"Why do Palestinians hate us?"

[Rexmons]

This is why.

US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns has signed a deal that will provide Israel with $30bn (£14.8bn) of military aid over the next 10 years.

The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, has said the aid will preserve his country’s military advantage over other countries in the Middle East.

The new military aid package represents a 25% increase from present levels.

The US announced multi-billion-dollar arms deals with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other Gulf states last month.

Washington says it wants to help its allies in the Middle East meet their security needs and counter the growing power of Iran in the region.

Mr Burns and Israeli Foreign Ministry Director-General Aharon Abramovitz signed the memorandum of understanding on the new aid package at a ceremony in Jerusalem.

Needless to say, given Israel’s predicament, living in a region that is very violent and unstable, its military edge is of interest to our country, and we’ve committed to that

It will see Washington transfer $30bn over the next decade, compared to $24bn over the past 10 years. The first payment of $2.55bn will be made in October 2008.

Mr Burns called the aid package an “investment in peace”, saying “peace cannot be made without strength”.

[piercehawkeye45]

"peace cannot be made without strength"

That is not peace, that is complete control.

If I am the neighborhood bully I can keep peace by saying I will beat the living daylights out of anyone that questions me but is that really peace? For me, peace is usually compromise and acceptance, not that.



For why the Palestinians hate us part:

According to a recent large-scale public opinion survey commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme/Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian people (UNDP/PAPP), 58% of Palestinians in the oPt live below the income poverty line, and more than half of them live in extreme poverty.

According to the poll, 70% of households in the Gaza Strip live below the poverty line , while 56% of West Bank households and 19% of East Jerusalem households live below the poverty line.

Some 42% of households in the Gaza Strip live in extreme poverty compared to 26% in the West Bank.

http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/2ee...6!OpenDocument

[xoxoxoBruce]

I'm not happy with this give away of my money.... not at all.

But the Palestinians are living in poverty because they chose to, time after time. Remember the west bank greenhouses? Remember the millions and millions we gave Palestine before Hamas took over?

[yesman065]

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

"peace cannot be made without strength"
That is not peace, that is complete control.

That is one view - the other is that they are strong and therefore will not be attacked - maybe that is the point that is trying to be conveyed. There can still be strength without "complete control."
Strength to defend oneself is obviously also very important.

[Undertoad]

Arafat died a billionaire.

Kept it in Swiss and French banks.

[DanaC]

But the Palestinians are living in poverty because they chose to, time after time. Remember the west bank greenhouses? Remember the millions and millions we gave Palestine before Hamas took over?

Yeah. The Israeli's bulldozing their settlements and cutting them off with walls and road blocks, often to the point of preventing farmers accessing their farms and shopkeepers accessing their shops, that had fuck all to do with it.

[Undertoad]

With a reach like that you could box Muhammed Ali.

[DanaC]

What you don't think the Israeli tactics have had an effect on the day to day functioning of trade and commerce?

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Arafat died a billionaire.

Kept it in Swiss and French banks.

And his wife continues to live off of those riches.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by DanaC

What you don't think the Israeli tactics have had an effect on the day to day functioning of trade and commerce?

Yes, but it's taken 50 years of escalation to get to this point. 50 years of lost opportunities for the Palestinians that were fighting a losing battle to drive the Jews out, instead of thriving along with them.

[DanaC]

I don't think thriving along with them was an option

[xoxoxoBruce]

Oh but it was, and they did, until about 1967. And many after that.

[piercehawkeye45]

Give proof of how they thrived along with them. 800,000 Palestinians were displaced in 1948, I don't know how many people would suddenly just say "Don't worry about stealing our homes, we just want to be friends now". I mean, c'mon, how would you react to people taking your property without notice to install a new state and then place you in horrible refugee camps.

This money is going to build walls which will further enclose the Palestinians. The problem is not solely the Palestinians, they are not going to be as efficient as making money but they can support themselves if given the room. The problem is that they don't have the room to farm.

Arafat died a billionaire.

What does this have to do with anything? So, you will have a few people that will take advantage of situations like this but that has very little to do with the poverty being the Palestinians fault. Something like this will happen in similar situations to any group of people.

Yeah. The Israeli's bulldozing their settlements and cutting them off with walls and road blocks, often to the point of preventing farmers accessing their farms and shopkeepers accessing their shops, that had fuck all to do with it.

http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/20...-stranglehold/

[Undertoad]

Arafat didn't become a billionaire by being an oil tycoon or something. He became a billionaire by stealing palestinian aid money. The west put its blinders on (just like you are doing) and pretended it didn't happen and continued to send money. Arafat's assistant said 900M of aid money was simply missing.

Something like this will happen in similar situations to any group of people.

From all of history, name two.

http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/20...-stranglehold/

Eh-heh. I get different information from that story than you do.

Blaming the "other" is standard practice in unsuccessful cultures... and almost guarantees continued failure.

Can you see any examples of "blaming the other" in your own culture? Have you ever heard anyone say "The niggers|jews|spics|rich people|poor people|drug dealers|cops are responsible for all the problems we're having!"

Wow, it doesn't sound very intelligent does it? The Palestinians are TAUGHT that the others are responsible for their failure. TAUGHT TAUGHT TAUGHT. With fucking Mickey Mouse ripoffs on national TV.

This is more responsible for their failure than ANYTHING ELSE. And here it spreads to you and Dana. Wow?

Israel was a desert. But the people focused on being productive instead of simply focusing on hate. And now the desert blooms. The same could happen in Palestinian territories. It is ONLY a cultural problem.

Wake up and smell the fucking coffee already.

[Spexxvet]

Why don't the local Arab nations assimilate the Palestinians? They all say the Palestinians' plight is so horrible, why not help them, instead of spewing the "Isreal must go" retoric, and keeping them in refugee camps?