Why is it so Difficult?

Here is what I don't get... What is difficult about ending the Gaza altercation? In Israel and in America the Hard Left keeps talking in terms of a cease fire or a truce. The Lunatic Right, both here and there, keep talking about blowing Gaza into little bits and "levelling" the place. Neither one of course, (and as usual) is right. They simply aren't. It's not hard to see an answer yet despite the ease of that answer no one wants to address it. Why? Because it takes away an easy crisis that both sides need to feed their power base.

Hamas NEEDS to see their children and civilians die. It's in their interest. They can't maintain any sort of power if they are not seen as the "Heroes of Resistance". They will fight to the very last civilian (as long as their money and influence are not harmed), just to prove that they and no one else is who should rule in the land that is now Israel and Palestine. They certainly don't care who they have to kill to get there and the more their own people suffer, the more they can take those people's minds off of their own failures and corruption.

The Israeli and American Right, need to have an enemy to fight in order to continue to scare people into supporting their nihilistic Randian vision of the world coupled with building towards some fictional Spartan state that they can all feel very tough about while sending other peoples kids to do their fighting for them.

ANYWAY... In all of the analysis and hand wringing about what Israel is doing everyone keeps talking about cease fires and Ten Year Truces and how if Israel just ended it's embargo on the Gaza Strip everything would be peace and light. The Useful Idiots and their supporters all talk about the culpability of Israel without addressing the prime issue, that of the responsibility of Hamas and the Palestinians to simply accept that Israel exists as the National Homeland and State of the Jewish people. IF they did this simple thing... this conflict would be over within ten seconds.

Imagine if a Palestinian leader would go to the Israelis and say "Listen, we are sick of war and sick of what is happening so here's the deal. Give us the land in the Olmert deal for a nation, including at least half of the Old City of East Jerusalem. We will de-militarize for ten years however, YOU are responsible for our protection as well as training of our military so that when we get through our growing pains we can have a professional and responsible military. ALSO, we will need aid. You and the U.S. need to build up our infra-structure and provide a market for our goods until we can develop our markets. That means access to roads, water, and the like. In return... We will give you a complete and total peace. We recognize that Israel is and will be the National Homeland and State of the Jewish people . We will open cultural and trading exchanges and allow for our children to learn with yours in mixed education programs."

That's it. That would end it right then and there. The War, this exchange, the conflict. Done. It would be completely over. No one, but no one asks this of the Palestinians. To be fair, no one on the Israeli Right would lay this out as an opportunity either.  But you have to give something to get something. The Palestinians have to retain some pride to make this a lasting deal. So... This is a fair deal. The Palestinians get control of Islam's third holiest site (the Haram al-Sharif), Christianity's holiest site (Bethlehem) and they get a secure and viable state. They can even negotiate for recompense for those driven from their homes in past wars. Israel would be foolish not to accept these terms.

Until then though, why should Israel cede one inch of anything to people that talk in terms of destroying them? They shouldn't. They need to keep the pressure on Hamas' leadership until they are either dead, removed, or at some point they realize that they will not be dislodging the Israelis and that it is time to do something for their own people rather than continuing to play politics.

What I am curious about is why isn't anyone insisting that Hamas formally recognize Israel? That never, ever gets discussed. There are a million and one other things discussed but no one ever addresses this. YET, this is the simplest thing in the world IF one really wants to end this horrible conflict. Israel will recognize the Palestinians... why won't they simply recognize Israel as the nation it was created to be?

Sadly, this is just a "pipe dream". Hamas has too much money to make and too much power to gain for them to do anything like that. The Israeli Right, I fear, would never accept this as it goes against the concept of Eretz Yisrael HaShlema. BUT, I do think there are some on the Israeli Right that might go along whereas I think there is no one in Hamas or in it's support base that would consider this.

But as an American, I sit here and wonder.... How is this so difficult? And WHY is this not even discussed?