and
-end of hostilities by groups like PLO, HAMAS, Hizbollah, Fatah, etc. or elimination of them by the governments of each country
Israel's neighbors need to take responsibility, if there is to be peace, for assaults upon Israel that originate in their territories. They can't throw up their hands and refust to accept responsibility for violent attacks. They have to work things out with Hamas, Fatah, PLO, Hizbollah, etc. or they have to arrest them and prevent them from engaging in violence. They have to act as sovereign nations and take responsibility. If they do that, then Israel could release most of their prisoners to their neighbors. Then, the neighbors could determine on an individual basis whether to release the prisoners or not. And the neighbors would be responsible for capturing, sentencing and incarcerating any new prisoners caught engaging in violence that could set up renewed conflict, which some terrorists have as their goal. Israel would really have to TRUST Palestine and Lebanon to do the right thing here, and if they fail to do their job, the same situation would recur.
-Peaceful Coexistence There are a lot of power players who have huge interests in keeping the conflict going. I've written about them here Even if all the issues between the Israelis and the Palestinians are resolved, in a way that both sides can tolerate with neither side feeling they got too good a deal, all the outside players will have a major influence on whether peace ensues. It is not realistic to fantasize that all the players will pull back from their machinations and allow peace to emerge. Conflict has valuable payoffs for totalitarian Arab regimes, acting as a distraction from the problems at home. Then there are the more distant players-- China, North Korea, Pakistan, the Taliban-- they must all be included in mapping out the whole "system" of influence that affects the middle east.
I didn't say it was easy. But at least here, I've laid out some areas where supporters of both sides can discuss issues.
We have to talk. We have to look for new solutions. We have to break out of patterns that we've been locked into that have not been working. Americans have to be able to feel they can fully support Israel while also talking about ways that Israel can change, if necessary under duress. Arabs must deal with supporting the Palestinians while finding solutions that protect the Palestinians from mechanations perpetrated by Islamic extremists who don't have peace in their agenda. Power brokers on both sides must lean on all the conflicting parties to compromise in a stepped process that builds trust and they should it expect to have to spend a lot more than they have been spending. Americans may balk, but the alternative is an explosion in the costs for oil, with gasoline tripling or quadrupling in price, and with countless other products and industries affected. spend tens or hundreds of billions now, or the US economy is at risk of implosion, with trillions lost and US hegemony at risk as well.
PS. If you don't agree with me, on the overall thesis of this article or any points,please comment below, rather than sending me an email. This needs to be a bigger conversation,not just between you and me.
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