Laughable? Are you sure you want to use that word which implies that it's so beyond the realm of possibility and reason that it's a joke to even conceive such an idea? The arguments that you make and the words that you use determine a lot of your credibility and impact on the reader trying to weigh the issues regarding opposing views.
It is one thing to say that the settlements incites and exacerbates the violence. That would be a fair point. But, then again, we are talking about radical Muslims. It doesn't take much to incite them to violence. I'm sure if I wore a T-shirt in "Palestine" with the image of Allah body surfing I would be stone to death in short order. When I say that I don't believe that the settlements per se are the barriers to peace I'm not just giving a bias opinion. I am basing it on historical facts. That terrorist attacks occurred before there were any settlements at all. I emphasized that to make it crystal clear. No settlements yet still there were attacks. I also pointed out what happened when Israel surrendered territories such as the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza strip. More attacks. I can even go further and point out the the very charter of Hamas and the PLO call plainly for the destruction of israel. This is actual verifiable evidence and not some joke to be dismissed by a laugh.
It is I who am actually surprised with your deep interest in this subject that you would trivialize such a solid argument.
In fairness, I will admit that a military occupation is quite different from building civilian settlements even in a territory legitimately subject to a military occupation and contributes to the difficulty in making peace but it is NOT the major barrier that Israel's enemies claim it to be. The major barrier is, and has always been, not recognizing Israel's right to exist.
i call it as i see it. saying that israeli settlements are not a barrier to peace ,IMO is completely laughable and i stand by that. you do realise that to create these settlements palestinians have had their homes confiscated and demolished. there's a two tier legal system with israeli settlers not being subject to local law.
palestinians are forced to carry i.d cards that must be produced at numerous israeli checkpoints. they are herded around their own country and have restricted access to many areas and resources due to the presence of the illegal settlements.
here's a list of israeli checkpoints and restricted roads compiled by a jewish group. you might be advised to read some more on their website. they are an israeli jewish organisation that document conditions in the occupied territories.
https://www.btselem.org/freedom_of_movement/checkpoints_and_forbidden_roadsthe settlements impact palestinians on a daily basis, dictate where they can and can't go and you say they're not a major barrier to peace!!
it doesn't really matter what the PLO or hamas say, they want to wipe israel off the planet or whatever else. if they were capable of doing it they would have done it already. this is just used as a smoke screen by israel to justify their illegal expansion and destruction of palestinians.
as already said, if this was about security and not ethnic cleansing and expansion, israel wouldn't be transferring it's own civilian population into occupied regions.
