Newslinks: November 21st, 2012

I recently ran across a public opinion poll on Palestinian attitudes.  It was embedded in an article that stated the best way to defeat Hamas is for Israel to prop up the Palestinian Authority.  This is true if the Right Wing government of Israel truly wanted Hamas gone.  I'm cynical towards that.

But the poll.  It was interesting and it shows why Hamas can still get support amongst Palestinians.  The poll was taken in late September by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research.  I have no idea their sample method so I'm posting these numbers rather blind:

66% of Palestinians believe that the Palestinian Authority's long term goal is to recover all or parts of the land occupied in 1967. (Aka Gaza/West Bank).  24% believe the PA's goal is to recover the 1948 lands.  So right there the Palestinians think the PA wants a two state solution.

However 57% of Palestinians believe settlement growth has made a Palestinian state impossible.  I can't blame them.  President George W. Bush's roadmap to peace obligated Israel to freeze settlement growth and remove illegal outposts.  Currently the right wing Netanyahu government has doubled funding for settlements.  And the outposts that are illegal even under Israeli law?  The current government is considering legalizing them.  This leads into....

81% of Palestinians believe that Israel's long term goal is to annex the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967. And this is why Hamas still gets support.  Because when a very large percentage of the Palestinians think Israel just wants to completely annex Gaza and the West Bank than there's no real chance for peace.  And this is a tragedy.

Israel & Gaza. Please Read the whole thing. Very Stream of Thought and Jumbled.

Alright.  I've been critical on Israel's actions in Gaza.  There are many reasons for this.  However I do want to make something clear...I understand that no country can nor should tolerate their people being aimed at with rockets.  Despite those rockets being unsophisticated and rarely lethal, it still is terrorism and they are dangerous and are disruptive.

Their short term goals are simple:  Assassinate militant leaders, leveling various safe houses and getting rid of weapon depots and military installations.  But what is their long term, for as Janine Zacharia stated:

"In the end, Israel will be no safer, although it will surely be more alone in the world and living in a neighborhood that is less tolerant of its aggressive countermeasures."