All we had to do was to let them be in control. They can ruin Gaza and the Palestinian cause themselves. I'm glad they had democratic elections... My only fear is that no matter what we do or don't do, eventually, we will pay the price for this.

when there's no electricty or water from Israel. Then what are they going to do? Execute the pipes?

Israel must correct now the mistakes of the previous leftist governments. -Take back control of Gaza -Take back weapons that we gave them. -Allow and encourage all arab civilians to leave to a bordering arab country for there safety. - After cleaning Israel of its arab enemies inside Israel, we must put on trial the Jewish politicians who caused the situation. We must put on trial those responsible for the Oslo accord ("arming arab accord") and the Gaza deportation of Jews.

And the best part is that Israel dosent need to do much. The best now is to stay out of it.

My take, from a long time Zionist and American: Livni is an experienced jerk. I have listened with contempt for her, being interviewed on US TV. She is a naive, and very bad for Israel., which needs a tough, realistic F.M. But the person who counts is the P.M. Olmert seems confused. Someone like M. Dayan is needed, if there are any. Israel cannot allow Hamas to take over the Strip AND the W. Bank (-0- TAKEOVER POLICY). No matter what, Israel will be accused of both the violence, and arms flow (even though Condi ordered it to Fatah). Again, Israel had no plans for this contingency. It's not too late for Israel to react. It still holds most of the cards. Forget the Golan right now. Concentrate on Hamas, Syria and Iran., where the real threates lie. It's a tough situation to be in, but realisim is what matters now. Forget the Road Map or Saudi Plans..they can wait for years. No rush. And look Bush in the eye Olmert, and don't be intimidated by him. Bush is on his way out. and is also confused by the turn of events in Iraq. It's hard to beat a movement (Islamo-fascism). Israel will soon have to decide it's future.

If you ever wondered why Palestinians don't have a state yet, or why no one trusts them to keep an agreement, or why no Arab state wants them, just watch the news from Gaza...

To New York: One thing about Hamas, it aint' talking from both sides of it's mouth, like Fatah and Abbas., who, basically have the same goals, but are less insanely religious. Israel would be better off talking to Abbas however..who is liked by the West, and would have received support (I wonder now if the EU will still give Hamas money?) The funds held by Israel play no part in this conflict, which is about power. Hamas gets money anyway from Iran etc. They don't need the tax receipts. That's a strawman argument. Israel will have to decide what is in it's best interests., whether sealing the border, taking over Rafah, striking hard at Hamas militias, etc? It probably should keep Hamas out of the W. Bank, and fight there if need be (with tanks). Seal off the strip,, but wait before cutting off the utilities. Yes, Hamas is good for Israel. At least Israel now has no excuse for doing virtually nothing..and it knows who it's dealing with. Hamas gains, and Hamas loses on this one.

let them kill each other. You and I can not stop them just get out of the way. Would you try to break up two mad dogs?

you terrorists said: We'll execute Fatah leaders and then you said: 'This is the first step in the establishment of an Islamic state' THE TWO THINGS IS WHAT IS LIKE A ISLAMIC RADICAL STATE! KILLING, GENOCIDE, EXECUTIONS, DEATH SQUADS... AND THEN YOU CLAIM YOU WANT PEACE WITH ISRAEL? JA! UPS... SORRY, YOU´RE HAMAS.... I SEE.. LONG LIVE ISRAEL

good going guys....good going. the plus side is you have an ultra high-rez satellite now to watch yourselves implode under this ridiculous leadership.

The forced eviction of Israelis from Gaza was similar to Olmert's handling of the 2nd Lebanon War and both actions had disastrous consequences for Israel's well-being and survivability. Both actions were taken despite poor intelligence about the situation on the ground and both were supported by an Israeli public that was desparate for peace and thus trusted the words of an incompetent government. Although Israel was urged to evacuate Gaza by Sec. of State Rice, it must be remembered that Ariel Sharon ran on a platform opposing unilateral disengagement. After re-election, he presented his real and mistaken agenda. This theory that unilateral disengagement would strengthen Israel had previously been disproved by the emergence of Hezbollah as a major partner in Lebanon's government. The Israeli retreat from Southern Lebanon was portrayed as a defeat of Israel's vaunted army by the Hezbollah terrorists. In Gaza, despite donations by diaspora Jews that gave the Palestinians the Israeli greenhouses, the residents of Gaza chose death and destruction---opting to destroy the greenhouses, elect Hamas, and threaten Israel with destruction. As a consequence, we now have an official terrorist state next to Israel, sworn to its destruction. Mike, guarding the Gaza settlers was difficult. However,the folly of demonizing the settlers, evicting them, and leaving Gaza in the hands of fanatical murderers and barbarians has been a unmitigated disaster for Israel and there is no way that this situation would have occured if Israel had stayed in Gaza----even just to leave a military presence there.

When the smoke clears, Gaza will have a Hezbollah-style entity on Israel's southern border. Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas are preparing to attack Israel on behalf of Iran. Whether Israel likes it or not, they should be preparing to strike Hamas and all these other tentacles with a fatal blow. They must sear the heads of this Hydra before it is too late.

this is a message from above not to ignore the TORAH. Israel was destroyed twice already .G-D forbid if we continue in this evil path ,gays,white meat etc.We JEWS have to wake up!!!

God Did not destroyed Israel. Empires destroyed Israel. I find it funny that you say when all things are well, Hashem will protect Israel. If things are not going well, you say is because we jews are not close to the Torah teachings. people like you, see the Shoa as a result of the broken pact of german jews because of assimilation.... I went to Israel last year, and an ortodhox rabbi told me the 6 million DESERVED to die, because of this broken pact between us and god... Was I in Iran??? No.. I was in Israel. You should be more open minded, Gay parades will not cause Israel destruction, only fanatics, extrmists, radicals, genocidal arab countries, genocidal terrorists groups, etc. Nevermind. This is an endless discussion. Long Live Israel

Olmert, Bush, the Knesset, etc., etc.... I predict that nobody will do anything. They'll try their best to protect the WB from Hamas taking over, but there's a limit as to how far they are willing to go. All Hamas has to do is wait, kidnap a few key Fatah guys, threaten a few others, and eventually they'll be able to take it over in one big battle to the finish. Those guys are good at what they do. So, Hamas will be in power. Next, Hamas will want legitimacy. It will make all the right pronouncements, promising a truce, maybe even going as far as partly "recognizing" Israel or some form of recognition Hamas-style. And always playing the 'Palestinian victim" card. The public gets used to everything. Who would have thought that Abbas, the Holocaust denier and terrorist, would become Israel's ally? So, nothing drastic will happen... Apathy is the name of the game.... Israel will learn to live with Hamas and Palestine will become one giant launching pad for attacks on Israel in the next war. The Do-Nothing Israeli leaders will be safely in Paris, London, Switzerland....

israel's presence was becoming weaker by the minute in gaza, which is why ariel changed his mind. he saw the inevitable situation of more and more jews dying (as opposed to now). those living near/in gaza were experiencing terror and with the proliferation of the tunnels israel would have had to leave in defeat instead of by choice. why do you think israel is more hesitant to go into gaza? they know tunnels are waiting for them, just as they were spreading in gaza before the decision for disengagement. israel still has no solution for the tunnels and would have been driven out. THEN you would be talking about a huge victory for the terrorists.