Goodwill to all men

With last week’s expiration of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, the rocket attacks and cross-border strikes have begun again. I, for one, am getting tired of this, and I can only imagine how the residents of those areas are feeling. The Israeli PM Ehud Olmert has asked residents of Gaza to stand up to the militants themselves, who he says are acting against the ideals of Islam. This is true, as no religion really encourages violence in its name. So I appreciate a leader of a religious state recognizing this, even if only in his enemy. But he’s missing the point. What about all the Israeli settlers who use anti-Semitism as a justification for their occupation of Arab territory? The ones who, when questioned about their motivation, say that the Arabs just want Jews off of the land. Of course they do. It’s the Arabs’ land.
The international community should step in at this point, and demand an unconditional ceasefire from both sides. Israel must halt all raids and airstrikes, and the Gaza militants must halt all rocketfire. Israel must entirely lift the Gaza blockade and keep it lifted. And every single Israeli settler must yield their land to its original owners, with government intervention if necessary. This process has already begun, but the Israeli government must put more resources and effort into it. I read an article on the BBC saying that, while almost all of the settlements are illegal under international law, a certain one has recently been found to be almost entirely illegal under Israeli law.
This has gone far enough. No more usurping of land in the name of Holocaust reparations, or the securing of Jewish identity or destiny. For thousands of years, Jews have not had a homeland. And we’re still around. We don’t need these territories that much.
Today, let there be peace on earth, and goodwill to all men; Arab, Israeli, and otherwise.