Israel says may agree to deployment of int'l peacekeepers in Gaza

foolish? and badly? Except when getting a state for the Jewish people and getting this whole land of Israel started, right? OR is it the religious radicals and misguided fools who think the bible supercedes any int'l law and they are entitled to the the whole land of Israel and who believe the bible is a legal land deed and proves ownership! Get a grip! the UN does act pretty nuts half the time.......but hell so do the extremists Israeli's! Take your blinders off, breathe deeply, start looking at reality......you'll be okay, it won't kill you to see things in the light, will be painful at first, you'll adjust though!

Israel has had adequate experience with the UN's fairness. They stood by, watched & filmed the two Soldiers that Hezbollah kidnapped, as they were being kidnapped. They were on the spot, subsequently denied that they had filmed and finally owned up to it. Trust the UN, nope, they've proven they can't be trusted. It's their fellows that are raping the Somali women who trusted them. And the list goes on.

Right, John! And they should be well trained, deployed in overwhelming numbers, carrying the world's best equiprnent, and with an unending supply line behind them.

And treat Palestinian militants and Israeli Army alike.

Oh, I don't think my views are entirely one sided, Lynn. I agree with you that Hamas, Islamic Jihad, et.al, have not left Israel either, which, of course, puts Israel into a bind. What bothers me is that both sides want me to believe that the problem is exclusively the other side's fault. And that is so much crap. I am not so much for Israel or for Palestine as I am for people - any people, all people. Anyone who attacks or oppresses a population is going to get both barrels from me on Talkback. Regards

Now THAT is a solution! Regards

One idea advocated by historians - especially Jewish historians - is that the Jews thrive when the secular power is held by someone else. But when Jews acquire the seculare power, they destroy themselves. Meanwhile, the world goes on without their state. As for persecution, is there anyone in the entire world whose antecedents have not been persecuted at one time or another? Or who have not had to depend upon someone else for protection? Are Jews somehow different or more deserving than the rest? Israeli chutzpah says yes. I say no.

You said it, Johnboy! And it is time we did away with the myth. As long as Israelil guns surround and fire into the Gaza strip, roads in and out are controlled by Israel, and the Gazan ports and seaaways are blocked by Israel, Gaza is occupied by Israel. This myth of withdrawal is so much crap.

Like an earlier respondent, you miss the point. A peacekeeping force cannot work with Israel any more than it can work with the Palestinians. A peackeeping force must be totally committed against anyone who breaks the peace, Palestinian, Israeli, or any other. Else it is not a peacekeeping force at all but a politically inspired joke which is not funny.

Disgusting, isn't it? But no more disgusting than Israel turning down every oppoturinty for serious peace talks, like with the Saudi plan.

And when Hamas keeps firing rockets and sending homicide/suiciders into Israel? what onesided opinions you have, Jim.

surely we are smarter than this to trust the offspring of our past enslavers to treat us differently this time?

Catch up with us, please, Ofer. Landgrabbing is not about Gaza. Landgrabbing is about the proliferation of settlements in the occupied territories And do you really think this has nothing to do with the Palestinians in Gaza? Why do you suppose Jihadists are so up in arms?

Dear Esther, You miss the point. A peacekeeping force will not be there to protect Israel alone. They would carry out their duties in Jerusalem, the West Bank, the settlements, and throughout the occupied territories. And they will not be the dogs you want. They will be armed soldiers committed to keeping the peace, by force if necessary, against whomsoever tries to break it, be they Jihadists or radical Zionists. Do you still think it is an excellent idea?

Your extension to Israel of Livni's remark is well taken! And I don't think Livni, Olmert, Peretz, or the Jewsih Orthodox would like it one bit! A "complete job" as you call it is what needs to be done. But I don't think the international community is willing to fully commit itself to forcing Israel back to the 1967 borders, cleaning out the settlements, and mopping up the Jihadists in Gaza as well. To put Israel and the Palestinians to the test means an all out war. WWIII? Even GWB would cringe! But that is probably what it would take. So much for peacekeeping.

Right track, Jens. It is the only way. Anything less is pointless. But I don't think the international community is willing to commit itself in force against Israel, which it would undoubtedly have to do.

When Israeli tanks sit on the border and fire their guns into Gaza, they have not left Gaza!

Which is better, Paul, racial Arab superiority in an Islamic lebensraum uncontaminated by non-believers, or racial Jewish superiority in an Israeli lebensraum uncontaminated by non-believers?

Unifil will be in vain in Palestinian areas. They will not help to get peace because they will not stop terrorism in any kind. "Peacekeepers in conflict zones generally limit their missions to reporting truce violations or expediting humanitarian efforts".

You realize, of course, that Israel will never agree with your reasonable position. However, I agree with it 100%, and perhaps a few million others. Any force which ignores Israeli responsibility in this situation and focuses exclusively upon the Gazans is simply doing Israel's dirty work for her. To that, I, for one, say no. Regards

Reuters reports: "Peacekeepers in conflict zones generally limit their missions to reporting truce violations or expediting humanitarian efforts." Then they are not peacekeepers. They are at best reporters or humanitarian workers. Livni asks: "Is the international community really ready to send a force willing to go house to house finding terrorists? If the international community is not willing to mount an all out armed offensive against terrorists town by town, neighborhood by neighborhood, street by street, house by house, room by room, then they might just as well stay home. Anything less is a wasted effort. And the war goes on.

I would only work, if it were forces with a strong mandate, that allows to kick the asses of every pal fighter that even only think about shooting rockets into Israel, as well as kick asses of every IDF troops, who misbehave. Don't believe neither Israel nor the Pals would agree to this. So what else? What about Occupation of Israel, Gaza and WB by Nato?

"Is the international community really ready to send a force willing to go house to house finding terrorists? That's the sort of force you need in Gaza. Are you really willing to do the job that needs to be done?" Livni wants the UN to break down doors, break furniture and beat up people looking for arms and weapons so Israelis don't have to worry about the occupation and inevitable expansion being exposed. So is there a list Livni wants the UN to follow? A dozen little girls have to be hurt a week? How many hundreds have to be arrested every fortnight? Is there a torture quota the UN has to keep? Do they have to kill children, like the IDF, or are they permitted to avoid that?

I can't believe it but I actually agree. Why should the UN want to do anything to help the Palestinians who treat their resolutions with such contempt. I apologize for all those people who read your response and thought you were criticizing Israel which I know you couldn't have been because you are an educated observer who sees all things clearly.

...they were ready to crack down on Palestinian militants... A rude, undiplomatic, insulting and stupid statement from an already unpopular government of Israel to the world community.

Israel has history of trying to depend on others for her protection. Every time it explodes in her face going back to inviting Rome here 2000 years ago which ended in loss of sovereignty and end of country. Somebody in government should read some history. What a bunch of nincompoops.

Well, excuse me, but I *thought* Israel wasn't the occupying power in the Gaza Strip. Ended its occupation months ago, and handed over responsibility for the Gaza to the PA. Must be true, coz Jeff Northridge keeps insisting this is so. So why does ANYBODY need to ask ISRAEL for permission to deploy peacekeepers in Gaza? Don't they need to ask Abbas, and isn't his OK *all* that is needed to enable those peacekeepers to deploy? After all, the RESPONSIBILITIES are his, and is nothing to do with the Israelis at all. Sharon said so all those months ago, and Jeff has been parrotting the mantra ever since. I suspect there are lots of Emperors prancing around buck-naked, and I think it is time to point the finger and lauch like hell at them. Israel has to agree because Israel is still the occupying power in the Gaza Strip, and has been since 1967.

Double-click, it is people like you who sit at a safe distance and spread disinformation and half-truths about the true situation here. Your info from "three Jews in the trenches" and your "beach compounds for wealthy, international Jews" are calumnies aimed at inflaming the situation beyond repair. Yes, there are immensely sad things happening in Gaza, but the Pals themselves are contributing blindly to this. Gaza could be a green oasis in the desert, but their leaders have chosen to relentlessly continue harrassing Israel. That's what the peacemakers could see if they were here.

I think that this is an idea Israel should openly support and work in coalition with the peacekeeping forces. Perhaps the Palestinian people would be far more willing to cooperate with these non-Israeli forces so long as these forces worked towards ending the militants!

If the Gaza "militants" were/are such a threat to Israel's existence, Israel would have requested international peacekeepers before now - is peace on Israel's agenda?

A polite "no", I don't see it that way at all. If peacekeepers would keep the factions from fighting one another, disarm them, patrol the Philadelphia Corridor, keep the Strip demilitarized, allow for industrial development, and bring peace to that area, I say it's a great idea. But the problem goes deeper than the above. Livni is playing F.M. and being tactful and clever. That's okay for the mass media. The real problem is that the Arabs will never accept Israel's existence. Why should they, with the US ready to leave Iraq this September, Iran using more centifuges to produce high grade uranium..Syria and Egypt building their militaries..leftists in Israel pointing blame at Israel's right, the Winograd Commission report still making people uptight about mistakes, the Arab League saying the sanctions and Israel are responsible for PA infighting, and on and on an on. It's truly amazing how the Palestinians gave up a state at Camp David, and have been thwarting it since.

Hamas terrorist fires rocket into Israel Euro peacekeeper "Bad boy, you shouldn't do that! Heinrich, did his missile hit anything?" "Nein" Hamas terrorist fires rocket into Israel Euro peacekeeper "Bad boy, you shouldn't do that! Heinrich, did he hit anything?" "Nein" Hamas terrorist fires rocket into Israel Euro peacekeeper "Bad boy, you shouldn't do that! Heinrich, did he hit anything?" "Ja, zis time some Jews are dead" "Bad boy..." Very simple isn't it, thats why any foreign troops should be able to investigate. apprehend, put on trial and jail any proven terrorist. Meanwhile, hundreds die in Darfur every night, shouldnt we do something about that?

no need for photo ops.and meetings to have meetings.Get down to business: 1.stop settlements,remove existing ones. 2.Contact PA and talk directly to them. 3.start the negotiations on the Arab Initiative. No, the U.N. is not going to touch this because Israel has not yet (and most likely won't,too many risks) gone full scale into Gaza. The Arabs seem to be in control of the international situation and even the traditional veto in favour of Israel is now getting to be more and more difficult. Israel seems to be playing a waiting game as far as going into Gaza is concerned.It will not be a cakewalk.They know that.

Actually the Italian Commander is frustrated they can't do more under the mandate to disarm Hezbollah. He would like to be able to use more force to do the job they are there to do.

Actually a show of sovereignty and strength. Or maybe you didn't read the same article I did.

they weren't awake before when the palestininians were sending quassams to sderot or negev desert.

I know threeJews who work for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. They are horrified by what they see and are almost unanimous in their disgust with Israel's treatment of the Palestinians in Gaza. And that was before the artillery shell killed Palestinians on the beach in June, last year. They work 'in the trenches' and relate how young children, some in their teens, have never seen the Mediterranean Sea until Israel pulled out of Gaza. They talk about beach compounds for wealthy, international Jews that had dominated coastal Gaza. They know 'first hand' what is going on in Gaza, compared with those who live in Europeanized TA.

If peacekeepers are available, send them to stop the genecide in Darfur, over 250,000 men, woman and children murdered already! Don't let the Arab League focus the world on Palestinians killing each other (so far the count is below 50, a far cry from the quarter of a million in Darfur) and blaiming Israel.

Nations supposed peace keeping force in Croatia in the days of that debacle. One Croatian woman named her dog UNPRAFOR (by the way they wore baby blue bonnets). Someone asked the woman,"Why did you name the dog UMPRAFOR." She said, "Because all it does is sleep and eat." Europe and U.N. please don't emabarass your boys.

Well, well, well...an unintended but quite obvious admission that Israeli soldiers are not up to the task.

The entire problem in Gaza is that there is no peace to keep, nor is there any chance that there will be peace any time soon. Gaza has become a place where different factions are engaging in murdering each other, where Qassams are being fired into Israel on a daily basis, and where Al Qaeda has emerged from the ruins of an ineffective Macca agreement.

Other countries should not be wasting their human resources managing lawless dark forces. Israel should not surround itself with foreign forces. This kind of proposal is simplistic and short sighted.

Peace keepers is a meaningless term. Whether it is United Nations or individual countries, such as scandinavians et al, they are merely nothing but observers who don't usually do even that. The borders of Israel are all "hot zones'' and no country wants its soldiers killed with impunity. After all it is not countries that will do the killing ,but, so called "terrorists". So there is no credible accountability and no way to retalliate across a border. A meaningless incident report is made and "looked into" too long after the fact to ever be effective. Israel must defend its own borders in any way it judges to be appropriate. It is called territorial integrity. For sixty years the world ,for the most part, has disparaged Israel self defense.

Israel does not insist that the U.N (and particulatly the E.U) will get Israel's bacon out of the fire. It is actually the E.U that has been yammering at Israel to go easy on the palestinians and to let the E.U more involvement. So - if the E.U wants to do good in Gaza - they are welcome to, as long as that "good" includes pacifying the area. If they just walk around, giving food and singing "Kumbaya", some might get hurt when Israel bombs terrorists. As for land grab - I hope you realize that Israel got out of every last inch of territory conquered in 1967 in the gaza strip. Not that it did any good. So cut the crap and talk sense.

Livni no doubt thinks she is bright and accomplished by making such a statement. The problem is of course that the international bodies can always say they will do so, in vague and non-commital language, leaving Israel stuck with the results. One should not even propose this as it opens the door on the subject. Livni messed up handling the international relations on the Lebanon war, and she continues to show she is no better than Olmert, Peretz, and Halutz as she is also as they say in my opinion, " a light weight". One has to say the flawed Barak and Netanyahu would make better PMs than Livni who has shown us that she is on " over-her-head".

Israel decided to withdraw unilaterally from Gaza. There was ten times more discussion about whether the date should avoid colliding with this or that Jewish holiday than to have the withdrawal coordinated with the PA. TWO YEARS AGO would have been the time to negotiate with all concerned parties how control in the strip was to be maintained. TWO YEARS AGO the Israeli FM could have asked for foreign help in the transition of power. Two years later, nobody from outside is inclined to clean up the mess. And rightly so.

Clickfool, we are not arrogant at all in this instance, we are just crazed by the constant sensely harrassment of the Gaza Pals, and it would be most timely for int'l peacemakers to see in real time and proximity what is going on here.

Excellent idea to have int'l peacemakers along Gaza border. However, we can't expect them to act like dobermans and hold down the Pals who are harrassing us, but they might be like barking labradors. Or at very least they would get a ringside perception of what is going on here with our neighbors.

This idea has been tossed around for awhile. Obviously the PA isn't ready to govern, nor will they be for countless years to come. In the meantime, Israelis become Hamas targets as Hamas tries to re-focus Pals' (whose lives they have destroyed) hate on Israel instead of each other. You think Israeli occupation is bad? Maybe Pals weren't meant to live under a Democracy in the first place - Egyptian and Jordanian control of these two territories could bring economic and political stability to the region. These two authoritarian regimes won't put up with Hamas, and IDF tanks will vigilantly patrol the border as they always have.

Ha'aretz' reports Livni's message to the European diplomats, "Is the international community really ready to send a force willing to go house to house finding terrorists? That's the sort of force you need in Gaza. Are you really willing to do the job that needs to be done?" Why not agree to Livni's 'half-a-loaf'? But let's also add, "Are you REALLY willing send a force into Occupied Palestine to remove the illegal Israeli Settlers? And are you REALLY willing to expel the IDF from Occupied Palestine? And are you REALLY willing to do the 'complete' job that needs to get done?" Perhaps we are much closer to a lasting peace than we think. Let's put Israel and the Palestinians to the test.

What good is reporting breaks of a cease-fire? They can report all they want, that doesn't help Palestinians or Israelis. And we know how much the UN loves making resolutions against Israel, while hardly condemning the Palestinians! What a joke the UN is. And I will throw the EU in with them, because they are also more concerned about Palestinian rights than Israeli lives.

The international force would have to be led by the US and include some European and Arab forces with only UN blessing but not leadership. It would have to be determined to take on and disarm terrorists and groups opposed to peace, and leave only relatively small official Palestinian security force. It would have to be in context of progress on diplomatic front. This will not happen because Iran-Syria-Islamic Radicals will not just sit buy and let it. No one has the will to take them on, and US is bogged down in Iraq with very weak, unpopular,and incompenent administration. This is what should have been done long ago after 9/11 instead of stupid US invasion of Iraq.

Answer is not UN force but coalition of the willing led by US (perhaps with some European and Arab troops) with UN blessing that would disarm terror, run Gaza and West bank as protectorate, make improvement in daily lives, and guide Palestinians toward independence and compromise peace agreement with Israel. Of course this will never happen because the US is bogged down in worthless Iraq, and has weak incompetent administration. Also there is no will anywhere to take on Iranian-Syrian-Islamic Radical axis that will not sit by and let this happen.

Answer is not UN force but coalition of the willing led by US (perhaps with some European and Arab troops) with UN blessing that would disarm terror, run Gaza and West bank as protectorate, make improvement in daily lives, and guide Palestinians toward independence and compromise peace agreement with Israel. Of course this will never happen because the US is bogged down in worthless Iraq, and has weak incompetent administration. Also there is no will anywhere to take on Iranian-Syrian-Islamic Radical axis that will not sit by and let this happen.

GAZA IS UNDER *EGYPTIAN* OCCUPATION!

Have you ever heard of such Chutzpah, oh you have...ok.

Gaza cannot be looked upon seperated from East Jerusalem and the West Bank. International forces should only be part of a full solution to the conflict. That is, they will be stationed along the 1967 borders, ensuring that neither sides violates the others territory, ai space or sea territory. And Israel must speedily remove all illegal settlers from East Jerusalem and the West Bank. And be willing to do so, using all necessary force.

Omran says, "The force they [the Pals] are seeking is to round up terrorists and stop rocket fire so as to protect Israel from the resistance thus permitting Israel to continue its land grab in peace." He further says, "An international force in the WB and Gaza to halt settlement expansion and stop terror would be more balanced, but only after Israel agreed to a Palestinian state and a time table to remove the WB settlements and outposts was in place. All to be enforced under international supervision. I'm not sure that Israel is prepared to recognize Palestine as an independent state or remove the plethora of settlements. However, an international presence in the West Bank might relieve some of the suffering of the Palestinians and accurately report the occupational expansion, a.k.a., 'facts on the ground', . NOTE: I want to correct the expression 'land for peace'. More accurately, it should be called, 'occupied land for peace'.

Its not that Israel couldn't stop the firing of the missles but that it was not willing to impose the kind of punishment necessary to do so. It is assumed that what an international force would have to do would not be as punishing and though that may be wrong, if it is right, it is highly revealing and would better inform the international community.

"Israel couldn`t stop the firing of Qassams at Sderot when they were in full military control of Gaza" do you even know what you're saying? there is no military control of gaza. israelis left a while ago. Perhaps you're suggesting that palis had more peace when there were truly occupied by israel? i certainly believe that. your views are certainly not fooling anyone and the only idiots supporting your position are the ones killing their own kind in the name of mo.

Clickfool you ARE entertaining. You do seem to be a bit confused however. It makes me wonder if you are yourself a follower of islam. You seem to read up on every site that tells history as it truely was and then come onto this news site and say the exact opposite of what is Truth. You may need therapy. The simple truth is that no one wants to do or be blamed for doing the killing anymore. In 1945 Gaza would have been carpet bombed and then made into real estate. Today however we are trying to live through diplomacy. The animals (by that I mean anyone in jihad) are to ignorant to listen to reason. Why don't they and you work more on acceptance of reality.

Either they can and will or not. If not, there is no need for them. There is no point to "peacekeepers" if they fail to do anything to keep the peace. And I am sure that Israel would accept a good faith serious effort. Israel doesn't require 100% stopping. But, you do actually have to give it a realistic try and to be at least moderately effective. Otherwise all you are asking for is: we want peacekeepers present to stop Israeli responses to Arab terrorist missile attacks. and that is just foolish.

Um, Matt... "Stopping rocket attacks and other internal and external attacks" is the same thing as "cracking down on Palestinian" terrorists. What distinction are you trying to make here?

Click, the open contempt for one of roughly every two Jews now alive in Israel and the barely masked contempt for the remaining half outside is the specialty of anti-Semitic rabblerousers, in and out of the exalted nothingness of the international whoredom of Amelek, otherwise known as the "United Nations" who know no Jews, know nothing about Jewish history and culture, and yet feel free to badger Jews with the ongoing spittle of their execrations. Jews with hard won means of self-defense are not asking the UN permission to breathe, inasmuch as the UN as a body has already forfieited its moral claims by ignoring continual Arab depredations against a member state and enabling the drive for racial Arab superiority in an Islamic lebransraum uncontaminated by non-believers.

Hamas should have its own international protection force, just like Hezbollah

UN FARCES, the very same bozo's that allowed the PLO to fire at Israel while they concealed them in their midst. Same guys that watched Israeli soldiers being kidnapped and VIDEO TAPED it for the own enjoyment. UN, the same characters that are raping helpless women in Somalia supposedly under their protection. UN, same gang that withdrew when Nasser told them to get out, prior to his attack on Israel. Trust the UN? NOT by the hair of your chinny chin chin.

This woman has turned back Israel's security and deterrent to the Stone Age. Get this. UN comes into Gaza just like in Lebanon. They oversee more & more arms shipments from Iran just like Lebanon. When the rockets fly into Israel, Israel can do nothing because they can't attack with foreign troops and weapons on the ground JUST LIKE IN LEBANON. Livi, You are so screwed up it's not even funny. You are a traitor with only ONE solution to ALL Israel's problems. SURRENDER is the only thing you know. You don not speak for Israel! No matter how far you climb you will crash. Too bad so many Israelis will have lost their lives until you do. FLUSH LIVNI !!

I think "cracking down on Palestinian militants" is not a realistic goal. What should be asked is that the force should stop rocket attacks and other internal and external attacks.

funny you say that. considering IAF has violated south lebanon air space daily, and came so close to being shot at by the French

The force they are seeking is to round up terrorists and stop rocket fire so as to protect Israel from the resistance thus permitting Israel to continue its land grab in peace. An international force in the WB and Gaza to halt settlement expansion and stop terror would be more balanced, but only after Israel agreed to a Palistinian state and a time table to remove the WB settlements and outposts was in place. All to be enforced under international supervision.

"Israel said on Friday it might agree to international peacekeepers being deployed in Gaza as long as they were ready to crack down on Palestinian militants" Israel couldn't stop the firing of Qassams at Sderot when they were in full military control of Gaza. Now they want the international community to try to do what they couldn't. Why would the UN want to do ANYTHING for an arrogant state that treats it and its resolutions with such contempt?

-nd their duplicity to Gaza. IDF unwilling to fight terrorists despite own claims they "would do it". How could one expct foreign troops to fullfil their official pledges then?

To protect the poor Palis not to prevent them from fireing rockets. Then how are we going to protect the border communities with peace keepers there protecting Hamas. It did not work in 56 it won't work now

International peace keepers is a sound idea, not only for Gaza, but for all contested land and occupied land. Otherwise, it's impossible for objective people to really know what's going on. In the case of Gaza, humanitarian aid could go on unhampered by an occupying force, and a major source of arms shipments to the Palestinians could be interdicted.

Surely the best and highest use of any international force is to protect persons on both sides of the border. It should be given the mandate to do so and this should include the use of force against both Israel and terrorist. Its complicated for sure because if the force is perceived by either side to be ineffective, the force will be very much in the line of fire. But merely having peacekeepers to record what is already being recorded is useless.