During the first Lebanon war, I was watching the Israeli bombardment of Beirut on TV with a bunch of friends, all Arabs. They thought it was a great show & didn't understand why Israel did not kill Arafat. They were more disappointed than I was. They acted more like football fans, cheering each explosion as if it were a goal. At one time, the gov't. of my country placed a special ''Palestine tax'' on cigarettes. Do I have to tell you that not a cent reached Palestine? A very few Palestinians were granted residence rights - actually, I knew some of them. Most were students officially but that was just to get the residency permit. They constantly complained about the enmity & hostility towards them by the other Arabs. I have to say that their own behavior had a lot to do with their bad treatment. The rhetoric is there - no doubt. Anti-Israel sentiment is not just official policy but is widespread among ordinary people but closely linked to religious animosity & traditional anti-Semitism. But, in my experience, this does not translate into support for ''Palestine''. Mr Ettinger is absolutely correct in his analysis.

There is no such animal as a Palestinian. They are just Arabs who live in the Land of Israel. Culturally, religiously, socially and ideologically these Arabs are merely a part of the great Arab world with whom they share language, food, and history, etc. The creation of a Palestinian people is ficticious and was done to create the illusion of a legitimate claim on (Jewish) lands they migrated to in the last hundred and fifty years. To call them Palestinians undermines the truth.

photos ! photos always talk to me, much much much better than words. I called him as loser. I called him that sold his people. I called him that to join hamas. let me try let me give my best try to understand him. empaty. a little empaty I hope it wont hurt any feelings BUT ME. his land in prison life. brothers fights. he has called to do something. doesnt matter who called him. he is also human. no human is wise enough to be wise over all humans. and desk chair power to be known by world AND SOME SUPPORTER WHICH A LOT. FATAH ! I think his supporters are fatah. anyway who can blame him to sell his people while he has many supportes I mostly get lost in understanding world ... human ....life I realy dont know what to say. as a person ! he seems unfortune man. BUT BUT HE IS NOT SOMEONE. HE HAS NO LUXUARY TO LET HIMSELF DOWN. EVEN HE HAS HALF OF PALESTINIANS SUPPORT (MAYBE I AM WRONG) HE ALSO HAS THE OTHER HALF AGAINST TO HIM. he better to make Palestınians AS ONE PEOPLE. OR RESIGN. he shouldnt worry. he should worry that PALESTINIANS WILL BE WITHOUT A PRESIDENT (FATHER) give a look around ! MANY MANY PEOPLE ARE FIGHTING JUST TO BE A VOICE (FATHER) FOR THE PEOPLE OF PALESTINE. they say : dont be male ! BE A MAN, MAN LIKE MAN ! Atilla Karagözoğlu

In this comment you proved that there are fewer humans that I imagined in Israel. Yes you are right the Palestinians share all what you mentioned with the region they live in, the Israelis are the ones who do not share this, I am saying the Israelis and not the Jews as some Jews share the same cultural, social and ideological elements of the environment they live in. Palestinians lived in this land in the last 10 000 years...and I am not quoting from Arabs, if they are Muslims of Christians..but from the Torah ..They are mentioned in the book of Genesis: first in the table of nations (Gen.10:14), as descendants of the Casluhites, and next, in Gen.21 and 26, as being ruled by king Abimelech of Gerar, with whom Abraham and Isaac came into contact....I do not think the kings of Israel were good in speaking the language of animals..!

There is HOPE! Great article. About time. You don't see articles like this. Because people don't want to hear the truth. Keep it up Mr. Ettinger. Keep pounding THE TRUTH.

This is an excellent article and should be taken seriously by all who think they can negotiate peace with the so called Palestinians. The money spent on Livni flying around the world and trying to appease the so called Palestinians should be spent on feeding the hungry and poor in Israel and protecting the citizens from these dangerous people who like to play the victim. We need strong leaders who have a more balanced world view and who will put this charade to rest.

He bust the myth of arab "palestinian"demography danger too . President Obama should have taken him as adviser instead of mr Mitchell .

Very interesting

Not only do Israelis and all Jews need to know the facts, but also these Arabs who have been brainwashed from the cradle to be political pawns by their corrupt leaders (see talkback #4, for example). One of the Big Lies is that they are descended from the Philistines (something I for one would not want to brag about), which is historically and scientifically not possible. All a real Muslim has to do is actually READ the Koran, which says that "Allah" gave the land of Israel to the Jewish people. All a Jew or a Christian has to do is to read the Bible which says the same. For atheists, all they have to do is read any factual history book (not propaganda from the BBC or CNN) which shows that these hoodlums have broken every treaty with their own people and co-religionists, have been kicked out of every Arab country for their lawlessness, and that the concept of "Land for Peace" has been a total disaster each time it has been attempted. The Arab land of Palestine was founded legally in the first half of the 20th Century. The British cut it into two sections and gave 78% of Palestine to the Arabs, to be an entirely Judenrein (the Nazi term for ethnically cleansed of Jews) entity. It was re-named "Jordan". Let them all make aliyah now to their home there, and start to learn to build, and not destroy what others have created. Enough, maspik, basta!

I love to read this kind of bullshit. Arab leaders are corrupt but the "arab street" is far from applauding the zionist entity. What have you achieved with the massacre of hundreds of babies and mothers in lebanon and gaza? The whole word is watching and the arabs are not to go away. If you think you're invincible for ever, you might wake up some day with a lot of regrets. Let the palestinians have their state before is too late.

I agree with most of what this article says..... when it comes to arabs oppressing arabs, no one gives a damn! take the invasion of Kuwait by Sadam for example, and black september and many incidents ...... The Kuwaitis did not think twice before they expelled this huge number of Palestinians (many of them were innocents), becasue they were mad back then, but when it comes to Israelis it suddenly requires the Hauge court and Geneva convention etc. Really it is embarassing

Can't take the truth, huh? Can't take Ettinger and can't take Roscio? You don't belong there You don't take care of the land You don't take care of your children All you know is to fight and demean people and kill. You should only know how to make pasta but that too is beyond you.

they too are not your forefathers. but because of the name filistines, there was a british mandate called palestine, as it resembles the sound. a jewish state was in israel for a thousand years, david build jerusalem in aprox. 1000 bc, and the second temple was ruined 1000 years after by romans. any nations that were here before israel, have long gone. and anyway, you're a muslim, and islam is "only" 1400 years old.

The difference between us and you is that we have tried for more than 100 years to live together while you have made it clear that you will not agree to a Jew living anywhere near you. At the end, people who agree to live together will stay in Israel, be they Christian, Druze, Samaritan, Beduin or Jew. The racists will have to move back to their homelands in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.

... I suggest you return, habibti...

To Reuven, i am really amaized to see someone who knows nothing about history, culture and common sense, in other words illeterate, talk about them.. but its interesting that you do seem to know how use a computer.. not efficiently as it seems. i guess you thought the hummus and falafel you eat everyday are from your own culture?? And to the grande roscio. .. you wrote that there was no formal palestinian state be4 the start of the 20 century, when the british provided them with this entity.. my wonder here is when the british came to this "land" was it possibly inhabited and then occupied by them to later distribute it to newly palestinians. or they brought the palestinians with them in their ships when they ame and took the land.. i wonder also where were the israelis at that time.. if i am not wrong they were seen later after the balfour crap happened and maybe a little bit earlier.. were u people (all of the population) out for a vacation when the british came and occupied "what wasn't by that time palestine"??????????? Cut the crap both of you and stop being soo racists.. you dont want to see the truth.. This land is stuck with these two populations and i do agree with the author of the article.. the arabs don't give a damn of the palestinians and their cause. For this situation i blame the palestinians for not looking for ther own interests and settling this down with the israelis leaving the arabs and muslims out of it.. after all they never did anything for this land... as the author said. i am a palestinian and i know that for fact.. israel and palestine have to live in peace and can.. no other fuckn solution my dears....

before you mouth off. When the British took over the area called "Palestine" or "Syria/Palestine" from the Ottoman Turks, there were a small number of Arabs there, a small number of Jews and a small number of Christians in small cities and landholdings. The Arabs were most likely emigrants from Syria and Egypt. When the Jews started buying land from the Arab muhktars and other rich Arabs, they started building up the land and establishing industries and a number of Arabs came in looking for work. The whole area had been very barren for hundreds of years--you can read Mark Twain and other travelers' accounts of what it looked like. As for hummus and felafel, I think you'd have a big (big big big) argument with various groups about who actually started either one. And as for your foul language, perhaps you need to be in Aza where your big brothers are and put the rubber to the road instead of mouthing off from someone else's country. Just a thought.

My point is for the Arabs to come out finally and tell the truth. Read any history book written in any language from before a few decades ago and you will not find any reference to a "Palestinian people". This simply never existed until recently. I challenge you or anyone else out there to produce some document written 50 or 100 years ago referring to the "Palestinian" people. Prior to then, any book, article, newspaper account, anything, refers to them, simply, as Arabs. There is nothing racist in that. This is simply fact. Regarding falafel etc., I assume that they are basically Middle Eastern foods. But, who cooked them up first? You figure it out. What difference that make?

First of all i am living in my country!! having dual citezenship doesn't mean that i prefer either on the other.. Second i dont deny the fact that there were jews be4 that. my point is that you too started imigrating to "palestine" in enormous numbers the begining of the 20 century.. you said it , the jews were "BUYING LAND" to own it.. they were indeed a minority when there were first TURKS or arabs. I dont even deny the fact that there were two main israeli kingdoms before in the history and before christ... But what happened in 48 doesnt seem that normal.. the people who killed palestinians and displaced them weren't originally from the area.. but you know the truth.. russia, eastern europe and those poor people who escaped after the second world war.... so dont come and sell me the bullshit that you all originate from this land.. and here i am not talking about david.. Then i dont have to be in Gaza with my brothers there are plenty there already. even though i don't mind being with them.. i am originally from gaza.. i lived there and dealt with the life there. i also experienced previously the bombardment of gaza several times.. and i do have to say that i do blame israel for killing innocents.. israel has to pay for that but i dont support violence and barbaic retaliations. in the meanwhile i am also reasonable i dont accept that israeli children or civilians die by a useless rocket.. I dont hate you though.. but people like me will not be there forever with an open hand while our civilians die in such brutal ways.. israel has to wake up.. this is the wrong way indeed.

i believe you are a real expert, but all your facts just say about internal problems within arab countries and so-called palestinians and have almost nothing to do with israel. let me tell you that hamas is less dangerous for israel, because they declared their goals, while plo hide this same goals to destroy israel and much more efficient in this. arabs lost all wars and in 1973 had only choice to fight by proxy, cannon fodder - "palestinians", wich eventually became a succesful war. while iran support hamas with money and weapons, arabs do not have to spend this much money, western world and israel does it, as for the oil , in 1973 arabs used oil embargo and in few months their coffers became empty, would they like to do this again, when they already close to their goal - what is left? -just push israel to accept millions of refuges( including those in gaza and under pa!) and their job is done, no more israel as a jewish state(by the way olmert already agreed to take 20000).what would happen to jews? - no need for big imagination.

In Sura (chapter) 17, called "The Night Journey or the Children of Israel": [17:101] We supported Moses with nine profound miracles - ask the Children of Israel. When he went to them, Pharaoh said to him, "I think that you, Moses, are bewitched." [17:102] He said, "You know full well that no one can manifest these except, obviously, the Lord of the heavens and the earth. I think that you, Pharaoh, are doomed." [17:103] When he pursued them, as he chased them out of the land, we drowned him, together with those who sided with him, all of them. [17:104] And we said to the Children of Israel afterwards, "Go live into this (Promised) land. When the final prophecy comes to pass, we will summon you all in one group." Go to any site with a Koran (Qu'ran) search engine. Search for "Israel". It will only appear as a reference to the Jews as the Children of Israel. Why? Because Allah has granted it to the Jews, and the Koran is more concerned with Muslim lands and affairs. Then search for how many times Jerusalem appears in the Koran. ZERO. Neither Israel nor Jerusalem belong to Islam, according to true Islamic scripture. We Jews are trying to focus on developing our one tiny little country into a modern democratic state. I pray that our Muslim cousins will finally focus on building up all their much larger lands and stop focusing all their energies on destroying our tiny one.

Somebody please send this guy to Washington!

Hamas want to "annihilate all Israeli Jews" and it's OK for them to kill innocent Jewish civilians according to the Arabs, Moslems, Leftists and Antisemites.

As an intellectual I have debated a very smart thinker about IIsratine solution proposed by honorable colonel Gaddafi. This is very solid solution for israel AND Palestine. My reasoning is simple.Isratin can be a light into the nations and make Palestinians ( and ALL Arabs) proud to be authentic Arabs and a members of a semitic tribe. Why is that? Because No Palestinian will fight Isratine since isratine can ( and will) be his own homeland. There is no way you can reject this idea whether you are a Palestinian or israeli. So who is an extremist here?

Is it extremist not to wish to live as a minority in your own country? This is the feeling both Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs have in common. Either way, "Isratine" would force one or the other to be a minority. That's why Khaddafi's proposition is a no-starter.

"so dont come and sell me the bullshit that you all originate from this land.. and here i am not talking about david.." *** We do all originate from this land. Okay, technically we originate from Ur Kasdan (Avram) but do not open that can of worms because then we get into the promise that we inherit the land up to the Euphrates. As Jews we originate from EY. Some of us left EY thousands of years ago and stayed in other places, for example the Temani (Yemenites). Some of us left unwillingly after the destruction of the Second Temple. Some families have records of descent and some do not. Some of those people who dispersed to what is now Europe spearheaded the actual work of coming back and restarting the nation. If you look at Jewish scholars' writings (mostly before the last 200 years) you will constantly see references to Erez Yisrael and the longing to return. It is in our prayers three times a day. All our scholars study about EY and the best way to rebuild our Temple. It is a mizwah (commandment) that according to some of our best scholars supercedes any other mizwoth; according to this view a Jew cannot properly do a mizwah outside of Israel. As a people, our name is Yisrael and this is repeated in our prayers three times a day. We bless Hashem for gathering the dispersed. Where do the dispersed belong/go? Yisrael. We do originate from EY, except for those who became Jewish by conversion. This is a small percentage. Yes, there must have been intermarriage. However we do all originate as converts or their children eventually marry into the Jewish nation. Logic suggests that people over the centuries would not come and join the Jews willingly unless they compellingly wanted to accept our Torah. Why should they otherwise want to become Jews? Our group has been largely ostracized, killed, robbed, raped, and pillaged by many other peoples over the past 2000 years. Get real. Why did even the so-called "secular" Jews who built this place up again want to come here? The core of the people somehow knew in their hearts that this place was ours, and they would endure hardships to be here. The others left. (Some people had to leave). Yes, some Jews wanted to go to Ugnada. Yes, the Nazis wanted to send us to Madagascar. But it never "worked out". Why? Because we belong here. Unlike the Arabs/Muslims, we have not gone all over the place commandeering lands and forcing conversions. We are not now even on our own total biblically mandated land. And, religious scholars do not in general hold anyone else responsible for that except ourselves.

Would someone try to check or verify this? (from another source): *** 11. Someone from the Libyan community confirmed about Kadaffi In the story about Kadaffi being Jewish by Jewish law, it seems that Kadaffi's Jewish mother was kidnapped as a young girl and forced into marriage. We heard the story over 20 years ago, and asked a Libyan friend about it. He said that this was indeed true and was well known amongst the Jews from Libya. (That said, this confirmation by our friend does not constitute absolute proof, and I would be interested if other Libyan Jews would confirm the story.) Alan Perlman, Har Hevron (28/01/09)

No person except someone very cruel, without morals, or mentally disturbed wants to kill innocent children. The children of Aza: 1) a percentage are trained and educated from a very early age...perhaps even as young as three or four...to dress up like "warriors" or terrorists and to hate the Jews. This is all documented by photos and literature. 2)a percentage are forced into complying with the ruling group, Hamas, out of fear/self preservation. 3)a percentage perhaps manage to stay out of the fights. Why these percentages? 1)The Arabs in Aza and Yesha accepted the rule of the PLO whose charter calls for the elimination of Jews and takeover of the land "to the sea". Read it. 2)The Arabs then voted in Hamas (which means violence in Hebrew), a group which a)uses children--and women-- as human shields, booby-traps entire houses with children in them (sometimes unknown to the family), secretes its members in and among (and underneath in tunnels) families with young children, and constantly violates agreements and lobs rockets which kill and maim innocent Jewish children. Now, who is responsible for that? You Arabs. I know that some of you cannot leave because you don't have the money. Probably some of you go along with Hamas because you are afraid of you or your families getting killed. And some even try to help the Jews at the risk of their own lives. But those who go along with these miserable leaders cannot blame the Jews for defending themselves and their own innocents. Are we supposed to let our children die so yours can live? Golda Meir was much more generous than I am. She said that she would never forgive the Arabs for causing us to kill your children. I say we are just the hammer and Hashem is the Judge.

he is nothing follow a holy book on the back of donkey and the donkey kick this nothing and it fall with a big sound on a balat