Straight Down the Middle

The struggle for democracy has a political and social history that is long. The same could be said of the bloody history of terrorism. The two forces often clash but occasionally, if the timing is right, they come together for better or worse.
 
On the one hand, we have the Palestinian HAMAS whose roots go back to the 1967 Six Day War. On the other, the hard line Likud Party of Israel which was formed ten years later. HAMAS is named on many anti-terrorism lists in other countries, including Canada. We know this because they have used suicide bombers to attack Israel creating a thorn in the side of the PLO and leaving too many innocent people dead. [The only thing that has changed is the body count] But after last week’s election, which was generally reported in the Press as “clean”, HAMAS has entered the democratic world as a legitimate power; soon to form a government for the first time.
 
Meanwhile in Israel, Ariel Sharon remains in hospital; his political days now coming to an end due to illness. With elections in that country coming up in March, it looks like hard-liner Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud Party, will return as Prime Minister. So now the stage is set for some of the most dramatic political and social developments in the Middle East in years.
 
It will be a clash of the semitic Titans with large amounts of rhetoric and unfortunately, violence. The two parties hate each other with a passion, while the rest of the world shakes its collective head with despair.
 
Will there ever be peace between Israel and Palestine? One look at their long history and the answer is an unqualified “No”.

That’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.