Moises Salinas is an infamous Zionist political activist. Why would he acknowledge the illegal Israeli occupation? Zionist ideology justifies the expulsion of millions of Palestinians, the creation of 1.5 million refugees and the premise behind racial segregation. I wonder how Moises justifies an 18 meter wall built on some parts of land not even owned by the Jews, the only kind like it in the world which was condemned by the international community. I am quite sure Moises deliberately tries to forget who is occupying whom. I urge posters here to read Jimmy Carter's book for themselves and draw their own conclusions.

1- I dont know if most americans or at least the majority of them can recongnize and understand the root of strugle in palestine and i wonder if they convinced that the palestinians are the victom and israel is the occuper. 2- I dont think now any nation is suffer from humulation, suffer, killing and lead to a very bad condition like the palestinian nation. when i visit hebron and went to Haram Ibrahim to pray in it for me and the soul of my beloved husband , really i was alone with my aunt. I remember before once since long time i went their with all my family and my mother ( mercy on her ) and i visited all graves their , e.g grave of Sara the wife of prophet Ibrahim, and i was very young, and i remeber that mosque were full of tourists from all over the world, and my mother called me to see the grave of Sara, then one foreigner tourists asked me, do u name Sara , as do u give names for u kids as Sara, i told him of course plenty of muslim womens are named Sara and also we have our kids named as jesus (essa) and all the names of all prophets tell now. We even dont discriminate in that. Now i remember that event when the guider their told me about the massacre and name of palestinians killed by the zionist and killer whom kill children and prayers by his weapons. He explained me everything , and how the blood were scattered all over the mosque, it was terrible. 3- Also i felt humulation when they inspect us before entering the mosque to pray, u dont feel peace, really astonished . also my aunt showed me how much area the jews took from palestinans, and the old market of hebron was empty and closed, really when i saw it , i was very sad, and i see some men sitting down with sadness , i resemble them as people are sitting waiting for other people to give adolescence for their dead market and stolen land, really so much change and daily the situation is from bad to worst. No body consider those people as human beings, they have no work, no life, no hope, no study , no enjoyment, nothing at all . Is that justice, and if u visit tel aviv or areas of the jews u will see all enjoyment , and full of life for them, and palestinians are living in a small prison after many lands are stolen from them and daily they took more.

It is indecent to say that there are 'two sides' in the Israel/Palestine conflict. There is a devouring oppressor and the struggling victim. This does not make 'two sides'.

Peace, for Israel, means enjoying its ill-gotten gains and adding to them without Palestinian resistance. It means, as far as possible, not living with Palestinians but living without them. This is not a situation which has any feasible final resolution. The Palestinians within Israel and in the Occupied Territories may by displaced and join the diaspora but they will not be got rid of and the attachment to their homeland will remain part of what it is to be Palestinian. The best hope in the long term is for the erosion of the racist foundations of the Jewish State and its evolution as a modern, democratic state.

Eric, I do not disagree about much of what you say. Should Israel have been formed - no Has it acted honorably with the Palestinians - no Would most Israelis prefer that the Palestinians disappeared - yes Are the Palestinian diaspora going to easily give up claim to Israeli land - no Is there racism in Israel - yes But change the names here and you could be talking about many modern states even if some of the events that were the root causes are more remote in time. I am not supporting the state of Israel in its current policies but I am trying to see a political route to a solution. It may be a good thing that there are those who take an uncompromisingly robust view as it helps to create pressure, but it is not a reasoned view on how to look for a solution. I agree that you should erode racism within Israel, although I would debate whther it is "at the foundations" of the jewish state. There are very many, probably a majority, of Israelis who would disagree with you on this point. Israel is also a model of democracy, at least compared to all the other ME states and, I would argue, compared with many western states. That democracy does not always result in the best or most moral government is another matter. People in Israel, I mean the average person whose interests are much like everyone else's in the world, wants peace with the Palestinians because they just want to get on with their lives. There are, of course, those in Israel with ultra right wing or extreme religious agendas who would wish to permanently remove the Palestinians so as to avoid, what they perceive as, a demographic time-bomb. This is not dissimilar from N Ireland in this respect. The best route forward is to get an elected government in Israel that wants a reasonable outcome with the Palestinians, but people will not vote for such compromise unless they perceive that it would be balanced by a desire on the Palestinians part for such an end-game. When the Palestinians elect a government that believes in the destruction of Israel, how would you expect the average Israeli to react? It makes it very hard for those in Israel who would campaign for Palestinian rights to get elected. There is no "right" solution for everyone here but having no solution is bad too. There simply needs to be compromise and it has to start somewhere. The N Ireland situation has eased in recent times, not because of the politics of who had the rights to rule or the presence the British army, but because the grass-roots support has withered. It was becoming untenable to speak of the oppression of British rule and the hard-left core of the IRA, whose drives were not really synonymous with nationalism though they kept this well covered, have matured with age and the obvious economic success of the South. What has changed is that nationalism is off the agenda and is not something that can be held up as an aim to put fire in the bellies of up and coming revolutionaries. This needs to happen with the Palestinians too. There are too many wishing to stir up extreme hatred of jews and this attitude is taught in schools. If you look for racism in the raw it is here. This is state sponsored racism encouraged by other arab states who wish to maintain the battle between Palestinians and jews but do not wish to be in the front line. On the other hand there needs to be some imperative for Israel to find a solution other than a military one. The USA should not support Israel without much more pressure to try to find a peaceful solution. Unfortunately it is hard to see this happening in the near future because of the effectiveness of AIPAC.

The Palestinians have nothing to give, except more of their land and resources and let themselves be robbed with a smile. The racism is inherent in the Jewish State and is not a matter of the attitudes of individual Israelis. Israeli democracy only applies fully to Israeli Jews and to Arab Israelis, partially, as long as they remain a minority, but not to the Occupied Territories. Hamas was elected in 2006. Hamas believes in the destruction of Israel. What of it? Lots of countries believe in the destruction of Israel. The issue is not the ideology but a practical modus vivendi. This is unfeasible since the Jewish State seeks the immigration of all Jews in the world and sets no limits to its claims on the resources and territory of Palestine. The development of the situation depends on what the US/Israel does. The only likely resolution would lie in the erosion of the inherent racism of the Jewish state by economic demand for a more diverse population.

The idea that Palestinian independence is a gift which Israel must deign to make, on conditions that it dictates, is absurd. It's one of the many absurd things that is believed about the situation, a triumph of US/Israel propaganda. Israel as a refuge for Jews? After the Holocaust. How silly. It's purely a matter of brute force. The analysis which you're making is unduly influenced by the Israeli narrative which dominates American public opinion and, by contagion, the 'West'.

Just remind yourself that the Quartet representative is the justly maligned American poodle, Tony Blair. The plan is to subdue resistance to Israel by imposing a compliant government under President Abbas on the Palestinians. So far, so good, perhaps. The Palestinians are weak and may be forced into temporary submission. However, it is very hard to see the Israelis complying with international law by, evacuating 400,000 + settlers from the West Bank and East Jerusalem, demolishing the Wall, sharing sovereignty of Jerusalem and addressing obligations to Palestinian refugees. On the contrary, the Israelis, with full American support, will use the momentum against the Palestinians to strengthen their grip on Palestinian land and resources. There will be, if that's possible, even less likelihood of stopping the expansion of Israel at the expense of Palestine. All long-term problems will be aggravated by any success in the initial phase of the Road Map. The only hopeful prospect is in the erosion of the racist nature of the Jewish State by the normal processes of globalization which may change the demographic composition and economic profile of Israel and modify the wish of its citizens to maintain an exclusive state.

Dear Dr. Lawson, I see you have been suckered by the US/Israel spiel about 'right to exist'. No state in the world has any such right. This fictitious right, in any case, has no bearing on Palestinian statehood. Quite a number of states do not recognize Israel, 34, I believe. Are you suggesting that Lebanon and Syria, to take two examples, should be wiped off the map? Your notion that the 490,000 or so Jewish settlers, illegally living in Occupied Territory, are going to be relocated to Israel proper is purest fantasy. It's Israeli government policy to increase the numbers in the settlements. Likewise, do you imagine that the Wall was built on Occupied Palestine Territory just so that it can be demolished, when its purpose is to protect the illegal settlements? Again, you would fly in the face of reality to imagine that repeated claims that Jerusalem is Jewish are going to be abandoned or that a policy of ethnic cleansing and denial of any responsibilty to Palestinian refugees will be reversed. These policies are fundamental to the Jewish State and are of a racist character. Moreover, it should be obvious that Israel must be required to reverse these violations of international law, without regard to any questions of Palestinian statehood. If we take the question of the Wall as the latest example of Israel's criminality, the decision of the World Court is unequivocal. Israel must demolish it, where built on Occupied Palestinian Territory, and it is the responsibility of the international community to ensure that this is done. Never mind Hamas, and its very recent election victory. This is a separate issue from Israel being punished for its crimes and its obligation to reverse them.

Richard, Your message is that all will be well in the end. To caricature your position. You watch calmly as a group of thugs sets upon its victims. 'Once they stop struggling and they get their wallets, the beating will stop. Only some will die of their wounds and a few will be crippled for life. But the essential thing is that this misguided resistance is replaced with a more co-operative attitude.'

Fact is, no matter who is labeling what, truth remains the same. Salinas is a patsy? Would you call Noam Chomsky the same? I cannot imagine one person in the world would ever be able to do so and yet he said practically the same thing just 1 year ago! Does the truth then change? Another fact to ponder, Apartheid is based on race separation. Israel has more than 2 million Arab citizens who enjoy EVERY, SINGLE civil and human right that any Israeli, Jewish or otherwise, enjoys. How than can anyone but a tool make the claim that Israel is anything at all like an Apaertheid state? Racial segregation? Both Jew and Arab are of the same race. 1.5 million refugees? Even including offspring of the 600,00 Arabs who left their homes in 1948/49, your number has no basis in reality. As for refugees, the term applies to those wo have become stateless. Arabs now calling themselves "Palestinians" NEVER , EVER had a state. Ergo, what refugee? In fact, none need have left their home. They could have stayed put, and refused to engage in ILLEGAL violence against the UN ratified state of Israel. Then they too might now be enjoying the 16th highest standard of living and full equal civil and human rights just like those 2 million Israeli Arabs are currently doing. I cannot possibly answer for Salinas but I can easily tell you one of many justifications for the SECURITY BARRIER, A 96% REDUCTION IN FATAL TERRORIST ATTACKS emanating from those areas bordered by the Barrier. As for "wall," only 22% of the total Barrier is wall of any kind, much less 18 meters high. Condemned by the International Community? NOPE. A BRIEF was filed with the IJT/ICJ but anyone can file a brief with any court. It has no legal bearing and in fact most nations have fortified borders. Only Israel can claim that ITS Barrier has actually prevented non-combatants FROM BOTH SIDES from dying. As to the Barrier being built on land Israel does not own, since Israel is the legal administrator of any superfulous land in question, it is a non-issue. It is a Barrier, not a final border. the poster might wish to review a legal concept known as Eminent Domain. I too recommend any interested party should read Carter's book, right after first reviewing the inglorious history of his family Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia. A man whose own family segregated blacks right into his own presidency has no buisness trying to call anybody else a racist anything. Carter himself tried defending his racist decisons until International pressure changed his mind. What a farce. Best thing to come from that family was Billy Beer. (Edited for spelling)

Dear Rizzasrach I am sorry to hear of the murder of your grandfather and granduncle, and the loss of your lands. But what do your ancestors want for you, their descendants, as they look on at this world we are creating? Do they really desire that you all live in fear of the next suicide bomb, the next rocket, do they rejoice when they greet another young great-grandson, torn from his family, his life work not even started, taken away half way through his life? Or do they wish that their family could live in peace, each under his own vine and his own fig tree, working in cooperation with their neighbours, honouring and conserving every drop of water, nursing the great coastal forests back into existence, fertilising the land in a natural cycle, drawing its power from the god-given sun? To attain the second case, you only have to become conscious that yours is not the only family to have suffered, and also that Israel is not the only nation to have suffered. Yes, Israel has suffered enormously, more than any one except perhaps a Romany or a Communist or a Gay person who lived and died in Nazi Germany can say. But there are many on this list who would say that Israel has paid that suffering back in some measure to the Palestinians over the years, not least in 2006. When can we all say that the collective suffering is enough? Do we all have to go through a Third World War, which will almost certainly be a nuclear holocaust, before we can turn our backs on violence and turn our hand to reconstruction? I hope not. I hope that we can all see that Israel and Palestine have now seen enough violence, conflict and suffering. It is time to attend to reconstruction. Shalom Richard

Eric, I am sorry, I do not quite understand your point. Are you saying that more Israelis need to die in order to give the palestinians a right to exist? Richard

I - i born in hebron as also all my family , my father born in jerusalem and i wrote my story before, so their is no need to repeat it, but frankly we are the one who were refugee and left our homes by force, i dont think muslims killed jews to leave, we were murderd to leave and the evidence is that my parents whom born in jeruslaem and hebron were forbiden to visit their homelands and that makes them upset even though they are old and they want to visit also their families, this happen this century mr and not before. 2- Now i think all israeli from all over the world even only if they are jewish and never see palestine or born their are allowed to visit palestine and other palestinians are forbidden, yes i went their only as a non palestinians individual and even all my spirits and feelings and roots are palestinians born in hebron. 3- Can i ask u mr rizarasch were u born ? and i think u r allowed to go to our land and we are not allowed as the majority of palestinians are not allowed only if they hold foreign passports and they inter as non palestinians. 4- How come u property is forever lost, u are jewish as i think, so now u are compensated and took more than u land , u took all of our country and now given to u or other jewish, only us are not compensated and millions of palestinians are refugee and scattered all over the world. do u forget massacres as deer yaseen and others which jewish killed preganant womens their , so think of palestinians whom till now lost everything and not even coming back to their homelands. do u remember all u families names since 944 years, we are kinanees living before jewish their and no body force jewish to leave as simply we were living their before jewish . 5- For haram sharif, it was protected by muslims and not jews as u know propeht ibrahim as we believe and written in Quran that he is muslim and not jewish nor christian and the whole story is written in Quran , so muslims have responsibility to keep those graves and mosque. so please not the jewish as we were living in hebron before jews came and now israel try to take more of the land, i went to visit also the grave of my grandmother, grandfather and other relatives in hebron, so my uncle took a long time to reach their graves, even though it is very near, you know why ? all places are closed and we have to go to long area, it is only 5 minutes by car as usual and it took us more than 30 minutes to reach it and pray for their souls.

Englishman, In the first place, Hamas were only elected in 2006. In the second place, whatever, the ambitions of their Charter, the fact is that they are powerless to halt the Israeli colonization of Palestine.. What you have concocted your fantasy of the 'dispersal' of Israeli Jews out of, I've no idea.

Englishman, The scrap of paper, the Hamas Charter, has nothing whatsoever to do with the right of the Palestinian people to statehood. There is a security problem. All of five Israelis have died this year in attacks on Israel from Palestine. Neither this, not any ideological aspirations of Hamas have any bearing on the right of the Palestinians to statehood. The solution, were it possible, would be the destruction of the Israeli Wall in Palestinian territory, the disposal of the illegal structures, the Jewish towns, Jews-only roads, checkpoints and military installations in Palestinian territory. A UN policed demarcation line between Israel and Palestine would take care of the security problem, we hope, far, far more serious for the Palestinians than the Israelis.

Englishman, If any proof were needed that the insistence on negotiations by the US/Israel is a fraudulent ploy to block Palestinian statehood, the example of the Gaza withdrawal is to hand. No agreement was needed or even thought of for an instant. Withdrawal from Gaza was a unilateral decsion by Israe,l which alone was in the position to make that decision. The same principle applies to the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The Israelis are entirely responsible for their continued violation of international law by displacing Palestinians and sending in hundreds of thousands of Jewish settlers. Only the Israelis, in the absence of international co-ercion, can take the necessary steps to withdraw the settlers, their military protection force and to dismantle the Wall, the checkpoints and all the apparatus of occupation. Palestinian statehood is not something which Israel can, legitmately, veto. If the Occupation were ended, the Palestinian people would determine the constitution of a Palestinian State.

englishman 1- Most of the media in US is suported by jewish and zionists, who support aggression of palestinians, and wants to show ordinary people that we are the occupier of our land and jewish are victoms of palestinians terror. that is incorrect, now it is a war of media and not anything else. Media is very bias and not neutral. 2- As the US is a capitalism country and of course economics would rule the world and money is with jewish people in US , so they will let media with them and portrait us as terrorists and as if we dont want to coexist with jewish people even though they are the one who kicked us outside our homelands and demolish our homes, and kill our kids, and built the wall and cut our treets and let us refugees till that moment. 3- Only the one who has power and authority can dectate what he wants to the other even if he is injust, becasue of that we are now living in a crazy world which care only about money , authority and little by little try to discard from morals and justice to the other even if the other is different from him in relegion , race or backgorund.

Israel's dispute is not with the Palestinians. It is with the rest of the world and with international law. Israel is legally obliged to withdraw from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Claiming that this depends on the Palestinians is totally fraudulent. You are a dupe of this US/Israel Big Lie.

Englishman, Do you really believe that you are at the heart of things and have an influential opinion? I continue to argue that you are a dupe of US/Israel propaganda and that the 'political system' is based on the Big Lie that Israel has no obligations under international law. The ending of the illegal occupation depends totally on Israel.

Englishman, It seems we agree that Israel is totally responsible for ending the Occupation.It follows that 'negotiations' are a fraudulent charade.

Englishman, What nonsense is this? Exactly five Israelis have died in Israel as a result of Palestinian resistance to the Occupation this year. Thousands of Palestinians and Lebanese have been killed and injured by Israel, as well as the gobbling up of territory by Israel. The problem is not Israel's security but that of Palestinians and others threatened by Israel. You have, very clearly, been brainwashed by the surreal Israeli propaganda.