10 minutes to understand the basic issues for Israel / Palestine.

This short report from CBS / 60 minutes presents the issues very very clearly and simply. I encourage you to take just 10 minutes to watch and understand (2 part video below).

Part 1


Part 2


Only one correction, the report starts by saying that Palestinians hoped to build their state in the West Bank -- well that's not totally true. They hoped to build a state over all of historic Palestine and were crushed by the British in the late 1930's. Recently, following the 1967 war and the Oslo 1994 agreements, they have hoped to build a state over internationally recognized borders, i.e. all of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

The key quote in this report is from the Mayor of a Settlement who says very clearly: "Settlements prevent the establishment of a Palestinian State."

The episode of the IDF soldiers occupying a home in Nablus is a common occurrence. Courageous soldiers have started speaking out about this and have videos documenting all this. (Visit Breaking the Silence.)

The reporter makes a clear and simple case about the dead end of current policies. And dead end must be taken very literally -- see my entry these suicide and death policies.

We ask Hamas to recognize the Israeli State and stop violence. Should we not ask Israel to recognize a Palestinian State and should we not stop funding, supplying and cheering this violence?

Elrig