but the proximity talks are expected to reveal, once for all, the true position of Netanyahu’s hawkish government

you wrote: "..-with some “small adjustments,” and possibly (let’s hope so) with the “large settlement blocs” still in our hands..." ah...you "hope so"... why ? because when the settlers have to leave, they will go on a killing spree in israel ? because it seems impossible to rehabiliate them into a normal democratic society...? the question is: what do you have to give away, in order to keep those violent settlers where they are ? a little ? maybe those settlers will cost you east jerusalem...

on the forcasted outcome-- yes these coming talks are a waste of time/money, and are only taking place to appeasebho and his gang....but--- in the next year or so, a major terrist event/s will take place in euripe and/or the usa ,that will galvanised world opinions about the moslems in genral ,and israel's position in particular....

I sincerely hope you are wrong. We have not recovered from the disaster of Gush Katif--how does anyone expect us to uproot hundreds of thousands of people? It is madness. And while Jews allow Barak to destroy ou homes, synagogues the PA is implementing their plan to "arabize" Jerusalem and the rest of Israel. A word to the lefties in Tel Aviv: the PA and Hama plan to move in there as well. Examine their policies on free speech, human rights, homosexuality--then please tell me why you are so anxious to destroy our country? Are you so dim that you think you will be able to change them--or even to protest when they remove all of your freedom?

When the enemy is an Arab entity unwilling to make any concession whatsoever, and when the world expects Israel always to give and the Arabs always to take, then to continue along that same path to nowhere, becomes an Israeli self-delusion, leading to worse: Self destruction. It is high time for Israel to be making demands upon the Arabs, starting with territorial concessions from the vast Arab world. To put things right : http://xrl.us/bjcgn

If the Palestinian negitiators cannot bargain in good faith, they forfeit all claim to ANY Israeli land.

Haber speaks of the defeatist left vision as if it was the only one. A vision of Israeli retreat to indefensible borders, with all the disastrous results which would follow. Most of Israel has a very different vision and that is why the leftist parties are being obliterated. Our vision is of Judea and Samaria being home to more than a million Jews and thriving mightily. Our nation's security will be far greater and most Judea/Samaria Arabs will take compensation to leave our land.

Mr / Ms Eporre - please keep in mind that when Israel gave the Palestinians back Gaza, as they requested, it had working infrastructure, viable industry, and a thriving environment. Within 1 year of Hamas had taken over, stolen the best land, dismantled the greenhouses and border crossing to make weapons. 3 years later Israel had to go back in to stop the tens of thousands of missiles from being shot at civilian communities. Now why should Israel be concerned with giving back land again?

Lets run the numbers. Palestinians have lost 80% of their original homeland of British-Mandate Palestine. 4 million Palestinians live as refugees in terrible camps throughout the Middle East (and those only count the unlucky refugees unable to find new homes and resettle). They have 20% of the land remaining, barely enough to maintain a viable state and accomodate 4 million refugees who will be returning...and Israel has the NERVE to ask them for MORE CONCESSIONS? What else does Israel want from these people--their first born?

First off 78% of the original Palestine Mandate is Jordan. So how can they have lost 80%? They have NEVER EVER made a single concession period. They are on our lands illegally. They have no legal claim to any land west of the Jordan - that is international law. If they are refugees then that is the fault of the Arabs not us. We neither sent them, nor kept them as such. How is that 420,000 fled and there are now 4 million refugees 62 years later? In no other instance has the number of refugees ever exceeded the original number. Why are they unique? No we do not want their first born or any other. We want our land. The Arabs have 99.93% of the Middle East. We not only want but DEMAND our 0.07%.

what did those settlers think, when they "bought" the land ? did the authorities not tell, its occupied/disputed territory, and they might have to leave some day ? there is certainly some clause in their contract ? the settlers knew the inevitable in advance...

its often argued here, that when the settlements are gone, there wont be peace. fact is: 99 % of the riots, reported in your papers, are caused by the settlements, settlers, and unjust treatment of palestinians coming along with it. where, eric, would israel be, when there were no settlements ? what if you had the fence, and no settlements in the west bank ? without stealing this land, without ignoring all international law, and with the injustice coming along with those settlements, the relationship would be much much better. you would have dozens of UN resolutions less on the leg. and your international reputation would not have been damaged badly. an agreement will exclude, that the west bank gets taken over by terrorists. the world use to learn from events, especially when the went wrong.

A decision and a leader that has pounded the table. He will not agree to the irrational pressure of the Obama administration and has elected to wait him out! A good decision by a strong leader!!!

I don't know from where these geniuses decide that the Palestinians will agree or have agreed to the Arab neighbourhoods of Jerusalem, no right of return and land swaps. They say this as if it's a done deal. It is not. The Palestinians want the Jews out of East Jerusalem and the West Bank and they have not put limitations on a right of return. Who says so? They do. Who talks about their future compromise? Leftist Americans, Europeans and Jews are putting words in the Palestinian mouths. There is no basis for compromise just Palestinians looking for free land handovers to keep the Jews away until the Jews can be conquered.

When Kissinger was U.S. Secretary of State under Richard Nixon, there was "shuttle diplomacy" which were "proximity talks" by a different name. We know how that worked out and it did not have anything to do with the Israeli side. The irony is that these proximity talks which mimic shuttle diplomacy cames out the mouth of Obama who campaigned for "change" but all we get is a warmed over failed approach from the Democrats who loath anything Republican.

Do you know what happened to the Germans living in Alsace/Lorraine (European Westbank) during the 1st World War? When the French entered the area in 1918 they ordered Germans who sympathized with the Kaiser to move to the Eastbank, to Germany. Nobody objected, the so called "World community" applauded. Germans exiled to the Eastbank never demanded any right of return. Arabs repeateldy attacked Israel - 1948, 1967, 1973. They have voluntarily forsaken their right of return and it is a pity that Israel did not send ALL of them from Judea and Samaria to the Eastbank and those from Gaza to Egypt! Today it is too late to cry over the spilled milk and the time is running out.... However when there is a will there is a way...

those things wouldnt work today (anymore). and so, settlements on occupied areas, or keeping them without any plan for a solution - what causes lots of riots, and fuels other haters - cant go on...

Who imported in and armed 50,000 PLO terrorists in 1994? Didn't you then promise us that they would NEVER use those weapons against us? If so, why are you giving us more advice?? You should be in prison, not on Ynet.