Holy mackerel!! We may be getting somewhere. May.

No one is asking the Israelis to leave Israel, just the settlements on property acknowledged by everyone and everything except the Old Testament to be Palestinian. Only property the Israelis, UN, and Palestinians agree is not Israeli.

The following two paragraphs are the crux, as I understand it.

Realistically, no Palestinian leader can allow the Israeli settlements on property the UN and temporal Israeli regimes agree belongs to the Palestinians. No more than Bush could allow Mexican settlements in Arizona.

And, just as realistically, no Israeli leader can stand up to the fundamental religious right-wing which is building the settlements. There is no parallel there, because the Old Testament does not give any of Mexico to Christians.

This time, no one is talking about destroying Israel. They did, in the past, but now they're talking about recognizing and guaranteeing Israels borders in return for Israel getting back within those borders.

Possibly the only way out will be for the US to buy the settlements, build new ones in Israel, give them to the Israeli settlers, and then force the folks back.

Anyway, that seems to be the issue this time. It's not '67, or '73, it's '02, and Israel will be there. By right of "adverse possession", if nothing else.

Arf