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How can so many people have such strong opinions about something they know so little about?

I have a strong opinion about a lot of things while remaining open-minded enough to be further educated on various subjects. Please note that my original post included a question mark after the Oslo Accords, as I was not certain which entity established the original boundaries for Israel and Palestinian. (My bookmarked page that had all the details of the establishment of Israel and all the subsequent numerous changes and conflicts got deleted when I had to be away from FReepers for six weeks. So please excuse my ignorance).

And please don't tell me that no one determined boundaries back in 1948 (or whenever). If you thought your obscure statement that "this was to be final status negotiations" should answer any questions, well it didn't. What the blazes is "final status negotiations"? Please elaborate for those of us who are too "ignorant" to comprehend.

And BTW, Opps is usually spelled "oops", but then, I would not be so crass as to point out a simple ignorance in spelling.

You put the word "ignorant" in quotes, but you weren't quoting me. I didn't use the word!

There were boundaries in 1948. They were smaller than the pre-1967 lines. Israel accepted them, all the Arab nations rejected, and then they invaded Israel. Miraculously, the Arabs lost to a much more poorly armed and equipped foe, largely relying on cast-off WW1 and WW2 leftover military hardware. Then we had the "pre-1967" borders. 1967 was a replay. Jordan and Egypt lost Samaria, Judea, and Gaza, and then relinquished claim to them both. They also refused citizenship to Arabs displaced as a result of their war, who are now known as "Palestinian refugees." Israel and the PA were to negotiate about the final status of the border line between Israel and the nascent Palestinian state.

Please note that my original post included a question mark after the Oslo Accords, as I was not certain which entity established the original boundaries for Israel and Palestinian.

As adam explained, way back the UN, before them the Brits. That's the borders for Israel, never accepted by the Arab world. There really haven't been borders established for the "palestinians". In 47-48 perhaps, rejected, but Jordan and Egypt immediately took control of what they could, and kept it till 67.

Re OSLO, you might like to read Dennis Ross's take on the borders.

Dennis Ross on Fox News Sunday (What Arafat Turned Down)