Israel needs peacemakers not warhorses

clipped from onlinejournal.com Benjamin Netanyahu and his ideological ilk are Israel’s worst enemies. They arrogantly tout their nationalist credentials with propaganda, threats and, of course, military force. Their idea of a two-state solution comprises a demilitarised Gaza and West Bank shorn of occupied Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley, the Judean Desert and existing Jewish colonies, with no control over its borders, airspace or shoreline. In other words, their version of Palestine would be a virtual open-air prison unable to defend itself; a toothless shell of a country ringed by Israeli missiles and tanks. Netanyahu is currently paying lip service to the creation of a Palestinian state as a direct result of US pressure, but up until June 2009 he characterised peace talks as a waste of time. In return for giving up occupied territory, Israel would receive international security guarantees, fixed borders, normal diplomatic relations with neighbours, an improved economy, and a forever Jewish state