Israelis choose wisely in backing Sharon's party- SJ Mercury - 3/30/06

[Coastie for Truth]

One of the many tragedies of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is that often when one side zigs, the other zags. That's been painfully evident in the recent elections held by both sides -- the Palestinians in late January and the Israelis on Tuesday.

The Palestinians endorsed Hamas, a terrorist group that denies Israel's right to exist and is opposed to peace talks. Meanwhile, a majority of the Israeli public tilted away from its own hard-liners in favor of a group of parties that believe it is time to start dismantling settlements in the occupied West Bank.

That makes Tuesday's vote encouraging.

It suggests the Israeli public finally understands that the occupation of another people, which began in 1967, is untenable and inconsistent with Israel's aspirations to remain a democratic nation with a Jewish majority.

The relentless expansion of West Bank settlements has been a corrosive and damaging enterprise. Tragically, much of it took place during the 1990s, just as Israelis and Palestinians were negotiating a settlement based on the notion of two states living side by side in peace. Palestinians saw the incongruous expansion as an unacceptable land grab that made a two-state solution less viable.

<<<snip>>>