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Israel offers Palestinians 'hand of peace'

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Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says he hopes to revive long-stalled peace efforts with the Palestinians, as a ceasefire takes hold in the Gaza Strip.

In a major policy speech, Mr Olmert pledged humanitarian and economic incentives if militants freed a captive Israeli soldier and violence ceased.

The speech comes against a backdrop of increased international diplomacy.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's aides said talks should resume immediately and unconditionally.

But officials from the militant Hamas party, which won parliamentary elections in January, expressed suspicion about Mr Olmert's statement and demanded an end to military action in the West Bank and Gaza.

Hamas government spokesman Ghazi Hamad called Mr Olmert's statement a "conspiracy" and "a new manoeuvre".

"Mr Olmert is speaking about the Palestinian state without giving details about the borders," Mr Hamad said.

The US has welcomed what it called a "constructive" speech by Mr Olmert.

"I think this, combined with the announcement of a ceasefire, are certainly welcome developments, certainly potentially promising," said state department spokesman Sean McCormack.

Earlier, Israeli troops shot and killed two Palestinians in a raid in the West Bank town of Qabatiya, near Jenin - one a militant and the other a 55-year-old woman.

The official Palestinian news agency said the woman was shot as she went to the aid of an injured militant from the Popular Resistance committees. The Israeli army said she had been trying to recover his gun.

Under the ceasefire which came into force on Sunday, Palestinian militants have agreed to stop rocket attacks on Israel, and Israeli troops withdrew from Gaza.

However, rockets have continued to be fired, the latest attack hitting the Israeli border town of Sderot on Monday afternoon. There were no reports of injuries.

Olive branch

Mr Olmert said Palestinians would see substantive improvements in their lives if they chose the path of peace.

"I hold out my hand in peace to our Palestinian neighbours in the hope that it won't be returned empty," Mr Olmert said

Mr Olmert spoke of releasing many long-term Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails, lifting restrictions on the occupied territories, dismantling settlements and ultimately creating a viable state.

However, he also warned of the dire consequences if violence continued.

He was speaking at an annual memorial at the grave of Israel's founding premier David Ben-Gurion in the southern Negev desert.

The BBC's Jon Leyne in Jerusalem said all Mr Olmert's pledges have been made before, but their importance lies in the context in which they are now being made.

The last four months have seen an upsurge of violence in the Gaza Strip which has killed more than 300 Palestinians, including scores of civilians. Five Israelis have also died.

Israeli troops re-entered Gaza - which they quit more than a year ago in a unilateral withdrawal - after Palestinian militants captured a soldier in a cross-border raid in June.

Mr Olmert won elections in March on a pledge to make further unilateral withdrawals, but credibility in the policy was dashed in a summer of conflict in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

Hamas won election on a platform of not recognising Israel's right to exist. Israel has ruled out political engagement with the Palestinians until Hamas softens its stance.
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Taken from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6187282.stm

Discuss!
 
They better. If they don't they are retarded.

I'm sick of all of this BS personally. I'm waiting for them to kill each other so we can have all of the oil to ourselves.
 
i dont know about you clint, but I dont want think about this situation.
 
My lady is Palestinian. That's about as much as I care about the situation.
 
No.
 
Ireal is violating international law to stay within their boundaries. If they would FOLLOW THE LAW things would be easier!

Jimmy Carter has a book about it.
 
No, Hamas does not want peace with Israel.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Ireal is violating international law to stay within their boundaries. If they would FOLLOW THE LAW things would be easier!

I'm afraid the situation is just a tad bit more tricky than just that. If you look at the history of Israel and the surrounding areas, who HASN'T broken the law, or made a new law to cover up what would have been a blatant violation of laws in place.

As to whether they'll accept the talks... They'll be in trouble if they don't. But that doesn't seem to stop people nowadays.
 
  • #10
Ha, this is a joke by Isreal right? This doesnt even begin to adress the problem. They want Palestine to stop the violence, will they actully let them have armed police forces then? If not how is Palestine supposed to stop the violence? ask nicely? Of course at this point Isreal is looking to peace they control about 80% of the 1948 Palestinian state and more importantly they have taken control of Jerusalem which I see they didnt even mention in their "peace talks". Isreal in essence has taken everything they want from the Palestinians so its time to stop the violence. They dont even offer to stop restricting Palestinian access to Jerusalem, which is a holy city for Judeaism, Christianity, and Islam.

I will say though atleast Isreal is starting to admit maybe the Palestinians do have a right to live, but just not in Isreal. Also Isreal has made all of these promises before and never followed through with them, or violated their own agreements when it was advantagous for them. I really dont think Palestinians will agree to anything if the issue of Jerusalem is not adress and if Isreal is not willing to give back some of the other territory that it illegally siezed in wars they started.
 
  • #11
I agree 100% that the palistinians got the land stolen, and I think they should get it back.

why can't they just become one state? Isrealistine
smile.gif
Palisreal
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In all seriousness what the Palistinians want and deserve and is rightfully there's isn't that much land. Let them have it!
 
  • #12
so what do you think a batter deal would look like?
 
  • #13
I agree with Ozzy. Neither has shown the capability to back up their words with actions. The militants in Palestine will launch rockets and suicide bombers. Israel will keep on retaliating. An offering of peace by either side is seemingly always empty. Neither side is trust worthy. They just keep offering empty words and no actions to back the words up. Hamas IMO needs to just let up on the hate so that they can get some recovery for the citizens of Palestine. I also hope that the Palestinians realize that hate doesn't pay the bills, and keep that in mind in the next election.
 
  • #14
How do you propose the Palestinian government stops the millitias with out an armed security force of their own? People always say that but Isreal will not allow Palestine to have an armed police or military force anywhere inside the occupied territories, leaving only millitias which are inherently difficult to control.
As for the hating Isreal part, how would you feel if a group of people showed up kicked you off the land your family and tribe have owned for over a thousand years, killed young males in your family, forced you to live in a refugee camp, does not recognize you as having the right to visit your holy shrines, continues to bulldoze your villages and fields to build jewish only settlements, bombs your lands indiscrimately, kills unarmed civilians indscrimately, and in all intents and purposes commits acts of ethnic clensing? How would this make you feel? would you like there people? Palestine has tried electing the less militant groups for the last 40 years and their land has diminished and their people have suffered, wouldnt you try a more hardlined militant approach since all else has failed you?

A fair deal would be ONE SECULAR STATE with protection for all religions, unrestricted access to all holy sites in the area and no Jewish only settlements. Thats a fair deal one that does not favor Isreal so much. To support a two state solution is to support the destruction of the Palestinian people in their homeland.
 
  • #15
The isreali's won't go for that because the palistinian population growth is at like 4%, and soon they will be the majority and have voting power in isreal. I think one secular state is good, however.

This is the problem. Remove religion from the government and there is peace.
 
  • #16
Isriel is never going to agree to that. So there is no hope. Anything less will be rejected, wich promises more of the same for both. Since thats the way everyone wants it, its hard to feel bad for them. Let them fight. Theyd all vote by their religin anyway, even n a single state
 
  • #17
Yes, but they choose to continue the circle of violence. Israel retaliates disproportional to a rocket attack, Palestinians protest, militants fire more rockets into Israel, Israel retaliates, Palestinians retaliate with a suicide bomber, Israel retaliates again, etc....

The cycle can only end when one of the two decide to break it. Revenge has gotten them nowhere, but only more death and destruction. Sure they have a right to be angry, but do not take that anger out on innocent civilians. There are ways of dealing with anger besides violence. Both sides must realize this before ANY progress is made.

I get somewhat annoyed when people focus on the violence of Israel, and ignore the terrible acts of violence by Palestinian militant groups. No side is innocent or more moral than the other.
 
  • #18
[b said:
Quote[/b] (TheAntiLion @ Nov. 28 2006,11:49)]Revenge has gotten them nowhere, but only more death and destruction. Sure they have a right to be angry, but do not take that anger out on innocent civilians. There are ways of dealing with anger besides violence. Both sides must realize this before ANY progress is made.

I get somewhat annoyed when people focus on the violence of Israel, and ignore the terrible acts of violence by Palestinian militant groups. No side is innocent or more moral than the other.
I agree with you on all of this. Violence is not the answer, and Palestinian Militants are just as guilty of horrible things as Isreal is. The difference in my mind atleast is that the militants often times commit acts as indepent or small group actions which can be very hard to control. Just look at medical procedure clinic bombings or other acts of violence in the United States. The Isreali government however responds to a single rocket fired by leveling everything in the area that stands above ground level. what im saying is its alot easier to make a bomb at home than it is to make an F-16 with guided weapons. Am I saying either is right, no, but Isreal also works to deny the Palestinians any way to control these radical militants. If the militants have guns and the Palestinian government doesnt who is going to win in a conflict?

As for which side is more moral or less moral, well morality is a personal judgement and a subjective call so you can argue one side or the other or neither, but none of these answers is the "correct" answer.
 
  • #19
Both sides are guilty of atrocities. Both sides will propose peaceful political posturing without solutions mutually agreeable to each. At first I was scared when Ariel Sharon was in charge. But after awhile he stopped acting like apolemist jerk. Then Olmert did the same. Queria seemed to scared to take on both Hamas and Arafat and Abbas started out doing the same. Both leaders need to see past their respective extremists and compromise.... just get something going in the right direction - and I don't mean "spins". I think that Hamas exists for the purpose of a Paletsinian State and the destruction of Israel. If they get their State, the fuel for their fire for the other gets greatly weakened.

The British Govt., some 60 years ago blew it. They offered the land to both. Israel accepted the offer and the Palestinians refused. Both peoples have an ancient claim to the land. In my opinion, they should both share it and Jerusalem be under UN control, since neither wants to relinquish it.
 
  • #20
There will be no peace ever. They will just fight until one side can't fight anymore. Then they will die off. We all know it's true. But from what my lady tells me is that it is Palestine and not Isreal. Everyone calls the land by two different names. I dunno. I just listen when she talks about it. she tells me stories and all that. She was there when bullets flew past her window at night. Her little brother threw rocks at tanks. It's all messed up.
 
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