Reply #30: Tom, I am in favor of a Palestinian state, alongside Israel.

[Shaktimaan]

But in terms of the Palestinians being able to return to Israel, it isn't gonna happen. Not on any large scale anyway. They will have to settle for a "return" to a Palestinian state, not necessarily the exact land they left.

All other things being ideal, I would (along with every Israeli I know personally) support a full right of return. But the situation has been one of unending conflict, inflamed both by the settlements and by decades of violent rhetoric and deeds by the Arab states. The Palestinian's right of return does not trump Israel's security or raison d'etre. Israel does not have an obligation to accept refugees numbering its own population again in size. Particularly since it does not seem that they support the state of Israel but would in actuality be coming to fundamentally shift, if not destroy, Israel's culture.

There are many groups of refugees that would like to go back to where they originally came from. But due to various reasons they can't. There's little point in demanding a Palestinian right of return if the end result will be a disaster. And seeing how the Palestinians are having trouble governing themselves without it being a disaster I don't think plopping five million of them in the middle of Israel would result in Switzerland.

There's an irony in the fact that everyone complains about the nakba 60 years ago (which could have been adequately resolved by now if the will was there) while ignoring the fact that modern day Palestinians are being evicted from ARAB states in similar numbers as they were from Palestine. When is anyone going to demand compensation for Palestinian refugees of Jordan?

As far as "Why should Palestinians be held hostage to the policies of another Arab state???" goes... because all of the Arab states I mentioned are intrinsically bound up in this conflict as much as Israel and Palestine are. Their policies have dictated and shaped the nature of the conflict from day one and it seems appropriate that they should be as involved in settling the issue as they were in creating it. If all of these nations see fit to attack Israel in the name of Palestinians then they should be held equally accountable in other respects. The Camp David treaty with Egypt requires America to pay 1.5 billion a year in aid to Egypt. So it is not unusual to have 3rd party countries make concessions for peace. And Egypt has been far more involved in the mid east conflict than America ever will be.

But I am not suggesting that any peace treaty be reliant on what Yemen does. No one expects that. In fact, no one ever says a word about the Jewish refugees or calls on any Arab states to make restitution. But then, restitution is rare in the world of refugees. And that is my point. That despite the fact that we have equal numbers of refugees and numerous states to blame, we only ever hear about one state and one group of refugees. No one will ever end up demanding equal accountability in the middle east. Rather, we would have the one country almost entirely populated by refugees, who lost everything at the hands of the very European and Arab states who now call them to task, be the one to bear sole accountability for the crimes of the many.