why should Israel give back the land from before that war?
do you also think the USA should give back the southwest to Mexico? If the conditions were the same, then yes. Rather, many problems could be solved by dissolving all borders.
Anyway, you think winning territory in war is legitimate? I suppose we shouldn't have interfered with Saddam Hussein's capture of Kuwait (yes, I'm avoiding an over-used Hitler metaphor).
Israel has the advantage because the pro-Israel lobby in the US is so powerful, and also because they offer the US a lot more than the Palestinians can as far as intelligence and strategic alliances go. I'd like to see a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as an international protected city. I don't hold out any hope of seeing this happen anytime soon, however.
Well, Israel has traditionally had strong backing from the US and Britain, and the West at large, which beats Palestine's backing from most of the Muslim world. However, strong pro-Palestinian movements in the US and Europe may begin to equalize the forces, especially as President Obama has some pro-Palestinian policies. I believe he has said that he supports a two state solution, as do many Americans, across party lines. This doesn't change the fact, though, that Israel still receives the bulk of Western support. Most Western political parties that outright support Palestine are not ruling currently. The UN repeatedly condemns Israel's occupation of territories it declared to be Palestine's.
So I'd say Israel is currently at the advantage, but growing support of a two-state solution could lead to forcing a compromise.
Did Israel have the right to take over Palestinian land in violation of UN edicts?
And I wouldn't say Israel provides "so much" to Palestinians, unless you are referring to providing oppression. If anything, they prevent aid from reaching Palestinians.
Seems impossible to try to force another country to do anything they do not want to. Most certainly a new state (that would surely end up to be majority non-Jewish) would be very unlikely.
"Displaced Palestinians in refugee camps lead terrible lives, and such camps are major recruitment grounds for terrorist organizations, for clear reasons."
Kind of makes you wonder why they aren't getting more help from other countries in the middle east, doesn't it? Makes you wonder why it is that they must get everything from and through Israel (whom their democratically elected government wants the destruction of). What other country would put up with thousands of rockets fired at them, and still provide so much? There's alot of land in the Middle East to go around, some of it that was formerly full of Palestinians (Jordan). So much angst just to get more of a tiny sliver of land, that the Jews have mostly bought from Arab land owners, and have historically lived on for thousands of years.
This issue stirs up a lot in people, but I think it's an important discussion, as it is a major source of conflict.
Personally, I'm torn between support for the 1947 UN Partition Plan and the creation of a new state without official religion, that doesn't favor one group or the other. However, the former seems to be the more practical of the two.
Displaced Palestinians in refugee camps lead terrible lives, and such camps are major recruitment grounds for terrorist organizations, for clear reasons.
