Your thoughts on the conflict in the Mideast
Do you think the Israeli offensive in the West Bank is an effective way to halt terror attacks against Israelis? Do you think the United States has been an effective leader in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations? Are you concerned the conflict is making a terrorist attack on the US more likely? Share your thoughts.
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The US has totally dropped the ball with regards to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Instead of being an unbiased mediator, we have bought Sharon's warmongering and vendetta against Arafat, hook line and sinker. Bush has squandered a substantial amount of goodwill in the last few days, by blindly following Sharon. The Israelis and Palestinians have equal claims to the terretory, which used to be the British Mandate of Palestine, which we know now as Israel and the Occupied Terretories (West Bank). The Israeli bombardment of innocent Palestinians civilians is nothing more than state-run terror. Fighting terror with terror is a no win proposition. Where does it end? The US needs to condemn all terrorists: The palestinian individual terrorists and the Israeli state terrorists. The US should require that the Mitchell Peace plan be implemented without delay. We should be willing to withhold aid to Israel if necessarry to get Sharon to listen. (Think about Sharon's past--how many innocent lives were lost in Lebanon in the 1980's)
CHM Korn, Cambridge, MA
Comparing terrorists attacks in the US and those in Israel is like comparing apples and oranges. Unlike Israel America is not occupying a foreign land. The violence will not end until Israel returns all occupied territories the Palestinian people.
Franscisco, Dorchester
Isreal has a right to defend herself from the suicide attacks, but the fact remains that the land belongs to the Palestinians. It looks like history is repeating itself. The Jews suffered under the hands of the Germans during WW II when they were pushed out of their homes and their land - why are they doing the same to the Palestinians. I think the US can play a role in helping the two sides settle on an agreement and reach a decision to live in peace. We already have our hands full fighting in Afghanastan.
Sandra, Cambridge
Israel needs to remember what happened during the holocost. When you steal a peoples land and keep them in refugee camps sooner or later they will rise up and fight back - this is what is happening - the Palestinians have nothing to lose but their lives and I'd say life in a refugee camp is something most of us will never experience nor understand.
john, boston
I think the only plausible solution at the moment would be to have a UN sponsered neutral peace-keeping force go in to try and stablilize the area. Both sides should be forced to comply with the UN resolutions regarding the establishment of the borders, and the cessastion of the civilian bombings. The US must fully back the UN, and stop its selective support, which is generating so much hatred and cries of hypocricy around the world. The present trend over there of retalliation and escalation will only succeed in leaving everyone dead.
Jack, Allston
Nothing will stop terror attacks against Israel! When will people realize that these organizations are anarchists funded by Iraq and Iran with their only goal being to deter the peace process at all costs. I say, let the EU get involved. They seem to think they can do it better than us. (which isn't saying much) Go ahead!
Manny , Medford
The answer to all of this is that the Israelis should not have any presence in the West Bank at all, either for defense purposes or simply for day to day living. The Jews were fortunate enough to recieve a land to which they have no legitimate right. Basing their logic on a 2000 year old history is preposterous. It should be clear to all that the people who have been living in that territory should be accorded the same benefit. Israelis have their own land now; permit the Palestinians to have the West Bank and Gaza. Israel has created this problem out of sheer selfishness and a sense of false entitlement, taking into account only the history they wish to acknowledge. Their actions today in the West Bank is only fomenting more violence. The United States, sadly, must intervene more as both of these populations have lost all sense in this matter and are acting blindly out of revenge and hatred. The concern about further terrorist attacks on the US should not be something that's weighed to resolve this problem. Why wait until we perceive this to be a threat, rather than assisting more heavily in a resolution first, so that a terrorist attack is not a concern? The US owes the Palestinian people just as much assistance as we give to the seemingly ungrateful Israel.
David, Boston
There does not seem to be a way out of this mess. I think both Arafat and Sharon are war hero/thugs who are both more concerned about their images than finding a way out of this bitter war. If you look back at recent events the worst thing that Israel did was have Sharon go to the Jerusalem shrine (holy place for Jews and Muslims) with all those armed guards and than assassinate one of the high ranking HAMAS thugs. It lead to those HAMAS radicals retaliating and it has been tit for tat since then. As for Arafat, he believes that since he is in so poor a negotiating standpoint that he is justified to give a blind eye to all the radical actions in his area. In addition, now that he is basically a non-issue, whom does Israel think they are going to deal with HAMAS? My last thoughts revolve around the US inaction. We should have been deeply involved with this mess from the first days of Bush's administration. However, we took a hands off approach until it became a problem for us with our efforts against Iraq.
Ron, Boston/MA
The lack of moral courage of the US as it stands by while Israel invades a sovereign nation, murders its citizens, and assassinates its military leaders disgusts me. This is what we get for electing Bush and sadly, this is what the Israelis get for electing Sharon. As always it is innocent civilians who pay the price. Does Sharon really think he can extinguish the Palestinians hate--and stop the suicide attacks--with more tanks and killings of his own? He claims he wants peace, but he is totally unwilling to consider the Saudi peace plan. He'd rather hide behind arbitrary requirements that do nothing to advance any true hope for a truce. A monkey could develop a more sophisticated foreign policy plan and have greater vision for the region.
Amy, Roslindale, Ma
If history serves me right, it was Truman who gave a piece of land so that Israel could establish a homeland. They in turn kept taking more land. If it is so wonderful over there, then why don't the American Jews who support Israel go and live there. I am of Irish heritage and I do not expect this country to support($$) my opinion of what should go on with the Catholic and Protestant conflict.
Eileen, Framingham
