T. B. - "You know what? If the Palestinians stopped, the Israelis would."

That's the part which isn't true. Long, long before the Palestinians started the suicide bombing, while their losses were 25 to 1, the Israelis kept building West Bank settlements.

In spite of their agreements, in spite of UN resolutions.

Long, long before the Palestinians started the suicide bombing, the Palestinians who were residents of what became Israel, who were guaranteed Israeli citizenship by the partition agreements, the Palestinians who had lived on that land for untold generations, were discriminated against by "their" government.

For instance, service in the IDF is a prerequisite of many rights of citizenship. Palestinians are precluded from service.

Therefore, they are denied many, many other rights.

For instance, the "right of return". They are citizens, yet if they leave Israel many, many Palestinian citizens cannot return to their homeland.

That would be like you taking a trip to Mexico, maybe to see a kid on an archeological dig, and not being able to come home.

And that was going on long before the suicide bombing. Stopping those actions, just a couple of many, are not dependent upon the cessation of suicide bombing.

And, it seems terrible to see terrorism as State policy, as it is for Israel. At least the Palestinians have the "cover", which is true at least partially, of the suicide bombers being independent.

And over the decades the Israelis have killed or imprisoned the Palestinian police forces, the only folks on their side who could have stopped it.

Somehow I expect an army, a State, with all their resources, to be a bit more responsible than an occupied, disarmed civilian population. To be a bit more focussed, to not use terrorism.

ESPECIALLY WHEN IT ISN'T WORKING.

Arf