It is a very good clarion call. I just wished I saw some courage like that on the other side, namely, leaders reigning in the factions that insist that a Palestinian state will be "from the river to the sea". The fact of the matter is that there is already a Palestinian state, right now it is called "Jordan" (it used to be called "Trans-Jordan" I wonder why). It is ruled by in essence a Saudi Arabian family from around Mecca, but 70% of its citizen consider them selves "Palestinians". It is unfortunate that too many of the Palestinian leadership believe "time is on their side". They have been believing that for the last 50 years, and the result is just more misery for their own people. The longer they wait, the more difficult the solution will be. It is not the lack of offering a fair state to the Palestinians, first in the Oslo accords, then in the Barak/Clinton offers from three years ago, which is preventing the Palestinians from realizing their national aspirations. It is the lack of leadership courage to tell the people, "Forget about a Palestinian State from the River to the Sea, that is not a realizable dream.
Put yourself in Sharon's shoes, he agrees to the roadmap and now waits for Abbas to reign in its extreme factions (just as Ben Gurion reigned in Begin and Shamir in 48, the faction clamoring for "both sides of the Jordan"), but Abbas, because of Arafat, cannot deliver. That has been going on for years. What will you do? Unilaterally give away your "bargaining chips"? (let say these are the settlements). Not until you are pretty sure that the other side agree to your presence in principle in the area. Well, the other side is still refusing to take out from their charter (the PLO charter) the "from the river to the sea". Arafat for years now, when "justifying" the Oslo accords, called these a "tactical step" on the way to the goal of "from the river to the sea". If that is indeed what the majority of the Palestinians want, they should not expect Israel to commit national suicide. So Sharon is using the settlements as a slow time bomb. Once 50% or so of the population in a settlement can "claim" "squatters rights", it is gone from the future Palestinian state, maybe for ever. Palestinians must understand that time is not on their side, if they looked at the historical facts of the last 50 years, maybe they'll smart up.
Sure , the situation is untenable and the moral fabric of Israel is being harmed, but this is not an irreparable harm. Many Israeli like Burg are trying to bridge between the two nations and will continue to do so, but it is high time, that Palestinians like Burg raise their voice and demand from their leadership recognition of reality.
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
