[derrida]

Don't all those points apply equally to the Israeli government's motivations for not recognizing Palestinian statehood? By criminalizing the PLO or Hamas the IDF is freed from compliance with international regulations.

Kevin the omnivore: The question of whether or not we can prove the existence of large scale Arab immigration into the region during the periods of Ottoman and British control (though the demographic revolution occurring in the 19th century owing to declining infant mortality is the most likely cause of a population explosion in the region) should be immaterial. Both groups represent ethnic populations that have found themselves on the wrong side of imperialism at least once in the course of recorded history. Isn't one of the most basic constitutive forces of a nation ideological or cultural homogeneity? If palestinians meet the criteria for nationhood, why deny them political recognition as a sovereign state?

Or do you actually believe that Jews have been the majority population in the region for the past 200 or so years?