Settle Abet

By Bill Maher

The Israelis and the Palestinians have finally agreed to resume their peace talks.

For Israel, it's yet another "last chance" to secure a democratic, Jewish state without formally declaring apartheid. Demographically, they're toast. Or even worse – matzo. 

Once again the Israelis will demand that the Palestinians renounce terrorism and agree to recognize Israel's right to exist. The Palestinians could, at this point, really pull the rug out from under Israel by agreeing to do so, removing the last bits of sympathy Israel has in the international community.

But once again, this shit is going to be all about the settlers.

The number of settlers now stands at over half a million. To review, that number was about 10,000 in 1972, 100,000 in 1983, and 280,000 when the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993 and a settlement freeze was agreed to. The number has nearly doubled since then as Israel’s Tea-baggers attempt to out-settle and outbreed the Palestinians.

But they're not rogue criminals - it's an inside job. In a 2010 article in The Nation, Henry Siegman recalls being flown over the West Bank in a helicopter while Ariel Sharon pointed out current and future settlements that would “rule out any possibility of a Palestinian state.” And of course, whenever you're protecting people, there's military money involved. Lots of it. Siegman goes on to blame any lack of progress as the fault of the “settler-security-industrial complex.”

Their Tea-baggers are running the show. Same basic ideas, different funny hats.