December 4, 2001
Well, it looks like Israel finally said, "fuck this shit." As I join the teeming millions tagging the CNN Web site to see what's going on, I'm struck by the sheer lunacy of the Palestinian negotiator's response. It basically boils down to "Ariel Sharon has to stop killing Palestinians so the peace process can go forward."
Yeah, right. 'Cause any halfway sane individual would just sit back and do nothing after a couple car bombings. Sure.
Let's remember how all this started, shall we? About a year and a half ago, then-Prime Minister Barak and Yassir Arafat met at Camp David. Barak offered Arafat everything but the kitchen sink, and in a brilliant negotiating tactic, Arafat told Barak to go get bent.
Fast forward a couple months, and Sharon pays a visit to the Temple Mount. (I can't remember what the Muslims call it; they obviously have different names for their holy sites, and this particular site is important to both Jews and Muslims.) Anyway. Some yahoo decides that he's offended by this -- even though thousands of Jews visit the site daily -- and decides to start blowing shit up.
Again, most people would consider this a Dumb Move. But every country in the world, with the exception of the United States, blames Israel for this. People sure have a selective way of assimilating facts.
Anyway, here's my stance: The Palestinians need to stop blowing things up, as do the Israeli settlers. This is one of those "good faith" things. Once that happens, maybe the negotiations can begin again. But Arafat better not expect the same deal Barak was going to give him.
And Jerusalem? Fuck both sides -- neither one of 'em deserves it. Make it a city-state like the Vatican, and appoint three Palestinians, three Israelis and an American to run the joint. There. Now neither side can claim it's theirs.
And for christ's sake, find something worth fighting over, instead of this ridiculous notion of "god."
