http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6402008/



i

The only reason this is sad is because he was the only real unifying force for the Palestinians. He was a terrorist sponsor, robbing the Palestinian people blind and been a major stumbling block to some form of peace for decades.

He was no worse than Sharon. Sharon has been convicted of war crimes, and is still allowed to run the country.

It's sad news indeed. And Israel is going to have trouble on their hands now. Big trouble.

It certainly changes things in the region, that's for sure.

Raa wrote:He was no worse than Sharon. Sharon has been convicted of war crimes, and is still allowed to run the country.

The impressive thing is that Sharon was convicted of war crimes by Israel! They can't even blame this on the UN or any other body.

Sharon and Arafat were as bad as each other. Anyone who thinks that there is any chance of peace just cause one of them is gone is deluding themselves.

Worse Arafat has at least shown that he can talk peace when he's dealing with the right leader. When has Sharon given any indication that he could do the same?

Personally I reckon that it was the wrong one of those two idiots who died first.

good riddance

anyone find it funny that they're fighting over the only spot of land in the region with no oil underneath it.

But the Israelis made it bloom when the rest of the region is at best a steppe, but most of it is a desert.

liberator wrote:But the Israelis made it bloom when the rest of the region is at best a steppe, but most of it is a desert.

Give the other nations a couple of billion in foreign aid and see how long it takes for them to grow plants too.

Seriously. Israel is one hypocritical, and overzealous nation. They'll start WWIII before America does, even if only by a short margin.

karajorma wrote:

liberator wrote:But the Israelis made it bloom when the rest of the region is at best a steppe, but most of it is a desert.

Give the other nations a couple of billion in foreign aid and see how long it takes for them to grow plants too.

They would more likely spend it on weapons to prolong their centuries old feuds with their neighbors both within their country and without.

Also, you're talking about a region where most of the countries have at least some oil wealth. Why don't they use it to improve their countries instead of building extravagant mansions that they don't live in?

The Isrealis have used their foreign aid to both safeguard their nation and turn it into the most vibrant area in the region. As I understand, when you cross from Israel into Jordan, the decline in plant life is drastic in a matter of only a few miles from the border. Considering that the soil conditions are likely similar I can only assume it's because the people there haven't been educated in more modern farming techniques, this is the fault of the Jordanian government, not the Isealis.

"Safeguard their nation" apparently means mowing down the homes of Palestinians in areas that the Israelis want to settle...

liberator wrote:

karajorma wrote:

liberator wrote:But the Israelis made it bloom when the rest of the region is at best a steppe, but most of it is a desert.

Give the other nations a couple of billion in foreign aid and see how long it takes for them to grow plants too.

They would more likely spend it on weapons to prolong their centuries old feuds with their neighbors both within their country and without.

And when israel developed atomic weapons they weren't doing that? Israel spends billions on weapons. Your claim basically boils down to your false belief that the muslims are the only ones fueling this feud.

Oh. One further point. There is no centuries old feud. The jews who lived in the area got on reasonably well with the muslims. The problems started when Israel was created.

whats going on? i dont recognize any of this.

As far as I know the muslems came to Isreal. And there will be no peace over there, not for a while anywaz.

WeatherOp wrote:As far as I know the muslems came to Isreal. And there will be no peace over there, not for a while anywaz.

Ugh. The history of the region is much, much more complex than that. It goes back to well before Islam even existed. In a nutshell - the Jews emigrated from egypt to Israel. They think God gave it to them. Anyway, awhile later, they rose up against the romans who had conquered them (this was around two thousand years ago). The romans kicked their arses, as you'd expect, and threw them out of Israel, dispresing them all over Europe. Now, in those days, the romans still had their own gods (I think - they may have been on the verge of converting - TBH I'm not entirely sure). Anyway, the jews left and went to Europe and stuff. People being what they are, aren't willing to let land go uninhabited just because the old guys who lived their got booted out. So gradually, the former Israel got filled up again by the local arabs. We're still talking thousands of years ago keep in mind.

So, fast forward two thousand years to the second world war. It's post holocaust, and the Jews want a homeland. But not just any one - they want their old one back, from 2000 bloody years ago. England, America and the rest of the allies basically just gave it to them, without concern for the people who were living there. By this time, obviously, islam had risen up and the locals had a long tradition of islamic culture.To be fair though, their were a lot of Jews already living in the area, but the arbitrary creation of this new nation pissed off a lot of the locals, including the palestinians. Israel fought four or fivew wars in the first few decades of their existence, somehow winning each one, and snipping off more and more land as they did so, gobbling up gaza and the west bank, which were pretty much the last refuges of the Palestineans, and, in the case of the west bank, one of the few parts of the region that was reasonably fertile. The Israelis then settled this land, despite the fact that it was already settled.

That's what's got the palestinians, and pretty much the entire rest of the region, pissed off. Israel doesn't belong there, and there's not going to be peace till they're forced back out again.