destruction none of the two sides could impose its will on the other. None could get what it wants through war. The two sides were becoming losers and were beginning to strain the patience of their populations. The current ceasefire is a by product of necessity. Neither the Israeli people nor the Palestinian people could live in peace. They became tired of the war. In fact, the number of Israeli soldiers who died without taking over Gaza confirms that the only road to peace is a two state solution. The starting point of such a solution is to create a sovereign Palestinian and Israeli people who are in full charge of the destiny of their countries and who could create two sovereign Republics which could co-exist on the basis of good neighbourliness. The war would have ended a long time ago if the people of Palestine organised a million citizen March in Gaza and West Bank and demand an end to occupation and blockade. No government in Israel would be mad enough to bombard them. This should have been reciprocated by a march of a million people in Israel to call for peace. This would have compelled the Israeli government to seek for a peaceful solution to the conflict. The way forward is clear. Hamas should accept that it has no military might to defend Palestine from military aggression. The Israeli government should also acknowledge that it has no military might to defend the Israeli people from rockets without committing genocide against the Palestinian people thus leaving the history of another holocaust. Needless to say, the fact that summary execution could take place in Palestine against people referred to as informers without any trial confirms that the rule of law is yet to prevail in Gaza. The world should therefore encourage the Unity Government in Palestine to work on a draft Republican constitution for Palestine which would be approved at a Referendum. The provisional government should put in place all the checks and balances which would enable Palestine to be governed as a democratic state with central authority that would be able to build a modern armed , security and police force so that all weapons would be under sovereign authority of the state. Israel would have no excuse to talk about security threats and should recognise Palestine as a sovereign state with secure and unfettered borders. This is the way forward. ]]>
