Utopian view a denial of reality

Thank you for you lucid thoughts on this. It is no coincidence that the war started just as Palestine’s economy and standard of living reached its highest level ever and the Abraham Accords were about to open more trade between Palestine, Israel and Saudi Arabia. This threatened Iran’s long term objective to control land near its religious rival Saudi Arabia which is why Iran armed Hamas.

Good morning, Fred

I feel your thoughts and my thoughts pretty much are in alignment on this issue. I will say this about Mike... I have met him and he is earnest in his conviction that Israel bears a huge responsibility for impeding a peaceful settlement with the Palestinians. He is passionate without being emotional. However, if any of us could wave a magic wand over Israel and there was an immediate ceasefire in the region, who would be most likely to break that peace? I think it's pretty clear... rockets would be launched on trajectories into Israel and not out of Israel.

Bert makes some points that deserve discussion. There are indeed responsible Palestinians who now accept the reality of the pre-67 war boundaries, as the demarcation for a new Palestinian state. Mr. Abbas is among them. The nearest both sides have come was during the Ehud Olmert administration where his peace plan did not have enough time to be analyzed and accepted before he lost power. Mr.

Abbas refused an election without the voters from East Jerusalem being counted. He might easily have lost, as Bert mentions, as he was not very popular. There are certainly lost opportunities on all sides as is usually the case in all conflicts.

Now Mr. Olmert is back and has partnered with Nasser al Kidwa the ex. foreign minister of the Palestinian Authority, and they still see the future as a joint area of co-operation between the sides. Unfortunately, Many Israel backers in the US. prefer to stand with the settler element who see continued displacement and expansion as the way forward, and ignore the reality of the Palestinian presence and their rights under international law. There is still hope for those who see peace as the best guarantee for the future.

Thanks for your letter, Mr. Korr. Of note is Mr. Caggiano’s inability to cite the initial surprise attack by Hamas which killed 1000+ people and resulted in the taking of hostages (some which are still held in captivity, dead or alive). As long as Mr. Caggiano refuses to acknowledge the massacre, I’ll refuse to take Mr. Caggiano’s assertions seriously.