[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

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[manwiththehands]

Duh. Appeasement ... that will make Islam happy. Duh

[ncountylee]

Gaza - a sewer being established. Hey Israel...don't forget to turn the lights (electricity) off.

[conservativecorner]

Let them concentrate on killing each other for a while BUMP!!

[American in Israel]

So Saudi Arabia blew 100 Million dollars to rebuild the houses that the Palestinians insisted be torn down because they were Joo houses.

Idiots flock together I see...

[Realism]

When Hamas and the rest of the Muslem Brotherhood are made irrelevant and unwanted, the Pal's and the world may have a chance for peace, but not until that happens. Israel, by moving away from occupying the territories hopefully is making these groups useless and more of a hindrance day by day.

[Rockingham]

Nature will out. Given Gaza as a statelet, the Palestinians will again reveal themselves to be pathologically violent, stupid, and collectively incapable of being anything more than prey for their own gangsters and suicide bomb fodder for their own well-fed terrorist leaders. Israel, of course, will be blamed for this by the Left and most of Europe.

[Convert from ECUSA]

"Here's my advice to the Palestinians. Get your act together, work with what you have and build up global trust. Most importantly, convince the Israelis you want peace - not to destroy Israel. Until you do, you won't get anything more - and maybe you'll get even less than you already have."

The Amalekstinians are about as likely to do those things as a leopard changing its spots!

[.cnI redruM]

>>>>Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has done dangerously little to strengthen his control over Gaza.


His political opponents, not him, control his military. The succession procedure in Palestine is likely to be similar to Rome's under The Barracks Emperors if he doesn't find a way to either recruit or disarm the militias.

[marron]

Israeli forces were still in the process of removing settlers from their homes and synagogues when ministers in the Palestinian government began whining that Israel's withdrawal from Gaza was nowhere near enough...

Other Palestinians warn that a third and bloodier intifadeh is on its way. And Hamas, the increasingly powerful Islamist terrorist party, says Gaza and even the entire West Bank aren't enough. "All of Palestine is our land," says Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar.

That, of course, includes Israel.

Israel should make no concessions to the Arabs believing that they will get peace in return. The only peace they are going to get is an armed peace, and they already have that.

Israel should only make those moves she considers necessary to achieve a defensible border. If PR dictates that it be sold as a "concession" to the Arabs, fine, but there should be no real concessions to people who are determined to kill you whatever you do.

Once a defensible border has been established, and it is sealed, and all of Israel's citizens are on the safe side of that line, any cross-border attacks should be answered by pushing the line forward. A hundred meters for each mortar shell lobbed over the line, whatever, but they should not imagine that you can negotiate with these people. Make your decisions unilaterally and execute them unilaterally. Let the diplomats and PR people handle the damage-control.

[Publius6961]

But unless he faces down his extremist rivals and establishes tough rule, Gaza will never rebuild.

Rebuild?
Rebuild what?

Don't you have to have built something before you can "rebuild" it?

[Sabramerican]

Bet YOU thought that as soon as Israel finished its dramatic withdrawal from Gaza and the upper West Bank, the Palestinians would roll up their sleeves, get to work building new lives and forge peaceful ties with their neighbors in the Jewish state.

Me? No.

You're confusing me with George W Bush.