[E Rocc]

So, the only way to make the West Bank and Gaza contiguous is to annex to the two sections of the proposed 'Palestine' a huge swath of Israel that now lies in between them.

This is a red herring. No one is saying that the West Bank and Gaza need to become contiguous. The word applies to the West Bank alone. President Bush is telling Israel that building a Palestinian state that consists of a bunch of small unconnected parcels is unviable and therefore unacceptable.

Gaza and the West Bank might be connected like West Berlin was connected to West Germany, with a special access road.

-Eric

[SJackson]

This is a red herring. No one is saying that the West Bank and Gaza need to become contiguous. The word applies to the West Bank alone.

You're probably right, but Secy Rice did say a Palestinian state must be contiguous, and it was interprited this way by many on both sides of the issue. One of the problems of "negotiating" in the press. Frankly your idea, a connecting road or tunnel, has never been a stumbling block, whereas a geographical strip miles wide was always a non starter.