Your historical review has proven my point, the settlers are window dressing!

B"H - Other, new atrocities are on the cards against Jews? Where? Which shul, who's house, farm will be destroyed by Barak’s IDF this time? What's the difference between these and the Cossakhs? That these thugs "enforce the law" in Judea and Samaria and not in the Ukraine?

Some in the US ask if Israel cares about the interests of the US. As a WASP, I am more anxious for the well-being of the apple of God's eye.

the Jews in JEWDea are the most loyal most enthusiastic examples of loyalty to the JEWISH state. It is the left that wants to become 8 miles wide, and that is SUICIDE. Or have you not been paying attention? Jordan is Palestine; that is the solution

Pay careful attention Mr. Lapid. You are so much in line with your / our Jewish ancestors. You wrote: "As long as the settlers did not have a direct effect on their lives, these Israelis could sit at home and tell themselves that these settlers are fighting for their (better: "OUR") beliefs in an admirable manner and are even willing to pay the price for it. YET NOW, these Israelis are starting to feel that they are the ones paying the price......Four percent of the country’s residents cannot decide that they are the only ones who know what’s right. WE TOO live here, WE TOO SHALL SUFFER the implications of failed negotiations.... It’s hard not to respect those who are wiling to risk their lives and future for the sake of a goal they believe in, YET IT BECOMES a whole different story when they risk the lives and future OF OTHERS. .....Israelis ARE AGAIN ASKING THEMSELVES themselves whether we shall still be here in 50 years.....They are not angry at the settlers, yet gradually they are being overcome by the feeling that the entire settlement enterprise IS COSTING THEM TOO MUCH....." etc. I'm sure you've heard it before, but lest you forget, read it again, because this is you Mr. Lapid: "Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. "All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, "Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! "Why (are you) bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" This is you Mr. Lapid.

remember that as a WASP your interest is in making sure that all Jews return to Zion not just the right wing ones! ;o)

I love to connect to Ynetnews as I feel the news are honest fair and balanced. an excellent source of information and I thank the Editors here for it. I find Lapid's state of mind with the "settler" fixation in this column very confusing. Either whoever translated this piece didnt proof read it or it was deliberately written to confuse the reader. I found it hard to follow thanks for listening Yardena

are (for the most part) normal people like you and me. The author thinks that he can decide from his armchair in TA what is right and wrong for these people. Man, is he wrong. I have only been to Judea/Samaria once, but it was enough to realize that the Jews there are doing POSITIVE things for Yehuda v'Shomron. The same certainly can't be said about the "Palestinians" who live there.

As they know they do not have public support, which is hardly surprising since they hate secular people. Well guess what we are no longer prepared to pay the price so that these fanatics can live in real estate heaven.

"You don’t get rewarded for stopping illegal activity! " Well, duh? No comment on the illegal Palestinian activities? Groves will again pretend that the Palestinians are totally innocent, and that shooting dead Israeli civilians driving in a car is ok. Why? Because people like Groves think that Palestinians have immunity from international laws. So according to Groves, the Palestinians should indeed be rewarded with a seat at the negotiating table despite all their illegal activities (shooting civilians dead and trying to kill more civilians with rockets, mortars, bullets and firebombs...let alone continuing to occupy Jewish property they illegaly stole in 1948 in the west bank). No, according to Groves the entire Palestinian election processs is inconsequential. The Palestinians didn't elect a parliament to lead them, they elected a what, a sham? According to Groves, Hamas is not the democratically elected government of the Palestinians. Rather, the self-appointed Fatah thugs still are. Meaning, of course, that despite what he says, Groves admits that no peace treaty signed by Fatah can be applied to Gaza, except by force majeur (by Fatah against Hamas). And, of course, Groves ignores the fact that for 9 months of the construction freeze the Pals refused to negotiate. And why? For the reason he ignored commenting on the fact that Hamas will never sign a peace treaty with Israel. Fatah can sign all the papers it wants, but it can't deliver peace no matter what. That\s the bottom line and Groves has no answer. Fatah cannot deliver peace, and we Israelis aren't going to be stupid enough to hand over the west bank, force hundreds of thousands of Israelis from their homes, and in return get rockets on our heads. Peace means peace, Matty. The Pals cannot deliver. And you're still a total wuss for sitting in your foreign easy chair pretending you know what's going on here and refusing to come see for yourself. You strike me as being of the mentality of a UN senior manager sitting in NYC, telling everybody in June 1995 that you know exactly what's going on in Srebrenica and we can trust the Serbs who are in control as the sole representatives of the Serbian people.

Most of the rest of the world views all of Israel as settlement and that you are all settlers. Once the obvious settlements are gone there will be new ones in the media...pallywood will not be happy until every single Jew is gone. So I would be thankful for those people who live in the tough areas and take all the heat so you can live in peace. One day you will be the one trying to tell the world you deserve to live in your homeland.

All Jews who live in the Land of Israel are settlers. I am an Australian Jew who lives in Jerusalem, therefore I am a settler. I am proud to be a settler here in the Jewish Homeland. I have come home. Please God may the Jews settle all of the Land including Judea, Samaria and the Golan Height.

If the present plan that's being talked about with the US comes before a reforendum it will get shot down about 85/15 In actuality I believe that Abbas and Bib are only going through the motions to please the international community. The problem is not land and not Jerusalem, it's religion, and neither the Muslims or the Jews are about to change theirs. Why can't Abbas say the words, "two states for two people's"? Because that is not want Muslims want. They want one state for Palestinians and another state that would contain a minority of Jews after the return of millions of Muslims

comfortable with Ynet News over the other, because I felt Ynet wasn"t afraid to print TRUE, HONEST Talkbacks. But I guess even the Truth hurts. They obviously do not like when I am outright Honest and Share the TRUTH with all you people. I guess someone at Ynet can't handle the TRUTH about Yair Lapid. I would think, Lapid helps them sell the News. The more he whines about the Jews, the more attraction Ynets gets. Come on Ynet, people are not that stupid, they can handle the TRUTH, unless that is what you are preventing!!!!!!!!

After reading up untill Lapid's cave of the patriarchs statement, there was no reason to waste any more time reading the rest. As a confirmed Heritic and hater of religion, Lapid has no choice but to keep on attacking and demonizing a part of tax paying citizens who live in Judea and the Shomron. At least we know who he is going to blame when it will rain rockets on his favorite coffeeshop in Tel Aviv. As a peace idol worshipper, without any connection to his ancestors, his understanding of living here is indeed very limited. There should be an organization that can help enlightend Israelis like him ( calling him Jewish would be an insult to him) to get him back to Europe and enjoy living there. It is trully amazing that being the son of a Holocast survivor, he has no perception, that in the end we are all one people.The Nazis did not knock on my Families door asking them if they were right or leftwing, religious or not, they just shipped them off to Sobibor, because thet were Jewish. The fact that Lapid is constantly trying to fan the flames of division is in itself a shame and causes only harm. In the end Mr Lapid many of us care about you, because we always end up bleeding together no matter our believes and opinions.

The history of Judaism is actually an argument on how to follow the ten commandements, and what that means. Stricter sects do not necessarily adhere more to God's word; therefore, their interpretation is not necessarily the right one. Indeed, what right does 4% of the country have to decide it's fate. Tomorrow a secular person could claim that God spoke to him, and that his point of view was correct.

recent history has shown that wiothdawal leads to war both for Israelis and Palestinians therefore the presence of the settlers prevent war

This sort of demagoguery, claiming that 4% has hijacked the other 96% is noting short than incitement to murder. It is also a complete lie. The current government isn't in place because some fringe minority. It represents an absolute majority of the public. It fits people who despise democracy to put the blame on some scape goat group then to rouse up the public to eliminate them, as was done in the 30's. You would think that we of all people would know the risks of such big lie techniques.

#41 Avi. Judea and Samaria "settlers" have no fear of a national referendum. They'd win it hands down. Anyone who can read a map knows Judea and Samaria not only belong to Israel rightfully. They are vital to Israel's security and existence. The left would lose a national referendum as badly as they lose elections. Today Labor and Meretz would be lucky to win 10 seats combined!

The problem is that the Israelis come from a different culture than in the middle east today, and they have a big problem to understans the Arabs. Israelis are trying to understand the Arabs in terms of Israeli values and this is the mistake. Yair Lapid would be very right if the counter part was thinking like he does. The problem is that the Arab mentality is based on power and being afraid - or respect a better word - of power. Yair thinks that if Israel evacuates West Bank, the Arabs would think that Israelis want peace, they will only think that Israel lost. It is difficult for the average Israeli to understand that the problem of the Arabs living in the region is is not to get 67 borders and then they will happily live after. If that was the case, Arafat would accept when Barak gave him 98% of the lands.

Ah Jews fighting Jews..what a revelation. Prior to WW2 (read The Holocaust), Jews throughout Europe/Russia were divided..Zionists, non Zionists..religous, irreligious..Jews that ate pork,Jews that didn't eat pork. etc.etc. in the end 6.6m Jews perished..all streams, all ideologies, etc. Get my point. The Arab-Muslim worlds, want you Israeil Jews to disappear..whether from Scuds or Shahabs..nukes or WMD..doesnt matter. Read Michael Orens Six Day War. Wake up guys. Every division aids your enemies..who are united, vis a vie your future. Okay, so there are 500,000 Orthodox..so what! The entire world views you as Jews, get it. Ask an Arab, or a goy. Its just the garb that differs..all Jews are the same..bright but gonifs...Jews back to Russia/Poland, Jews back to Palestine..get it. Not fair,,okay, have the ultra do some service...equalize the taxes..with a 250b dollar GDP, whats the rub? I live in LA County with 1,000 square miles and 10m people 60 nationalities..little friction,an occasional demonstration. 5m Hispanics...we are not shooting at one another..or tearing each apart.....get it. Jews in Israel..wake up...all your necks are on the line. In my neighborhood are 200,.000 people..2 by 2 square miles...with 1,000 churches and synagogues. People are free to practice their faith...from Jesus, to Budda to Allah to Hashem.

tel aviv is just as much of a settlement as any other part of Israel. regardless of the imaginary green line that in any case will be changed a thousand times our country is all the same the settlers are the only ones who care about israel

We all know the answer to that.

The minute you start separating Israelis into leftists and settlers, you forget that united we stand and divided we fall. It is a basic fact: Israel is a settlement. If you give back Hebron you must give back Tel Aviv.

His hostility to Judaism is unbearable He should migrate to europe whrere dhimmi status will be more convenient for his twisted ego

100% - unfortunately, as long as 4% of radical socialist controled the country, that was fine. Today that the National Religious set the tone and increasingly the agenda of the Jewish state of Israel - now somehow that is no longer okay! Truth being, the National Religious, the Jew in the street, is very much in favour of the democratic process, but not the illusion foisted upon us here in this country. When the politican sitting in the Kennest has immediate and direct accountability to the people who inserted their ballot in the voting booth, everyone except the Left will be thrilled to abide by the decision of the majority.

you shall too start questioning the bible, which is no more than a bunch of invented tales mixed with some distorted history.