Reply #3: I agree with you up to a point...

[Violet_Crumble]

and that point is:

"and for that to happen, we look at Gaza, where the PA has full responsability for the political and economic life of the residents....and has failed to halt the rocket attacks on israel or gazans from trying to sneak into israel."

I think it's a bit unreasonable for Israel to demand the PA do these things and then put up barriers to ensure that they can't do it. Israel should be trying to make things easy for Abbas, but that's not what I'm seeing. Just like Israelis look at Gaza, Gazans look at the West Bank and see things getting continually worse. And even though the troops are gone from the ground in Gaza, Israel's been bombing it and doing the sonic-boom routine. As for Gazans trying to sneak into Israel, couldn't the same be said for the Mexican govt when it comes to Mexicans trying to cross the border into the US? And why are they trying to sneak into Israel? Is it to visit family members and/or to try to get work? They're not really motives I feel a lack of sympathy over...

I think the settlers who'd have no problem leaving the West Bank would leave regardless. The settlements aren't defending Israel against anything, so any argument that leaving the settlements would leave Israel open to attack is wrong. And it would be a waste of time trying to convince the settlers who need to be isolated by the Israeli govt of anything. They're intent on staying, no matter what, and if Gaza showed us anything, it's that they'll have to be dragged out kicking and screaming...

On the monthly payments to families of suicide bombers starting again - are these payments part of the welfare system there (eg, the bomber was the breadwinner for the family, so it's a sort of pension), or are they along the lines of payments to families of militants killed in the conflict? While Israel was demolishing homes of suicide-bombers, I had no problems with the families being paid as it went some way to compensate them for the loss of their homes, but if it's more a reward system, then I don't like the message it's sending out...

Violet...