no such thing as illegal settlements ITS ALL OUR LAND LIKE IT OR NOT

I see this summit as a kind of equalizer that attempts to recognize the lopsided arguments presented by Israel and its unconditional ally, the USA. It is gratifying to see that at least the UN and the EU are considering the plight of the Palestinians -- Israeli-Palestinian peace cannot come to fruition if the discussions remain dominated by only the powerful parts of the equation. It is sad that Mouchtar would resort to calling out a fellow Jew as a "self hater" because s/he participated in the event. This "self hater" is probably called as such because s/he was perhaps reconciliatory and urging co-operation between the parties rather than the belligerent stance typical of Israeli firsters. The spokesman who accused the groups and individuals participating in this conference as morally bankrupt just illustrates his own "moral bankruptcy." Israel IS a racist state -- it was founded on racist principles. It can be described as "apartheid" by definition: "any system or practice that separates people according to race, caste, etc. " The very fact that Jews are not allowed to intermarry non-Jews in Israel demonstrates the most basic point -- that Israel is an apartheid/separatist state. There are much more egregious exaples that clearly demonstrate why "apartheid" is appropriate to describe Israeli society: Various studies have shown that: 60% of the Arab families in Israel are poor; 60% of the poor children in Israel are Arab; 90% of the Arab citizens live in communities ranked in the bottom three clusters of local communities in economic terms; 92% live in separate Arab communities; dozens of Arab villages lack any basic services (water, electricity, sewage, health care, education system, etc), and their homes are constantly threatened by demolition and frequently demolished. These villages are unrecognised by Israeli law in spite of the fact that they had existed long before the law was enacted, or even before the state existed. Israel is a state-socialist country; the government owns much of the economy. Thus, to be a non-Jew has countless practical disadvantages. Over 90 percent of the land is held by the state. Precious water resources and electrical power are controlled by the state. As in any socialist country, politicians ultimately decide who gets what. Since Israel is a state of, by, and for the Jewish people, the resources primarily benefit Jews. Arabs are taxed like Jews, but they do not have the same access to resources as Jews. The land held by the state may not be sold or leased to Arabs. Arab villages and farms do not get the same quality of services—electrical, water, and so on—as Jewish towns and farms. Arab farmers in Israel are not free to sell their produce directly to buyers outside the country. (Only threats of retaliation against Israeli products by the European Community persuaded the authorities to let Arabs in the occupied territories export directly.) The spokesman who claims that others who argue against these disparities are morally bankrupt implies that it is actually a moral thing to endorse such a system. That thinking dramatically illustrates the implied superiority that Zionist Jews use to support their segregated state.-- and its the same implied superiority that the whites in South Africa used to support their segregated state.

The hateful belligerent comments posted here just demonstrate the arrogant supremacist thinking of Zionist Jews. They actually suggest that Israel boycott European goods and services -- like that would have more affect on Europe than it would on themselves. The fact is that the Israelis have been spoiled into thinking of themselves as superior because the US government and its citizens have propped up this sorry country since the beginning. If the Europeans decided to boycott Israel, that would be only a moral stance. The Israelis know that as long as the US props up the country they have nothing to fear. As you can see the arrogant racists just laugh it off. If the US decided to boycott Israel you'd see something completely different. The racist Zionists would probably crap their pants. No more military aid, no more economic aid, no more unconditional political support...no more American taxpayer money. Now that wouldn't be so funny to the Israelis who believe that they are such a mighty superior country. The fact of the matter is, without the US support, Israel is a paper tiger. Without US support, Israel would be forced to deal equitably with its neighbors. If the American govt. really wants a sustainable peace in that region, it should make the aid and support conditional on Israel's pursuit of "liberty and equality for all" -- the hallmarks of the American ideal. To unconditionally endorse the separatist racial state of Israel only shows the hypocrisy and duplicity of American foreign policy in the Middle East and the rest of the world.

Listen here you brainwashed people, it is NOT all your "LAND" as the Romans are who wrote most of the bible. That land does not belong to only Zionists exclusively, it belongs to ALL Semites- true Hasidic, Palestinian, Sephardi etc SEMITES. It was NEVER just your land!!!!!!!!! And its time it goes back to its rightful owners, by ending the brutal and illegal occupation of the Arab region of Palestine using Islamic & Zionist racists who claim they are the chosen people. There's more than one tribe. Understand this: Both Israel and Palestine have a right to rule and exist, there is no other answer to this problem. And illegal actions taken there will only isolate Israel & the rest further, as they FALSELY assume that this land belongs to them alone. They assume they have the right to treat everyone else like dogs. And they are wrong, because the Bible has been continually mistranslated. They never had a right anywhere. http://www.savethemales.ca

The bigotry expressed by ultra Zionists defies morality and yet the US continues to support the Israeli Apartheid State. Thankfully and in similar fashion to South Africa, populations of the World are beginning to understand and convey their outrage to governing 'elites'. How Israel squirms out of it remains to be seen, but a glimpse of hope is on the horizon.

talking about ........

ANd this is the discussion that needs to happen. The elephant in the room IS ......the 'Jews' (mostly the zionists) or Israel . If the jewish lobby wasnt so powerfully yoked around the USA political base- with their searing atttacks via the media on ANY USA STATESMEN that critisizes Israel - America would be a different place TODAY.

You write :"You show no ... responsibility for your actions, .. ". WHEN Gazans fires Kassam rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip -- Israel REACTS to those rocket attacks. THIS reacting by Israel shows that Israel is taking responsibility for the PROTECTION of her own citizens. IF Israel would not have reacted to rocket attacks from Gaza Strip -- Israel would have been called irresponsible. Virgo, you want Israel to be responsible -- and when Israel takes responsibility, by reacting to the Kassam rocket attacks, you are not happy. WHAT's the matter with you ?!? You sound a little bit CONFUSED. BTW it is the right of every Government to behave in such a fashion -- NAY, it is the DUTY of every Government to behave in such a fashion.

No one really needs to demonize Israel. Israel does it very competently all by itself.

However, compared to its enemies, it is a country of saints. Assuming humanity survives, I am confident that the Arab-Israel conflict will go down in history as a lopsided moral conflict in favor of the Israelis. It is a case of unsuccessful aggression by the Arabs. The paradigm of the last 100 years continues. The Arabs attack the Jews unsuccessfully. The Jews counterattack, usually successfully. Then the Arab whine and complain about it much to the delight of the Anti-Semites. By the way, judging by the remarks of the Anti-Semites here (such as #120), I'll bet if G-d Himself came down to tell them they are wrong, they still would continue with their nonsense, because they are not the least bit interested in actual facts. It is amusing to me that they even bother to read YNet.

I would like to apologize to Israelis and world Jewry for some of my fellow Americans who walk in darkness. They are the "heathen who rage" written about so long ago in the Psalms. The great majority of Americans stand beside Israel and it is those from the left here, who despise you. The left always backs dictators and hate to have things broken down to good vs. evil. They do not understand that all their murmerings are in vain. Does it matter what men say or what God has spoken? Those who hate Israel have cursed themselves already and the very nature of the posts here shows how much anger and unhappiness they feel. They can care less about the mythical "Palis." They just want to remove Israel and blot out God from America. All their works will be burnt up in the end. To see Hamas and Fatah killing each other and being able to ask Israel to make peace with these same monsters shows just how blindly insane the left can get. Do not be upset when you read the hateful comments posted here from Americans. I believe you know how loved you are from the majority. Again I apologize for the rantings from a few pathetic Americans who continually post things here that are harmful. Let them rant all the way to the grave.

To karima: Don't mistaken me for an American Jew...I live in the USA now but, I've been to Israel many times, and I've even been to gaza (before the mess there is now). I lived in the area for a few months...what you say is true but I've seen a lot with my own eyes as well. But now to Virgo: If you "call israel for what it is" and someone responds that you are an Israel-hater, the person who responded is right. We criticize Jews who liken Israel to apartheid because we know him to be wrong (I won't get into the arguments as to why) and wonder why he would make such a false claim- now I myself can't say if he is a self-hater or not, but the concept definitely exists, in that there are Jews such as the neturei karta who actually deny the holocaust and go so far as to support organizations like Jew Watch.org. On this website, many talkbackers do respond fiercly, but if you've ever debated a Zionist about the facts (which is a pretty easy thing to do if you go to a normal forum, maybe like israelforum), you'll find a hoard of facts in defense of Israel you'll have to seriously consider or argue against. You claim that "we" dismiss Arab lives as not worth a Jewish fingernail, when in fact that quote was only used once by a particular extreme right-wing rabbi. To say this represents Zionists is to say Bin Laden represents Muslims, and his quotes are "proof" that Muslims are hateful. As far as killing innocent Palestinians, there are instances of voluntary murder by IDF commanders that must be condemned, but many instances are in fact unfortunate accidents- regarding Al-Ghaliya on the beach, to this day there is still major controversy over whether the fault lies in a MISFIRED Israeli artillery shell or a Hamas landmine. Either way, Israel never intentionally targeted the family. On top of that, you show a distinct bias when you ignore the fact that snipers have been known to shoot at Israeli children, the entire suicide bombing epidemic, the fact that every day Qassam rockets are interrupting the school year at Sderot, that all the recent IDF strikes have been incredibly precise and hardly any civilians have been killed ( in contrast to what is going on now in refugee camps by the Lebanese army who are facing a similar situation to the IDF), and that the Israeli police is actively detaining extreme right-wingers who are trying to build outposts in the West Bank. Some talkbackers here will absolutely refuse any criticism, that's true. But most Israelis criticize this country all the time, I certainly if a Palestinian civilian is intentionally killed am filled with disgust. But criticizing Israel and referring to it as an evil apartheid state that kills civilians for no reason every day are two different things. We will refute and argue against that claim and not be any less moral for it. We cannot be anti-Semites. First of all Semites are not a race but a language group. Since Hebrew is a Semitic language, by definition Israelis are Semitic. On top of that, those Eastern European Jews are genetically originated in the Middle East (I can link the studies if you want), and are just as racially Arabic as Palestinians- the language, food, everything, even skin color and accents, between Palestinians and Israelis is extremely similar. Those Ashkenazi Jews can't *hijack* a religion that belongs to them and they kept upheld for 2 millenia, nor hijack a nation that didn't exist yet. The birth of Israel arguably can be attributed to persecution in Europe- most of these "evil zionist settlers" were Holocaust refugees who were kicked out of any other country to which they tried to escape. On top of that, only 50% of Israeli Jews are Ashkenazis anyway. The other half are Mizrachi & Sephardic Jews who have grown up in Arabic countries for centuries, and who were forcibly moved to Israel due to anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist policies of those countries in the 50s. I myself am a half Iraqi Jew.

The world is not beginning to notice anything. Israel has been the target of the harshest criticism from every nation and every international body known to man since its inception, often blown way out of proportion such that the situations in countries like the Sudan or Congo are ignored in favor of Israel-bashing. If anything, the world is beginning to accept it due to its contributions to science and technology and medicine, and even Muslim leaders have visited it in respect, and Arab leaders more willing to trade, recognize, negotiate, and come up with peace deals for it. This particular UN conference is not important, and everyone here knows it.

The World isn't beginning to notice, they are beginning to understand and that's an entirely different concept. South Africa was awarded regrettable time because worldly politicians wouldn't speak on behalf of their populations. Once they could no longer stave off the stigma associated with non interference however, it was game over. Remember the USA has no treaty with Israel, just an undefined "Special Relationship" which can mean sanctions against its apartheid policies faster than you can bat an eyelid.

I would like to see how much of a do gooder you are when you find yourself in a state of war .....its easy to talk "safe "in Canada.....

I think that there is wide support in Europe to boycott Israel as an apartheid state, as our own nobel peace prize winner, former president of the USA, has used that term as well. The boycott idea is starting to snowball in the USA as well, but the snowball is much smaller, but it is growing. In America, it is popular to say, "No more wars for Israel." If we attack Iran, it will release such a wave of anti-Semitism that will approach that of Germany in the early thirties, I am afraid.

Israel-Arab Peace Plan Principles Starting in 1948 from very first day of recreation of the State of Israel on the part of Israel territory, Arab countries waged several wars to eliminate Israel from her historic land. Israel won all wars and now Arab countries propose a peace agreement with Israel under conditions, which they intended to dictate. However, only Israel, who won all the wars and defeated Arab countries, has legal rights to formulate and dictate peace agreement terms and conditions, which, in general, shell include the following provisions: 1. Palestinian Arabs must compensate Jews for damages caused by Jews massacres in Palestine before WWII under Britain supervision, for providing Hitler with idea of Final Solution and for taking part in implementing the idea. 2. Arab countries must compensate Israel for damages inflicted on Israel during wars launched by Arab countries. 3. Arab countries must compensate about 1 million Jews expelled from Arab countries between 1948 and 1953, where they lived for centuries, for violation of international law and stilling properties. 4. Arab countries must recognize “Article 24 of the 1964 PLO charter addressed to UN, which stipulates: Palestinian Arabs do not claim Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and Gaza their territories”. 5. Arab countries must comply with Geneva Convention, which recognizes Israel rights on Gaza, Judea and Samaria, historic Jewish land liberated by Israel in 1967 war from Jordan and Egypt occupation. 6. Arab countries must recognize Jerusalem as historic Israel capital. 7. Egypt and Jordan are obligated to relocate Palestinian Arabs (their former citizens) from Gaza Egypt), Judea and Samaria (Jordan) inside their territories within 1 (negotiable) year term. 8. Arab countries have no right to develop or acquire WMD or weapon that can be used against Israel. If any Arab country denies this peace terms and conditions, Israel has full legal rights for preemptive strike against this country using all available military power. All islamofascism organizations operating on Israel territory under Palestinian Arabs occupation, such as PLO&Fatah (created just after WWII on the principles of Hitler’s ideology and with close ties to Nazi party), Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Al Agsa Brigade must be totally, unconditionally and immediately exterminated. Mark Bernadiner Texas P.S. Interesting Facts: Britain invaded Argentinean’s Falklands in 1833 and still has occupied the island. During WWII, Russia occupied Eastern Prussia, expelled all Germans, renamed the territory, populated with Russians and has kept it under her control; USA used nuclear bombs to defeat Japan.

Amazing! It is a shame that Israel continues to oppress Palestinians and when called on it she cries, "Anit-semitism". The world is slowly becoming sick and tired of this. I am sure the world's frustration will one day surface and Israel will no longer be able to mask her atrocities behind the holocaust rhetoric. Shame on Israel!