It is a great disappointment to me that I must oppose the behavior of Israel. Their treatment of Palestinians is appalling. It is a fact that Hamas’ goal is the destruction of Israel. Israel has the right to do everything in its power to destroy the Hamas organization. That right does not include the extreme force used against Palestinian civilians.
Fareed Zakaria’s GPS had three smart guests to discuss the Israel Palestine issue on his February 15 program. His guests were:
–Yossi Klein Halevi, a senior fellow at the Shalem Center’s Institute for Zionist History and Thought
-Yoram Peri is a former adviser to Yitzhak Rabin and is now a professor at Tel Aviv University and American University
-Mustafa Barghouti, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council
Each of these gentlemen clearly expressed his views and of course the two Israelis differed significantly from Mr. Barghouti. The third party needed to bring this horror to an end is the United States. There is no other that will step forward to help resolve the intransigence of the Israelis and Palestinians.
There is no point in reviewing the history of Israel and the territory it now occupies. Israel exists and will continue to exist. The question of its borders and the status of Palestinians both inside Israel and in the Palestinian territories needs to be resolved as quickly as possible. The reason for this is the growing violence being displayed by everyone.
George Mitchell is the American special envoy to the Middle East for the Obama administration. Mr. Mitchell chaired the all-party peace negotiations, which led to the Belfast Peace Agreement in Nothern Ireland. There could be no better person to help bring an end to the this conflict.
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