Worldfocus

12/09/2009 :: 08:46:57 AM
jgarbuz Says:

Well, Jews were also often confined to Mellahs in Morocco. But Gaza and the West Bank are not ghettos. Gaza and West Bank are about the size of New York City and Long Island, or about 1700 square miles. 14 million people live in NY and Long Island. The Palestinians could have a functioning state, but the problem is that the Palestinians are dysfunctional. They never had a state in all of history because they are a diverse tribal group lumped together. Why didn’t the “indians” have one country before the white man came? Because they were 150 different tribes or little nations. The Palestinians were nothing a collection of various clans and tribes, each town and village unto itself the 18th and 19th century. It was only the return of Jews that began the process of this creation of this “Palestinian” nationalism that had never existed in all of previous history. By contrast, the Jewish people dispersed into 144 different countries, were able to come together in Palestine and resurrect a state almost overnight. By 1938 the Jews in Palestine were already a state only needing recognition. Because the Jews are a nation whereas the “Palestinians” are a collection clans yet to form true national cohesiveness. Maybe they will, but only if Israel helps them. If not, Hamas and Fatah and the various clans will continue their age old feuding.

12/05/2009 :: 11:03:14 PM
Tino H. Says:

The settlers seem so heartless! How did the jews feel in Europe when they were forced to live in Ghettos. Please don’t let history repeat itself. This was a very telling story. How sad!

11/23/2009 :: 03:40:31 PM
Stephen Hughes Says:

Over Simplifying
There has been or at any time a Palestinian Country , the Arabs who chose the name Palestinians did so in only 1968. These Arabs were offered a country in the 2 state solution in 1948 , again in 2000 which their leadership continually refuses. There has been a removal of many Westbank road blocks , some 100 has already done so . Even inside the State of Israel, Israelis had to establish check points everywhere, if you have ever been to Israel there are they check you when you enter a grocery market, shopping stores and etc.
Where do these Arab Palestinians want to go ?, into Israel to find work. Their government refuses for the most part and provides far too little for the Arab Palestinians.
Israel just donated to Abbas government land so desalination for fresh water can be built for the Arab Palestinians. He refuses to do so.
The US and the International Community has given billions of dollars to the Arab Palestinians leadership and it just gets lost in a blackhole, there is little to nothing to show for it.
Why Checkpoints ?, currently the Arab Palestinian government is threatening war with Israel. Hamas is offering a 1.2 million dollar reward for the capture of any IDF soldier.
Moreover the deeper issue is about the Mid-East and how the poor Arab Palestinians have been used as cannon fodder by their leadership. In 1970 the late Yasser Arafat went to war against his host nation Jordan lasting over 2 years killing thousands, forcing the Arab Palestinians to flee to Lebanon. Then again 1991 , Kuwait that gave home to some 200,000 Arab Palestinians, the late Yasser Arafat and his forces went to war against Kuwait with Saddam Hussein. Yes and they did fight against US Troops. In the end these 200,000 Arab Palestinians were expelled from Kuwait .
We have forgotten there has been an entire shift in populations in the Mid-East Africa with the creation of Israel, almost a million Jewish people had to flee many to Israel because of hostility and genocidal practices by Arab/Moslem nations. Under the late Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein, he removed
( murdered ?) the ½ million Jewish Iraqis living there. Even today Jewish communities are being targeted and Jewish people are being rescued in many parts and brought to Israel. But the ever increasing problem as pointed out in a recent publication of National Geographic, is the persecution and killing of Arab Christians to, why ?.

The harsh reality is there are many Moslem –Arab Countries that could take in relocate the Arab Palestinians, but there is one country and one country only in the Mid-East that will take in Jewish people and that is Israel.
Lets really do something for the Arab Palestinians, lets help them get better leadership, lets really help them to have homes and schools , not be just cannon fodder.

11/22/2009 :: 01:30:26 PM
Susan Says:

I think that the Israelis should stop building settlements immediately. I also would like the American to stop sending financial support to the State of Israeli as long as they seem to be determined to take every inch of the West Bank and East Jerusalem from the Palestinians. I also find the Zionist slant of this show’s programming more and more disturbing. If I want my information filtered that way, I would listen to ABC,CBS,FOX and NBC. I don’t contribute to this station to get one-sided coverage….

11/21/2009 :: 03:59:24 PM
Israelis settle in occupied West Bank for economic reasons … | Drakz News Algeria Says:

[...] here: Israelis settle in occupied West Bank for economic reasons … Share and [...]

11/21/2009 :: 11:06:24 AM
MK Ultra Says:

Israel will not stop the theft of Palestinian land and the ethnic cleansing until the world gets tired of their crimes and stops them just like they did the Nazis before them. The day is coming!

Boycott, divest, sanction!

11/21/2009 :: 08:58:23 AM
jgarbuz Says:

It is always important to distinguish what Jewish socialist leftists, like Ben Gurion, Dayan, Peres, Rabin and Barak say, and what right wing nationalists like Jabotinsky, Menachem Begin, and Shamir said or say.
The left wing socialists and communists who first controlled the Zionist movement in Israel were double talkers and double dealers. They talked, and still talk out of both sides of their mouth. Originally atheistic believers in a “one world” socialist vison, they have been torn between Zionism and socialism and their confused rhetoric reflects their own internal confusion.

By contrast, Jabotinksy, Begin and Shamir were very straightforward in their utterances and policies.

The socialist atheists always were prepared to divide the land of Israel. Initially they believed that there would be a socialist one-world anyway, and that Jewish and Arab workers and peasants would join hands and sing kumbaya some day.

Jabotinsky, Begin and Shamir were more clear-eyed. They fully understood the implacable nature of the Muslim Arabs, and the antisemitic Nazi mentality of many even in the West, and were clear that the Land of Israel from the Mediterranean to the Jordan river were Jewish lands that must be liberated by any means necessary. They were nationalists, not sociaists.

So one when reads the contradictory and confused ramblings of Ben Gurion, Dayan, Rabin, Peres, Barak and that utopian lot, you have to understand where their confusion comes from. They mix reality with their utopian visions and come up with mush. That’s why a Barak can say that if he were a Palestinian he’d be a terrorist too. Because the socialist one world view clouds his dedication to restoring the Land of Israel to its rightful people.

11/20/2009 :: 09:00:28 PM
The Melancholy Poet Says:

Israel is known as the People of the Book.
And what they think will be a concious and/or subconcious part of that Scroll.
But will what follows be as holy as The Book?

I do not ask for agreement in Answers
to this Question…only deep clear
thinking about issues centuries old.

Can there be Agreement on Clear Thinking?

11/20/2009 :: 08:58:54 PM
The Melancholy Poet Says:

Israel is known as the People of the Book.
And what they think attempt to do
will be part of that Scroll.
But will what follows be as holy as The Book?

I do not ask for agreement in Answers
to this Question…only deep clear
thinking about issues centuries old.

Can there be Agreement on Clear Thinking?

11/20/2009 :: 08:56:01 PM
The Melancholy Poet Says:

Israel is known as the People of the Book.
And what they think, speak, attempt and do
will be part of that Book for they are the
People of the Book.

But will the aftermath be as holy as The Book?
I am not asking for agreement in Answers to this Question…only deep clear thinking
about issues that are centuries old.

Can there be Agreement on Clear Thinking?
Is such Thinking, still, possible?

11/20/2009 :: 06:37:14 PM
LG Says:

As Ehud Barak admitted, had he been born a Palestinian, he would have joined a terrorist organization. One time Israeli terrorist Yitzhak Shamir stated ‘neither Jewish ethics nor Jewish tradition can disqualify terrorism as a means of combat.’ Israel has a strong terrorist foundation. And their tradition continues.

11/20/2009 :: 06:05:21 PM
Boris D. Says:

To Ben Olason #31 and Harry Katz #36: Just recently 20thousand French Jews were happy to escape from growing Muslim domination in Europe. The same may happen to you or your children in US. You’ll be crying and begging for safe place to live “these settlers and the government of Israel”. Or you’ll hide your identity?

11/20/2009 :: 05:11:30 PM
serge Says:

Arabe invade many country , to spain , france , the french manage to defaite them a the bataille of poitier in 632 and later pouch back from spain , better for them to stay home in arabia and enjoy a good life with the money they receive from oil not tell other nation how to leave ,. if muslim believe in god they most respect what god give to the jews and going again god wish , the history for the jews is in israel for 5000 years , it’s sad for the palestians but my familly come from a muslim coutry algeria and when algeria became independant my familly left and the one thet decide to stay the algerian kills them , my familly left algeria and some move to israel and france , and the same for israel the muslim most leave for a other arabe country , arabe are rich in land and money they need to take care of ther brothers and sister abd stp to cry abd complain

11/20/2009 :: 02:34:20 PM
Kamel Says:

I wanna say something about Mr D. who doesn’t know what his talking about it . You said Arabe invited the Jewish land, when?
Let is be serious if you wanna talk about the past even that not all what you said is the thruth . Lets go back to the time of Romain and we keep going on on .Before a Ramain .
The Arabe and Jewish people are cousins since the prophet Ibrahim . They were in same race before Judaisim come . The Arabe and Koraishy and more ethinc people living together. The Jewish people were minority after Judaism , living side by side with Arabe before BC . The all erea from south the Yemen to the North in one part of the Costantinople wich now Turky including the East of Iran was before ther empire of Sassasinad is called A SHAAM.
When Islam come the prophet Mohamed he make sur The Jewish people are protecte it they signe the The Act ( a Paper unification ) between all race and arabe and to be one nation . Now ! . The Jewish whom fleed the SHAAM some of them left to Egypt it was in time of Romain Empire chased them left before Islam cam don’t forget Moses was born in Egypt the was no country called Isreal my friend in this time . I let you to do the work .
Mr D. You said the Arab invided Europ yes indeed .
Its that a reason giving Isreal to take land from the Palestinien ?
We are in 21first a Centry . What the Arab did in this time in good faith getting to those country in the time called a ” Dark Age ” bringing light and knowledge to the people it was a part of the Jihad it mean ( Just for God doing it ) . Because of them you drinking the cafe because of them you have education because of them you have the poetry and the art as you see resolt are steel flourishing . I don’t think you have any idea what the Arab did accompleshed to the world . You have non commun since of the poetry because the poetry is the thruth otherways you would think as a poet not as ignorant.

11/20/2009 :: 02:29:59 PM
Badel Says:

I wanna say something about Mr D. who doesn’t know what his talking about it . You said Arabe invited the Jewish land, when?
Let is be serious if you wanna talk about the past even that not all what you said is the thruth . Lets go back to the time of Romain and we keep going on on .Before a Ramain .
The Arabe and Jewish people are cousins since the prophet Ibrahim . They were in same race before Judaisim come . The Arabe and Koraishy and more ethinc people living together. The Jewish people were minority after Judaism , living side by side with Arabe before BC . The all erea from south the Yemen to the North in one part of the Costantinople wich now Turky including the East of Iran was before ther empire of Sassasinad is called A SHAAM.
When Islam come the prophet Mohamed he make sur The Jewish people are protecte it they signe the The Act ( a Paper unification ) between all race and arabe and to be one nation . Now ! . The Jewish whom fleed the SHAAM some of them left to Egypt it was in time of Romain Empire chased them left before Islam cam don’t forget Moses was born in Egypt the was no country called Isreal my friend in this time . I let you to do the work .
Mr D. You said the Arab invided Europ yes indeed .
Its that a reason giving Isreal to take land from the Palestinien ?
We are in 21first a Centry . What the Arab did in this time in good faith getting to those country in the time called a ” Dark Age ” bringing light and knowledge to the people it was a part of the Jihad it mean ( Just for God doing it ) . Because of them you drinking the cafe because of them you have education because of them you have the poetry and the art as you see resolt are steel flourishing . I don’t think you have any idea what the Arab did accompleshed to the world . You have non commun since of the poetry because the poetry is the thruth otherways you would think as a poet not as ignorant.

11/20/2009 :: 01:22:04 PM
jgarbuz Says:

The real jail that most Arabs are in, is Islam. The prison is in their head. It closes their minds to anybody with a different idea. Ideas such as democracy and elected reperesentative rule are all western ideas of the Devil that must be rejected. Only Sharia law is of God. Only Sharia law is just. Only Sharia law brings happiness. And yet, wherever they are, they feel miserable. Because they simply can’t get everyone to agree.

11/20/2009 :: 01:16:55 PM
jgarbuz Says:

Muslims feel that they must rule. They believe that they not only have the true religion, and that all other are false, but they believe that only Islamic law and Muslim rule is just. The concept of Dar al Islam versus Dar al Harb is central in Islam. It is the duty of Muslims to extend Dar al Islam to subdue Dar al Harb, and bring all under the rule of Allah, i.e., the laws of God, which of course means Sharia law. But Islam is not the answer. Islam is the problem. The problem for anyone who isn’t a Muslim and will not submit to their doctrinal rule.

11/20/2009 :: 01:11:21 PM
jgarbuz Says:

Why don’t the Druze in Israel feel they are living in a concentration camp? Why are they eager to fight in the IDF? Why do Christian Arabs have a higher income on average than Israeli Jews? Why do Armenian Christians in Israel feel no problems in Israel. And the same with other minority groups, including Vietnamese descendents of boat people that Israel took in? Why is it only MUSLIM Arabs who have constant grievances? The answer is obvious. Islam does not countenance being a minority group with equal rights. Islam must RULE in the end. It is inherent in its doctrines. If the JEws lived on the West Bank and Gaza, and the Muslim Arabs controlled what is Israel, they would say the same thing. The Jews in the West Bank and Gaza would prosper, and the Muslim Arabs would complain that their backs are against the sea. The West Bank and Gaza are adequate for a successful Palestinian state, if the latter were not mostly Muslims. Muslims are inherently in discontent when they are not in full control. That is the problem.

11/20/2009 :: 12:45:45 PM
Catherine Kisaka Says:

During the events leading up to, and also during WWII the Jewish people were segregated into the gettos of Europe. This caused them great pain and financial and social hardship.Now they are doing the same thing that was done to them to the Palestinians. And they wonder why they cannot achieve a peaceful coexistance?

11/20/2009 :: 12:38:27 PM
Peter Schauer Says:

The Westbank and Gaza are veritable concentration camps. The land grabs are illegal and so is the control of precious water. It is curious to see that Israel appears to be surprised when facing Palestinian rage. In typical fashion Israel advances two steps and, under pressure, retreats one step. This is all condoned by US foreign policy since Congress is firmly in the claws of AIPAC. Human rights are not applicable when it comes to Israeli violations. Eventually people will wake up….

11/20/2009 :: 12:35:47 PM
Bonnie Kirsten Says:

I am outraged new settlements are still being built by the Israelis. How many decades does this have to continue?? How many times must we try to reason with the Israelis to STOP the settlement building. How long is one lifetime in a type of jail….

11/20/2009 :: 12:22:36 PM
Israelis settle in occupied West Bank for economic reasons … | arablives Says:

[...] The only reason East Jerusalem today has a majority Arab population … Read the original: Israelis settle in occupied West Bank for economic reasons … Share and [...]

11/20/2009 :: 12:17:28 PM
Boris D. Says:

To Ben Olason #27: Just recently 20 thousand French Jews were happy to escape from growing Muslim domination in Europe. The same may happen to you or your children in US. You’ll be appreciate”these settlements and the government of Israel” for saving place to escape for you. Or you’ll hide your identity?

11/20/2009 :: 11:47:55 AM
jgarbuz Says:

To neolithic cave dweller

There were Jews in the land long before the Muslims arrived. The Jews were turned into a tiny minority the same as the natives here in the Americas. But the Jews never totally abandoned their land, and there was never a single day when Jews did not cling to it under the worst conditions imaginable. Right or wrong, the COUNCIL of THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS (comparable to today’s UN Security Council) authorized the reestablishment of a “Jewish National Home” in Palestine and returned sovereignty to the Jewish people in exile, authorizing their return and resettlement of the land. This thus became international law, which the Arabs ignored. The world has largely forgotten this crucial fact, but some of us never did. And never will. Israel is there by RIGHT, not by tolerance or sufferance. Not out of pity, but as a sense of justice since it was European Romans who destroyed our sovereignty in the first place. The League compared the rights of 650,000 non-Jews, who never had a state, versus the rights of the then 6 million Jews in exile, many of whom remained stateless and facing pogroms and constant discrimination. That was the legal decision of the League and nobody has the right to reverse it on the fly. Not even the UN.

11/20/2009 :: 11:29:02 AM
neolithic cave painter Says:

Let’s get serious for a moment. Israel should never have been allowed to be established in an area of an established non-jewish population. Now that it has happened and the geo-sentiments and socio-sentiments are clashing - there is not way out, because neither religion can explain cardinal human values (i.e., what is wrong with sealing, hurting and generally being nuts over local belief systems). I am sorry for the Jew and Palestinians. They are the victims of their ancestors delusion. Also, I am sorry for the rest of us, because war lowers the living standard of the by-standers too.

11/20/2009 :: 09:20:11 AM
jgarbuz Says:

The US claims to be an ally of the US, and supplies $3 billion in aid annually, mostly military aid that pays Boeing’s workers to supply ISrael with F-15s and helicopters. But the US also supplies Egypt and the Palestinians the same amount of aid, if not more. It also sells nearly 2.5 times as much arms to Israel’s enemies, such as Saudi Arabia, in exchange for oil. I never heard of any ally supplying arms to both sides of a conflict. Did the US supply both England and Germany before it finally entered WWII? And if the US is an ally, why hasn’t it offered Israel a formal treaty of alliance as it has with Germany, Japan, Australia and New Zealand? If the US wants to cut off all aid to Israel, that’s fine with me, provided it cuts of all aid and arms sales to Israel’s enemies as well. That would be fair and reasonable.

11/20/2009 :: 09:13:25 AM
jgarbuz Says:

If Obama is so really concerned about settlements, then he should stop the expansion of American settlements on occupied “Indian” lands, and give the Lakota Sioux statehood! Isn’t it really time to take the national claims of the Lakota Sioux seriously? They declared independence in December 2007, nearly 2 years ago, but Worldfocus and the international press doesn’t seem to be critical of the oppression of the indigenous natives of the Americas. Do the Natives need to start blowing up American shopping malls and firing rockets from their reservations before their righteous claims are even noticed? Is violence the only way to catch world attention. Those who are concerned about conditions in Gaza have probably never visited an Indian reservation in their life, or seen a proper documentary about conditions on most of them.

11/20/2009 :: 09:08:23 AM
jgarbuz Says:

Here are some facts for a change. So called “settlements” only take up 1.7% of the land area of the West Bank and Gaza. There are zero settlements now in Gaza. Arab settlements inside Israel are growing fast as the Israeli Arab population grows. There are 1.2 million Arabs living as citizens inside Israel, while only only 300,000 Jews live in Judah and Samaria. As for Jerusalem, that will remain as the undivided capital of the Jewish nation. Israel has stopped all further settlement in Judah and Samaria EXCEPT in what is now united Jerusalem. Why can’t people learn some real FACTS instead of emotionally reacting to a few slanted stories?

11/20/2009 :: 09:00:13 AM
karl kettler Says:

It’s pretty obvious that the corrupt pro-Israel anti-Arab U.S. leadership has no intentions of forcing Israel to stop those illegal settlements. If they had they would have imposed sanctions and stopped $billions in aid without which Israel would be just another desert! Someone else will have to fix the problem.

11/20/2009 :: 08:41:19 AM
Mark Phillips Says:

I’ve been watching for a week now, just as an experiment. I’m curious as, after 7 days, and 7 Anti-Israel stories each night in a row; how long until You produce a Pro-Israel story? Just one? Will You Ever do such a piece, or are You an Arab Owned, Pro-Arab network only? There is never a chance for peace when 1 party refuses to recognize the very right to ‘exist’ of the other. Yassar Arafat was a Terrorist, who bred and led the creation of Hamas & Hezbollah (& a plethora of other offshoots from the PLO) that in reality don’t seek ‘palestine’, rather the destruction of same and the ridding of all jews from the equation. I wonder when those 1 million jews will stop beating up on those 1 BILLION Arabs surrounding them that live only for the destruction of the opposition. The last Arab Leader to extend a hand for peace and mutual respect was Sadat. How long did that endure and how did he wind up? Who killed HIM? Your reporting fails to mention suicide bombers, everything being larger than bottle rockets launched against Israeli CIVILIANS for the last 2 dozen years, and a society that preaches hatred and extermination beginning at age 1. The Chasm You omit between Your version of reality and the real world as it is exceeds sane judgment. Some comments here reflect disdain for Israel receiving foreign aid from the US yet overlook the 7 billion per decade that went to the PLO, again a terrorist organization from it’s inception. Try telling the truth, or at very least occasionally presenting some semblance of balance with that currently non-existent story about something (ANYTHING) good that Israel(i)’s has/have done, instead of the constant bombardment of “poor, poor palestinians”…they CHOSE the bed they made, it’s time they start by taking responsibility for those former actions and trying to CHANGE the future instead of fomenting further hatred over the past filled with failure fueled by that hatred.

11/20/2009 :: 03:36:45 AM
Jim Says:

The audacity of the settler to say the land was empty. Yeh, “a land without people for a people without land”. That was the lie of the Zionists. There were 1000 villages where there were supposedly no people. The goal of creating a Jewish state was done by master “chess players” and the truth went out the window. Our Congress is an embarishment for cowering before prozionist pressure. Look how they voted on HR 867 the Goldstone report, which detailed the intentional killing of Palestinians. He also criticized Hamas.

11/20/2009 :: 03:22:13 AM
erin davis Says:

As an American I’m not opposed to the vast amounts of aid my country gives Isreal,however I am opposed to my tax dollars being used to support apartied like policys.Most Americans agree.

11/20/2009 :: 03:06:14 AM
Naomi Says:

The settlements are built on land stolen from the Palestinians. This is one reason Palestinians are angry.

11/20/2009 :: 02:36:25 AM
Kay Says:

As an American I wonder what we would do if day after day another people would target our people and properties and kill our children at their will. I also wonder if America would surrender her land to a group of people who can not work to improve what they already have. And I wonder what Americans would do if we were asked to give our capital away in exchange for peace….until those people wanted something else for free.

11/20/2009 :: 01:33:37 AM
Alix Traulsen Says:

Why do we American tax payers continue to fund the myriad infamies of Israel? have we become as inhumane as they are or are we being prevented from expressing our outrage?

11/20/2009 :: 01:15:20 AM
Marina Says:

To all the people that support the state of Israel: ” THERE IS NO FLAG LARGE ENOUGH TO COVER THE SHAME OF KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE” Howard Zinn.

11/20/2009 :: 12:01:02 AM
Allan Mosak Says:

It is hard to believe that the world sees an impediment to peace in Israel’s desire to build homes for their children, but sees none in the Palestinian’s desire to blow up, shoot or stab as many of those children as they can.

Let’s clear a few misconceptions. Today, the Palestinians claim the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza as their homeland, but that doesn’t make it their’s. At best, it is contested land, occupied by Jordan and Egypt until 1967, and then by Israel. When the PLO was founded in 1964, it’s charter stated specifically that it had no interest in the West Bank and Gaza, only in establishing an Arab state in Israel. It was only after the 1967 war that it modified its charter to express a desire to establish a state anywhere else.

According to official British Mandate censuses, the Jewish population in Jerusalem in the early twentieth century exceeded the Arab and Christian populations combined. The only reason East Jerusalem today has a majority Arab population is because the Jews were driven out in the late 1920’s, when the Grand Mufti (a close friend of Hitler) led pogroms that killed dozens of Jerusalem’s Jews and drove out hundreds more. Walk down the streets of East Jerusalem today, and you will still see niches carved into the doors of Arab homes. You may be sure that those niches were not carved by Arabs - they were carved by their previous Jewish owners to hold biblical scrolls called Mezuzahs.

The real impediments to peace are the Arabs’ consistent refusal to recognize a Jewish state, as called for by UN resolutions since 1948, and the intense hatred that they teach their children. The UN doesn’t talk about the Palestinian schoolbooks that they pay for that teach math with examples like “I line ten Jews up against the wall and shoot six. How many Jews remain alive?”

Can anyone seriously expect Israel to make peace with people raised from childhood with such intense hatred?

11/19/2009 :: 11:53:15 PM
Yotav Eliach Says:

The impediment to peace are not Israeli settlements, rather the refusal of the Palestinian leadership to recognize the Jewish Nations right to self determination. Long before Israel built one settlement (The pre 1967 period, 1949 - 1967) there was Palestinian terror aganist Israelis. There were hundreds of Fedayeen attacks that killed hundreds of Israelis in the 1950’s. The PLO Charter explicitly denies the right of the Jews to self determination. (Article 20) The Hamas Charter calls for Arab Islamic rule over every inch of Palestine, pre and post 1967. You will find that in Palestinian literature every Israeli town, including cities like Tel Aviv are called settlements. Israel on the other hand recognizes the right of the Palestinians to self determination, that is why she helped create the Palestinian Authority in 1993. In 2005 Israel destroyed 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza and forcibly removed 10,000 Jewish settlers. Gaza became Judenrein (Free of Jews - A Nazi term.)and what did the Palestinians do? They began to use Gaza as a launching pad for rocket attacks against Israeli towns like Sderot in pre-1967 Israel. Sadly, the Palestinians want a peace that does not include a Jewish State in the Middle East. Lets start being honest about the issue of settlements like Efrat. If every single Jewish settlement was removed from the West Bank, Hamas and Fatah would still be calling for the right of return. In reality, the right of return means flooding Israel with 4-5 million Palestinians, turning Israel into Palestine. That is not a Peace Plan, it is a plan for the destruction of Israel. Then Palestinians have the right to plan and hope for Israel’s destruction. But it is foolish to believe that Israel will be a partner to her own destruction. If the Palestinians want peace with Israel, I believe that a deal could be worked out. If they continue to dream and plan for Israel’s destruction, there will sadly not be peace.

11/19/2009 :: 10:59:25 PM
jgarbuz Says:

Also, as I have repeatedly states, the international news media, such as AL Jazeera, BBC, CNN and now WorldFocus must pacify and placate the huge 1.5 billion Muslim audiences that opened up to them over the last decade and a half. To compete for these Muslim audiences, they must have at least one segment a day vilifying Israel, making sure that opposite voices rarely if ever are heard. The fact is, the Arab “street” and not the Jews today run the international media.

11/19/2009 :: 10:43:35 PM
jgarbuz Says:

I honestly believe that if America puts sanctions on ISrael, that God will strike it down! Bush was actually the first American president to fully accept the idea of a Palestinian state, and we can see what has been happening to America ever since. Anyhow, if America has not brought down Castro, does anyone really believe it can bring down Israel? But if America does go down this route, I propose that Israel then open ALL of Judah and Samaria to Jewish settlement, to save many American Jews from the accompanying hostilities here at home. The Arabs have been offered a Palestinian state many times, and have always found excuses to reject Israel’s terms. As if Israel were the vanquished rather than the victor of all the war that were imposed upon it.It is absurd. Did Japan and Germany impose surrender terms on America? Israel has lost no wars and does not have to accept surrender terms dictated by the Arabs or even Obama.

11/19/2009 :: 10:37:48 PM
jgarbuz Says:

The whole ARab propaganda offensive agianst Israel is based on half truths and whole lies, and the ignorance of the general populace of the true history in the region. I strongly suggest the video documentary “FAREWELL TO ISRAEL:BUSH, IRAN and the REVOLT OF ISLAM.” It can be rented on Netflix, or purchased at http://www.farewellisrael.com. This 2 1/2 hour doc will give a full college course in Islamic history from the birth of Islam to today, and show you why they will never recognize a Jewish state under any condition, no matter how small. Islam must oppose it as a religious duty.

11/19/2009 :: 10:32:27 PM
jgarbuz Says:

Those who say that Israel is violating international law with settlements don’t anything about int’l law. The League of Nations was the founder of international law, and it gave Jews the right to settle all of Palestine west of the Jordan river! That is ENSHRINED in the League of Nations Mandate of 1922! The come-lately UN has no provision in its charter or laws to arbitrarily overrule prior international law, and they know it. If the UN did have that power, they could erase every boundary the League created after WWI. But the fact is, Arab terror was well under way against the Jews in Palestine long before the Jewish state came into being, and even after the Armistice of 1949, over 400 Israelis were killed by Arab terror between ‘49 and ‘67 BEFORE THERE WAS A SINGLE “SETTLEMENT.” The real impediment to peace is the refusal of the Muslim states to recognize the right of a Jewish state to exist. Until they do, no peace is possible EVER!

11/19/2009 :: 10:28:38 PM
Ernie Watkins Says:

This is a follow up of my earlier comment (#19).

As a Cherokee I was taught from the time I was born what family members that Americans had killed. Which Cherokee towns my ancestors came from that had been destroyed by the United States Army and not to trust the Americans. This information passes from one generation to the next. In my case from several generations. I am sure this is happening with the Palestinian people. Is Israel going to kill more than 95% of the Palestinian people like the United States did of the original people of this land now called America by some people. This type of behavior has to stop. What did people of the Jewish religion learn from the Holocaust of 1933 to 1945 in Nazi Germany? Apparently not what they should have.

11/19/2009 :: 09:38:25 PM
friendly in texas Says:

So many people blame Israel for all the problems. Israel lives on a tiny, tiny piece of land not much bigger than some counties in Texas. Arabs have more land than the entire land mass of the United States.

Israelis build, grow, give great developments in science and technology to the world of science, farming and business while no more populated than many US cities. Arabs have more population than the US. Israel is not the cause of injustice they are the righteous center of the greatest war against the worldwide domination of Islamic evil.

11/19/2009 :: 09:35:25 PM
friendly in texas Says:

So many people blame Israel for all the problems. Israel lives on a tiny, tiny piece of land not much bigger than some counties in Texas. Arabs have more land than the entire land mass of the United States.

Israelis build, grow, give great developments in science and technology to the world of science, farming and business while no more populated than many US cities. Arabs have more population than the US. Palestinians are just one of the many tribes of Arabs. Tiny Israel is standing in the way of world wide Islamic Jihad.

As a Nation we stand with Israel because it is the right thing to do. Just as Nazis were satan incarnate and chose Jews as their National reason to slaughter. The Arabs have inherited the Nazi mantra and zeal for world domination. Either we get our priorties in order or we will fight each other instead of fighting our real enemy, the Islamic Jihadis hordes. Israel is not the cause of injustice they are the righteous center of the greatest war against the worldwide domination of Islamic evil.

11/19/2009 :: 09:05:30 PM
harry katz Says:

As a Jewish American, I feel that the Israeli settlements in Palestinian lands are an abomination. I think it is outrageous that i could move to israel, just because i am jewish, and be an automatic citizen, while palestinians who have lived in this area for centuries have no status and live in walled ghettoes. Whatarrogance the israelis have- especially to defy obama, and you can rest assured that Israel- with iran’s help , of course, will drag us into yet another conflict in the Middle East. i would like to see all international aid to israel suspended until the settlements are removed.

11/19/2009 :: 09:03:54 PM
boris k Says:

Israel should be forced not only to stop the settlements but also to return the land they took by force from the Palestinians. They drove them from their homeland and continue to encroach to on their remaining land. The fact that Jews lived on this land some 2000 years ago is no excuse for the present actions. If history were to be turned back by 2000 years, most peoples would not be living where they live today.

11/19/2009 :: 09:00:13 PM
Ryan Hill Says:

For Israel to continue to aggravate the already daunting situation in the middle east by continuing to develop land that creates such hardship for the Palestinians is unacceptable. Their actions can only lead to more violence and hatred. As an American. That I hear an Israeli make a statement claiming that they’ll continue to live on their unsettlement long after President Obama has been sent to pasture, offends me. As an America taxpayer I would like to see my country impose sanctions against Israel until they comply.

11/19/2009 :: 08:59:23 PM
Joann Says:

If Israel seriously wants peace they should stop building new settlements and allow Palestinians to freely habitate their own lands.

11/19/2009 :: 08:58:58 PM
John Carswell Says:

The more I read about the history of Israelis and the Palestinians the more I am convinced that both groups have helped to create the quagmire they have created for one another. From the beginning the Palestinians have been unable to develop the proper resistance to a well organized and financed Israeli state that continues to take advantage of this weaker group. It seems doubtful that the original mandate for creation of the Israeli state included the annihilation of most Palestinian rights. The Palestinians and too many in the Arab world have been stuck too long with the idea that the Israelis should return to the countries they emigrated from. Both sides consider themselves the victim in all of this and, as we know victims justify their violence and the US and too many other countries try to be the rescuer. If we can’t give the Palestinians as much support and dollars for their healthy growth towards nationhood as we have the Israelis then we should remove ourselves from this impossible situation. Perhaps it is fantasy to be the peacemaker and savior of the world. Rescuing can only lead to violence as happened with the World Trade Center.

11/19/2009 :: 08:51:00 PM
Ben Olasov Says:

I am a Jew, but that does not blind me to the fundamental issues. The Israeli settlements in Gaza and the West Bank are in clear violation of international law, *period*. There is absolutely no way for peace negotiations to proceed as long as these settlements continue and the government of Israel is well aware of this.

The Obama administration could and *should* put an end to this illegal policy in a minute, if it chose to, by immediately and completely curtailing aid to Israel until it begins to act as a law-abiding member of the international community.

Yes, the Palestinians are also at fault, but that *is not the central issue* and Israel does not require a perfect world to be accountable under the law.

11/19/2009 :: 08:38:33 PM
LG Says:

Israeli policy is to surround Palestinian populations and put them into small reservations while incorporating the parts of the West Bank that they want. They will not have any interest in peace talks until J and S are completely populated by Israeis who accept settlement subsidies. The US will do nothing to stop this aggression; perhaps one day the Iranians will. We can only watch.

11/19/2009 :: 08:34:03 PM
Yaakov Shechter Says:

Settlements have been the cancer plaguing Israel since 1967. Isral must dismantle the illegal ones, and stop all expansion of the others.

11/19/2009 :: 08:29:42 PM
serge Says:

If arabe will have not invade others country and stay home , that will have not hapen , is not the jews that invade arabe country but the arabe that do that for long time , if they succed in some they fall in spain , france afther the bataille of poitier in 632 and fall in israel land of the jews for 5000 years

11/19/2009 :: 08:09:24 PM
Jake Says:

Am against this expansion of new settlements. Absolutely… This claim of self-rightiousness according to Israel is definitely a deterent to peace. Where will it end and using the US as its big brother to expand out further in the future? We haven’t heard the Palestinians viewpoint, the story is slanted.

11/19/2009 :: 08:07:52 PM
Cathy Trinh Says:

It’s too bad that the Palestinian people prefer to spend the billions of dollars in foreign aid on bombs that they use to intimidate the Israeli people instead of funding the future of their children by creating businesses. It is their self-destructive behavior and not Israeli settlements that cause Palestinian suffering.

11/19/2009 :: 07:58:56 PM
Tobi Kern Says:

Is there any point in giving land to a people who refuse to recognize the very existence of the people granting that land? Israel removed its residents from Gaza, forcing families to evacuate, destroying the livelihood of countless Israelis. In return they received missiles thrown at neighboring towns. People were killed, terrorized, and tormented. Elderly residents of these towns, like Sderot and Ashkelon, had to evacuate because they were unable to reach air raid shelters quickly. The current residents of Gaza refuse to recognize Israel’s existence. Israel was forced to go to war to defend citizens. More of the same will occur if Israel gives up more land.
Your news show is so obviously biased against Israel that to call it news rather than opinion is totally inaccurate. Are you terrorist sympathizers or journalists?

11/19/2009 :: 07:53:22 PM
Paul Marion Says:

I have worked, lived and travelled extensively in the Middle East. All barriers are errected due to violence. In Lebanon, Jordan, Sinai, Israel all boundaries are due to Palestinian violence against Jews and against the ruling governments of countries when Palestinians fled. The worst violence is by Palestinians. Most people in the world have a completely unreal and biased view against Israel.

Few people ever mention the almost million Arab Jews that were robbed of their homes and businesses in Arab countries in which many fled to Israel that offsets any Palestinian displacements during the same time. Israel has absorbed refugee Jews from around the world including the former Soviet Union, Africa, Eastern Europe.

11/19/2009 :: 07:51:51 PM
Paul Marion Says:

I have worked, lived and travelled extensively in the Middle East. All barriers are errected due to violence. In Lebanon, Jordan, Sinai, Israel all boundaries are due to Palestinian violence against Jews and against the ruling governments of countries when Palestinians fled. The worst violence is by Palestinians. Most people in the world have a completely unreal and biased view against Israel.

Few people ever mention the almost million Arab Jews that were robbed of their homes and businesses in Arab countries in which many fled to Israel that offsets any Palestinian displacements during the same time. Israel has absorbed refugee Jews from around the world including the former Soviet Union, Africa, Eastern Europe.

Arabs are a tribal people as well as being Nationalistic. The Palestinians are the same tribe of the Jordanians and Southern Lebanese. As the Jews were absorbed by Israel that have way different cultures between each other than do Palestinians and other Arabs, Israelis absorbed all racially diverse Jews.

The Palestinian crisis has been created and perpetuated by Arab intransigence towards Palestinian patriation among other Arabs. Arab lands are as great as the land mass of the United States of America with no problem of overpopulation. In fact Arab lands are under-populated. Arab lands outside of Saudi-Arabia and parts of Jordan and Syria are lands acquireed by conquest. Arabs have less of a claim to the land than do the Jews because the Jews were originally from the region and are related to the Arabs, both being Semetic peoples.

All the barriers to Palestinians are created by both Arabs and Jews due to Palestinian violence in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt.

The regions politics are highly complex but clearly understandable if you approach the history without bias. The Israelis are not the agressors you think and the Palestinians are not innocent as you think.

11/19/2009 :: 07:45:47 PM
Ernie Watkins Says:

The United States and Israel have one thing in common. They are both pirate nations set up and occupied by Europeans and Africans. I am not American, I am Cherokee. I see things different than Americas.

11/19/2009 :: 07:41:58 PM
Claire Brown Says:

The settlements should be removed and the peace negotiations begun in serious earnest. The United States needs to become an active facilitator immediately.

11/19/2009 :: 07:40:41 PM
j bank Says:

The latest request on the part of the Palestinians,
“A complete freeze to all settlement building” as a prerequisite for coming to the table to discuss peace, is just another stalling tactic. Why don’t the Israelis demand Hamas change the terms of their charter calling for Israel’s destruction,or demand all Palestinian textbooks be replaced to edit out the horrific
anti-semetic rhetoric before they are willing to
‘discuss peace’. I assure you we’d all be waiting forever. Why is it that the Palestinians are the only ones to set conditions to begin these discussions (again). Everytime Israel gives up land for peace the Palestinians get the land, and Israel gets nothing. It is at the negotioting table that ‘conditions’ for a peaceful 2 state solution can be reached.

11/19/2009 :: 07:38:37 PM
helene schroif Says:

Israel is perpetuating the suffering, inhumanity. and war by inflicting on the Palestinians the cruelties the Nazis inflicted on the Jews. Israel, stop hiding behind God’s supposed promise of “a promised land”, you don’t believe it, you are just exploiting it. It is time to stop ALL expansion of Israel in the West Bank.

11/19/2009 :: 07:30:12 PM
Boris D. Says:

Arab occupied the Holy Land since 12 Century. Jews took back the Holy Land which belongs to them in defensive war 1967 against 5 Arab countries. Not Stole! Many nations have done the same during the History, but so call “international community” is accusing only Israel on “occupation”. Huge Hypocrisy!!

11/19/2009 :: 07:22:11 PM
Jacqueline O'Connor Says:

I want Obama and the U.S. to force Israel to leave all occupied territory even if it comes to bombing them out. We have pampered Israel because of the horrors of WWII and now Israel is the monster. Get them out of the West Bank!

11/19/2009 :: 07:18:25 PM
Terry Carlin Says:

I am against all Israeli settlements in occupied territories. It is a hugh deterrent to peace in the middle east. They give radicals an excuse and a cause for their terrorism.

11/19/2009 :: 07:06:24 PM
Peggy Carlin Says:

Israeli settlements in occupied territories should be stopped. Maybe if the US stopped financing their military it might help. I believe the congress has routinely forgiven their debit for loans. We should not be paying for Israeles we have enough problems of our own!!

11/19/2009 :: 07:02:45 PM
Royce Raedloine Says:

How many years have gone by with Isreal violating their bounderies? How many times have they invaded Palestinian soil? How many attempts have been made where Isreal refuses to compromise at numerous talks that several U.S. presidens hosted? We still send billions of dollars and arms every year since they have been given back land to form nation, yet they continue to block a permanent peace settlement and insist on the right to move beyond their land and continue to oppress the Palestinians? Enough is enough! Stop sending aid untill a peacefull settelment is finally, once and for all, reached. The first step is to stop building Settlements, NOW!

11/19/2009 :: 07:02:02 PM
Badel Says:

What Isreal doing to the Palestiniens under the pretexst of a promes land its absurd inhuman . God doesn’t said that ( take land from the other human beign and kill them ) . What kind of Isreal God is that? .
God did not told you stand up for Hetler and fight for your right if you couldn’t because you were weak you should learning from it . Now you have the muscles you taking it on the weak people.
Why wont you go and take land from German?
Isreal absurdity will drive the world to the end.

11/19/2009 :: 06:54:17 PM
Badel Says:

What Isreal doing to the Palestiniens under the pretexst of a promes land its absurd unhuman . God doesn’t said that ( take land from the other human beign and kill them ) . What kind of Isreal God is that? .
God did not told you stand up for Hetler and fight for your right if you couldn’t because you were weak you should learning from it . Now you have the muscles you taking it on the weak .
Why wont you go and take land from German?

11/19/2009 :: 06:46:04 PM
Yasmeen Serhan Says:

Those who don’t learn history are doomed to repeat it- so why then are the Israeli’s putting the same kind of oppression on the Palestinians that was done to their people not so long ago? I hope to God that, like President Carter, President Obama can do something, anything, to help all those victimized in this conflict.

11/19/2009 :: 06:28:34 PM
W'H'Halewood Says:

A stupid, thuggish policy that should be stopped cold–an American intervention that might do some good.

11/19/2009 :: 06:27:17 PM
Bill Riordan Says:

israel should stop building new settlements immeadiately! Why is it that settlements always get the running water but not the palestinian villages do not?
Is it surprising this treatment breeds resentment.

11/19/2009 :: 06:27:05 PM
Ian Caplan Says:

Israelis doing samething to Palestinians what the Germans had done to Jews!

11/19/2009 :: 06:24:22 PM
Jon Eich Says:

The Palestinians, should move out, PERIOD, this is all about prophecy and what was promised to the Jews. Stemming from Ishmael and Isac, and the covenant between their father Abraham! It is a Holy war and always remain so. Until the descendants of Ishmael realize this and back off, there will always be war!

11/19/2009 :: 06:24:04 PM
Kirsten Says:

Of all the people in the world, Israelis should know how unjust their use of collective punishment toward the Palestinians is. Their confiscation of Palestinian land to build their settlements and security wall should offend all who stand for the rights of the oppressed.

11/19/2009 :: 06:21:33 PM
Robert Says:

I ditto what Mark says here and agree 100%, no need to repeat the same thoughts. It is just these kinds of actions that seem to be intentionally provocative on the part of Israel to NOT have peace with the Palestinians and therefore prevent a Palestinian state from being formed. Again as I’ve said before it’s a case of the abused becoming the abusers. It’s very sad.

11/19/2009 :: 06:01:49 PM
About israeli, gilo, jewish, peace, east jerusalem | Find me About Says:

[...] The peace process between Israelis and Palestinians remains in crisis with no sign that the building of Israeli settlements in the West Bank will cease. Worldfocus correspondent Martin Himel visits an Israeli settlement and a Palestinian refugee camp …Read Original Story: Israelis settle in occupied West Bank for economic reasons – Worldfocus [...]

11/19/2009 :: 05:56:58 PM
mark Says:

why do we spend so much of our taxpayers’ money to support israel? we help them continue their apartheid policies.they ignore the usa,the un and the international community ,and continue oppressing the palestinian people,stealing their land and placing them in ghettos.my heart goes to the palestinians.Former american president carter was right

11/19/2009 :: 05:33:15 PM
paul mathieu Says:

Freezing settlement construction is just a minute step towards peace. What is needed is for all the barriers to be removed, for the settlers to be disarmed and to be allowed to live where they are now, but under the juridiction of a sovereign Palestinian state. Thta state could not expropriate the settlers and would offer them all the protection they would provide to their own citizens. If the settlers don’t want to live under the laws of a foreign country, they could leave and be compensated for property loss. Compebnsations should come from all the billions we send to Israel

11/19/2009 :: 05:23:23 PM
patricia taylor Says:

israel should stop building new settlements immeadiately. their present policy is an impediment to peace. have thy forgotten what it was like to be oppressed?