Damn it!

I just finished a monster historical model for Israel concerning your discussion about Palestinians, and the whole freaking thing is GONE! 90 minutes of typing and editing gone forever. For crying out loud my 1989 Apple IIC+ NEVER did this to me!

I am so pissed.

Anyway, the short of it is this. Israel WANTS new settlements because that allows for territorial and economic expansion. The PA is GIVING Israel what it wants by advocating terrorism, firing rockets, and generally being belligerent. The PA is hoping for help, militarily, from neighbors if they can ferment enough internal dissent. Problem is, regardless of religion, what every common person wants is a safe, stable domestic environment where they can create a good life for themselves and a better opportunity for their children. Israel has proven it can provide that. Hamas by its nature cannot. Israel is patient. Hamas cannot afford to be. See where this is going?

The solution to the Palestinian problem is this: Do exactly what you are doing now. Be consistent in your military responses. Make settlements consequences for inevitable acts of aggression from Hamas. Hamas will fade because it cannot do what all terrorist organizations need to do: survive. It will be voted out of office by a population it is destined to fail, or it will be abolished militarily when it launches one too many rocket attacks.

Israel knows this. The blockade is another example of what Israel has that Hamas does not: Patience. Hamas cannot win.