Sympathy, Schmympathy

Here is an excellent summary of the Israeli-"Palestinian" conflict, as it has been and as it stands:

[Israel is] a stable, functioning democracy, with actual protections for minorities. Hell, in some cases, it's better to be a non-Jewish Israeli than a Jew -- only Jews are required to give military service. Non-Jews can do pretty much everything a Jew can in Israel, including serving in the armed services and the government.

On the other hand, we have the Palestinians.

Someone once described them as a people "who never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity." At every crossroad, they look carefully down both paths to see which will cost them less heartache, grief, and blood -- and inevitably turn away from it.

As another person put it, after the 1948 Partition that established Israel, "the Jews took the deal and made a nation.  The Palestinians took the deal and made a war."  And promptly lost it.  And have lost every single war since. It never occurs to them that perhaps war is not the way to get what they want.

Let me expand on that last point just a bit: Every time the Palestinians and their Arab "friends" have attacked Israel, Israel has won the fight and taken more land as a buffer against further attacks.  The entirity of the "Occupied Territories" are these lands.  Notice, then, that it isn't the "Occupied Territories" that "Palestinians" wanted (since Israel didn't take them until after they were attacked), but the whole of Israel; the "Palestine" to be "liberated" is Israel.

I don't believe that has changed so far as Hamas and other jihadis are concerned.  Arafat capitulated -- in word, so long as that word was spoken in English -- because he was left with no alternatives.  But Hamas is of a different mind.

(h/t: Elisson)