From The Seattle PI
By Helen Thomas

The Israelis are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the creation of the nation of Israel.

The Palestinians have only to mourn the loss of their land and the oppression they have suffered as refugees in camps and caves since 1948, their life under military occupation and their humiliation at myriad Israeli checkpoints.

Defeats in wars that had U.S. military and financial support have left the Palestinians in despair. But all that is history now.

President Bush has led a prestigious parade of statesmen and former statesmen — many of whom made Israel’s takeover possible — to the anniversary celebration in Israel.

Bush has supported Israel’s building of a 400-mile wall on Palestinian land that the Israeli government contends is needed to protect Israel. Bush has been meek in his criticism of Israel’s continued expansion of settlements on Palestinian land, slice by slice.

Bush was very upbeat at the ceremonial start of his visit to Israel, bursting with optimism for democratic change throughout the Middle East.

But reality set in when a rocket fired from Gaza exploded in a shopping center in a southern Israeli city, wounding 14 people, possibly more.

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