[SJackson]

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

Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel.

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[samtheman]

This is all true, but who are they replacing? A front organization that was basically just as bad.

There is no change here.

[jwpjr]

The more of this I see the more I realize just how many of that region's problems will be solved once Iran undergoes a regime change. Remember, it was Russia's Putin who called W and told him they had learned that Iraq has WMD's and was planning an attack on the US. It was at that point the decision was made to move in Iraq. In retrospect I have to wonder if Putin didn't purposely mislead us, knowing that once me moved on Iraq our plate would be full and Iran would have a much smoother ride to nuclear status. It's the Russians who are in bed with Iran on the nuclear thing and it certainly served their purpose to distract us with Iraq while Iran did its thing.

Just idle thoughts.

[WOSG]

Good to know, but let us all remember.

Arafat and his Fatah were *also* a terrorist group.
So the Palies had a choice between terrorist group A that sometimes warred against Israel and terrorist group B that always warred against Israel.

.. "Fatah was "never different from Hamas," said PLO political chief Farouq Al-Qaddoumi on January 3, 2003. "Strategically, we are no different from it.""

On NPR I heard about 10 minutes discussion on Hamas and the word "terrorist" was never used. A whitewash will happen.

Hamas, without changing one iota, will gain the 'respectability' of being the only player to talk to. ... Just like Arafat's position in the 1990s.

So cheer up! It's no worse than when Arafat the Terrorist was sitting across from the table! (er, that's sarcasm, folks)

[Uncle Miltie]

In addition to the fence, I would like to recommend the following:

For each cross-border infraction, Israel should take another 100 yards of the Gaza strip, starting in the North. All persons in that 100 yard strip will be pushed south, all buildings destroyed, and a military zone established.

Eventually, when Hamas commits or allows to be committed from their soil enough terrorist acts, then the whole of Gaza will be in Israeli hands, and free of the terrorists. The Egyptians can figure out how to resettle their Arab brethren.

Then Israel can start on the West Bank.