Two IDF soldiers wounded by protesters on march to Homesh

Jake asks, "How is life in occupied Mexican territory? Nice and spacious compared to Israel, no doubt." When I march on May 1, it won't be with a bunch of people who share my ethnic characteristics and want to claim more territory for themselves! Rather, it will be with the Mexicans and other humans who aren't citizens of the AmeriKKKan empire but insist on their right to be here. By the way, the main victims of the white anglo settlers in California weren't the Mexicans but the indigenous people who still lived a tribal existence when the land was taken from Mexico. Those who could pass for Mexican suffered discrimination but mostly survived. Those who couldn't were mostly exterminated.

I know this line has been repeated elsewhere, but if these were Palestinians demonstrating peacefully, say, at Bil'in, the soldiers would just shoot them. Why are the colonists any different? I'm sick of my tax dollars paying for these racist freaks.

It seems that at least once a week there is a report about the wounding of protesters along the fence/wall. The supporters of the march on Homesh are the same people who condemn any action by peaceful protesters who oppose their opinion about Israeli v. Palestinian rights.

You are correct in that hate is an extremely negative emotion, regardless of the context. Nonetheless, your hypocriticism shines through as you bluntly disenfranchise those who disagree with your self-righteous ways by denying them their Judaism and negating their identity. That's quite low indeed. Are only settlers Jews then? Are only those who agree with you worthy of humanity? Let us not forgot your intrinsic racism by insinuating that only Jews have morals, and taking a cheap swipe at the morals and ethics of Reform Jews (which also don't fit into your world-view). You, my friend, are truly repugnant. It's precisely that kind of attitude that causes you to be unfortunately hated so much by a large swathe of the Israeli population, and the world at large. Spot hijacking our religion, morals, and country. Enough!!

The superior race that protests and breaks minor laws is allowed to act as it wants, cheered on by many fellow members of the superior race, the inferior race that protests and breaks minor laws is being shot at, imprisoned and projected in the media as -potential- terrorists. The IDF is so explicitly racist in its policies that even the most simple of Israelis should be able to see that there lies a vast distance between what the IDF says and what it does. Truely, a sick and depressing situation. It's about time the Israeli people stood up against this sickoo regime that commits these crimes in their name in the occupied territories, and force the Israeli occupier to get the hell out of Palestine. ?It always seems impossible until its done.? (Nelson Mandela)

Meitav is in ISRAEL. Always has been. Always will be. Prior to moving to this Moshav I was a founding member of a very succesful, to this day, KIBBUTZ. Also in ISRAEL. Truth be known I regret ever having left the Kibbutz & visit it regularly. Today in fact to celebrate Yom Ha'Atzmaut. BTW I see you too don't have the BALLS to disclose where you reside. Like most of the other 2Faced holier than thou Galutnikim. I am proud to disclose that I live HAPPILY in ISRAEL. Had I wished to live in Jordan, Canada or G-D forbid GRATEbrittin when I left S.Africa 47yrs ago, at the ripe old age of 18, I could have. I had enough sense & PRIDE in my JUDAISM to come home to ISRAEL & be part of the rebuilding of the Jewish State. Eat your jealous heart out Leo!

My assumption is that scores of protesters would be in the hospital, and more would be in jail ! All this because Israel is the only democratic country in the Mideast, of course...

Please reply to the question when you are asked. Refer to my post # 40. Which country in the world receives the most money per capita from the US ? Israel, of course.

If the settlers claim that the west bank is part of Israel, then why do the Arabs living there not have the right to vote in Israeli elections?

I wonder if you are Jewish. So much hatred can only come from a non Jew. If you converted to Judaism, you probably converted through a reform organization so you are not Jewish.

Sounds like you and the 'bash-Israel' crowd are not only whining; you've monopolized these talkback forums into a de-facto squatters' zone. I'm just illustrating the facts to those who want to make it look like Israel is American Taxpayers' Burden #1. Do I need to remind you about the free ride Canada gets under the American security umbrella? Talk is cheap.

You unforutnatley serve as testimony as to why Israel might deserve its own fate - how many more rockets & terror attacks need to occur in order for your thick skull to understand the reality of the situation? Better still, why don't you practice what you preach & leave your "illegal settlement" of Meitav and move to Galut? Stop being such a hypocritical "law breaker"...

"Two Israel Defense Forces soldiers were lightly wounded on Tuesday as they attempted to prevent protestors from reaching the site of the evacuated West Bank settlement Homesh."

Do they not have a single brain cell amongst ALL of them. These people are a danger to the very fabric of ISRAELI society & in fact a danger to the Future of the Jewish State. They along with their Galut bretheren need to be put in their places. Taught a lesson in civility. I agree 100% with Henk from Petach Tikva. They are extremely lucky NOT to be up against IDF troops who fought & Defended Medinat Yisrael but rather young inexperienced troops. I too would love to knock the SH*T out of them, & at the same time knock some common sense INTO them! They are an embarrasment & MUST be controlled! Chag Sameach :o)

IDF should stop providing them with protection and see how they defend themselves against the palestinians.

The title of this article is very revealing of the underlying disdain this media organization has towards Jews who love this land, all the land.

Okay, but how many tax dollars does it make per inhabitant (Israel vs. rest of the Mideast) ? That is the figure which is worthy of interest.

"Nonetheless, IDF sources have stated that there is zero chance that they will be able to stop the march entirely." Of course you can stop it. Just apply the methods you use on other members of the community. I remember a Palestinian attempt at a peaceful march three years ago or so. You handled it easily.

These hoodlums have hijacked Judaism, hijacked Zionism, and hijacked all the humane and just values that this state should obstensibly stand for! 'Ideals of Independence Day' my arse. Government and IDF, don't bow down to these self-righteous dangerous nutters! At the very least don't let them break the law and show to the world what a double standard we seem to have here...

No, this march is everything AGAINST the idea of the Independence Day. The State of Israel was established on land legally purchased from its owner on which we could live as a free people. Stealing land and making millions of people miserable for the sake of living out a sick religious dream has nothing to do with the noble ideals of Zionism and an independent Israel. DISGRACE! mls.lists@btinternet.com

Israel's population is a little more than 7 million. Egypt's population is close to 85 million. Stop your whinning and your propaganda and go learn some math.

It's about high time that the I.D.F. changes its "rules of engagement" and stops being soft on their own sweet Jewish countrymen. Treat them like you would tackle any foreign enemy or terrorist and you'll see how fast the problem will change. They know that you're either reluctant to tackle them or have instructions not to hurt them and they take advantage of it without shame. The moment there will be a firm policy that for every soldier hurt there will be a few badly hurt settlers as well, they'll think twice before touching any soldier again. Thank God I've done my service in the I.D.F. and am out of it now as otherwise I'm afraid I'd be courtmartialed tomorrow for beating the shit out of these settler bastards good and proper.

This certainly is the ultimate sign of "hutzpa" from the side of the religious settlers and their goonies including - if not first and foremost - the former chief rabbi and the other rabbi's of the settler organizations. I wonder what all those people in Israel who converted to Judaism will feel these days, that certainly was not the Israel and its religion they converted to at their times. Nobody ever is going to convince me that these religious Jewish settlers and their rabbis are any better than their Muslims counterparts and their behaviour, same garbage with another decoration. This one believes in Moshe rabenu and the others in Mohammed, besides that they're all the damn same and should be treated accordingly. Not with the double standards and the lack of interest to tackle the Jewish settlers problem the Israeli government and the I.D.F. displays presently. It really looks like they don't actually want to stop them. Shoot at these bastards just the same as you shoot at the PAL's

I would love to visit Gaza, but I don't enjoy being killed, so I will have to pass. I will wait until the Gazans finish killing out each other. Besides, I have been in Gaza numerous times, to Ne've Dekalim and other areas, and they were much more beautiful and had hotels; then your stupid brothers decided to destroy whatever Israel left them intact and turn them into Katyusha launching points.

Why should I pay a huge price for something I didn't do it in the first place eh? in other word: Why should I or my people suffer from an Israeli punishment just because someone sent Kassam rockets into your town? all this has nothing to do with us, we are innocents like you.

Just scatter a few hundred cluster bomblets around Homesh. That'll work.

Your glaring headline is barely referred to in the article that follows; a brief "...slightly wounded." How, what wounds, what brought it about? Why don't you just acknowledge its but another attempt to denigrate settlers? Have you foresaken basic journalistic standards and truth in order to propogate your political agenda?

IDF step in & STOP this NOW. Use force if necessary The majority of LAW ABIDING ISRAELIS are behind you Just ignore the religious rightwing WANNABEES. Most of home live in the Galut anyway Those of you who say that IDF should be concentrating on stopping Terrorism & Kassams are 100% correct. Instead we are wasting time, taktziv & manpower defending a bunch of LAWBREAKERS. But what would you be saying about us if we left these troublemakers undefended. You would be cursing us as #4 has done. May every CURSE uttered by these Ignoramuses be returned on them manyfold times. Over & over!

The Israeli soldiers don't fear for their lives when the settlers are marching although there may be some pushing and shoving. Marching Palestinians are a physical threat to the soldiers as from past experience. Hence the different reaction to settlers and Palestinians.

Would you agree that it would be a waste of time for the IDF to stop a "peaceful march" by Palestinians from Nazareth to Haifa? If not, why not?

And then you wonder why you are attacked for your "innocent" INTERFERING in ISRAEL's security. TWO ISRAELI soldiers were injured by your scum. That is NOT your concern though is it?? You & yours don't have to defend the lives of a bunch of irresponsible LAWBREAKERS. MINE DO!! Carry on glorifying LAWBREAKERS & KILLERS all the while from sunny Durban, South Africa but don't expect not to be condemned for the SELFISH IGNORANT assHOLE you are!

Amir Peretz, in his arrogance, intervened to prevent the army from arranging a permit, as it initially was willing to do. If the worse that comes of this is two soldiers falling down it is a blessing. We need a defense minister who doesn't bases his decisions on where he is standing in the the Labor party polls. His crass attempts to get a few of Bishara's supporters to switch camps make a mockery of the government and the army.

The problem with the Arabs is that they would probably be carrying explosives or ak47's, oh and don't forget, they didn't own this land 100 years ago. Whatever they have they stole. I guess the truth is inconvenient for you isn't it?

tamir, i would love to celebrate your independence and even help rid gaza of smelly drains for you. even help you build greenhouses for your self. if only you would recognise my independence instead of sending rocket bombs from gaza into israel nearly every day!

How is life in occupied Mexican territory? Nice and spacious compared to Israel, no doubt.

not to mention the "greater Middle East", Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc. etc. Israel's aid is being phased out. At $2.4 billion (all military this year), it is currently little more than the aid to Egypt alone. Aid to the Moslem world is on the up and up.

Is Haaretz saying that these IDF were fired on by the Homesh marchers? Or were they 'injured' by means other than gunfire? I had to read Jerusalem Post to find out the IDF were injured in a 'scuffle' with activists. Your use of 'wounded' which implies gunfire is a particularly low and dirty form of yellow journalism.

A light unto the nations. har har

Wounded how??? By guns, by rocks, by rockets, by teenagers, by women, by armed "settlers"?? Whatever, we will pray that our beloved soldiers are safe, and are allowing "these dreaded settler dangerous people" to have a hike to Homesh. We do do a lot of hiking in Israel especially on Yom Haatzmat. Chag Sameach to all the Jews in Israel, including these damn "settlers" who also love living on the Land that we live on.

If anything succeeds in bringing down this government, it will not be the Winograd Commission, since everyone assumes it's going to be highly critical of Olmert, Peretz and Livni in any case. It will be the brave halutzim of Homesh who are succeeding in showing the true face of Israel, and exposing the craven government for what it is. Indeed, if you will it, it is no dream.

So much energy going to waste ,a better way ,yes ,arrest them all and put them to work in the Galil for a new National Park a good name would be "Homesh"

As one great philosopher said,"Nothing is stronger than an idea whose time has come". The idea of a strong, self respecting ISrael is an idea whose time has come. We have had decades of bootlicking terrorists, appeasement, "sacrafices for peace", "land for peace","unilateral withdrawl", "restraint" and other suicidal idiocy. (Pain tells us we're doing the wrong thing. That's why concessions, like touching a hot stove, are painful). It has been a total failure and done incalculable harm to Israel. We're reclaiming our land. Nothing will stop us!

The sad thing is that the army is wasting value resources and training time on trying to stop a peaceful march rather than responding to the Hamas attacks from Gaza and preparations to prevent the same mistakes made last summer in Lebanon from happening again.

I imagine that if West-Bank Palestinians were to march to one of the villages around Haifa from which they were ethnically cleansed in 1948, the reaction of the IDF would be a bit more forceful. Of course, I must be an anti-semite for suggesting that the Israeli state would discriminate like that.

Those rubber bullets and tear gas you use on the fence protestors seems to work pretty well.....I guess they don't work on Jews. Rollin

Homesh must be restored.

You're superstitious violence will set Western Civilization back hundreds of years.

Edith I agree totally with you on this. Where are the rubber bullets/tear-gas/live ammo that they use to keep the Palestines in tow??? The IDF seems to stop things that they say Hamas PLAN on doing BEFORE they actually HAPPEN. BUT yet they cannot stop a few militant settlers from displaying such defiance? The fact they say the march was cancelled was all PR, the fact that they say they cannot control these settlers is also PR, but yet they DO control unarmed women children elderly and helpless people. What a farce. IS the IDF claiming that these settlers are mightier than they????

If these were Palestinians making their way to some place they weren't supposed to be the IDF would be stopping them. This is a deliberate act of 'turning a blind eye' to allow these religious nuts to do whatever they choose while the IDF pretends that they didn't give permission for this march to go ahead. No one is fooled by any of this and any right minded person knows that this march and any like it is incredibly damaging to Israel.

What is that supposed to mean "IDF sources have stated that there is zero chance that they will be able to stop the march entierly"? Sounds inadmissible. Why this pitiful heplesness? Or is it conveniently looking the other way? Sad show on our 59th anniversary!

Subsidizing religious nuts who are dragging us off the cliff into a clash of civilizations: there's your tax dollars at work.

We must stop the busses before they reach Homesh! This could be a precedent for future years if allowed to complete the caravan. Maybe as an alternative, a few representatives of the four busloads, could be allowed in just to pacify the settlers. This smells of anarchy!

Blessed be Prof Aumann, and all those wonderful people who have organised and are taking part in this strong and "defiant" march. Cursed be all those who oppose and try to prevent this great Jewish action..

In the absence of any real Palestinian move to peace, settlement activity is going to be hard to stop. There is no motivation for settlers to listen to orders to stop. They want the 'right to return' to their land as much as much as Palestinians.

Come and celebrate our independet with us and who knows, you may also rent a house at one of Jabalya houses because there are no hotels there yet. You may notice some bad drain smells around the area, just to remind you of it if you don't mind.