Secondly, I'm not sure where you get the idea that I want Israel to be dissolved and I do agree absolutely with this statement which you made The Palestinians, for their part, aren't terribly religious either. Sure, Hamas and Islamic Jihad are Islamist, but Fatah is not. Many use Islam for political reasons only. This is not, and has never been, a religious conflict.
In fact, that was the very point of my original post. That this conflict is over land. Not religion. So we agree on some things.
Where I take issue is with this statement What was done 60 years ago cannot be undone. History should teach you that that is a recipe for future trouble. War after war has started because of perceived injustices carried over from a previous conflict. You state Should Poland be forced to take in Germans expelled after World War II? The answer is definitely "yes" if and I emphasize "if" they wish to return. Why on earth should an injustice not be righted? Do the Palestinians want to return? I think the answer is "yes" isn't it? Although your post suggests that they don't, are only there to embarass Israel and all left voluntarily. This is a stretch, I believe.
However, I want to thank you for a most informative post. It has prompted me to do a little more research on this subject and maybe I'll get back with you when I've read a bit more on this subject. I'm in no position to argue many of the points you make, though many don't ring true.
The "Palestinians" are discriminated heavily in the other nations they occupy. Syria has been especially harsh and will not even allow them more than tents to live in for the most part.
The Arabs incited violence and did get their people to mostly leave that area, promising that they would be able to return to that area shortly. Israel proceeded to hand them their butt. Then the arabs mostly failed in taking care of those they used in the politics. To this day they are still used to fight Israel. I feel bad for what is probably an average pali, someone trying to eek out a living while their national leaders use them as nothing more than chess pieces in an insane political war that they will not ever win.
If the leaders cared about the people then Arafat would not have billions to himself while his people live in poor conditions. By keeping them poor and using propaganda, they have an army of young jihadists willing to fight this war.
I'm going to concentrate on the points of disagreement, not the points where we agree. This isn't meant to be argumentative, but rather to let you see where I'm coming from or to give you more to research :)
Where I take issue is with this statement What was done 60 years ago cannot be undone. History should teach you that that is a recipe for future trouble. War after war has started because of perceived injustices carried over from a previous conflict.
Perhaps, but to undo what was done 58 years ago, when, for example, the map of Europe was redrawn after World War II, would force the mass migration of millions of people, most of whom weren't even born when the changes were made. My maternal grandmother was born in Brelitovsk, which was Poland in the early part of the century. It's Belarus today, and all the Poles are gone and so is pretty much the entire Jewish population. Was that an injustice? Certainly. However, trying to reverse that injustice after all this time would cause an even greater injustice.
In the case of Germans expelled from what is now Poland and the Czech Republic, my only comment would be that there is a cost to starting a war, killing people, and then losing. That the Nazis/Germans paid a cost in territory in 1945 and that formerly warring peoples were separated seems to me to be just, resonable, and perhaps the best that could be done in a very bad situation. The same, IMHO, applies to Palestinian Arabs.
Do the Palestinians want to return? I think the answer is "yes" isn't it? Although your post suggests that they don't, are only there to embarass Israel and all left voluntarily. This is a stretch, I believe.
They are left not to embarras Israel, but rather to destroy Israel. That is a huge difference. Yes, many if not most want to return. The result would be the end of Israel as a Jewish state and the death and/or expulsion of over 5 million Jews, many of whom were in turn expelled by Arab countries. This is your idea of correcting injustice? Sorry, I want no part of this sort of justice. The Palestinian refugees must be resettled, but not within Israel. I understand where you are coming from, and in a utopia where everyone got along it could work and would be the most fair and equitable solution. We don't live in utopia.
I'm in no position to argue many of the points you make, though many don't ring true.
If you provide specifics of what "doesn't ring true" I'll be happy to provide you with sources and references. You are, after all, talking about the history of my country, my people.