This week another cease-fire has been arranged between the Israelis and the Palestinians. What is this the tenth or the twentieth. When are these people going to be allowed to solve their problems?

The current problem began in 1948 (Do the math - 73 years ago) after the United Nations planned for a division of Palestine into separate states for Jews and Arabs. Much of the Middle East was occupied and controlled by the British. In the aftermath of World War II more than a million displaced Jews moved voluntarily or were transported to what was then called Palestine. The United Nations called for a partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. This partition plan was rejected by Arab nations

Jewish immigraton continued. At such time as a critical mass of Jewish settlers arrived there, and after battles between the British Army and what we then described as either Jewish Patriots or Jewish Terrorists -- The State of Israel was declared by the Jewish settlers. For the second time in history a group of settlers in lands occupied by the British Army declared their independence. The British were tired of trying to rule the area and were happy to leave and make it problem for the UN. The Palestinian people who had also lived under British rule didn't want to be ruled by either the British or the Israelies. A civil war broke out between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

The Palestinians allied themselves with nearby Arab nations including Jordan, Syria (which both became independent in 1946), Egypt and Iraq. The Arab nations invaded and quickly controlled predominately Palestinian areas in Gaza and what became known as the West Bank (of the Jordan River). The Arab armies began attacking Jewish settlements and set out to destroy the new State of Israel. The Arab armies also warned the Palestinians who had been living in the Jewish regions to leave because their (the Arab armies) overhelming might would destroy Palestinian farms, villages and towns also. This created a mass exodus of Palestinians to the West Bank and Gaza. With the help of their own motivation for survival and their acquisition of surplus military equipment from Europe and the United States the Israelies prevailed over the Arab armies.

Virtually all of the Palestinian population had moved out of the now official State of Israel, many into refugee camps where there desendents still live. The West Bank area was annexed into Jordan and Gaza was occupied by the Egyption military. The West Bank area were occupied by the Israelis during the Six Days War in 1967 and Jordan relinquished its claim there.

As it stands today Israel has firmly established it's borders. There is no widely recognized nation called Palestine, and while there are many differing interpretations of their status the West Bank and Gaza are not widely recognized as being part of any country. They are ther , but they aren't. Much of the world recognizes that the "Palestinian Authority" is the de facto governing body for the West Bank region. Similarly "Hamas" , which may be a legitimate political party and may be a terrorist organization, is widely recognized as the de facto governing body in Gaza.

Both groups claim to be the legitimate government for Palestine and that Palestine includes the West Bank region, Gaza, and all lands that are currently accepted by most nations as being the State of Israel. The oft stated Palestinian claim is that the organization that claims to be the State of Israel is illegally occupying Palestinian lands and needs to either leave or subject itself to Palestinian authority. Israel claims that when the Palestinian people moved out in 1948 they abandoned any territorial claim.

Until there is a meeting of the minds on this single issue, there will be no peace in the region.

There may be a cease-fire for now, but no international nor regional group has been able to settle this issue in 73 years. This time riots broke out in Palestinian areas of Jerusalem and spilled over with rockets being fired from Gaza into Israel, with Israels responding with artillery and aerial bombing. Both sides claim the other strarted it. Next time it will be something else.

There will be no peaceful settlement of the situtation forced on them from outside. No outside entity has the means nor will to do this. If there is to be a settlement it has to be accomplished either through negotiations or warfare. Just because neogtiations have not worked in the past doesn't mean they won't work in the future. However, my money is on more warfare.