An interesting article, not so much for what it advocates, but in the change in tone of the author over his usual contributions. Assuming that Lebanon would get the approval of Syria to take sovereignty over Sheeba, and in addition be willing to state that it no longer has any territorial conflict with Israel, very few people could object to such an agreement. It seems very unlikely though.

Bull's bollocks! We give Sheba farms, next the Golan will be declared as Lebanese land. We give the Golan, next.. and so on. No, Israel must clean out that rat's nest of terrorist. That's what Israel MUST do, instead of appeasing them.

First, his use of the word "return" the Shebbba Farms implies that Israel has no claim or a lesser claim over them, which is false. Second, would anybody in northern Israel really feel safe with the UN to protect them? Third, No matter what you say or do, Hizbullah will always find an excuse to attack Israel. Israel needs to stand strong, not fold like a house of cards.

are in a democratic forum so it is permissible. Here is a solution, how about giving back nothing. What is there to give back. One presumes that the so called other side acts logically. That is a flawed premise or it would seem to be that way. Then it follows the argument for the giveback has no merit. Sad, but it would seem that is not point for negotiation on this point.

other country who thinks this way. The winners don't have to give away anything. It's the losers who lose property. We need all land in North to protect citizens of Israel. We were attacked 5 times by those barbarians. Read the Law of Nations. All international law says we can annex land if won in defensive war. We shouldn't even talk about giving it away. They should be suing us for peace and be happy we don't annex Damascus and kick them out of there.

Right - let's make more concessions. Look at how well this has worked in the past? Another example of the backwards logic that has caused a deterioration of our strategic position since our worthless treaty with Egypt. Hell, why don't we disband the IDF in the interest of peace? Show the Arabs a good example - who could be against disarmement? It's for "peace" after all. While we're at it, let's invite all the Palestinian refugees to come settle - as an example of our good will, we'll even pay for it. We can change the flag (it's too Jewish) & the national anthem (also too Jewish). Let's give away Jerusalem as well. And the Golan. And Gaza is so crowded - let's give them part of the Negev so they'll have more room. We'll release all the prisoners too - after all, it's for peace. And why have a Jewish PM - let's show how democratic we are, we don't want to be accused of discrimination. While we're at it, let's open negotiations with Ahmadinejad - he has lot's of interesting ideas. Maybe moving Israel to Canada or Alaska would promote peace? It can't hurt to talk, can it? Maybe we shouldn't call the country Israel either. Something less controversial would be more acceptable. Why don't we just disappear - in the interest of peace - we can call it the "Final Solution" -

That is that Hizbollah has ANY interest in making peace with Israel. We heard all of this crap in 2000, "We can forget the word Hizbollah", remember? The UN certified to the mm the withdrawal and now suddenly there is more land to give up? Why will this "concession" halt Hizbollah? Remember how the Shebaa farms came up in the first place, Israel was withdrawing and suddenly Hizbollah "discovered" the Shebaa were Lebanese. No one agrees with them. Syria doesn't. The 90-odd maps from the last 60 years don't. The other Lebanese sects don't. It is an excuse and if that one doesn't work they'll invent another. Al-Ghajar anyone?

I'll give a smile in return for the deed. Would you do it? Normal people wouldn't. If you think this is an opportunity when I can I pick up the deed to your house?

One wonders if the esteemed professor has read a newspaper in the last several years. When Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000, the area immediately became a hotbed of terrorism, while his cherished UN watchers did just that - they watched thousands of missiles being brought in and aimed at the State of Israel - not at any "disputed territories". Thanks to that give-back of land with all the concomitant "promises", there is now a de facto Hezbullah-stan armed and run by Iran right on Israel's northern border. At the end of Lebanon II, the corrupt, anti-Israel UN allowed Hezbullah to quickly rebuild their bunkers, their bases, their missile launch pads inside mosques, schools and civilian residential centers, and to openly "smuggle" in 30% MORE weapons than they had before the war. The "disengagement" from Gaza resulted in daily bombings of the State of Israel - again, not any areas in dispute - and the formation of yet another Iranian-sponsored terror state, this time on Israel's south-western flank. Under the UN's "control", Hamas-stan has now built up thousands of missiles, raised a standing army, and brought in hundreds of tons of weapons with which to attack Israel. The professor must have forgotten the Muslim concept of "taqqiya", whereby any lie or deception is allowed, just as long as it helps to betray and destroy the enemy. None of these groups - the PLO, the PA, Fatah, Hamas, Hezbullah, Syria, etc. - has ever truly honored a single pact or treaty that they have signed. The professor's idea of appeasing Israel's enemies by tossing them the bone of Shebaa Farms is exactly like Neville Chamberlain's idea of satisfying Hitler by giving him the Sudetenland, the "Shebaa Farms" for the Nazis. Hmm, I wonder how THAT idea succeeded? Southern Lebanon, Gaza, World War II - one also wonders if this professor has ever studied history. What worries me is that he is teaching Israeli students!

I understand the other posters' frustrations about Israel always conceding land for almost nothing in return, but if this parcel of land has no Jews on it, I don't see the problem with that. Israel's demographic problem will never be solved unless three things occur: Either Arab Israelis decide to all move to other countries, Israel kicks them out and keeps the land, or Israel trades the land that has the most Arabs on it. Ultimately, a Jewish Israel is the most important thing. Israel must remain Jewish forever!

Perhaps Israels air strike made him say "Uncle".

What a pathetic excuse for surrender. 1) Hizbollah are a branch of the Syrian and Iranian armies in all but names if those countries look for an excuse for the conflct to continue they will. Hozbollah need their armed wing to give them that extra influence in the Lebanese parliamenet they cant afford to suddenly become the party of peace it will reduce their influence in Lebanese politics, most of the money they exist on comes from Syria and Iran suddenly making peace with Israel would be like cutting off the hand that feeds you. Give up Shebba their excuse for continued existance is to liberate the Golan .. if Israel insisted on keeping even 1 inch of land that Syria wanted they would hold out for that inch of land. 2) It sends a message to palestians that terrorism works and you give us enough problems we will give you whatever you want and instead of the likes of Hamas easing off if Israel gets the upper hand they will instead double their efforts knowing that in the end terror will get them what they want. Also it says to the palestians we get a state in the 1967 border today and we smile and accept but then a couple of years down the line we say we feel cheated we want more and we will use terror till we get more and as the world loves the palestians they will take their side and they will use terror untill Israel accepts their demands. 3) It will send a message to Assad keep supporting Hizbollah untill I get everything I want and I can be uncompromising on the Golan issue. 4) It tells Iran support Hizbollah, Hamas or other terror groups to be part of their army and to give Israel hell whenever they have a problem with Israel over something. 5) It shows the world Israel is weak and all you need to do is put on enough preasure diplomatic or threats and Israel will accept demands because Israel prefers to just give everybody what they want if it will give them less hassle. Attitudes like this start Israel on the slippery road to destruction from within. No need for Iran to use nukes to destroy Israel it will be done by Israelis themselves who are just looking for one less hassle in life even if it does mean another surrender.

Israels political leaders are the weakest and stupidest in the world there is no other country in the world where winner feels ashamed that he won the war and feels he must give the enemy what they want if they use the word peace whatever format that comes in the form of mention the P word and Israel will jump at the chance to give it all for nothing. The arabs when they say they want something they dont give up they are like leeches they decide they want your blood no matter how hard you try to get them off they wont budge doesnt matter how long it takes them to get what they want they dont surrender till they get it. At the end of the day the arabs are the stronger ones in this conflict they want something so they go after it Israel wants it but as time goes on they will water down their demands if it will encourage the other side to leave off. Arafat showed that when he refuised to compromise at Camp David, Abbas is showing those signs now because now Israel is ready to make some concesions he puts up his price, Syria is showing that, Iran will have their price for peace and Israel will say you have got a deal. The politicians are fools, the left wing are appologists and condem anything Israel does thats in its best intererests and the expense of the arabs and the academics live in their own little world where peace is black and white give the enemy what they want the enemy will give us what we want its nice and simple. These people assume that if we play by the rules so will they or your going to loose. When Israel learns to play just as dirty as its enemies then it will win the wars and not just the battles ,, 1948, 1967, 1973 they were battles that Israel won playing politics on arab terms has meant the arabs have won the wars they just chose their moment before going in for the kill.

It that Israel is giving in to a fabricated demand and in return is GUARANTEED to get more fabricated demands. If I thought for one millisecond that giving the UN or anyone else the Shebaa farms would deliver a forever peaceful border I would go for it. But there is absolutely no reason to believe this is the case.

How many more concessions do you want? http://ralphsrant1.blogspot.com/

I agree, there never will be a kind of peace that we are all dreaming of. But as I stated earlier, Israel cannot keep this status quo forever. Israel has 3 choices: Kick all of the Arabs and Arab Israelis out and keep the land, they all magically decide to move elsewhere, or Israel does what she has to do to remain demographically Jewish forever. I would love for Israel to retain all of the territories, but it is not feasible. The best deal Israel can get is to have as many of her citizens Jewish! Israel is a small country with or without land filled with Arabs! In order to survive over the long haul, Israel must disengage from its non-Jewish inhabitants, including Arab-Israelis.

Until Israel's soldiers are returned!

give israel back... Thats what the arabs want right? and their interests are far more important than ours.

it's all a big game. when Israel had withdrawn from leb, hizb manufactured a controversy. if Israel were to make the concession suggested, hizb would manufacture a new controversy. there is no moral basis to hizb's claims. they are murderers, thieves, liars. yeah, they wear turbans and robes; they're still murderers, thieves and liars.

And more of the same that I have been reading for months and months coming out of the professors of Israel, and what a pathetic bunch they are.

Terry The incoming minister of DEFENSE decided not to issue new gas mask kits because he was worried that Syria might get the wrong impresion and think Israel wanted a war. Dont protect your citizens because you want the enemy to see how serious you are about wanting peace. There has been plenty of talk in the past amongst jews and arabs about changing the flag and anthem because the arabs in the jewish state dont feel any conection to it and some find it insulting. The things you say are not so far of the real way of political thinking in this country.

Its the attitude of allow yourself to be pushed around and nobody will give you any hassle. Dont stand up for what in your interests or what you care about that the atttiude that kept jews in the wildreness for 2000 years getting pushed around the world. When there is a problem move onto the next town just dont fight for your rights. This is idiot academic is proposing the same thing lets try and avoid the problem by moving onto the next town and if we have another problem in the next town then we go somewhere else and keep doing that untill if we are lucky we will find somewhere where the locals want to treat us as equals and make us welcome. Its sickening that 2000 years of history of jews in the diaspora can be forgoton so easily and so quicklyand people even today are willing to make all the same mistakes again all in the name of having an easier life.

Concessions, appeasement and withdrawals have encouraged Israel's enemies to attack more frequently and with increasingly dangerous weapons. Since the government's recent offers of the Golan and Jerusalem, the threat level has gone up, not down. Israel must not hand "gifts" to the enemies while they continue to launch missiles, pursue nuclear ambitions and keep Israeli soldiers in captivity. All talks should be suspended until the parties demonstrate, by their actions, a willingness to live side-by-side with Israel in peace. Israel can only lose by negotiating from a position of weakness.

so I don't think we should give it to someone else. I suppose for a real peace with lebanon that can be possible but only after hizballah is eradicated from the world.

Every point I mentioned was from some recent article in the news here in Israel by politicians, academics, retired IDF officers, or politicians. When you string them together, you see how crazy political thinking really is among our supposed "elite" - so when I saw this article on yet another concession (however small), it just freaked me out. Our elites are trapped in a failed paradigm & can only grasp at straws using the most convoluted logic to justify any concession for "peace". But the result will be the end of us, a "final solution" for without Israel, Judaism in the diaspora will become a small sect of ultra-orthodox while the vast majority will assimilate out of existence. We are the last self-sustaining Jewish population.

"Hizbullah ........would no longer be able to declare within the domestic Lebanese arena that it is fighting the Lebanese war of liberation vis-à-vis the Israeli occupier. " There claims were hollow and still are, because they had no objection to the Syrian Occupation. Their opposition knew this all a long. They are anti-Israel, not anti-occupation. Trying to win the moral argument with Hizbollah is a waste of time, irrelevant, and shouldn't be a factor in any negotiations.

is Terry from Eilat always in his imagination ? can anyone wake up him please ? Stagnation or advancement ? what do you choose for your country Terry ?