Bring In the Diplomats

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Aid and investment can also strengthen the hands of moderates, although it needs to be complemented by easing the movement of goods and people in and out of the West Bank and Gaza. It is essential to rein in Israeli settlement activity lest Palestinians conclude their state will never be viable. And it's worth trying to drive a wedge between Hamas and Syria. The United States should join with Turkey in mediating between Syria and Israel. A deal ought to be possible in which Israel returns all of the Golan Heights (which are then demilitarized for a set period of time) in exchange for peace and a halt to Syrian support for Hizbullah and Hamas. The United States would then ease economic sanctions against Damascus.

We have learned in Iraq and elsewhere that political and economic progress cannot take place without security. This means we should continue to build up Palestinian police and military forces. It could also mean creating an international force, possibly one drawn from Arab and Islamic countries, to maintain calm in Gaza. The alternative is to depend on Israeli deterrence and Hamas's restraint, which as recent events demonstrate are prone to breaking down.

It is too soon to know whether the moderates would win out over the radicals or, as happened in Northern Ireland, many of the radicals would evolve and become more moderate. This should be encouraged; over time, elements of Hamas might conclude that their only hope of realizing a Palestinian state is by trading in their guns. Those willing to embrace this approach could become part of a Palestinian coalition government.

There is more than a little urgency to all this. Land is being confiscated; people on both sides of the divide are growing alienated. If this opportunity to create a lasting peace is lost, it would be a tragedy, and not just for Palestinians. Israel needs a successful Palestinian state almost as much as the Palestinians do if it is to remain democratic, Jewish, prosperous and secure.

Haass is a NEWSWEEK contributor and president of the Council on Foreign Relations.

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Posted By: ggllww @ 01/25/2009 10:10:47 AM

San1 - Nice stoey,

BUT YOU FORGOT TO MENTION THE ROCKETS!

ACT LIKE ANIMALS, YOU WILL BE TREATED LIKE ANIMALS!!! - HEAR THAT jarhead???

NUFF SAID
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Posted By: jarhead58 @ 01/24/2009 11:49:24 AM

Mein Herren; Nordland and Haas:

I am a Jew and you two make me puke!!

Two Nazis' on the staff of Newsweek igniting more terrorism.
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Posted By: sana1+1=2 @ 01/23/2009 4:42:38 PM

I think the word ???self-defense??? should be redefined. Imagine if someone comes to your home, kills your children, locks you inside the bathroom, and declare that the property is his now! As desperate as you are, you open a hole into the exterior wall to have your hand reaching food, water, and a stone to defend yourself when needed. Unluckily, the invader discovers the whole, cuts your hand, tears down the bathroom over your head, and goes all around the neighborhood saying he???s the victim. Worst, your neighbors who know the truth consent his right to self-defense. This is the story of the Palestinian people. It???s not a thousand-year story, as some people think. It is happening since 1948 when Israelis founded their state on the Palestinian land, and the chapters of Palestinian misery are continuously written under the title Israel???s right to self-defense.