Perhaps we can begin here
Reader comment on article: Are There Palestinians To Talk To?

Submitted by Daniel in Brookline, May 29, 2009 13:48

I, and a great many other Israelis, have been waiting for this for a very long time -- Palestinians, setting themselves up to lead, who genuinely seem to believe in renouncing violence.

As has been said before, non-violence is just about the only thing the Palestinians haven't tried. I remain convinced that, if a Palestinian government is elected that recognizes Israel and halts terrorism, Israel will fall all over itself giving the Palestinians almost anything they ask for.

But generations of Palestinians have been raised to hate, and to glorify death, and to demonize Israel; a non-violent Palestinian political party may have serious difficulty getting support. (In the most recent Palestinian elections, Hamas and Fatah ran in part on platforms of who had killed more Jews. Similarly, ambitious young Fatah and Hamas members, wanting to advance rapidly, do so by participating in terrorism. Swimming against the tide will be very difficult.)

These "third way" parties give me hope, in spite of their past connections to terror and their unreasonable opening demands. Perhaps something will come of this.

respectfully, Daniel in Brookline

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