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Ido Hartogsohn's avatar

As an Israeli following the conflict closely for the past 40 years I have to say this is a masterful series. The way you present the viewpoints of all sides in a way that allows the reader to make sense of how they see the world is invaluable. I wish this series would be required reading for any non Israeli/Palestinian who wants to express their viewpoints on this subject, as well as to Israelis and Palestinians!

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David Thorp's avatar

Another informative & insightful article.

Basically a majority of the Israeli political base (Nationalist + religious) don't support compromise or peace, and the same may be said for Hamas & other Palestinians. And the two sides feed each other.

One can only hope that the apocalypse now unfolding will cause a shift in those attitudes. Until then, neither side is fit to govern, so (IMO) the UN (excluding the US) should take over and keep the peace — even if that's for a 100 years until the people, attitudes & economics change & the hatred fades.

It may sound trite, but a key ingredient for peace is to care about living people, and though it may be easy for me to say it, that really should mean giving absolute total priority to currently living people over any kind of resentment or ambitions to reclaim what was lost by those who died hundreds or thousands of years ago.

It can certainly take time for people to recover from major traumas, and the effects of trauma can be passed down through generations, but eventually it fades. Britain was invaded by the Romans 2000 years ago, and by the French 1000 years ago, but I think most Brits have let it go now.

So the bit where you, Tomas, talk about how things could be very different in 100 years is really important, but we need to find a way to hold things together peacefully until then.

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