Is this worthy of a comment ?

Each side in this contest must recognise that the acts of each in killing civilians are equally abominable.

Each opposing cause is now giving rise to acts which, as acts, demand equal condemnation.

But this equality with regard to condemnation of acts of killing does not mean that all the other elements of the situation call for equal treatment.

There are huge imbalances with regard to motivation and cause. There are huge imbalances of power and of means.

Palestininians attack using their own puny pink flesh as an intrinsic part of their weaponry. Any attempts to obtain improved weaponry are prevented and condemned by the international community. The attackers come from an ill disciplined group of people acting under highly aroused and emotional circumstances. To stop these attacks is not in the power of any single unified command structure.

Israelis attack using extremely sophisticated weaponry and vehicles, supplied to them openly and continually by a superpower at a cost of billions of dollars per year.
The attackers operate within the framework of a fully accountable and well disciplined army, under full political control. To stop these attacks completely requires only one sentence to be spoken by the person at the top. They have the infrastucture to discipline any of their own who disobey.

This imbalance means that if violence is to stop itcan only first be stopped by the party which is in full control of its attackers. The party which has its actions under full rational control. The party which lays claim to full western standards of democracy and morality. That party is Israel.

If Israel (as the adult) declared a unilateral cessation of killings, repressions and reprisals it might take 3 or 4 months for palestinian attacks to die down, but die down they would, if not to nothing, then to a very low level. It is not practical to expect the palestinians to stop first, for the reasons given above.

So now we come to motivation.

It is true that the palestinians originally wanted Israel wiped out. But for some time now they have recognised that this is out of the question. For one thing the rest of us would never permit it. The main thrust of their objectives is now reasonable, and achievable without believable threat to an Israel with rational secular objectives.

But are Israel's objectives reasonable and secular ? Why is Israel still increasing settlement in the disputed territories ? Still building huge roads to separate and isolate arab villages ? Still, now, offering large financial incentives for people from outside the middle east to come to the area and take up housing exactly where the dispute is at its most intense ? Still allowing powerful voice and partial treatment to extremists whose declared aim is to drive out all arabs from a land area they believe was granted to them inalienably and magically by their own powerful god, who is now encouraging warfare and conflict in the run-up to a (desirable) apocalypse.

Why are they doing this ? Why this endless escalating provocation ? Even when large numbers of their own people are shocked and want peaceful coexistence ? Sadly, I have concluded that those in power are saying one thing and meaning another. The basic objective does seem to be "get the palestinians out and take it all for ourselves".

If necessary by a progressively tightening persecution which drives them out over a period of years. Or, if the middle-east descends into war, the opportunity can be perhaps be seized to actually drive the lot out across the border in the welter of confusions, accusations and justifications.

So I see the parties as equally to blame in the killings of civilians to which they have descended.

But Israel bears the greater responsibility for breaking the deadlock, because its forces are calm, controllable and disciplined, and acting under a democracy claiming to western standards and morality.

And when we examine motivation, we find the palestinians largely resigned to achievable reality.

The israelis however give much evidence of magical motivation (well beyond rational argument), and of deliberate duplicity. I believe the current administration has no real intention to compromise, and has retained all its most aggressive intentions still undiluted.

The great thing about the internet is that you can get more than one news source at no extra cost.

Barry, maybe you can put the petitioners onto Palestine Chronicle or Jerusalem Indymedia as a friendly gesture and make up for making them look like ignorant tossers by posting their comments on a diverse forum like this one.