THREE ALTERNATIVES. Status quo, dialogue, or statehood for Gaza? This is an extremely narrow set of choices. DECLARING GAZA AN ENEMY STATE. A State??? The Gazans are NOT ready to be a state. It's completely irresponsible for Israel or anybody to declare them to be a state! They are a very ailing and dysfunctional entity that needs to be redefined and dissolved, with its most peaceful inhabitants integrated into other Arab countries, and their most violent and recalcitrant leaders dealt with accordingly. CONTROL OF FINANCES BY OUTSIDERS. And the model will be, what? Irak? The old colonies? PUNITIVE ACTIONS. You cannot deal with the Gazans as you deal with a wayward teenager, taking away privileges and promising to be tough. Threats of hardship don't mean anything to people used to sending their sons and daughters to blow themselves up. They are used to a hard life and used to playing the victim. They will use every hardship for all it's worth to garner sympathy from the international community. Would Israel expect a contrite Hamas come knocking at the door asking for forgiveness? ISOLATION. If you have neighbors that threaten your house and your life, building up a fence, refusing to speak to them, and threatening severe retaliation for any infraction, will only result in making life more difficult for both of you and increasing their level of resentment and violence, while accomplishing nothing. OUTSOURCING NATIONAL DEFENSE. Why would Israel repeat the mistake it made in Lebanon and the Egypt/Gaza border by handing over control to another country or organization? What is there to be gained by letting Eurabia police the Palestinians? What kind of motivation, compared to the IDF, would the Eurabians have to protect Israel? Israel is a proud, mature, highly technological country and an ancient civilization. It does NOT need colonial powers to return to keep peace in what is essentially Jewish territory. The only solution is to get the Arabs to admit that Palestinians are really Jordanians and Egyptians. With US and EU assistance, motivate the Arab countries to do what they should have done decades ago: take in their brothers and sisters and let them live productive, peaceful lives in their countries instead of lives of despair in Gaza and the WB.

Your description of biased UK media prompts me to ask you a question. As a Briton, could you help me understand the following: With the first hand experience that British people have of Muslim culture, plus their recent memory of the terror bombings, why are they so inclined to take the Arab side against that of Israel? I'm thinking of the boycotts against Israel. Or why do they take the Arab side against England, their own country? Why don't they defend their values, their culture? I just can't understand it.

I thought Liebermann's plan was very good, but Tracy W's is even better! Despite the fact that Egypt and Jordan would secretly like to keep the fundamentalist fires of the W. Bank and Gaza under control, the only problem is that they are too frightened of the repercussions in store for their own governments, should they ever dare to do so (which, unfortunately, they will not). Still, the idea is on the right track, particularly because the world has forgotten the fact that Israel actually captured those territories from these two Arab nations. With all the hype about the "occupation", many people are unaware that there has never been an independent Palestinian state, and, thanks to the Palestinians themselves, at this juncture, it seems unlikely there wil be one in the foreseeable future. If ever you decide to run for PM, you have my vote, Tracy W!

Lieberman should be the next Prime Minister

Debbie There are many reasons for this but I will give you two. First many of the UK journalists and broadcasters are mainly students of the 70's and 80's during which time lets not forget Israel was expanding settlement. FOR YEARS, the UK public were treated to an almost daily barrage of 'settlement' stories but worse interviews with some of the most arrogant and fundamentalist settlers you could find. The public have these stories ingrained and have thus always thought of all of Israel in those terms since. Meanwhile Israel never sought to counter that negative press, to counter the arrogant pronouncements of some of the settlers but more to counter the blatant misreporting that was occurring. So in some senses Israel needs to take note and learn from these mistakes of the past, to give a lot more effort to interfacing with the worlds media, to inform, to counter false reporting wherever it occurs. A lot of work I grant you but in this day and age absolutely essential.

to reclaim their land, so too is this Moldavian claiming his. He and I have every right to abolish arab apartheid. We are the rulers of this land, not you. We have come back to our home. You stole it or helped others to steal it from us. Now we take it back. Just as they abolished apartheid so are we abolishing apartheid. The apartheid that is perpetrated on the Jews. ENOUGH!

Lieberman is the only leader in the current government that has the right practical solution to the problem. He is a strategic thinker and very perceptive of the situation in the region.

Why does it take these guys so long to say, we should have a harsher response, perhaps the truth is that he is trying prepare for positioning himself inside the circle when the political change to the right occurs. Believe me, Lieberman is a crooked as the rest of these ministerial losers are when it comes to defending am yisrael! We need real leaders, not pussys!

I think you're right that Gaza shouldn't be recognized as a state. I suspect the article's author may confuse "political entity" with state. I don't think that "political entity" implies "state." Whether Lieberman waffles on this doesn't seem clear from this article. I also agree with you that threats only invite mirth and increased terror from our enemies. But *doing* the things Lieberman suggests would have a pivotal effect, IMO, conditional on one thing: unrelenting consistency in applying these measures, with no "hudnas," until peace -- probably their complete collapse -- reigns. Not merely pressure but sure, unbearable and unrelenting pressure. I'm hoping Lieberman may do rather than threaten. Of course, I've hoped that before and, so far, have always been disappointed. Nevertheless, the article doesn't imply that he will rely on threats nor treat the Arabs of Gaza like a "wayward teenager." You've constructed a straw man. Your charge that he is "very shortsighted" may have been unfair to Lieberman in inferring things he has neither stated nor implied. particularly when, compared to all of the others in government he is, by far, the most far-sighted. As a point of information, neither NATO nor the EU is Eurabia; another straw man. I'm not very confident of the EU, and certainly not the U.N. (though they seem to be cinching up their belts a little in Lebanon), but NATO would seem more viable. Certainly, that doesn't imply that we're handing over our defense anymore than we have in the north. But these are relatively fine points. I don't think neighbors threatening one's house is a valid analogy at all. For example, neighbors don't wear suicide belts and blow your family up; nor do neighbors shoot dead their neighbor because he or she crossed their property line to carry out such a mission. Completing the fence and isolating Gaza will accomplish a great deal and can be extremely effective for Israel. How it affects the Arabs of Gaza isn't our problem. They want independence -- cut the umbilical. Paqid Yirmeyahu Israeli Orthodox Jew Advancing Logic as Halakhic Authority Welcoming Jews & non-Jews www.netzarim.co.il

These ideas make sense. The path that Olmert and cronies are following lead nowhere, and could lead to Israel's disappearance. Tough times are coming, and a tougher leader is needed ..especially one who won't sell ot the country. Those of us who love Israel just can't understand what Olmert is doing - it's painful!!