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I will reiterate what I said before, with a few additions. Both sides will have to compromise and TRUST in the other in this conflict. As a starting point, the following will need to happen:
1. Israel and Hezbollah/Lebanon (I am considering Hezbollah and Lebanon the same thing for a number of reasons) should honour an immediate ceasefire.
2. Syria, Palestine and Iran (and their military arms in Hezbollah and Hamas) will need to follow the lead of Egypt, Jordan and other moderate Arab nations in accepting Israel's right to exist.
3. Hamas and Hezbollah need to lay down their arms like the IRA did to be fully recognised as legitimate partners in the negotiation process.
4. Firing Katyusha rockets into northern Israel should stop, as should the suicide bombings. In return Israel should stop its targetted assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders.
5. Israel can then withdraw to pre-1967 borders (I will remind you that had the 1967 war not been initiated by Syria, Egypt etc the Arab land wouldn't have been taken) and return the land that was taken during that war.
6. Israel should give the Gaza Strip and West Bank to the Palestinians.
7. Prisoner exchange should take place on both sides as a goodwill gesture.
8. Syria and Iran should stop using Lebanon as their playground.
9. A multinational peacekeeping force should then be deployed to the ceded land to keep order in the short- to medium-term.
This seems quite simple to me, but it isn't because neither side trusts the other to keep their word, which is understandable - Israel has been invaded at least four or five times since 1948, most of them by surprise attacks. You can understand their caution. But unfortunately for them (and the rest of the Middle East) Israel's "eye for an eye" solution is not a long term solution as it just engenders more hatred. For every Hezbollah member Israel kills, more rise up to take their place.
For peace to work there has to be trust on both sides. There are many people in the Middle East today more interested in revenge than peace for their children. Hezbollah and Hamas and all the rest of them are driven by ideology. You can't bomb an ideology - all you can do is re-educate, or change the environment of utter despair and hopelessness that foments this ideology.
On a personal note, I'm glad you're ok, Black Baron. Stay safe.
[ 07-28-2006, 11:40 PM: Message edited by: Memnoch ]
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