Well, if Israel also stops claiming its surrounding land.
The whole idea was to establish the model for two states living peacefully and productively side by side. No one seems to remember that simultaneous with the Gaza withdrawal, Israel dismantled four smaller settlements in the northern West Bank as a clear signal of Israel's desire to leave the West Bank too and thus achieve an amicable two-state solution.
And how did the Gaza Palestinians react to being granted by the Israelis what no previous ruler, neither Egyptian, nor British, nor Turkish, had ever given them – an independent territory? First, they demolished the greenhouses. Then they elected Hamas. Then, instead of building a state with its attendant political and economic institutions, they spent the better part of a decade turning Gaza into a massive military base, brimming with terror weapons, to make ceaseless war on Israel.
Where are the roads and rail, the industry and infrastructure of the new Palestinian state? Nowhere. Instead, they built mile upon mile of underground tunnels to hide their weapons and, when the going gets tough, their military commanders. They spent millions importing and producing rockets, launchers, mortars, small arms, even drones. They deliberately placed them in schools, hospitals, mosques and private homes to better expose their own civilians. And from which they fire rockets at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
source: http://www.aish.com/jw/me/The-Truth-about-Gaza.html
To me it's pretty obvious the Jews just want to live in peace and have made concessions for years to do so, but Hamas wants nothing but an endless war. It's kind of hard to make peace, when the only thing your opponent is interested in is your total elimination.
Like the Israeli prime minister said:
"'Here's the difference between us," explains the Israeli prime minister. 'We're using missile defense to protect our civilians and they're using their civilians to protect their missiles.""
http://www.thehypertexts.com/images/israel-palestine_map.jpg
>"'Here's the difference between us," explains the Israeli prime minister. 'We're using missile defense to protect our civilians and they're using their civilians to protect their missiles.""
the former is perhaps more tenable when one doesn't live in the world's largest and densest open-air prison
The open air prison is more of a reaction to an already bad situation.
Hamas doesn't want a 2 state solution, actually no Palestinian faction wants a 2 state solution.
The PA wants a Palestinian state clear of all Jews, not Israelis but Jews.
And another state where all of the Palestinian refugees which were not allowed to gain refugee status by the Arab League (hence UNRWA and not the UNHCR) would have the right of return.
Effectively the 2 state solution as it's currently envisioned would mean either a true Aparthide state or no more Jewish state.
You can call Gaza an open air prison, but you also need to remember that about 100,000 rockets and mortars have been fired from it at the Israeli civilian population.
When Egypt and Jordan controlled Gaza and the WB the Palestinian liberation agenda was focused on the territory Israel controlled, now it's shifted towards the territory that have been lost to Israel but by all accounts the end goal has never changed.
Blaming Israel for this entire situation is satirical, they are too blame but their core offense is their existence not any specific action or policy.
If there to be peace it needs to start with normalization of relations, the Palestinians in Jordan and Lebanon have to be given rights under the UN charter for refugees and assimilated, after 10 years of quiet it would be considerably easier to come to an agreement.
However there will be no quite the 2nd intifada started because there was a good chance for peace, 150,000 Palestinians worked in Israel, Israelies conducted business daily in the PA territories, and the Palestinian economy was one of the fastest growing in the world.
This was good for the Palestinians but pretty bad for their leaders like Yaaser Arafat who wasn't even a Palestinian her was an Egytpian of Libyan decent born before Israel has even existed and never set food in Palestine or Israel before 1947.
So Arafat blew the camp David accords in which he was offered more than he was actually expecting and even demanding including Jerusalem to be put on the table and kicked off the entire mess.
For all his flaws Abbas is the first Palestinian leader who was actually born in Palestine.
But for the most part history will remember him as one with Arafat, especially after he said no to even a better offer than the original Camp David one.
Also amazing how an era which saw Palestinian casualties to 30 to 1 over Israelis is presenting the latter as peacemakers whose offers were refused.
This part is telling though (the ruler part), even though it lives tons of specifics out: "And how did the Gaza Palestinians react to being granted by the Israelis what no previous ruler, neither Egyptian, nor British, nor Turkish, had ever given them – an independent territory?".
What land belonging to Iran does Israel occupy ? care to explain ? does that justify calls for the extermination of Israel and the Jews ? does that justify holocaust denial ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Temple#Biblical_narrati...