Religion is of course not the only reason for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But it is certainly an important one. Without the hard-line Jewish religious zealots Israel would probably not be building settlements in the West Bank. And without hard-line American religious zealots the American government wouldn't be so pro-Israel. Without religion, peace would still not be easy, but it would have a chance.

As Americans are so in love with Jews (God knows why, but that is another subject of discussion), they should have given them a piece of one of their western deserts, as they both flatter themselves that they know how to make them bloom, and leave the Middle East Arab tribes to what they do best: Kill each other!

Lots of your Tax Dollars are supporting Israel. I was there last year and the Palestinians are as human as you could ever want. We have the same problem over here with race but it has just begun to get the same publicity as the Israel/Palestine problem. If you knew the amount of money we give to Israel you wouldn't be so naive concerning what is going on in the Middle East.

my lack of religion has nothing to do with the feeling of outrage at how israel has treated its indigenous people . sorta like we did to the american indians funnily enough

How deep "in the weeds" do we want to go here?

Let's start with a joke, the closer these religious groups are, the more bitter they are to each other. Look at the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. Basically, they're yelling "KNELLING bastards" at the Catholics.

The problem with the fundamental Christians in the US (who have no love for Jews) is that, until the Jews are in charge of Temple Mount, the Rapture can't happen. Bush Jr was (and likely still is) a fundamentalist, and rumour is, he seriously believed that it was his destiny to bring this about.

I find it difficult to believe that President Trump believes this himself, but he is beholden to the Fundamentalists, and does whatever the last person he talked to wants. So, his support of Israel shouldn't surprise us.

A friend told me about going to an atheist meet up this week and encountering a man with an anti-Israel T-shirt who expressed angry anti-Semitic views, including Holocaust denial. She and another woman started to argue with him but he was not rational and she ended up walking out upset. Definitely not what we typically expect in atheist groups.

I actually got to visit that region once and it was a pretty cool place not only because of how different it was just the felling that "here is the exact spot that the incident that will happen that will end the world will occur"

So many faiths that hate each other, such extreme temperatures, so much high military technology, such a complex web of historical alliances. This is it: the spot that will end the human race one day.

I find the entire Middle East a dumpster fire because of religion. Only time and tiredness will ever solve these issues for good, but in the meantime I think intelligent diplomacy and containment will minimize mortalities and that's the best we can hope for.

Since I would assume that no one here is religious, religion does not affect our views at all.

The whole affair has become so hopelessly convoluted that I think everyone should just be moved out and then, when the area is completely devoid of humans it should be razed to the ground and given back to nature. Enough is enough.