LL> GP>What a load of crap!  At Camp David 2000 Israel offered Arafat EVERYTHIN
LL> GP>had EVER asked for, and the ONLY concession was that he agree that Jews
LL> GP>right to existence!  He walked out and refused to consider the offer!
LL>
LL> Everything except the Moon.  That was Barak's mistake.  He had to give
LL> Arafat the Moon.  Remember the crescent on the flag...

Riiiight, like this is going to happen realsoonnow!

LL> The West Bank is not recognized as being Israeli territory.
LL> The Gaza Strip is not recognized as being Israeli territory.
LL> The Golan Heights is not recognized as being Israeli territory.
LL> The city of Jerusalem is not recognized as being Israeli territory.
LL> Not by any government on Earth, with the exception of Israel.

You do know why these lands became Israel's?
Do you recall the Arab coalition attempts to eradicate Israel after the
partitioning that gave the Arabs 89% of the land that didn't belong to them
ANYWAY???

It's a long established principle that lands acquired in defensive war belong
to the victor!

LL> That is why governments around the world (including the U.S.)
LL> refer to the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Golan Heights as occupied
LL> territories.  Well, maybe not Gaza Strip anymore, now that Sharon
LL> has returned the Gaza Strip to its rightful owner.

What rightful owner? There were no "Palestinians" until Arafat(an
EGYPTIAN!)
invented the term after a failed war by Egypt+Lebanon+Syria attempting to
eradicate every trace of Israel and every Jew.

These West Bank Palestinians are actually ex-pat Jordianians, but Jordan
realized the strategic advantage of denying their own people so they'd stay
behind in Israel and foment disruption & terrorism!

Check out this flash show giving a chronological history of the region:

http://www.infoclick.org/nutshell3.html

Because I care,
|<+]::-)  (Cyberpope(the Bishop of ROM!))
(aka Reverend George A. Pope)





LL>
LL> To his credit, Sharon did return the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians.
LL> And had it not been for his unfortunate illness, he would have begun
LL> withdrawing Israelis from those illegal Israeli settlements in the West
LL> Bank.  Sharon knew the best way to protect Israel was to have secure
LL> borders.  After all, Sharon is a military man, and views things from a
LL> military perspective.  Protecting 8000 Israelis who controlled one
LL> third of the Gaza Strip was indefensible, as well as very costly.
LL> Sharon knew that.  Protecting a few hundred thousand Israelis in
LL> the West Bank is indefensible, as well as very costly.  Sharon
LL> knew that.  Better to pull out, have more defensible borders,
LL> and save a ton of dough.  Ditto with the Golan Heights.
LL> 
LL> It will be interesting to see how the future prime minister (new
LL> elections are scheduled to take place in March) continues the peace
LL> process.  As for the Golan Heights, former prime minister Barak came
LL> within 100 yards of reaching an agreement with Syria.  However, once the
LL> Palestinian issue has been resolved, Syria will quickly come to terms.
LL> 
LL> GP>Tough shit to those who banded together after they agreed to the partiti
LL> GP>percentages, to take away even the 11% that Israel was allowed, of a lan
LL> GP>was for thousands of years 100% theirs!
LL> 
LL> Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians agreed to the U.N. partition
LL> of 1947.  Both sides rejected it.  And the status of Jerusalem has never
LL> been determined, given it was never part of the U.N. partition plan at
LL> all.  As such, Jerusalem belongs to the original inhabitants (Jew,
LL> Muslim, Christian), and not to the Israelis.
LL> 
LL> --Lee
LL> 
LL> 
LL>  * SLMR 2.1a * Forget Iraq!  Let's rebuild New Orleans!
LL> --- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
LL>  

... nfx v3.1 Lighten up, Everybody! Life ain't even PERMANENT!               
--- SBBSecho 2.11-Win32