Israeli-Palestinian Talks Have Started, But I'm Not Holding My Breath

Palestinian-Israeli peace talks have started on Monday, July 29th, in Washington D.C. Government officials have expressed cautious optimism at this, but even that is folly. There is no evidence that anything will go right in these talks, and much evidence that shows that these talks will go nowhere and will be a waste of time. Here's a short list why:

1. Israel has already said in the past that they refuse to negotiate about the most important issues of the conflict.
They're not even pretending to care anymore. How are you supposed to reach a solution in the conflict if you can't talk about the most important issues? That's like having a parent-teacher conference about a child's bad grades, but they're not allowed to talk about how the teacher teaches, the kid's study habits, or how the parents can help. You absolutely cannot talk about those concepts at all. It just leaves me with my hands in the air, with a WTF look on my face, thinking "It's all bullshit. It's all complete fucking bullshit, and anyone who buys into it needs to be tested for drugs."

Israel has previously said that the issues of Jewish only settlements, Palestinian refugees, and the 1967 border are not up for discussion, (http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/4739/World/Region/Olmert-adviser-says-AlJazeera-leaks--correct.aspx,) (http://www.aljazeera.com/palestinepapers/2011/01/2011122112512844113.html), (http://www.nbcnews.com/id/43106082/ns/politics-white_house/t/we-cant-go-back-israeli-pm-rejects-border-proposal/).

So how is anyone going to get anything done?

2. Neither side has renounced terrorism.
I haven't heard Hamas say they're going to stop attacking Israeli civilians. I haven't heard Israel say they're going to stop attacking Palestinian civilians, or kidnapping and abusing Palestinian children, (http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/54616). Renouncing terrorism is a key first step in peace talks, because if your side is still a terrorist organization, then there's no incentive for the other side to negotiate with you. I'm sure you've heard America's position a million times before "We do not negotiate with terrorists." With both Israel and Hamas still terrorist organizations, how is anything going to get done?

3. Israel has demanded that a future "state" of Palestine be demilitarized.
http://www.jcpa.org/text/demilitarization.pdf
This is a fucking joke. You know as well as I do that any country that isn't allowed to have a military is not a country in any sense of the word. People keep talking about "Israel's security needs" over and over again, like it is the only country in the Middle East that deserves the right to security. What about Palestine's security needs? Why does no one in the Western media or government say that one particular phrase? Do they not deserve security from their neighbors because they're all just Muslim terrorists? If any, it's Palestine that needs more security than Israel. Israel is 100 times stronger than it, and has the capability to launch raids, both by land and air, on a moment's notice and cause massive damage. Palestine does not have that capability. Just look at the stats from the latest flare-up in violence that happened in November 2012.
http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9052:1&catid=145:in-focus
http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/terrorism/pages/israel_under_fire-november_2012.aspx
In a week's time, Palestine lost 105 civilians, and 55 combatants.
Israel lost 2 soldiers, 1 defense contractor, and 3 civilians.
The numbers speak for themselves. So no, any country that can't have a military is not a country. So Israel flat out does not want a true Palestinian state.

4. Palestine has no legitimate government, that is representative of the Palestinian people, to negotiate with.
Israel is negotiating the Palestinian Authority, and that's it. Well, they only govern the West Bank. But the PA is an illegitimate government. Mahmoud Abbas's term expired January 2009, but 4 years later he's still in power. Are you fucking kidding me? Why does no one in the Western media or government say this one simple sentence? Oh, because they don't want to bring up the fact that they are propping up an illegitimate despot who doesn't give a flaming fuck about his people. They are deliberately stifling Palestinian democracy because they want to deal with only Abbas, who they can control, because they are the majority of his financial support. If the Palestinians were allowed to vote, they would bring into power someone who truly cared about the Palestinian people, and who stand up for their rights. Well, the U.S. and Israel can't allow that to happen, how dare the Palestinian people stand up for their human rights?!?!
Then on the other side we have Hamas, (fascist jackasses), who came to power via elections but haven't held elections since 2007. So that makes them illegitimate as fuck as well. How are you supposed to make a lasting peace agreement if one side doesn't have a legitimate institution to voice for them?!

5. Israel won't stop committing acts of war against the PA.
The PA, who has renounced violence for several years now like the cowards they are, is under constant attack by Israel. How can you reach a lasting peace agreement if one side has completely renounced violence but the other side is still constantly attacking it? There's no justice in that. Israel constantly raids West Bank towns, kidnapping adults as well as children, holding them in undisclosed locations for hours or even days, they shoot unarmed civilians, they steal water and resources from Palestinian land, and above all, they constantly expand Jewish-only settlements on Palestinian land, which is stealing territory, which is an act of war. 
One of the first things you learn about in negotiations is that, in order for them to happen, the two sides have to stop fighting first. A cease-fire must be in place, and it must be honored by both sides. Well, Israel refuses to stop committing acts of war against the PA. Abbas has asked them repeatedly to stop, but every time they say no.

This, in essence, is why I believe this latest round of peace talks will not result in anything. But, I can't just criticize something and not offer what I think should be done, right? That's not helping anyone. Here's what I think the Palestinian people should do if they truly want freedom and independence, instead of wasting their time doing these "peace talks."

1. Overthrow their current governments.
Now there are many sub-steps involved in doing just this one step, because it is a monumental task. The current governments has repeatedly refused to have open and free elections, so that means the only way to get them out of power is through armed struggle. Peaceful protests have only been met with violent repression. Am I advocating for violence? Yep, but sometimes, violence is necessary because it is the only thing that will work. It should only be used as a last resort. In order to do this step, the Palestinian people must:

• Establish a process to get guns and ammo, everything from light arms to anti-vehicle weapons. This means going through black markets, raiding military warehouses or other installations for guns and ammo, and buying from groups/organizations from neighboring countries. One would have to establish smuggling routes, make contact with these other groups, etc, etc. Make it reliable as possible so that when the SHTF, you can have a dependable way of getting what you need in a tough situation.   
• Organize into brigades, establish routes for patrolling for defending neighborhoods, coordinate with community leaders, have a system in place for a counterattack when the inevitable government crackdown launches raids into villages and towns. Have safe houses where militia can hide and take shelter.
• Fight by attacking police, military, and government installations. Do not, under any circumstances, attack unarmed civilians. The enemy is the oppressive corrupt Palestinian governments, not the Palestinian people. Do a variety of attacks to make it hard for the government to defend and counter-attack. If you do the same thing over and over again, the government will know what you're gonna do, and be able to defend from it better. Some types of attacks may include ambushing convoys of soldiers, attacking police stations, car bombs at government centers or installations, mortar attacks, sniping, IEDs, sabotage equipment, poison food supply, etc, etc.  
• Let the world know why you're doing what you're doing. Talk to the media, explain why you are fighting, your principles, morals, values, the crimes that the governments are doing, have data, charts to back up your argument, explain the historical development of why fighting against a government that does these things is rational and logical. Use social media as well. Have people go in for talks on news stations. Secure support from sympathetic organizations and foreign governments. 

2. Once the government is overthrown, establish a temporary transition government that will hold power only until you can have free and fair elections, which on average can take from 9-12 months from the date of victory. This temporary government must uphold all Palestinians' human rights, regardless of religion or political ideology. It must not be corrupt, it must be efficient, and it must be serious about Palestinian independence.

3. Have a nation wide vote to see what type of government the Palestinian people want. Do they want a parliamentary system like Britain's or a religious orientated government like the Muslim Brotherhood or a presidential system like ours? Whatever they want, that's what they should get.   

4. Have free and fair elections to elect the type of government chosen in the step above.

5. Now that the Palestinian people have a legitimate government that truly represents them, they can take the fight to Israel. History has proven that peaceful negotiations with Israel have not worked, because Israel either still attacks them when they're negotiating, won't compromise on anything, or agree on an accord that only benefits them but hurts the Palestinians, (http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-oslo-illusion-the-historical-accords-between-palestine-and-israel/5337332). So, logic would tell us that armed struggle is the only option left. That, unless they want the current situation to keep going on forever.
The Palestinian people would need to fight in a way similar to the way I described in #1. It has to be of the utmost importance that the uprising target Israeli military, government, and police targets only. Under no circumstances should Israeli civilians be targeted. Any person found guilty of a terrorist attack on civilians should be given the sentence prescribed by Islam: death. Terrorist attacks only hurt the operations of the ones that do it, it never, ever helps them.  

Some people will criticize this approach, saying that "Of there's no way Palestine could beat Israel militarily. Israel is 100 times stronger than it." Obviously these people know nothing about the military, because there's two facts that would put that argument to rest:
1. Palestine doesn't have to beat Israel, they only have to hurt them enough that Israel will see they have no choice but to enter negotiations with good faith i.e. actually try to achieve peace, not put on this charade that they're currently going through. Palestine could still militarily lose the war but politically win in the end.
2. A guerrilla force can beat a conventional military that is much stronger than it, through effective use of guerrilla warfare. Numerous cases throughout history show this to be true: American Revolutionary War, Vietnamese-French War, Vietnam War, Afghan-Soviet Union War, etc. In the Vietnam War, the Viet-Cong lost considerably more soldiers than the U.S., but in the end, the Viet-Cong won the war.    

Lastly, some people would dismiss this argument, saying "Oh, you're a violent terrorist extremist for advocating war against Israel." Yet, if you look at cases of occupation throughout history, historical documents, political philosophies and ideologies, including the U.S.'s, you will see that is not extreme at all to advocate for self-defense. That's all I'm advocating for. The Palestinian people, just like any other people in the world, deserve the right to defend themselves against injury and death. It actually the accusers who are extreme. They are saying for the Palestinians to just sit there and get killed. They are saying the Palestinians are sub-human, and therefore, do not get to enjoy basic human rights like every human being should be able to enjoy. They are going against the human instinct to defend oneself and his/her family. Those are the true violent extremists, not me.