More people have been killed in the longest war of human history: the battle for control of the land today referred to as Israel and Palestine.
Its almost an expected news item on the TV, radio, newspapers or the Internet: more killed as [insert either Israeli army or Palestine suicide bomber] blows up [insert alleged terrorist hideout, cafe, bus stop or moving vehicle] today.
See: The History of the Conflict since 2000
Its getting so repetitive that the senses have almost been dulled to its constant approach. Its getting so senseless that i wonder whether anyone really knows what they are fighting and dying for anymore beyond some basic concept of self-determination, freedom and rights for their people. Young boys are blowing themselves up for a cause they did not create but have been recruited to fight, young soldiers are dying, killed by a people they would otherwise call their neighbour, and civilians are being caught in the middle of it all, forced to endure the loss that comes by being caught directly in the crossfire.
I feel for my Muslim brothers and sisters who are being denied the right to self-determination. I feel for the Jewish people of Israel who, through no fault of their own, innocent bystanders are the subject of repeated terror attacks.
Its an irony that the very same people the Muslim world so vilify, the Americans, are being touted as potential saviours or peace negotiators. The "American-backed peace plan", the "American-led peace negotiations" - why are they being trusted to protect Muslims when Muslim world condemned their invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan? Blatant hypocrisy; but what of the alternative? What if the US had nothing to do with the peace process in the Middle East? Almost unimaginable, but perhaps now its a time to consider unimaginable solutions.
Perhaps, its now time to forget about the niceties of peace and compromise. Perhaps, its better just to let these two opposing forces duke it out and let the winner stand as he might. Some would say this will mean the annihilation of the Palestinian people: they have no weapons besides sticks and stones against the military might of Israel. A massacre might very well ensue.
bq. Leaders of Hamas praised the attacks but stopped short of claiming responsibility. "This operation, whoever is behind it, is a natural reaction for the bloody aggression against our people," said Hamas spokesman Abdel Aziz Rantisi, who survived an Israeli attempt on his life in June.
But look at it this way. A massacre is already happening. If death was not enough, the death that people from both sides face now is uncertain death in a sphere of fear. Surely that is worse than facing your enemy in open battle, knowing that if you die, you would have died fighting and not suddenly as you sip coffee at a cafe only to be blown up by a man sitting next to you with a bomb strapped to his back.
And when its all over, with one of the parties, either the Jews or the Palestinians erased from the land, then, perhaps then, there will be lasting peace.
