Sunday, May 29, 2011

1967 borders

Netanyahu claims that the internationally recognized 1967 borders of Israel are "indefensible". That may or may not be the case. But that is no reason to refuse to use them as the basis of land swap negotiations.

Lets just take him at face value. If he (or his predecessors) took something that didn't belong to him for whatever reason, the victim is entitled to compensation. Since his security depends on this particular land, he should return comparable land elsewhere. The problem is the magnitude of the land he has taken. How many Israelis would have to move to achieve fairness?

They've really gotten themselves in a bind.

1. A fair settlement is unacceptable to Israel.
2. Without US support they cannot survive.
3. Where will US support be in 100 years?

It is no wonder Hamas takes a long term strategy. Time is on their side.

If the US was born with the original sin of slavery as Obama has said, then Israel was born with the original sin of ethnic cleansing. They need to come to terms with this fact. The sooner the better.