The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #34319   Message #479538
Posted By: McGrath of Harlow
08-Jun-01 - 09:34 PM
Thread Name: BS: Happy Birthday, Israel
Subject: RE: BS: Happy Birthday, Israel
There've already been more than enough children killed in this on both sides, though mostly Palestinian. The only way it can ever stop is for one side to stop reprisals against the reprisals from the other side which were reprisals to earlier reprisals...

Maybe that might have happened now, and the cycle of mutual reprisals can be halted. Maybe.

Reprisals which have always been totally futile, except as a way of keeping the killing cycle spinning round.

Suicide bombers are just the most direct example of what has been going on - a mutual suicide pact involving both sides. Essentially both sides could have short circuited the process, so that instead of killing each other they just killed people on their own side. The effect would have been the same.

Moving forward can only come through people on both sides being ready to learn to understand how it looks from the other side, and the piece Bagpuss posted is a serious and impressive attempt to do that.