Would resolving Palestinian grievances resolve Global Terrorism?

Question

UK's Tony Blair said bringing peace to Israel and the Palestinian territories would help. "This global extremism is an ideology that exploits grievances. So what we have to do is at the same time as we are taking on the ideology, we have to take away those elements of grievance," he said.

http://jihadidujour.blogspot.com/2006/11/blair-moderate-policies-defeat-terror.html

Answer 1

Dear Jihadidujour,

There have been some excellent answers here and I agree with Jimquk in particular. Palestine must always be the first step in seeking to bring an end to international terrorism, simply because it has been a cause celebre for Islamic radicals all over the world for decades - a Jewish state oppressing a large Muslim minority makes lethally potent propaganda material for fundamentalists.

Unfortunately it is unlikely that the Palestinian crisis will see any meaningful improvement without a radical shift in US policy. Israel simply is not up to the task on its own, as it is too wrapped up in the tragic, day-to-day litany of terrorist attacks on its soil and prey to its divisive politics. Pressure simply needs to be brought to bear on the Israeli government, and the only kind of pressure that would make a difference has to be applied by Israel's greatest moral, financial and military ally - the United States.

Aside from the injustices perpetrated upon the Palestinians by Israel over the years, what fuels global terrorism is the powerful perception by Islamic radicals that there is a massive Judeo-Christian conspiracy afoot against them. This is ludicrous, of course, but the fact that the US has never voiced more than timid criticism of Israel (even during its most violent reprisals against Palestinians) has certainly not helped matters. The point is that the US is not seen as an honest broker in the Middle East, and this is what provides a huge part of the lethal drive behind terrorism. It also explains why America is a number-one target for so many Islamic fanatics.

Therefore the US has everything to gain from becoming a truly impartial arbiter in the Palestinian conflict. A crucial amount of moral high ground would be swept from under the radicals' feet if the US made its aid to Israel conditional upon positive behaviour towards a fair peace process. The Islamic demagogues could no longer plausibly make the case that there is any kind of monolithic Western alliance against them, and their murderous movement would lose vital steam.

Quite apart from the positive, practical consequences of adopting such a policy, it is also the only fair and honest thing to do. At present, Islamic radicals are successfully exploiting the blatant double-standard enforced by the US with regards to Israel. Islamic fanatics, with reason, cannot help but wonder why suicide bombings from their mostly desperate and impoverished population are "acts of terror", while callous retaliations by the well-equipped, US-backed Israeli army in Palestinian territories (often resulting in the indiscriminate deaths of dozens of innocents at a time) are "necessary acts of self-defence".

There should not be any such double-standard. If the US truly stands for the cause of democracy, human rights and self-determination all over the world, then it needs to prove that it is ready to defend these positions everywhere, including (indeed, especially) in allied states, not just in countries that conveniently happen to oppose American strategic interests. Atrocities committed against innocents by Islamic fanatics (whether from Palestine or elsewhere) are strongly condemned by the West, as well they should - and when the Israeli government uses similar tactics, it only stands to reason that these should be judged by the same yardstick.

Unfortunately, this shift in US policy will probably never happen, because unconditional support for Israel is one of the current institutional realities of American politics. No American politician, from whatever party, would ever want to risk alienating the powerful Jewish and Christian activist lobbies, who would severely punish any sort of critical stand towards Israel.

For this to change, the unhealthy stigmas borne of the trauma of World War II have to be overcome, and people must realise once and for all that criticism of Israeli policy does not necessarily equal anti-Semitism. As long as one agrees that Israel is a perfectly legitimate state which has the full right to exist in peace and safety, there is no reason why Israeli policy should not be scrutinised with the same thoroughness as that of any other country. Branding all critics of Israel as anti-Semites is a dishonest and simplistic way of forestalling debate, tantamount to saying that opposing British government policy is to be anti-Christian. But none of these changes in mentality will take place overnight, if at all.

That is not to say, however, that nothing can be done right now to improve the situation. Part of the reason why the global terrorism situation is so dire at the minute, indeed, is that the West has never spent less time on the Palestinian situation than in these last few years. The West has been too obsessed with the more cinematic flashpoints of terrorism (Iraq, Afghanistan) to concentrate on its more abstract causes, such as Palestine, which are just as important. This is a tragic oversight which needs to be addressed now.

Hope this helped,

Answer 2

It would definitely help. In fact, much of the reason WHY there is terrorism is because of the situation in Palestine; that is, Islamic militants see the suffering of the Palestinians as a prime reason for saying that America and Israel are evil.

However, it goes beyond that. It's not just accepting the fact that the Palestinians are suffering, the world must realize just how much support the US has been giving to Israel, and how Israel has had this "untouchable status", that it deserves to be there instead of the Palestinian people.

Answer 3

Solving the Palestine problem would not by itself end terrorism, which has many other causes as well; but all cases of injustice should be resolved as far as possible, just because that is the right thing to do, and if we can create a more just world, then tarrorism will certainly reduce in time - though there's a lot of bitter people out there. Unfortunately, the policies of Bush and Blair are doing more harm than good in removing the causes of terrorism.

As for Palestine, the first step would be for everyone to recognise the injustice done to the Palestinian people, not only by the Israelis, but also by the leaders of other Arab countries. The Palestinians have to recognise - do recognise more than anyone else - the fact that Israelis are not going to leave or be kicked out from Palestine. Hamas recognise that as a reality, but refuse to recognise the "right" of Israel to exist as it does, they refuse to say, Yes, it's OK that you took most of our land, you really had a right to it". Whether others find that viewpoint justified or not, others in their turn need to recognise the reality that this is the democratically expressed view of the Palestinians, that has to be accommodated if there is ever to be peace. At the same time, it is important that those who would share Palestine with the Israelis, understand the history of the Jewish people, both in Europe and the Middle East.

The outlines of peace are easy enough to see: Israel to withdraw to the 1967 borders - including from East Jerusalem and all illegal settlements; international supervision to absolutely guarantee access to holy places; Jewish settlers to be allowed to remain within the Palestinian state as a protected minority, analagous to the Arab citizens of Israel; surviving 1948 refugees to be allowed to return to Israel if they choose; their descendants to be allowed to come to Israel on a limited basis over many years; all Palestinians to be offered compensation for their historic losses, for the sake of simplicity a one-off payment of, say, $20,000 per head, regardless of whatever properties they originally held, in full and final settlement; the offer of full citizenship of whichever country Palestinians currently find themselves in.

The amount of money involved may seem huge - fifty billion dollars - but US direct and indirect aid to Israel over the years has been far greater.

Israel is a long way from feeling the necessity of any such deal; I fear there may be a terrible war before such an agreement can be made. But this is in the end the only way forward, the minimum that any self-respecting Palestinian could accept. They voted for Hamas because they have rejected the humiliation of begging Israel to implement the partial deal of Oslo.

Answer 4

Cede the western a million/2 of Wyoming to the Israelis and cede Israel to China, giving each and each territory (Wysrael and Isna) 10 years until legitimate changeover, a la Hong Kong. all and sundry wins. Presto: on the spot mountain risk-free haven of the best scientists, docs and armed forces interior the international precise interior the heartland snuggled up against the Mormons, and an thrilling new neighbor for the Muslims to %. on. Ah ... and much less international-threatening non secular issues interior the middle East. P.S. we would choose for to grant the eastern a million/2 of Utah ... or heck, all of it ... to the Tibetans. could besides get this over with in the past the Mormons declare independence. in my opinion i could like to be certain Salt Lake city renamed New Lhasa, and have the Mormon great Temple switched over into the hot Potala. Utah is crying out for selection ... so why no longer supply it the final style: Israelis and Tibetans!!!

Answer 5

From reading I have done and from statements made by Islamic leaders, the Palestinians will not be happy until Israel no longer exists. The United States has an Islamic cleric as head of government and the whole world submits to Islam.

Is that the kind of world you want to live in?

Remember the cries of "Death to Israel, Death to America"?

Have you forgotten news reports of Arabs celebrating after the twin towers collapsed?

Sorry but I don't like the thought of appeasing a people whose religion insists none other can exist.

"Israel must be wiped off the map of the world"

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/10/27/ahmadinejad.reaction/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4378948.stm

And notice that when aljazeera realized the other countries were shocked by the Iranian leaders statement they pulled the following site off their page.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Iran+%2BIsrael+wiped+off&btnG=Google+Search

Answer 6

no because the palestinians live to fight, make an example of the "middle east" and watch the world straighten up.

Answer 7

It would help, yes, but not end terrorism. I don't think it would ever be possible to ever truly end terrorism.

Answer 8

he should know,