The CIA has been working with Fatah for quite some time. They train, and arm them, just as they created, armed and trained, YES, Al Qaida. They did this to drive out the Russians in Afganistan. Now, they are doing the same with the invented people aka Jordainians. They, as some don't see, are NOT our friends. They, the American gov't only care about their own agenda's while Jews die. They are concerned about oil, oil and oil. Google peak oil, read it and the more research you do, the more you will wake up to the lies of the Americans. They don't want to piss off the Arabs who are the heart pumping the blood (oil) of the americans.

Despite complaints from anti-semitic U.N. officials,despite nonsense from EU and British anti-semites, Israel MUST defend itself and the best and only real defense is the OFFENSE.. The future of Israel requires that all potential offensive weapons in Hamas hands must be seized or destroyed NOW.

The sooner the better. Jews must return to Gaza and send the Muslem Br-hood back to egypt, Sudan, Libia and other contries where they came from.

Jeff from New York .. all are waiting for u to come and send them. U should not be there but here in Israel . Dont know why stupids like u talk .

here, I would be a multi-millionaire by now. Do yourself a favor, go back to Iran

Condi Rice has a plan to replace all of those Fatah weapons so they can "fight" Hamas in Judea and Samaria. THIS time they won't fall into the "wrong" hands. The logic is giving them weapons will keep them from smuggling heavy offensive weapons to use against Israel. Errrrr.....well, it'll work better this time - I'm sure the millions released to Abbas will get a heavily qualified, sort of promise to that effect.

#4 Yitzchak, Unfortunate that you don't appreciate Arik Sharon's brilliance. Leaving Gaza was a brilliant strategy THAT ULTIMATELY WORKED BRILLIANTLY. Hamas took the bait and attacked FATAH which got them kicked out of power, disowned and cut off by most Arab nations. Ultimately if USA/EU/Israel take the right steps in WB, Gaza will be removed from the equation. No longer will the disjoint geography factor into any Israeli/PA negotiations. If salaries are paid in WB, economy boosted, tourism restored, infra-structure built, etc., the quality of life may improve in WB which may turn the population against terror. There will always be the radical terrorists but if the govt has the motivation and justification to arrest and control them, both Israelis and PALs will benefit. In the meantime HAMAS and Gaza get left in the dust. Ultimately the Gazans will envy their WB counterparts and hopefully dump HAMAS for all the troubles that they brought. Gazans originally suffered from FATAH corruption and thought things could not get worse. HAMAS proved them wrong. Now we see if progress can be made. Again Arik set the trap and HAMAS just fell for it and commited suicide.

No other country in the world would abandon a piece of territory just because it's too difficult or too expensive to manage. Another point that you need to reflect on is your belief that if the quality of life in the PA improves, that will "turn the population against terror". That's not possible Meir. One reason is that their education is solidly behind the use of terror. Palestinians have been brainwashed. Now they use terror against each other. The other reason is that personal wealth is no deterrent against someone's decision to blow himself up, like the UK doctors. Those doctors proved that we can no longer use the argument that poverty and ignorance breed terrorism. One last thought. Whether you prefer Hamas or Fatah, their goal is exactly the same. This new policy of supporting Abbas will prove to be wrong, just as abandoning Gaza proved to be wrong. But Olmert won't listen.

Michelle, With all due respect, please look at the Israeli Arabs living in Haifa, Akko, Nazareth, Sakhnin, Jerualem, etc. Every time I meet with Arabs in non-violent locations, I find very friendly nice people who are not militant. In Steimatzky in the Krayot, Arab women worked with Jewish women serving everyone without problems. Many Arabs were extremely helpful and friendly when asked for directions. I also heard those pleading with me to buy something so they could afford school supplies because tourism was down. And yes I also saw the hatred in East Jerusalem, Nablus, and Ramallah. On the other hand, while they enjoy a far greater standard of living than Arab counterparts in WB, Gaza, and possibly most Arab countries, they certainly are not equal citizens before the law and govt. The terror, war, and Intifada has polarized both sides. The counter-terror measures are extremely effective but has enormous impact on the general population which ultimately radicalizes them. On the other hand there is no doubt that it is saving Israeli lives. Arik Sharon show enormous brilliance throughout his military career from 6 days war all the way through the campaign in Jenin. He was a brilliant strategist with vision that brought his military strategic skills to politics. He knew how to concurrently fight military, economic, media, and political wars. Your arguments are very short-sighted and ignore the complexities of the situation, and certainly have no exit strategy that might lead to any sort of a peace/non-belligerence. Finally, Arabs and PALs are not homogeneous any more than Jews/Isaelis are. Neither Kach nor Neturei Karta represents us in other than a shameful way. The terrorists have hijacked the PALs/Arabs and the only solutions are to find ways to get them to shun war and terror or we are doomed to fight forever or to the last man or women on either side. Try thinking beyond the propoganda that you have been fed.

I won't argue with facts derived from your own experience. How could I! Still, I have two little advantages over you. 1) I can appreciate things from a distance. 2) I have huge amounts of skepticism, and you can't beat me at that! That's why I can tell you, Meir, that many, maybe most, Israelis WANT to believe that they can live with Arabs or alongside them in peace. But that won't make it so. Not a chance. Those Arabs you met were nice. I bet those British boys who blew up the UK underground or those dedicated doctors involved in another UK plot were also nice people, with lots of Christian friends. The truth is that people behave according to circumstances. It wouldn't work for those Arab friends or acquaintances of yours to be nasty, insulting and aggressive. They try to ingratiate themselves for the time being because it makes their lives easier. But G-d forbid, if there was a war and Israel showed signs of weakness and defeat.... do I need to complete my thoughts? Regarding Sharon, I used to like the old guy, when he talked tough. But then he committed a crime worse than anything a Jewish leader can do: he betrayed his own people. I don't want to get going on this because you're his fan and I don't want a big argument. But the pogroms that took place in the land of Israel is something that cannot be forgiven. Ever. Why he did it is debatable but there are hints that he was trying to appease the Left and avoid prosecution on some personal issues. Regarding the Intifada, this issue is too complex, why it happened, and at the time it did. Looking back, though, I believe that Israel should have annexed the lands it reconquered in 1967. End of the problem. The issue would have been settled then and there. There would have been a lot of international support, believe it or not. Solutions now? The creation of a terror state is no solution. Not even a solution for the Palestinians. I guess that most of them do not want to live under the rule of Ayatolahs, and they don't want to live in a country besieged by internal strife while the Islamists fight to take over power. The choice of having a Western style, secular democracy has ZERO chances. It's going to be either an Islamic dictatorship or a country under constant civil war, with Fatah against Hamas, and sub-groups or clans against everybody. Nice. So what's left? Two things. The first one is to get Blair and Bush to start from scratch. Forget about the Roadmap and the creation of a terror state. The second one is to convince them that they should put their energy and their money into something more workable. Like financing the voluntary relocation of those Palestinians willing to move to Jordan or Egypt. That population, Meir, is so poisoned by their own education and propaganda, that keeping them together is an explosive mix. They must learn other ways of life, other ideas by living among more normal Arabs elsewhere. Many of those with a professional education have left. Canada has absorbed a good number of them. It's a big risk for us. So that's my solution. Not perfect, but it's the best in the long run. Look at it with the perspective of 50 or 100 years from now. Do you want another enemy country, within sight of your cities, telling you that you have no right to exist, harassing you, threatening you? Or do you want defensible borders? By the way, since I'm on a roll, I think that you should do all you can to get nuclear subs.

Michelle, You can't do precision surgery using the Hubble Space Telescope. In the 1970's I was studying in a university in America. During one of the many Israeli/American meetings I felt the need to enlighten Americans who were force fed their information from newspapers and/or rabbis with questionable first hand knowledge. I asked the question: "Who is building the land of Israel today?" No one answered and I provided the true answer: "Arabs". Back then it was one of the main jobs for Arabs - construction work. A rabbi's wife who's IQ could only be measure on a Siberian thermometer said: "You should wash your mouth out with soap". Ironically she spoke like a true Arab" When the truth contraverts the facts, the truth must be wrong and must be denied." English is my 3rd language and I also speak some Arabic. Your arguments are very limited in scope and do not reflect a comprehensive picture. Do you know that an Arab/Israeli soccer team of Sakhnin won the Israeli soccer championship and Israel put together a "Peace Team" comprised of Israeli Jews and Arabs. And it was 2 of the Arab players that scored goals against Ireland and France to keep Israel alive in the world cup trials. Do you know that Israelis and Arabs work side by side providing health care to PATIENTS irrespective of the nationality. In hospitals they are PATIENTS. Look at programs such as SEEDS OF PEACE. Look at programs at the Peres center for Israeli and Arab children. I believe that you have read enough of my talkbacks to know that I am not naive, I strongly oppose terror, and I cautiously hope for peace. I endorse Gilad Sharon's caution but believe we must capitalize on every opportunity to promote peace when and where we can (e.g. My Aharon "Rodef Shalom" comment). It is unfortunate that a small number of terrorists can hijack multitudes on both sides, cause both terror and polarization, and ultimately grow the terrorist population through continued strife. HAMAS feeds on povery and misery. Improving the quality of life for PALs would undermine HAMAS' abilities but must be done by making sure that monies and efforts benefit the general population and not terrorists. There are other articles in YNET citing potentional problem areas such as Jerusalem. The wars and problems are extremely complex and require comprehensive creative and responsible leadership to navigate through very difficult waters. Don't be guided solely by hatred or you are not better than our adversaries. Support the defenders of Israel both in war on terror and the battle for peace in a responsible and dignified manner. But try to open your eyes to the real reality and not a media filtered picture that does not accurately portray the truth on the ground.

Why were SAMs ever allowed. They would be used only against Israel. This is a serious crisis and a serious blunder. If Israel losses its air superiority thousands of Israelis will die