While Haaretz at least acknowledges the Israeli-imposed hardships of the occupation and the ignorance of most Israelis towards the day-to-day Palestinian realities, it is becoming increasingly clear that the US is actively sowing the seeds of a third Intifada. Of course, the clueless Bush administration may not view it that way, but the relentless attempts to undermine the democratically-elected Hamas government – and I note the Australian Labor opposition dutifully following Washington on this issue – will only lead to greater radicalisation among the Palestinian population. And rightly so.
Most of the Western powers are still learning that political Islam is a force that’s here to stay, and they had better get used to it.