This writer is clueless in her fantasyland. Why in heavens name would any Israeli give a damn about the boiling pot in Gaza? In fact, the pot should be brought to an even higher pitch. This can be done by turning off the electricity and also the water. Let me ask Orly a hypothetical question - would she have advised the Israeli regime to help out the German nazis if they had been Israel's neighbors? Is there ANY difference in the goals of Fatah & Hamas re the Final Solution for the Jews? Answer that question first and you will know what the regime really should do to the Gazans. Hint - if the lights are out, and the water isn't flowing, and they are very very hungry, they won't have the ENERGY for a full blown intifada. Now, that IS a plan!

Ultumately this divide and conquer policy of the Likkudists will not only do what the author predicts, and lead to a third intifada, but worse, it is feeding the growing tsunami of anti-Semitism which is surging over the face of the Earth. Anyone who visits any website today can easily see how often the actions of the state of Israel are being compared to those of the Nazis. 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion' are becoming popular reading again. 'Mein Kampf' has sold 100 thousand copies this year in Turkey. Wild theories about Zionist/neo-Con global conspiracies and racist talk of Khazars and blood libel are rampant, and put the paranoia of ages past to shame with their depth and breadth. I am an anti-fascist, anti-anti-Semite gentile from the US, a supporter of pre-1967 borders, a shared Jerusalem, and reparations paid to the Palestinians and Lebanese, enforced by UN peacekeepers with authority to shoot both directions. If Israel refuses to accept such compromises, his fate will be sealed, and he will undoubtedly be forced to implement the much dreaded nuclear option, leaving the land of the three religions a lifeless desert. Is it worth that for a few square miles of occupied territory? A little Lebensraum? If Solomon were here, perhaps he would present the scenario of nuclear war in the region to the Israelis and Palestinians in the same way he gave a choice to the women claiming to be the mother of the infant. Kill the infant and give half to both. The one which recoils in horror will be the one which shows true love for this 'holy land'. I am afraid in this case both 'mothers' are demanding death to prove their claim, and by all appearances they are going to follow through on this. The Doomsday Bomb fuse is being lit here, and the balance of the future of the species hangs in the balance.

of ingenious political manipulation, please explain why Haifa was hit by missiles. It's absurd. Israel's foreign policy, such as it is, is based mostly on its domestic politics, just as Kissinger once said. Alas, in Israel, domestic politics is so incoherent that foreign policy based on domestic politics is also incoherent. The only coherence that exists is the empty ideology of the Left, and we know what THAT results in.

wreak astronomical damage.

vaguely serious. You will have to do nothing but condemn the PA and Hamas for their policies of religious intolerance against the christians in the west bank. Say what you want but Bethlehem is for christians. End of the story.

and you're writing this sh*t for the very people and anti-semetic mentalities that consistently murdered, persecuted, and plundered millions of innocent Jews worldwide since AD 70! Go move your ass to Russia and talk sh*t about the government there; try Saudi Arabia, Gaza, Syria or Egypt too. Learn what a Macabee is.

START HERE!! And try to keep up. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/article.php3?id=5601

Yeah, that would be all well and good if there were anybody who was "All for Peace" on the Palestinian side. You would think that, by now, there wouldn't be a single Israeli remaining who is this goddamned delusional.

My guess is that they take all the dreck that even Ha'aretz would not publish.

I am just wondering, have you ever been to Bethlehem? I don't mean just taking a bus from Jerusalem and stopping at the Church of the Nativity and returning back to Jerusalem after a quick tour. I mean actually going into where the Palestinian Christians live and talking to them about the occupation. If you have not, then you should reserve your judgement about Muslim relations to Christians in Bethlehem. After living with Christians in Beit Sahour (down the hill from Bethlehem) I can tell you that Palestinian Christians do not really worry about Muslims, but rather about Israel. They don't worry about Hamas oppression, but about Israeli bullets and bombs. The Christian family I lived with had several Muslim friends, and both were adamantly opposed to the Israeli occupation, they were not fighting each other. Christians are leaving Bethlehem because they don't want to live as prisoners in their own homes. They want freedom to be able to move around and not have to worry about checkpoints. They want to be able to work and make enough money to adequately support their families. Finally, they don't want to be subject to Israeli violence and oppression. Many more Christians in the West Bank have been killed by Israelis, rather than by Muslims. In fact, Ismail Haniyah recently strongly denounced violence against Christians in the wake of the Pope's comments. Hamas views Christians as a vital part of the Palestinian population and has requested that they stay in Palestine to continue fighting the occupation. What policies has Hamas enacted that have been intollerant to Christians and caused them to leave? Palestinian Christians are somewhat more educated and have more connections with the Western world, making it easier for them to leave Palestine. Please do not just listen to Israeli news sources telling you that Christians are leaving because of Muslim intollerance. If you want to find out the true story go and talk to the Christians yourself. You will find that Israelis policies are harming them more than anything else. Christians in Palestine also feel rejected by American Christians, a majority of whom they see as adhering to Zionism, and blindly supporting Israel while forgetting about the plight of their fellow Christians. Christian Zionists therefore are really more of a threat to Palestinian Christians than Hamas! I will end with a story that happened about 3 weeks ago, which demonstrates why Christians are leaving Bethlehem: At about 2 in the afternoon, right down the hill from Nativity Square the Khouri family's three children were home while there parents were at work. The family was renting out the apartment above them to two foreign female volunteers, luckily they were both gone. Israeli soldiers came barging into their housing complex and broke into the house of the two volunteers (right above the 3 children). Apparently they were trying to go after a neighbor who they said was involved in terrorist activities, and they somehow thought it was ok for them to just break into an innocent person's home and use it as a base for operations! Until 10 pm that night - 8 hours - the soldiers were holed up in that house firing their guns and even eating and drinking straight from the fridge of those two volunteers! Now imagine how those children must have felt, being alone while Israeli soldiers were shooting directly above them! The parents were in panic because the soldiers would not let them return to their home and they did not know if their children would be ok. Thankfully they were and when the parents returned the children were crying and scared. One of the first things the children asked was "when can we go back to America?" This is a Christian family, and this is why they are leaving Bethlehem. Please give me some actual examples of how Hamas is driving Christians from Bethlehem, don't just repeat rumors from the IDF.

JZ sez: "After living with Christians in Beit Sahour (down the hill from Bethlehem) I can tell you that Palestinian Christians do not really worry about Muslims, but rather about Israel." Yes, yes, the Religion of Peace. JZ, do you think anyone buys this BS anymore? Anyone who is not retarded need only look around to see how Muslims treat other religions. When Israel controlled Bethlehem, all religious sites were open and Christians predominated. When Muslims controlled Bethlehem via the PA, the Christians started to flee. The fact is that the reason Bethlehem became a war zone was because of the Muslim "Palestinians." And, yes, when it became a war zone, it was less appealing to Christians. The same thing happened to a lesser extent in Lebanon, where some Christians fled the country after civil war began. And who helped bring that civil war? Well, the Muslim "Palestinians" destabilized an inherently tenuous political arrangement. The Muslims urinated in the Church of the Nativity. I think that shows what their real attitudes are. Personally, I am completely indifferent to what the liar Haniniyah has to say about the kinship he "feels" toward Christians. I am no Christian, but I sympathize with their plight. You think we were all born yesterday?

Well, I'm glad that you can tell me the true sentiment of Palestinian Christians from your home here in the US, whereas, me, who's traveled to the area and lived and spoken with MANY, ACTUAL Palestinian Christians is making up BS. I am a Christian and the families I lived with certainly had no reason not to tell me their true sentiments towards the Muslims. What they said was that, while Christians and Muslims aren't bosom pals, relations between them are very good and are not cause for their declining population. What you read in this YNET, WND, and other right-wing sources is spun to fit Israeli propoganda. Of course you can pull a quote or two from Palestinian Christians about how a Muslim did something bad to them, is that tantamount to persecution? No, because the grudge of one or two individuals out of an enitire population is not a good sample. I will give you another example: In 1988 the town of Beit Sahour again (75% Christian) began a tax boycott of Israel. This was a movement established by the Palestinian Christians not the Muslims. Anyways, Israel forcefully repressed this peaceful tax boycott, imprisoning these Christians and seizing their property. This was an example of the Palestinian Christians extreme opposition to the Israeli Occupation and shows that it is not the "Muslim resistance" that has brought horrid living conditions to the Palestinian Christians, but rather the occupation of Israel. Again, if you want the true version of events please travel to the West Bank and visit the Christians. Ask them about their relations with the Muslims and whether they are leaving because of the occupation or Muslims. If you truly sympathize with the Palestinian Christians than please voice opposition to the oppressive Israeli occupation which denys them the fundamental freedoms they deserve!

The US has done the same thing in Iraq. The mosque bombing in Samarra that kicked the whole thing off was a complicated all-night deal in an American-controlled city. The Iraqi government death squads have been trained by US teams with experience in Central America. It's all part of a US/Zionist plan for continued hegemony in the ME.

JZ from DC (44) JZ, let me clarify a couple of things. First, when NYC lost its tallest building and the Pentagon got additional ventilation, I begin to operate on the assumption that Muslims were not to be trusted, particularly if they were Arab Muslims. Anyone who sympathized with them likewise lost credibility. We all have our working assumptions and perspectives; I state these very clearly. Second, before 9/11, I had decided that "Palestinians" of any religion were inveterate liars, although I did think that the Christians lied a bit less often. If it is true that "Palestinian" Christians are on the Muslim side against Israel, then I withdraw my sympathy for their plight. However, I still sympathize with non-"Palestinian" Christians when the Church of the Nativity is urinated on or otherwise desecrated. Overall, though, I am more sympathetic with Jewish claims than with Christian ones. No apologies for that. With these points in mind .... You say "I am a Christian and the families I lived with certainly had no reason not to tell me their true sentiments towards the Muslims." Sorry, JZ, but based on your earlier Talkback and its way of referring to Christians as an "other," I don't believe you now when you say you are a Christian. However, lets say that you're one of those Arab-loving, replacement-theology-believing, anti-Semitic "Christians" brought to Judea and Samaria by some pro-terror (a.k.a. "peace") group. Who believes for a minute that what you would you have been told was "true"? Even fully anonymous polling done in totalitarian regimes (e.g. the PA) is problematic. You actually expect anyone to take seriously your claims about people who would have to identify themselves when they opined to you? "Well, I'm glad that you can tell me the true sentiment of Palestinian Christians from your home here in the US, whereas, me, who's traveled to the area and lived and spoken with MANY, ACTUAL Palestinian Christians is making up BS." Remember that I now do not trust a word you say, as even if you are a Christian, you are pro-"Palestinian." It doesn't matter this time, though, because nonrandom interviews with people who know your biases have absolutely zero credibility. Even if I were willing to believe in your honesty, I would not believe in any of your conclusions. Please see any elementary book on survey methodology for more details. "Of course you can pull a quote or two from Palestinian Christians about how a Muslim did something bad to them, is that tantamount to persecution? No, because the grudge of one or two individuals out of an enitire population is not a good sample." It takes chutzpah to refer to "a good sample" when you use a methodology as, uh, problematic as your own. Anyway, you have put words into my mouth. I did not use a few examples of griping Christian "Palestinians" to make my case. Rather, I pointed to radical demographic shifts of Christians out of Bethlehem, and I noted that such shifts occurred when the PA took control. I also pointed out that there was indisputable evidence of desecration that pointed to a more general Muslim-caused problem. I then compared the situation to the one in Lebanon (where there are almost no Jews at all and no Israeli power except in times of war) and noted the similarities. Then I situated the whole in what we know about the Religion of Peace, which has consistently not played well with others. Now that you've devastated a straw man, do you care to address what I actually argued?