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Robert Fisk writes: "The Palestine Papers are as damning as the Balfour Declaration. And as these dreadful papers are revealed, the Egyptian people are calling for the downfall of President Mubarak, and the Lebanese are appointing a prime minister who will supply the Hezbollah. Rarely has the Arab world seen anything like this."

Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian Authority's chief negotiator, speaking during a rally, 1/25/11. (photo: Reuters)

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+4 # Activista 2011-01-27 09:30

"or a "state" that may be only 10 per cent (at most) of British mandate Palestine."
Robert Fisk is true expert on the Middle East - and compare the 10% to 95% USraeli propaganda and "diplomats" is pushing on masses. Ifamericans knew.

+1 # banichi 2011-01-27 11:24

Who is he trying to kid? All he has done so far is to kowtow to the far right and act like it is 'bipartisan' when the Republicans in Congress could not care less about being bipartisan, they only want to destroy him. He's given billions (trillions if you are counting the Fed & Bernanke) to the banks and corporations and done very little to help the millions of CITIZENS who are out of work, in need, losing their homes, etc.

He can talk all he wants - he's good at that - but he hasn't done shit for the average citizen, to say nothing for the poor who he doesn't even seem to recognize. He is worse than a disappointment. I say, show me. Soon.

I voted for him, but I won't again. I'll go to work for a progressive candidate who knows who he/she is working for, and try to get them elected.

When it comes down to fighting for what he said, Obama's got no guts for confrontation. So the Republicans in Congress, as well as the rest of the far right, have no respect for him. Some leader.

-8 # lightning 2011-01-27 11:29

There is no way, I repeat, no way that any Israeli administration will agree to the right of return of the arabs that formerly lived in what is now called Israel. The PA obviously recognized this, even if all of the Islamists refuse to. To do so would be suicidal to the Jews of Israel and unlike their neighbors, Israelies are not suicidal (maybe because there is no promise of 72 virgins in the old testament. However with over 200 atomic warheads and the memories of Samson and Mila 18 ingrained in their psyche, if the world continues to push Israel into a corner, the result would be suicidal for mankind.

-8 # lightning 2011-01-27 11:52

Fisk, wake up and smell the roses. There is no way, I repeat, no way that any Israeli administration, be it right, left, or progressive, would ever agree to allow the right of return to to former Arab residents who fled what is now within the geographical area that constitutes the State of Israel. The PA recognize this fact and the Islamists and "Progressives" of this world are dillusional that such will ever occur. It would be suicidal for the Jews of Israel, be they religious, or not,to agree to such a term for peace. Unlike their neighbors, the old testament does not offer each of them 72 vigins to be suicidal. What progressives and Isalmists of this world have to realize is that the stories of Samson, Bar-Cochba, Masada and Mila 18 are ingrained in the Israeli psyche. If they push Israel to a point of fear of extinction, they will, as their last act, unleash their arsenal of more than 200 nuclear warheads against the entire world. It only takes about a 50 megaton bomb to melt either of the Polar Ice.... can you say bye, bye to mankind? Polarize and isolate Israel and that will be the the end result. If you think otherwise, you are sadly mistaken.

+1 # robhood 2011-01-27 13:05

The release of these papers is having the exact reaction that the elite want. They are stirring up a hornet's nest to incite more wars and chaos, because it is easier to control a people at war.

+2 # Activista 2011-01-28 11:40

Power of Powerless - look at Egypt, Tunis - just opposite is true - Palestinian dictator is next - and Israel must reform to survive. 200 atomic warheads - there we should point our PREDATORS - and save the World.

+4 # genierae 2011-01-28 05:23

Israel is like a cancer spreading across the Palestinian territory, destroying all that is good and life-affirming, and the US continues to pat them on the back and declare their unqualified devotion. It is hard for those who are sane, to live in an insane world, and yet we must be patient, the end is near; this too shall pass.

+1 # Activista 2011-01-28 11:45

Just rephrased comment above:
blackmail from Lightning:
"Israelis ARE suicidal .. However with over 200 atomic warheads and the holocaust ingrained in their psyche, if the world continues to push Israel into a corner, the result would be suicidal for mankind??"
So spoke terrorist ... one whom we support.

+2 # genierae 2011-01-29 08:20

Activista: Israel is VERY worried that Mubarak's government (dictatorship) is toppling. Their only ally in the region is on the verge of falling, and whoever takes Mubarak's place, it is unlikely that they will favor Israel. I can't help but think that if the Israeli people would do what Tunisians and Egyptians are doing, we would see a new peace in the Middle East, and the Palestinian people would finally get the justice that they have long cried out for. I am greatly moved by the protests in Egypt and I know that here in the US we have reason to take to the streets as well. One million people on the mall would make a strong statement, don't you think?

+2 # Activista 2011-01-29 09:50

Agree genierae - all region will be affected - Israel has very strong peace groups ifamericansknew .org - and more free press than USA.
I grew up in totalitarian system in Eastern Europe. Brave people of Egypt - this is true change - from the people by the people - power of powerless. I hope that they will remember more Obama speech in Cairo then our $billions "foreign aid" in bombs to Israel and Mubarak regime.
We should convert all this military waste to true economic aid to support new democracies in the Arab world.

0 # genierae 2011-01-29 11:14

Amen, Activista! Two thoughts: First- If the Israeli government had treated the Palestinian people with justice and humanity, and had worked with the PA to bring true peace, they wouldn't have to worry now. Their brutality and their arrogance has created much bad karma, they have run up a bill that will be hard for them to pay. Second- I think that this world has moved into a transitional phase, with a new consciousness sweeping across the planet, and the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia are only the beginning. I remember in the early 70s how my consciousness was raised by the women's movement, and how powerful that was. I think that we are in for a wild ride, but one that will take us to a higher, better place. There's no government in the world that can ignore the combined will of its people. We will overcome.

0 # dkmeller 2011-01-30 14:47

There is the old saying "you can fool some of the people ALL of the time, you can fool ALL of the people SOME of the time, but you can't fool ALL of the people ALL of the time!!

I think that the Palestinian "authority" has also forgotten that, as Palestinians everywhere, will NOT BE FOOLED AGAIN!

Politicians LIE! "Newsmedia" who depend upon them for "news" stories, for Press conferences, for invitations to conferences, and at bottom, for their licenses and advertising revenue (or budget allocation, for "public information sources" all LIE!

They also have their own agendas, their own interests, and their own priorities, whether they "represent' the people or not.

Know the truth, and the truth shall make you free!

It is past time to find something better!

People are waking up. I don't know if they yet realize that their "leaders" merely embody the symptoms, and the disease is politics itself, not the brutality, corruption, and poverty which are the results. They can find that people acting voluntarily and contractually can solve many problems that centralized and often ignorant power cannot.

They may even find, as the French radical Proudhon said more than a century ago, "Liberty is the mother, not the daughter, of order."

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