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You have a legitimate point but I do not recall any accounts of the American Patriots attacking English civilians in an attempt to terrorize the civilian population of England or of having a desire to drive the English people into the sea, something Arabs have repeated as their goal over and over again.
There was, and is, a pretty big pond separating american and british civilians. In this regard the American Rev. and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict are nothing alike. So perhaps it isn't the greatest comparison.
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I do not think of the men who fought in the revolutionary war as being terrorists even though many redcoats may have felt the terror of war.
The first rumblings of revolution involved terrorism, such as the Boston Tea Party. What I find interesting is that we (ie americans) use the word terrorist very freely. Who bombed the USS Cole? Terrorists, even though it was a military target. Who is fighting our troops in Fallujah? Terrorists, even though they are engaging our military. American Patriots also fought military forces and for that reason you label them combatants. Shouldn't the same label (combatant, not patriot) be applied to Al-Queda militants to attack US forces?
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The main difference between the Palestinian terrorists and the Israeli military is that Israel is not targeting civilians specifically in order to acheive their goal of peace.
Israel doesn't have to target civilian targets, they have all the tanks, helicopters, planes, APC's, missles, etc. What do you do when all you have is enough explosive to make a car bomb? You make a car bomb. If Palestine had a strong military it would be a different matter, but when your main source of ammon is rocks from a rubble pile you can never call it a fair fight. Civilians are targeted because they are the only one's they can target with any effectiveness.
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Arafat's aim was the total destruction of Israel, and that simply will never happen again.
And Sharon's goal is the total expulsion of Palestinians from the Occupied Territories, and that will simply not happen. At least we don't see Palestinian settlements appearing on Israeli land through military force. Last I heard, Palenstinian troops weren't harassing Israeli's trying to cross checkpoints on their way to work or to visit family members. The Palenstinians are the one's getting the short end of the stick, not the Israeli's.
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As a Jew I feel quite qualified in saying, "Never Again"! If Palestinians truly want peace, they should follow the lead of other Arab nations that have made peace with Israel. Nothing short of that will help them in their cause.
Would you, as a Jew, support the removal of all jewish settlements in Palestinian settlements and a Palestinian state in the name of Peace? Would you support reparations for Palestinians that lost businesses and land when Israel was established?