S. Ticker is a freelance writer and former journalist living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He can be reached at BRUCETIC@aol.com.
Yassin told Hamas supporters at a mass rally in Gaza City on Friday, December 27, "Resistance will move forward, jihad will continue, and martyrdom operations will continue, until the full liberation of Palestine. The Zionist entity will fall within the first quarter of this century."
Probably, supporters of the Palestinians would contend that he was talking about Israeli control of the territories. They have some imagination. These same backers of the Palestinians will also claim that the Palestinians will be happy with their own state. Many Jews and other supporters of Israel contend that creation of a state will be one giant step toward driving all Jews into the sea.
I hope that the former is the case, but after the events of the last two years, how can any reasonable person believe that a Palestinian state will be the end of all serious hostilities? One fact is clear after following this crisis since violence erupted in late September 2000: a large number of Palestinians in Israel?s territories want not only a state, but also the destruction of Israel. But we must also recognize that a fair number of Palestinians are perfectly willing to live in peace with the Israelis, and some probably don?t care whether they have their own state or live under Israeli rule, so long as they are treated fairly. Unfortunately, it is impossible to quantify how many fit either category, which makes it all the harder to determine if the extremists can be controlled should a Palestinian state be established.
The following recitation on this insanity is nothing new: the zealots among them indoctrinate their children to hate Israel and train them to kill and to die, if it will help kill infidels. Thousands of them danced in the streets after the September 11 attacks and following a bombing at Hebrew University. Not only do they murder Israelis, but also fellow Palestinians who might be considered collaborators ? even when they can?t prove it.
It?s obvious that peaceful Palestinians remain silent because they are terrorized by the fanatics. But can anyone say with a straight face that extremists like these will settle down if they get an independent state?
The likelihood is that a sizeable segment of the Palestinians won?t give it up. They might have far less support than they have now, but there will probably be enough extremists to cause Israel serious trouble. Such a force is one of the most volatile factors, in an extremely complicated situation, which must be addressed in order to reach an accommodation. Anyone who denies this reality is, well, in denial ? an attitude which benefits neither side.
--------------------------------------------------------
Bruce S. Ticker is a freelance writer and former journalist living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He can be reached at BRUCETIC@aol.com.