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Web Letter

It is not at all surprising to hear that the Israeli government is attempting to crush a Palestinian peace movement. The Israelis do not truly want peace with the Palestinians, at least not with a Palestinian identity intact. The Israelis have chosen a divide-and-conquer approach between Gaza and the West Bank, with Gaza (undesirable land) being used as a de facto prison colony, and the West Bank (desirable land) being slowly annexed and proxy-controlled by Fatah puppet leaders.

A Palestinian peace movement gets in the way of this plan; such a movement forgoes violence, pre-empting the "self-defense" excuse Israel has used to date for egregious levels of violence against the Palestinians. Such a movement asserts a Palestinian identity that does not simply give the Israelis what they want, however they want it.

History has shown that savage, unjust tyrannies can persist for some time, but less and less, the more modern the history in consideration--and tyrannies never last forever. Israel looks to have a dubious future indeed as a modern tyrannical, colonial oppressor.

Web Letter

I rather doubt that nonviolent demonstrations will work. The only "peaceful" solution to this problem would be for the Obama administration to threaten to cut off aid to Israel, and there is no certainty that that would work. I don't think any American administration has the nerve to go that far, even if Israel's survival depends on a peaceful solution.