The BBC reports former US President Jimmy Carter's horror at the way in which Israel treats the people it has dispossessed. On a visit to Gaza, Carter declared: ""Never before in history has a large community like this been savaged by bombs and missiles and then been deprived of the means to repair itself,". He also, rightly, observed that the speech in which Netanyahu grudgingly agreed to the notion of a Palestinian state was designed to create obstacles rather than progress.
Editorial comment: As we have pointed out for a quarter of a century, Israel will never agree to a viable Palestininan state unless compelled to do so by its financial and military guarantor, the United States. Saudi Arabia has proposed a solution to the Arab/Israeli conflict which, to many, seems to err on the side of generosity to the state of Israel, and yet Israel rejects the offer. Guilty of ethnic cleansing and a series of war crimes from its inception to its recent assault on Gaza, Israel stands as an applaing example of man's inhumanity to man. The underlying cause is the guilt of occupying and expelling a people from their homes. Only economic or military force will persuade Israel to treat the indigenous people of the region in a civilised manner. Without such compulsion, all discussion is meaningless posturing.
