Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Unilateralism Seldom Works

The US has tried it. Israel has tried it. Last summer Israel decided that it would set its own borders and to hell with the Palestinians living in Gaza. Israel would set the rules by itself. Well, reality intervened and Israel is back in Gaza and Lebanon and the world holds its breath.

If people in the West Bank are living in a hell (whether of their own making or not is beside the point), they are unlikely to accept rules imposed by a perceived enemy. For Israel to survive relatively peacefully, it has to have a West Bank where the people have a chance at a decent life. Which means that if the current crisis does not escalate into a world crisis, Israel, Palestine - and the world - will have to figure out how they can help the Palestinians have a decent life.

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