Yus,

While I agree with the main thrust of you arguement, vis-a-vis what the Palestinians have done or are doing to justify the Israeli reactions, I find their method absolutely appalling. Yasser Arafat betrayed his people by unjustifibly shunning the efforts of former Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barrack and former US President Bill Clinton. Thus, he unwittingly brought about the demise of Ehud Barrack as well as the Oslo Peace Accord. What he did not foresee was the possibility of Ariel Sharon winning an Israeli elections particularly going by the reaction of many Israelis after the assassination of former Prime Minister, Yitshak Rabin.

However having said that, I am still convinced that the strategy of the Israeli Defense Forces in assassinating targeted Palestinians they believe to be responsible of the terrorist attacks against their own people, the collective purnishment of all Palestinians at the state level, at the village level, at the community level, the destruction of basic infrastructure as well as the demolishing of the homes of the ordinary people cannot be justified in any way.

To demolish the home of a poor man that he has struggled very hard to build simply because his son or nephew decides to fight for a right to live in dignity is way beyond justification. Some of the Palestinian homes being destroyed were built generations back and are usually home to several families. It is also a known fact that there have been occasions when innocent young men have been brainwashed into carrying out terrorist/sucide attacks against Israeli targets without the knowledge of their families.

Secondly, when it is all over and some agreement reached for the two communities to live in peace and harmony, these people would still be without homes. No reconstruction money pledged will have any effect on the plight of those whose compounds are being bulldozed on a daily basis. They will never be given back personal items that are dear to them but lost as a result of the actions of the Israeli Defence Forces.

Another irony is the fact that those Palestinians who are now at the helm of things would be the first to benefit from any reconstruction money given to the Palestians. They will make it their top priority to rebuild the houses of Chairman Arafat, his cabinet and those close to him while these poor people will still wallow in abject poverty and deprivation. What would be even more repulsive is the fact that Arafat's two helicopters would most likely be replaced long before some of the most essential infrastructures are repaired. This, they will try to justify by telling the Palestinians that the movement of Chairman Arafat is essential for the consolidation of any peace that is agreed upon. 

Have a good day, Gassa.