Fundamentalists

The fundamentalist religionists in society present as a continuous problem to the rest of society. Insistent that theirs is the right, to do whatever they are commanded by their interpretation of sacred religious promise and precepts. The ultra-Orthodox in Judaism are a thuggishly intolerant lot of barbarians. It is they who insist on settling in areas that were designed for use by others within the Middle East.

On the other hand, various governments in Israel have traditionally encouraged Jews to settle in the West Bank and they haven't all been intolerant bigots nor fundamentalist Jews. Now the situation has come back to haunt the country as it struggles to find a balance between its needs and that which it must surrender to the other party that lays claim to land that has been illegally built upon.

While West Bank settlements remain a flash-point for violence between Jew and Arab there is yet no guarantee their removal will result in a cessation of the tradition of Palestinian victimhood and strident grievance against Israel. Gaza is a case in point, where unilateral withdrawal of Jewish settlements resulted in increased violence, lawlessness and chaos. And which now, under Hamas control, continues its threat against Israel.

The ultra-orthodox have managed to partially overturn the secular face of Israel to reflect in large part the religious-right insistence on traditions that they claim are to be honoured even if and when they restrict the freedoms of others. They are as intolerant as the Islamists who scorn the legitimacy of any other religion's right to exist. Their constant clashes with authorities, their unwillingness to assist the country or to tolerate compromise is classic.

But they are not destructive and murderous as the Islamist fanatics have shown themselves to be. And therein lies the great divide between the practise and the reality of the two religions, Judaism and Islam. It is Islam that denies, defaces and destroys sacred relics that belong to other religions, never Judaism. It is Islam that entreats its followers to practise jihad both of the spirit and of blood-letting. That too is tradition.

It is fanatical Islam that destroys and rampages and visits atrocities on those they claim as enemies, whose jihadist exponents proclaim their love for death, and scorn others' love of life. Who celebrate brutality and violence as strengths, and deride the real strength and principle of restraint, taking it as a sign of weakness. Whose insistence on their right and others' wrong speaks of their inability to compromise.

In the current negotiations between Israel and Hamas for the release of Sgt. Gilad Shalit in exchange for the release of a mind-boggling thousand Palestinian prisoners, Israel plays the game of the jihadists, expressing its humanity in its struggle to retrieve one of its own, and granting Hamas cause for jubilation at its "victory" in imposing the release of a thousand for one.

This, Hamas believes as does the Arab world, is a sign of their strength, and renders them much prestige. Encouraging them, as well as other terror groups, to believe that further abductions of Israelis will simply gain them further triumphs. Israel's weakness their strength. Israel well knows that earlier releases of Palestinians have resulted in many of those released returning to prey on Israelis.

The recent murder of a Rabbi from a settlement in the West Bank by three members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, several of whom were released through previous prisoner-release deals simply points out the lack of intelligence in dealing with these murderers. Israel can insist until it's blue in the face that none of the murderers it releases in exchange for Shalit return to terror activity, but it is utterly pointless.

They will return to active terror attacks on Israel and Israelis, for they have dedicated their lives to this tradition, of 'honour' and honouring Islam by 'resisting the occupiers'. Rather than negotiating in good faith to solve the mutual problems associated with the Palestinians' refugee status, and ultimately leading to a state of their own.

Using the West Bank settlements to further delay peace talks simply legitimizes a belief that there is no urgency on the part of the Palestinians to sue for peace, to work toward a state of their own. Underlining the possibility that another agenda exists, one which will, they believe, further their interests by ultimately destroying Israel.

This is not realism, this is flagrant delusion. And it will malfunction as all other, previous such delusions have, leaving the Palestinians no further ahead, more embittered than ever.