The DISH

Unbossed and unbought news and information you can use

Vol. 13 Issue 23…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…June 6, 2010

Bit of History

Rachel Aliene Corrie (1979 - 2003)

"I feel like I'm witnessing the systematic destruction of a people's ability to survive ... Sometimes I sit down to dinner with people and I realize there is a massive military machine surrounding us, trying to kill the people I'm having dinner with." Rachel Corrie - March 14, 2003

Born on April 10, 1979 in Olympia, Washington, Rachel Aliene Corrie was the youngest of the three children born to Craig Corrie, an insurance executive, and Cindy Corrie, an amateur flautist. After graduating from Capital High School, Corrie attended Evergreen State College, where she took a number of arts courses.

Corrie took a year off from her studies to work as a volunteer in the Washington State Conservation Corps and participated in other volunteer activities. In her senior year, Corrie proposed an independent-study program, which included travel to Gaza to join peaceful protesters associated with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and a "sister city" project between Olympia and Rafah.

On January 22, 2003, Corrie flew to Israel. She attended a two-day training course at ISM West Bank headquarters, before heading to Rafah to participate in ISM demonstrations against home demolitions in the Gaza Strip.

On March 16, 2003, Corrie was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer, while acting as a human shield to prevent the destruction of a Palestinian home during an Israeli Defense Force (IDF) operation to destroy guerrilla hideouts and smuggling tunnels. According to the IDF, Corrie's death was an accident due to the restricted angle of view of the IDF Caterpillar D9 bulldozer driver, a claim disputed by ISM eyewitnesses.

U.S. Representative Brian Baird introduced House Concurrent Resolution 111 in the U.S. Congress on March 25, 2003, calling on the US government to "undertake a full, fair, and expeditious investigation" into Corrie's death. Congress took no action on the resolution. Corrie's family and several Palestinians filed a lawsuit against Caterpillar Inc., the bulldozer's manufacturer. The case was dismissed in November 2005 for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The court cited, among other things, the political question doctrine. The suit was also denied on appeal to the US Ninth Circuit since the bulldozers were paid for by the US Government as part of its aid to Israel. A lawsuit was also filed against the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli Defense Ministry.

Since 2003, more than 30 songs, an unknown number of poems, plays, books and documentaries have been written about and dedicated to Corrie by a diverse group of artists. On March 30, 2010, a 1800-tonne vessel was bought at auction in Dundalk, Ireland by the Free Gaza Movement and named in her honor. It was outfitted for use in a voyage to Gaza. On May 12, 2010, the MV Rachel Corrie sailed to join a flotilla intended to directly confront Israel's blockade of Gaza. (Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Corrie, www.rachelcorrie.org and http://rachelcorriefacts.org)

Intuit's Vibe

"Rachel Corrie"

By Ten Foot Pole

You heard of Rachel Corrie?

The press won't tell her story

Caught between a house and bulldozer

She found out that Israel

Hates gardens and it will kill

Americans who help rebuild the Gaza Strip.

Let's pretend that everything will be OK

It's not our fault

Let's look the other way

And go to films or dance lessons

Or baseball games at night

And trust elected leaders to choose right

I hurt for Rachel's father

To bury his young daughter

And her belief in human goodness

He taught her to fight violence

Now all that's left is silence

And the memory of her dignity

Let's pretend...

Rachel I hope you find justice

Or even a garden

Where anyone can grow some food in peace

No guns, no need to fight.

No poor, no black no white,

Heaven, you deserve a break from misery

Hood Notes

Assault on Humanitarian Sensibility

By John Burl Smith

Hoping to relieve the siege on the Gaza Strip enforced by Israel since 2007, as well as pressure Israel to respect international law, specifically the Geneva Convention, and protect unarmed civilians including humanitarian workers, a flotilla carrying 10,000 tons of aid and some 800 passengers set sail for Gaza. While in international waters, the ships were boarded by hooded Israeli naval commandos in a pre-dawn raid. The organizers of the humanitarian aid flotilla said Israeli forces opened fire on passengers, who were waving white surrender flags, as they stormed aboard the convoy. Carrying only food, medicine, tents for the homeless, hygiene kits and construction materials to the besieged Gaza Strip, the six boats were commandeered by Israel and carried to the port of Ashdod.

Details seeping out about the shootout tell a horrifying tale in which from 10 to 20 activists were killed and upwards of 30 wounded. Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal, on board the flotilla's lead ship, the Mavi Marmara, said in his last report before communications were cut off, that Israeli troops used live ammunition during the assault. Flotilla passengers are being held incommunicado by the Israelis, who justified their actions by claiming they only wanted to search the ships for weapons believed headed for Hamas. Israel's illegal blockade in the Gaza Strip, (an area the size of Harlem in New York City) where more than1.5 million people live, is inhumane collective punishment which has reduced the Palestinians to a condition reminiscent of American Indians (1800s) during "Manifest Destiny."

Avital Leibovich, an Israeli military spokeswoman, confirmed that the attack took place in international waters, 65km off the Gaza coast. She said, "This happened in waters outside of Israeli territory, but we have the right to defend ourselves." Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu gave his "full backing" to the military forces after the raid, which he said "was to prevent the infiltration of thousands of rockets, missiles and other arms that could hit our cities, communities or people. I give my complete backing to the army, the soldiers and commanders who acted to defend the state and to protect their lives."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Ismail Haniya, Hamas leader in Gaza, said the assault was a "massacre" and called on the international community to intervene. Abbas officially declared a three-day state of mourning. As Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, urged Arabs and Muslims to protest outside Israeli embassies across the globe, demonstrations were being held in the capitals of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and elsewhere. Egypt summoned Israel's ambassador, while the Arab League urged member states to "reconsider dealings with Israel."

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan, responding to the deaths of at least 4 of its citizens said, "This action is totally contrary to the principles of international law and is inhumane state terrorism. Nobody should think we will keep quiet in the face of this." Turkey recalled its ambassador as thousands of Turkish protesters tried to storm the Israeli consulate in Istanbul.

Murat Mercan, the head of Turkey's foreign relations committee, told Al Jazeera, "That claiming activists on board had links to terrorist organizations was Israel's way of covering up its mistake. Any allegation that the members of this ship are attached to al-Qaeda is a big lie because there are Israeli civilians, Israeli authorities, Israeli parliamentarians on board the ship. Does he [Regev] think that those are also attached to al-Qaeda?"

Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak of Malaysia, hoping that the attack will bring about the censure of Israel said, "They have used force at their whim without consideration that their action will result in the loss of life." Saeb Erakat, top negotiator for the Palestinian Authority called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council which met Monday afternoon, "to discuss the piracy, the crime and the Israeli massacre."

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon while calling for a full investigation and expressing shock that Israel stormed the flotilla said, "A full investigation to determine exactly how this bloodshed took place is vital. I believe Israel must urgently provide a full explanation." Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, chief foreign policy official of the UN, said "bloodshed would have been avoided if repeated calls on Israel to end the "counterproductive and unacceptable" blockade of Gaza had been heeded." During the emergency session called by Turkey, most members of the 15-nation body joined calls for an investigation. Denouncing or criticizing the Israeli action, they demanded Israel end its 3 year-old blockade of Hamas-controlled Gaza.

Offering only "deep regrets," as Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper for the loss of life and injuries, Pres. Barack Obama said, "The United States is currently working to understand the circumstances surrounding this tragedy." However, Canadian Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff insisted, "While we will always support Israel's right to self-defence, a measured response is important when dealing with security threats in this region. Given the loss of civilian lives, we are expecting clarification on exactly what happened. Canada's objective is, and always will be, to achieve peace in the Middle East. This incident does not help us meet that objective."

Many of the activists aboard the protest ships were European nationals; it was expected that harsh diplomatic responses from the European Union and its member states would follow. But what the world got were "profoundly shocked" from France. Sweden, with 2 citizens on board the seized ship, only asked for an explanation, and the European Union demanded an inquiry into the incident. Britain and Italy "condemned and deplore Israel's action, while Germany, intimidated by the Holocaust it perpetrated against Jews, offered the same timid statements, even though two members of the Bundestag -- lower house of Parliament -- were among five Germans onboard the ships. All expressed "unconditional support" for Israel.

And, therein lies the rub. One can easily imagine the hyperbolic rhetoric from the US and Europe, if Iran, North Korea or Yeman had stormed aboard an Israeli ship in international waters, killed 10 Israelis and carried the ship back to their territory. Israel would be preparing a nuclear strike. Americans would be talking in terms of another 9-11. Virtually no one would be talking calmly about an international investigation, which Israel has already rejected.

The responsibility for Israel's renegade action lies squarely on the shoulders of the West. Western governments - US, Great Britain, France and Germany -- have emboldened Israel by repeatedly backing its rogue actions which killed innocent Palestinians. Although the US claims to be a defender of "human rights," it does not see depriving human beings aboard those ships of their lives as human rights violations. An assault on humanitarian sensibility, such as the deaths of these innocents, is why the Nazis remain pariahs to the world today.

Whether rightly or wrongly, death is the final arbiter. Israel, because of some perceived threat, does not have an ultimate right to be judge and jury by simply claiming self-defense or the right to survive. Other people have the right of survival too. Many historians say, if Adolf Hitler had been stopped in Austria, the world could have averted WWII. But, world leaders chose to appease him. It seems after the loss of millions of lives, the world would have learned, "one can not appease a greedy bully." Will it take WWIII to teach that lesson over again and will we learn then? (Sources: http://thestar.com.my,www.haaretz.com, www.vancouversun.com and http://english.aljazeera.net)

The Telescopic View of the West

By John Burl Smith

United States (US) and Europe like astronomers peering at the heavens, maintain an ever present vigil on the Middle East. Similar to astronomers, although their telescopic gaze is aimed at the entire region, their focus is on Israel, monitoring actions that might alter its dominance. Claiming to be an unbiased observer and advocate for peace, the US' impartiality is dependent upon who is being observed. When analyzing Israeli actions, the US looks through the big end of the telescope, thus reducing the magnitude of Israel's actions against the Palestinians. Conversely, when judging the impact of Hamas' attacks on Israel, the US looks through the little end of the telescope, thereby magnifying the importance of the effect on Israel.

This exaggerated perspective has a profound affect on the current state of affairs, in that Israel can do no wrong and the Palestinians can do nothing right that changes their existence. Consequently, Israel's actions lack proportionality and the Palestinians/Hamas act continually out of desperation. The latest crisis in the Gaza Strip has been precipitated by US and Europe's refusal to accept the democratic election of Hamas (2006) by the Palestinian people.

First, the West refused to talk with Hamas -- they insisted it was a terrorist group outside of the political system. Then, Hamas became part of the system and pulled off a shocking electoral victory. Israel and the US began a campaign to drive Hamas from power. Although, Gaza residents are supposed to have the right to elect their own representatives, Israel and the US vetoed their choice.

Hamas is renowned for providing healthcare, housing, jobs and income to the poorest segments of the communities from which they draw support. Anti-Islamist liberals -- US, Israel and the EU -- understand their appeal, which is why they support sanctions against Hamas in Gaza to prevent it from providing for its people. Their game is to boost support for Mahmoud Abbas' Ramallah regime, a Palestinian faction more amenable to the Western agenda.

The trump card of such anti-Islamist liberals is the claim that Islamist movements, like Hamas, are uniquely oppressive to women, which prescribe for them a subordinate role. The claim that Hamas should be opposed ignores the achievements of the Islamist women's movement in Palestine.

Spectacular examples of the courageous and radical role Islamist women have played came last year when mass nonviolent actions by Palestinian women prevented Israeli air raids and extrajudicial executions in Gaza. Only the visible tip of the iceberg, as the work of Islah Jad, a Birzeit University professor demonstrates, the Islamist women's movement has played a major role in transforming Hamas' ideology about women, mobilizing women within Hamas and in society at large to play greater political and economic roles (60% of students at Gaza's Islamic University are female).

Islamist women activists engaged positively with many of the claims made by secular feminists, incorporating them into an ever-changing Islamist nationalist discourse. Islamist women have emerged as an important factor in Palestinian political life partly as a result of the demobilization of the secular nationalist women's movement as it became depoliticized, "NGOized," professionalized, and detached from the grassroots. Put another way, they got jobs.

Speaking after the January 2006 election, but before the EU, US and Israeli effort to destroy the Hamas government began, Jamila Shanti, one of Hamas' elected female members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, said, "There are traditions here that say that a woman should take a secondary role -- that she should be at the back. But that is not Islam."

This is where we have to look through the little end of the telescope and see that for many of their adherents, Islamist movements are attractive because they offer hope of alternative forms of social organization which put the human being and the community, rather than the market and the consumer, at the center of life. Democracy is extolled as the corollary of neoliberal capitalism in poor countries by Western aid donors and their organs such as the IMF and the World Bank. Accepting this has meant in practice unaccountable oligarchy, the demolition of social welfare systems, public education, subsidies for basic necessities and rampant cronyistic privatization. Islamist movements have attempted to fill the void such acceptance has created.

Hamas' changing views on a long-term truce with Israel and the role of women in society are examples of how an Islamist movement -- like any other social movement -- responds to the real circumstances of the society of which it is part. Consider the history of the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa, Sinn Fein and the IRA in Northern Ireland when they fought their intransigent colonial rulers and their foreign backers. Eventually, these groups were included in the political process, which led to peaceful transitions of those societies. Theirs are more appropriate models for how to engage movements like Hamas and Hizballah today. Some argue in hindsight that Irish and ANC nationalists were always part of a unifying "Christian," Western tradition. But like Islamists, they too were once the objects of a dehumanizing discourse that cast them as irredeemably inferior, alien and beyond inclusion, thus justifying occupation and isolation.

And, like the leaders of those movements, Hamas has reached out attempting to bridge the gaps, paying careful attention to their own constituencies, as well as their potential interlocutors. Israel and its backers routinely dismiss Hamas' overtures as insincere. The increasing influence of mainstream Islamists also terrify the existing establishments in the Palestinian Authority and other Arab states, who in desperation to preserve their power, joined the chorus of fear-mongering and some have forged more or less open alliances with Israel.

So, even looking through the big end of the telescope, Ali Abunimah, author of One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse, believes EU governments that speak to Hamas in secret, but collude with the brutal sanctions against Gaza out of fear of the United States should break with their harmful and misguided policies. They should openly defy Washington and Tel Aviv and engage more broadly with Islamist movements in Lebanon and Palestine on equal terms. Had they adopted such a strategy, families may have been spared the recent loss of their loved ones.

The world must come to view such needless and unnecessary loss of life as violations of human rights, which fall under the jurisdiction of the UN Human Rights Council, rather than security issues. Such a protocol would remove the possibility of a veto on the UN Security Council that prevents "impartial and credible" investigations. Unjustified and indiscriminate killing of unarmed civilians should fall under international scrutiny to avoid government denials and cover-ups.

Such a need exists for slave descendants in America that are presently attempting to bring their unjust treatment by the US government before the UN Human Rights Council. The US government refuses to address and correct the effects of discriminatory and racist policies, leaving slave descendants no recourse. The US Supreme Court considers any measure correcting these policies "reversed discrimination" based on Article I Section II of the US Constitution, which codified slavery, making slaves and their descendants 3/5 of a white man, less than human. That violates slave descendants' human rights and should be abhorrent to any civilized human being or government.

Standards for human rights must be universal. No nation should be above them and no people should be below them. Israel represents a government that is above the law and the US represents a government that uses the law to put some people below the bar of humanity. (Sources: www.todayszaman.com and http://electronicintifada.net)

News You Use

A Quick Guide to the Palestine-Israel Conflict

By Paul J. Balles

The history behind the Palestine-Israel Conflict is extensive and complex. There must be hundreds of books written about it. Rather than trying to detail that history in one article, let me offer some useful sources of information on the Israel-Palestine issue.

Before saying anything else, let me make it clear that I am pro-Palestine and against Zionism. I can give you lots of sources of information on both sides; but Palestinians and Israelis are both suspect because of their biases, and I won't refer you to the loads of Zionist propaganda.

On the other hand, some of the best books and articles on the subject have been written by anti-Zionist Jews, like Alfred Lilienthal (The Zionist Connection II), Noam Chomsky (Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel and the Palestinians), Rabbi Elmer Berger (Zionist Ideology: Obstacle to Peace), Uri Avnery (founder of the Israeli peace bloc Gush Shalom), Israel Shahak, Israel Shamir, Mick Ashley, Norman Finklestein (The Holocaust Industry), Michael Neumann (What Is Anti-Semitism) and ultra-orthodox Jews (see the Central Rabbinical Congress of the USA and Canada).

Norman Finklestein wrote: "What offence did the Palestinians commit except to be born in Palestine? The great offence of the Palestinians was that they refused to commit auto-dispossession..." Israel Shahak's records showed a total of 385 of 475 villages were demolished at the founding of Israel in 1948. An enlightening Jewish website is Jews Against Zionism.

You don't read about these people, their books, articles or websites in the mainstream media, despite the fact that the writers are notable Jewish scholars. You can read about the massive media cover-up on the website headed Jews Against Zionism: The Hidden Protest.

Apart from the Jews who have exposed the deceptions and genocide committed by the Zionists, you can locate information about the Palestinians by reading Edward Said (especially The Politics of Dispossession). Sadly, Dr Said recently passed away. However, a prolific writer, he left behind a remarkable collection of books and articles.

Unfortunately, few other Arab writers have distinguished themselves as such prolific authors of books or articles, partly because getting the truths about Palestine published by the establishment media is almost impossible. However, Palestinians and their sympathizers seem to be doing a better job of hosting and contributing to websites that deal with Palestinian issues, like Palestine History, where the Zionists haven't been able to exercise their control - yet!

My favorite website with an Arab editor is Redress Information and Analysis. I've done a number of articles for them, archived in the Spotlight and Thinkpiece sections. You'll also find a Middle East News page on my website (http://www.pballes.com/balles14.htm) which is updated daily with fairly objective coverage of news that seldom gets into the mainstream media. You'll also find links there to alternative news sources that deal with current issues as they arise.

As the BBC has reported, many websites out of Palestine have been knocked offline by the Israeli military. Internet sites related to Palestinian problems provide links to a number of informative locations. Have a look at Ali Abunimah's Bitter Pill, the Palestine Chronicle and the Electronic Intifada.

If you read much of this material, as I have, I suspect you'll draw the same conclusion: the Palestinians have been grossly mistreated - murdered, dispossessed, maimed, humiliated and downtrodden - by a racist gang of criminal Zionist thugs.

Politics Y2K10

Nakba Day is a Reminder

By Yousef Munayyer

"No matter your reason, you can never justify treating others less then you wish to be treated. No matter your excuse, crimes against others must be stopped and forgiveness at the least asked. We are all brothers and sisters, no matter the race, religion, sexual orientation or nationality. Anything less makes us less then human. War and inhuman treatment of others is not justified under any circumstances." Robert N. Smith, USN Ret.

Proximity talks signaling the restart of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, which have been on hold for years, are beginning amidst an important reminder of the root cause of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Saturday, May 15, marked Nakba Day. The Nakba, Arabic for "catastrophe," was the depopulation of Palestine of its native inhabitants which took place around the emergence of the state of Israel from 1947-1949. Little known to most Americans is the massacre of Palestinians at Deir Yassin, which left dozens of women and children slaughtered. It is marked on April 9, a date which highlights the fact that Palestinians were being ethnically cleansed even before the Arab armies declared war on Israel in May of 1948. The Dahmash mosque massacre, marked on July 12, witnessed the gunning down of Palestinian civilians seeking refuge in a mosque. It was one of the worst massacres of the period.

Yet the day on which the Jewish state was established, is the day Palestinians mark their suffering. This is not, as some would suggest, because Palestinians oppose the existence of a safe haven for Jews. Rather it is because the existence of this state means that hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees could not return to their homes - and still cannot to this day.

Some will say that Palestinians and Israelis have two irreconcilable narratives and for this reason ought to avoid talk about history. Truth and Reconciliation Commissions in other countries have, however, played a key role in helping victims of terrible injustices to understand in more detail what was done to them and by whom. The facts known today tell of the reality that befell Palestinians and tragically and terribly altered the trajectory of their individual and collective existence. Yet there is much more that will surely come to light as Israeli archives are examined and as aging conquerors examine their consciences.

At the moment, there remains a difference in the telling of the history. Some historians argue that the Palestinians fled from their homes. Other historians, including leading Israeli historians, argue that there was a systematic effort on behalf of the Israeli forces to expel the Palestinians. These different historical perspectives remain dueling narratives, but the weight of evidence is increasingly favoring the Palestinian perspective of a concerted and planned drive for ethnic cleansing to clear the way for a more homogeneous Jewish state.

But one simple historical reality - which no objective person, Israeli or Palestinian will deny - transcends the entire debate over who is at fault for the ongoing predicament of the refugees. The creation of the state of Israel meant a Jewish majority in Palestine would be maintained by force, and this state, now in control of still-more-expansive borders, has refused to permit refugees to return to their homes and land.

Frankly, whatever one's view of history, it doesn't matter why Palestinians left Palestine during the war. All that matters is that after the war, refugees should have been allowed to go back to their towns and villages in accordance with international law.

The right to return to one's country is a human right ensured by the UN Declaration of Human Rights. By preventing the return of Palestinian refugees to their country, Israel is and has been violating the human rights of the refugees for 62 years.

Much of the discussion today is centered on settlements and borders, but the idea that an agreement on settlements and borders would end the Israeli-Palestinian dispute is rooted in a fundamental ignorance of history. While the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza began in 1967, the conflict existed well before that. The roots of the conflict are in the refugee issue.

Former National Security Advisors Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft have recently suggested that Palestinians should take back East Jerusalem in exchange for dropping demands for the right of return. This reminds me of when we used to play tricks on the younger kids on the playground: "If you give me that dime," we used to say, "I'll give you this big, shiny nickel."

The patronizing tone that accompanies such suggestions is insulting to Palestinians who have been subjected to dispossession and occupation. Now we are being told to accept the former to end the latter, when both are ethically and morally abhorrent.

On this Nakba day, as Special Envoy George Mitchell prepares to shuttle back and forth between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, it is critical to keep in mind that until the human rights of Palestinian refugees are acknowledged, there can be no lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Disgruntled says: Israel is the only Middle East nation known to possess nuclear weapons, thanks to the US and its Western allies. Israel, the beneficiary of massive US military assistance to the tune of billions of dollars annually, refuses to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. As the region's "sole" democracy and closest ally of the US, there is no significant pressure exerted on Israel to become a member. In addition, with all of the military assistance Israel receives from the US, even helicopters and missiles used in its campaign of targeted assassinations against Palestinians and promises of even more, Israel is the military powerhouse in the Middle East. On the other hand, Iran, which is a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, is subjected to harsh criticism and sanctions for even pursuing "peaceful" uses of nuclear technology that is allowed under the treaty, ostensibly because this could result in its ability to produce nuclear weapons. And, it is surmised, that a nuclear Iran will pose a threat to Israel. The US has made it crystal clear that its considerable military might will be used against any nation that attacks Israel. Moreover, no nation in the Middle East is allowed to be perceived as a threat to Israel or allowed to change the balance of military power in the region. Any attempt to do so is tantamount to a declaration of war.

Disgruntled feels: Censored! Much like banking and finance, US mainstream media are controlled by members of the Jewish community. This is not anti-Semitic! It is an indisputable fact. Since Jews enjoy a virtual lock on what is disseminated to the US public on major media outlets, they determine what is and is not broadcast about the state of Israel. In general with such vast resources at their disposal, Jews exert tremendous influence on the US government. After all, it is the "best government that money can buy." Consequently, Jews play a major role in shaping US Middle East policy. Whatever is broadcast about Israel in the US is presented through a filtered lens. Because much of what is happening in the region is censored, US citizens, in general, know little about what happens to Palestinians.

Disgruntled wants to know: If Israel was dealing with another state, rather than an occupied territory and a fractured leadership, the situation in the Middle East between it and the Palestinians may well be different. As a student of the Middle East conflict, I have often wondered why the various Palestinian leaders failed to declare the Palestinian territories on the West Bank and Gaza Strip the State of Palestine. What prevents them from doing so in 2010?