Re: Will the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Ever End?

The history of this conflict goes far back in time. It all began just after WWI when the British mandated partition of the land following the defeat of the Ottomans. European political audacity led to a breaking up of middle east lands for their own ends, locals be damned. As a result, Palestine, which was only a european designated political territory, became a hotbed of intertribal and religious competition for rights to ownership. The conflict became even more complex after the British Balfour Declaration, which stipulated a Jewish homeland without designating specific boundaries. Ever since, Arab tribes, Muslim sects, Christian entities and Zionist Jews have remained in constant conflict over the area. Jerusalem itself is divided into various religious sectors, with those sectors divided even further by religious sub-sects. In more recent history, countries such as Iran, a mainly Shia sect of Islam, has become involved by abetting Shia rebels against Sunni Arabs and Jews. So, given centuries of religious, cultural and political hate and conflict do we really expect our government, no matter who is president, to secure a lasting peace for the area? I think it is naive to believe it.

–Robert Thomas, Castro Valley