re: yids
milesg, totally unfair post about me regarding never having attributed blame to Israel.
I believe their management of the settlement issue is poor and leads to the unneeded complication and the ijntroduction of red herrings of the issue.
I agree that the IDF has acted, at times, in a manner likely to inflame the situation.
I agree the politics of the Kenneset is such that it is at times a dificult place to get consensus - hence this is something that is a weakness that then gets exploited.
Having said that, perhaps a qualification of the points.
The settlements, I believe are the biggest red herring of them all. They, I do feel should be addressed by Israel, but you are sultana short of a fruit loaf if you believe that is the lynchpin of the dispute. It is also an issue that easily addressed and manipulated to their advantage by their spin-doctors, world media and anti-Israel factions around the world.
Sudddenly it it THE issue. It aint
Secondly, the members of the IDF, in a country of such a small population are, in fact, the brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts and at times, the parents of the victims of the terrorist attacks. Whilst not condoning all their acts, its also somewhat reasonable to suggest that at times, acts of individuals are likely to be tempered by their grief and desire for revenge.
Finally, the machinations of the Israeli Parliament are such that make Aussie politics look like a kindergarten picnic. There are such diverse and PASSIONATE views and the adherents ARE so passionate for they believe THEIR VERY EXISTENCE is based upon their politics getting up.
A bit different to us debating the sugar levy, no?
And it is this belief that it is extinction vs survival that makes consensus so hard. And it is because of this that the "other side" seeks to use the complexities of the Israeli political process to their own ends. Acts of terror, diplomatic pressure and swaying world opinion are very often the tool used to destabilise a very unstable coalition and the cycle begins again.
