Palestine: Building a State and Religious Tolerance

Ha’aretz reports Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing to announce that the country will institute a 10-month freeze on settlement building.  At the same, time the paper reports that Marwan Barghouti intends to run in the next Palestinian election. He also stated that the abduction of Gilad Shalit has brought Hamas more political progress than any negotiations could ever achieve, commenting “maybe Israel will finally understand that Hamas’ demands cannot be ignored.”

In an editorial for The Washington Times, Louis Rene Beres argues that the Palestinian attempts to declare a state are “absurd” and any state would negatively impact U.S. strategic interests, particularly the development of a comprehensive nuclear strategy and a conventional war strategy, ultimately impacting unfavorably on world peace and security. 

Lastly, the Daily News Egypt has two pieces on reducing religious prejudices.  The first, by Fr. Jamal Khader, tells of Bethlehem University’s religious education program designed to allow students to express their faiths while educating them about other traditions in the hope of creating greater tolerance.  Muli Peleg argues that freedom of religion in “Israel and Palestine is not merely a democratic perk or a liberal indulgence but a prerequisite for the survival of both peoples in this troubled land.”  While the Israeli-Palestinian conflict stemmed from politics, religion has come to dominate and fuel the situation.  Peleg argues the two groups must “defuse the ticking bomb by legitimizing greater choice of religious convictions” within their territories.