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Originally Posted by borked
Maybe it was a good offer, but why does that mean they have to take it? "It's the best offer you'll get. Take it or leave it."
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Who said they had to take it or leave it? There was years of peace and joint security patrols conducted by the Israelis and PA. This all ended when Arafat thought he could get more with fighting then negotiations. Arafat didn't have to take it or leave it. He could have come back with a counter offer. He could have asked to meet again. Arafat was never interested in peace. He backed Saddam Hussein in the first gulf war while scuds were flying into Tel Aviv. When Saddam lost and no other Arab country wanted to support Arafat because they hated Saddam the PLO was dead. The only way to revive it was with the support of the international community. So he turned to "peace". Arafat played us all.
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Originally Posted by borked
Well frikken hell, Jerusalem being a big contender, why not give the east side including their mosque? *This* was the one of the major reasons for failure - Israel would not budge on Jerusalem. Why not?
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This is a major contention for Israel too. How can they turn over holy site of their two temples? Barak had a clever idea to make it an international zone. Maybe it wasn't a good idea, who knows. But Palestinians are no where near getting it now.
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Originally Posted by borked
and then there's the refugees.... why refuse their return?
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First off refugees normally are defined as people who flee land not the descendants of those who fled. Meaning if you claim refugee status and move to the US or Canada your children are not considered refugees. There is only one exception to this rule by the UN. You guested it, Palestinians. All descendants of Palestinian refugees are considered refugees. The cards are stacked against Israel so that this problem never ends. If Israel grants all the refugees right of return within one generation there will be no Jewish homeland. Basically you are calling for the death of Israel by giving right of return to Arabs.