IDF lifts shortlived army-wide ban on troop home leave

Sharon, the rebbe warned you not to fly in 1969 and he saved your life. The Rebbe warned you not to run for elected office and you disregarded him. The Rebbe warned you not to put Jews in danger R"L by givng away our land. Sharon, the Rebbe is watching, repent like King Yochoniah and save your skin. THE REBBE IS WATCHING YOU.

Except that petain was less of a liar and did not pledge in writing not to give up an inch of Eretz Yisroel.

This operation should be called ABU OMRI since Sharon is only goinig back on his prior pledges to save his hide and his son Omri from prosecution for fraud. Sharon is not the first general who was a traitor to his homeland. Anyone remember Marshal Petain of the Vichy government.

It's time the Jews left Gaza. As a strategic move in the fight against terror it makes sense. Sharon the General knows that maxim from Sun Tzu that it is key to choose the right battlefield in any war. Gaza is not the correct battlefield. It is also important to finally break the hypnotic hold that the settlers have exerted upon Israel. My feeling is if they wish to live amidst a sea of Arabs, let them, but without the IDF supporting them. They just shouldn't expect to be protected and subsidized by the Israeli and American governments.

There will never be peace these arabs are born like that you cant change people. --- There will never be peace these jews are born like that you cant change people. See how ridiculous you are? How dangerous?

I'll be delighted to help them pack, and I have lots of friends who feel the same. Just let us into Gaza and we'll be happy to oblige.

... and do YOU know how dangerous it is to use such a hateful tone - read again your "start packing" poem.... what do you expect people to assume exactly?? that you`re there, ready with a helping hand - yeh right!! --- the settlers should be grateful they are allowed to pack. The Palestinians who were driven from their homes and land in 1948 and all those whose homes have been demolished without warning since then were not afforded that luxury. Time to stop whining and start moving.

To Zeev....stop believing that this will bring peace --- It will certainly lead to peace so long as Sharon doesn't think leaving Gaza is all he has to do. Get out of the West Bank, stop stealing Palestinian land including Palestinian portions of Jerusalem. Israel can have peace, but not until it stops its reign or terror.

Stay and be under PA rule or leave to Israel. --- Assuming the Palestinians agree to let them stay as legal aliens. They have no rights.

Funny isn`t it.... if it were the Palestinians being thrown out of their homes, you`d be there with blankets and a helping hand, and bags of sympathy etc... Not the same thing at all. Palestinians are every day driven from their homes. This time it is Jews who are being removed from Palestinian land. Long past time.

But the settlers' friends have lots of respect, don't they? Planting fake bombs the day of, day before and day after people died in the bombing in Netanya. You people are such hypocrites, it's shocking, with your lies, your hysterical accusations of "Nazi" at other Jews. And all the time trying to turn Israel into another Iran.

"WE WANT SHARON OUT NOW!" - Joe If you are an Israeli citizen go home and vote next election. . . . If not, then . . . Far shorter lines and fewer far-flung outposts to defend, are a sound military policy.

I have long believed that Israel should find an honorable way out of the territories-for its own good, and because it is the right thing to do. I am encouraged that Israel is willing to do so despite the almost certain knowledge that they are, in their first such move, leaving a Hamas dominated enclave behind. I suppose that this cannot be helped, because, if you retained it, demography, geography, and inequity would soon redefine the Israeli-Palestinian confrontation into "one man one vote," which Israel would lose. I hope that this move, and the further disengagement in Judea/Samaria can buy you the time for a viable Palistinian democracy to develop. Of course, I also hope that disengagement and time will allow such developments, and that they, like you have done, can bring their extremists into electoral politics.

Eventually, whenever the Palistinians

al go to google start with the balfour declaration 1917 work from ther to the present day come back in 6 months

Shlomo believe me I also can not fathom how Jews can have such hatred for their fellow Jews like Yonation does.Just the other day,if I am not mistaken,he came in here and said "the only good settler is a dead settler".If that is how he really feels and he wants 9,000 Jewish men,women,children,and babies to be slaughtered by Hamas and Al Aqsa terrorists like they did to the Hatual family,Koby Mandell,Danielle Sheffi and other Jews living in the West Bank and Gaza then he is really no different then the Jews who collaborated with the Nazis during World War 2.To be honest,I can't help but wonder if his name is really Abdul and he is a member of Hamas who celebrated the slaughter of Jewish women and children at that mall in Netayna just yesterday.

If the Green Line is nothing but an Armistice Line. Are you suggesting therefore that the Palstinians should all be included in Democratic Israel, as arab Israelis. Where the MOTO is LIVE & let LIVE, and where 1 person/1 vote is the norm? Viva. By the way what about the SYRIANS? do they have an International border with Israel? Shalom/Salaam

Mate to #53 u are a big dreamer and its good to dream all the time --- but u r in Montreal - you are dealing merely with the French problem - We here are dealing with real hatred for Israel lets not kid ourselves mate, with or without the so called return to 67 borders we JEWS will always be hated ---- so mate come back home bring ALL the Jews back home to ALL of Israel (Yesha included) and the Arab problem will surely dissappear then as we would have shown the world where JEWS really belong.!!!

the odds al hass are ABOUT THE SAME AS ME BEING THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE USA

Don't blame the Jews for the misfortunes of the palestinians. Why is your memory so short. How many times have the Israelis come to the peace table and have been slapped in the face with offers of genuine peace? Do you have any idea how many palestinians live in multi-million dollar villas in Israel? The islamofascists of your kind are keeping your own people in squalor. Don't blame the Jews.

you mean idf sergeant israelis are actually going to take an interest in what the dictatorship is doing IDF sergeant where are all the dissenters besieging the knesset to put to the guillotine the turncoat LIKUD party members who forgot what the party was voted in to do!! NOT TO DISENGAGE !!! wow WHAT WILD PEOPLE THEY MUST BE THE ONES NOT LIVING IN ISRAEL

The government's decision to suddenly close Gush Katif less than 24 hours after a suicide bomber killed four Jews in Netanya, shows how little Jewish life means to our "leaders". By comparison, after the train crash, the anti-disengagement protestors decided to postpone their planned protest for the next day, out of respect for the mourning families. Prime Minister Sharon clearly feels that nothing, not even respect for the dead, will stand in the way of his plans. As Jewish teenaged girls were being buried by their families, he saw fit to "up the notch" and launch his next step. Could the government not have waited even a day? How can this be the response of a Jewish State? Tamar

the markers are probably better answered by astrology at the present time the heavy planets are all in water signs saturn in cancer [bush is sun cancer]not a lucky position for him uranus in pisces [sharon is a sun pisces]sudden events are likely to oust him from power neptune in aquarius an air sign but the symbol is the man with the watering pot ! blair is a sun taurean and blundering about like the proverbial bull in the china shop. israel as country is also ruled by taurus

Sir, you are doing a good job as it is, and really you could do a better one by sitting with Mr Abbas and negociating A two States' Solution; and full PEACE for your COMMUNITIES; that is by exchanging here and there, some vilages and settlements. Good Luck to you both.

TO RAFI GREEN My friend your sarcacm strikes me as funny. Staten Island is not an occupied territory and I will tell you why. The colonists came to America because of the intolerable living conditions of Great Britian. In addition, native Americans fought side by side with the "new" Americans in order to defeat the British encroachment upon the colonists freedom. As for 1967 borders, there are none. When enemies wage wars against a tiny country and the tiny country miraculously defeats its enemy, the land becomes hers my friend.

There would be nothing unfairer than Israel relinquishing sovreignty of E. Jerusalem and the rest of the cradle of Jewish civilisation to her enemies. And when it comes to fairness, mention the UN and we know where they stand. They prefered to stand idley by as thousands were murdered in sebrencia, we best not let them meddle in Israels affairs.

The only international boarders Israel has is with Lebanon to the north and Egypt and Jordan to the South. The green line is an armstice line which is not the recognised international frontier. These lines were supposed to be negotiated in return for peace, but as the arabs said no Israel is now bent on retreating without the guarantee of anything useful in return. This is madness, but as long as the world sees Israel gving up land, they're happy.

Ummmm why should we have a referendum to leave gaza... did we have one to settle it, did we have one to settle the territories, did we have one to allow construction of outposts?? No.. so why should we waste time to do what we didn't do to get in this place in the first place. The govmnt made a unilateral decision to settle, now to disengage.. referendum dum dum

Perfect example of what the settlers believe they need to do --- force the nation into accepting their version of the future. The very idea of going out to the roadways & intersections and disrupting the fabric of life; the idea to place 'dummy bombs' in public places; the ongoing campaign of de-legitimization of government; and the orange ribbons, those bright symbols of sedition. Yes, the ribbons show a belief in sedition, in all the aspects, including insurrection and mutiny. And at some point, these mutineers will face the wrath of Israeli citizens who are disgusted with this open rebellion.

The Gaza-Strip never belonged to Israel, it was only occupied territory with just a few thousands jewish settlers living under millions of palestinians. that is/was provocating for the palestinians. no one asked Israel to occupy the Gaza-Strip. Israel wants peace? Well, than give the palestinians their own state and you will live in peace. The Gaza-Strip just can be the beginning, the Westbank and East-Jerusalem must follow. That's the only way for Israel to survive and to live peacefully with the Palestinians side by side: give them their own state with East-Jerusalem as it's capital, otherwise the terror from radical palestinians will never stop, I'm afraid.

Hi Faye, I guess that living in occupied territory, as you do, does give you a right to speak. Staten Island was stolen from Native Americans, wasn't it? The State of Israel is a free country, and not a fundimentalist state. Therefore when we refer to our borders we mean the state's borders, not some long forgotten racial memory. The borders of Israel were set in 1948, any changes after that have to be agreed. Otherwise Britain belongs to the French, France to the Germans, the USA would be split between the Spanish, native Americans and English and I don't think they'd like that.

What an amazing statement. " many people against the disengagement wave blue and white flags as well to demonstrate that being against government policy is not being against the government " What a load of rubbish ! Did you know that people who show orange ribbons do it to show that they keep Kosher and and object to opening shops on Shabbat? You really are out of touch with reality guys ! Incidentally, in my area, some very democratic kids spent a whole night tying orange ribbons onto cars throughout the town. Street after street. That's the sort of democracy that they like. If people don't support you, fix the vote. Scientifically.

Barukh HaShem! Hahitnatkut is happening and way overdue, too. We've wasted enough time, money, reputation, morality and--most importantly--lives on the settlers. Time to withdraw to our international borders, and this is the first step in the right direction. Kol hakavod, Arik Sharon!

There will never be peace these arabs are born like that you cant change people.

I was in Efrat a few weeks ago, I came in in my friend's car. While we were parking, a man with a baby in one hand and an M-16 in the other asked if we wanted orange ribbons to place on the car. We said no thanks. He had the chutzpah to get angry. "Don't you care about the land of Israel, the land of the Jews?" I replied, "Yes, I support the land and the state, which is why I am not going to join a movement that endangers both." He looked at me like I was the crazy one. The next morning we went to the car and saw that he had put the ribbons on anyway. Here is a man that has no respect for his country or his people. He does not live in Gaza, he is not being dispossessed. He does not even have enough respect to accept my own opinion because it is different than his. I had supported the orange campaign because I believe in the right to dissent, to express a diffring opinion. But now that I feel that my own opinion is not respected, why should I heed theirs?

Please do not refer to the residents of Aza and the Shomron as right-wing people. Every inch of this soil belongs to Israel. The framers of the illegal expulsion are the extremists. The roots of Zionism is within the hearts of the citizens of Aza and the Shomron. Sharon has lost the ability to govern properly and has lost his idealism of Israel. Your reporting is most unfavorable to the believers of Torah. Your news reporting should be fair and balanced and the truth should be told without sensationalism.

Why would a jew want to go to gaza if he does not live there or have friends or family? Tourism? that is BS. the beach? there are many others. religious extremism? the gates are closed.

Ariel Sharon has the courage to forge a future for the State of Israel and the Jewish people. World Jewry stands with him.

The right to disent peacefully no longer exsists in three nations. The U.S.,Europe and Israel. Three countries that represent freedom and democracy. In the U.S. you used to be able to march on Washington and raise your voice against your government when you believed that the government was not upholding the constitution. This's no longer the case and no matter how loud people cry out, the media barely covers such events. I believe what is happening in Israel has been stagged to be for many, many years. The right players had to be in place and the Illuminati is right on schedual. It's full steam ahead for Bush, Blair and Sharon and they will let nothing get in their way of bringing about the, New World Order. I think it's quite un-nerving, to have three men have so much power over the rest of the world. The odd thing about the illuminati plan is that no matter what people do or say, it all plays out to the illuminatis advantage. For over 100 years the illuminati has waited for these events to unfold and to implement each and every event at just the right time, such as Sept 11th 2001, July 7th 2005. Numbers are important to them, especially 3, 7, 9, 11, 13. So for Sept. 11th you have 9, 11, plus 2+1=3. For the London bombing you have july, 7th month on the 7th day and 2+5=7 gives you 777. People into the occult understand all this, but for the average person their just numbers. I do not believe that this's a conspiracy. When the founding fathers, some who were 33rd degree Masons, such as George Washington, the plan for the brave new world, now called the new world order, was set into motion. The whole design of the government in Washington D.C. when you connect the dots and take an arial shot, is the design of a pentagram. The government building in Israel bears illuminati all throughout it.In 1995 there was a man by the name of Steve Jackson who invented a game called the," Illuminati Card Game and there are 3 cards in the deck that show the twin towers being hit by a plane, the pentagon exploding and one called, tape runs out. Mind you this was in 1995! How did he know this? By studying the Masonic plan from way back in 1883. I suggest people reading this to check this stuff out and as you learn you'll at least understand why all this is going on. My prayers go out to the people in Israel and for Gods protection in this time of turmoil.

Israel has no choice but to get out of Gaza west bank and east jerusalem sooner or later. In the banefit of israel to get out sooner to show the world and UN we are fair and we mean bussiness

The world will never accept that the Palestinians are not interested in peace and will continue to blame Israel, as many left wing Israelis do. Therefore this can not be Sharon's real strategy. In any case, Sharon's refusal to subject the "disengagement" to a national referendum is inexcusable and most telling, especially in light of the recent shift in the polls in Israel[fewer than 50% favor the disengagement]. Sharon is not interested in democracy. He, and only he, knows what is best for Israel. What arrogance.

Disengagement and leaving Gaza is not enogh. If israel wants true and lasting peace it should witdraw from all occupied land of 1967. This is the ONLY option for a lasting peace. To use disengagement as pretext to swallow west bank is a dangerous approach ????

Look lets try this again. If there was an opportunity for volunteers to go to GK and help move.. I would be there whether you choose to believe me or not is your problem. It is not a hateful tome or tone. It is no more than the posters against disengagement, voicing my opinion.

Again making assumptions.. I don't believe this will make peace, and i don't neccesarily believe that peace may happen in my life time.. BUT i do believe that we must disengage, seperate from Gaza (West Bank a bit trickier) in order to make the process clean. WE may still come under attack, but the world will see that we made this move and will have no choice but to respond. I am sure you think this is naive, but i think staying is more naive.

Settlers are very extreme radical Jewish movement in the world and can be compared to Hamas in their ideology so as it is good for Sharon to stop them from entering Gaza but he also need to get them out of the west bank so the Palestinians can live in peace with dignity in their own homes. A new study shows that most of the terrorist are not caused by religious believe but rather it is due to the hardship and the treatment of the occupier on the people. Imagine those kids who born in Israel and observe the many killing and destruction in both sides. How would they relate to that?

... and do YOU know how dangerous it is to use such a hateful tone - read again your "start packing" poem.... what do you expect people to assume exactly?? that you're there, ready with a helping hand - yeh right!!

The Israeli language of grace, civility, morality, removing the Jews from the land of Gaza is poorly understand in the Arab neighborhood. When the Jews will learn to speak the language the Israeli neighbors understand there will be no terror.

The Jewish tolerance is limitless. Actually, it went beyond the tolerant threshhold and reached the level of limitless stupidity.

Militants abduct U.K, Austrian nationals in Gaza Strip,Netanyah bombing claims 4th victim,3 Generations wiped out by bombing. What do we do? I know lets raid Tul Karm oh and close Gaza to Jews, imprison any idf soldier refusing to participate in the closure or removal of so called settlers who you put there in the first place! "According to military sources, the PA is not doing anything to thwart terror attacks and thus Tul Karm has become a refuge for the Islamic Jihad" but we will give them back evrything anyway. How about as a goodwill gesture we start with Tel Aviv, There have been so many bombings there it seems silly to endanger so many lives in our quest for "peace". Oh and for you all who dont know, mr Abbas has kindly condemed the bombing yesterday and promised to investigate so we can call off the army from Tul Karem and let the Palestinians do their jobs as they have proved in the past how capable they really are. This seems to be a classic example of a world gone mad.

Two terrorist attacks already and they haven't even disengaged yet.

I believe Sharon knows exactly what he is doing. I believe that Sharon knows terrorist attacks will not stop after the disengagement, thus proving to the world that Palestinians are not interested in peace. The Palestinians are going to screw this up once more and the world will finally see the truth!

The Arabs have been terrorizing the Jews for the last 125 years and the Jews still have not learned how to treat the Arab serial killers.

Stay and be under PA rule or leave to Israel.

kol hakavod to Prime Minister Sharon for exercsing leadership and control. it is important to he governance of any enterprise to have insightful and engaged leaders. he is a brocha to the Israeli people, and the diaspora Jewish community who together view medinat yisrael as the beginning of our exile

You know how dangerous it is to assume Sharon. i have no hate, and i have lots of empathy. and while we do all want peace it is based on very different ideologies. I am happy to come with helping hand, blankets, moving trucks anything that would make the move easier... just make the call. Don't be so trite in your response and ass-u-me the worst in those of us who may see peace from a different perspective than you.

Where are all the LEFTISTS crying about the destruction of DEMOCRACY in Isreal now ? As a tax apying citizen - you are not allowed to walk in Gaza ! Sharon is an embarrasment to everyone. Hes no better then any Latin American dictator - he destroys homes, makes people dissapear, throws you in jail with out a trial, uses the military against civilians and MORE. He needs to be retired. Sharon - go back home to your ranch, sit on the porch and watch TV - you are a waste at your current job.

Fanatical Moslems bring bad press to their people. I do not want fanatical Jews to do the same to my people. Previous Israeli governments allowed for and paid for settlements to be built in Gaza. But now after 30 yrs of strife the cost is not worthwhile. The Egyptians were happy to negotiate their peace with Israel and rid themselves of the Palestinians in Gaza. Now the Israeli government is willing to compensate the settlers to leave. Let Israel also rid themselves of the Palestinians.

This effort can be a noble one if it can lead back to the roadmap and to the withdrawal of Israel to the '67 borders agreed by the U.N. But for heaven's sake people, don't forget Sharon's FENCE! It is illegally and dangerously slicing through Palestinian Territory. This fence violates numerous humanitarian laws and endangers the future of the Palestine as an economically viable nation. The disengagment means NOTHING if this wall not corrected...

HOW COULD SHARON BE SO STUPID? HAMAS/ISLAMIC JIHAD, HAD ALL SAID THEY WONT STOP KILLING ISRAELI JEWS UNTIL ISRAEL IS FREE OF JEWS? WHAT GURANTEED DOES HE HAVE THAT THEY WILL STOP KILLING JEWS WHEN WE GET OUT OF GAZA? IT WILL BW EAZIER FOR THEM TO FIRE MISSILES TO TEL AVIV. WE WANT SHARON OUT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

Funny isn't it.... if it were the Palestinians being thrown out of their homes, you'd be there with blankets and a helping hand, and bags of sympathy etc etc. Such hate within you!! We ALL want peace and what's good for the country, whether right or left of the political spectrum (apart from some extremists), you'd embrace those going through particularly hard times. A few kind words wouldn't go amiss.

Don't you think that Prime Minister Sharon should concentrate more on protecting the citizens of his country (Israel) from murderous attacks? It would appear to me that the protection of his citizens should be the first and foremost priority for a Prime Minister, instead of moving people around to "accomodate" world opinions as to where Jews should live.

THE ONLY DEMOCRACY IN THE MIDDLE EAST. BULLSHIT!!!

To The residents of Gush Katif.. Stop Wasting time Stop wasting soldier lives Stop wasting Tax Shequels Stop ignoring the Majority Start Packing.

Protests are a democratic right and Gaza residents are entitled to make their point and for the record after yesterday's bombing you should view your protests to the correct goverment if one exsists!!!! Do you have no pity for innocent Jewish blood?

Isn't it interesting that the loudest opposition to disengagement and closing of Gaza are from outside Isreael? American especially advocate the most violent responses to the suicide bombing. Perhaps they want Israel to fail as they have in Afganistan and Iraq.

Is this the new Sharon reaction to Jewish lives being taken? Is this the new reward for terrorism? Sharon's answer to Netanya: Lock the Jews out of Gush Katif! Someting SMELLS! Have we not learned anything from the past? Shame on you Arik

hey, I beleive i know you from chicago. Are you living in israel? Send me an email. Amir@dirotproperties.com

Last week it was but one soldier. Today five soldiers refused to participate in closing access to Gush Kativ. Tomorrow it will be 40, next week 270...... When it's "crunch time" Jewish soldiers--and police too--will just simply avoid, delay, refuse, sabotage the transfer. This next month will see a mass civil uprising against Sharon's Stalinist methods. Non-violent civil disobedience will paralyze the South of the country. Ordinary citizens, from Sderot, Ofakim, Netivot, Beer Sheva will join the protest. After exhausting every threat and trick, and after hundreds are injured and thousands have been arrested, the political system and the Knesset will finally react, and Sharon will be forced to stop. There will be no transfer. Sharon will be disgraced and finished politically. Just watch and see!

Exactly for Johanes F. comments. Even, if someone wants to stay, they should let him, but at their own expenses and reposibility. No more IDF protection, risking soldiers lives to protect a group of mentally ill people.

Sharon Closes Gaza to the settler Fanatics, so once again the Mob promise anarchy by declaring bi-weekly road blockages due to Strip closure. Once again Israel takes one step back and is fast becoming a lawless society where they think the roads are their protest ground regardless of the safety of their fellow citizens.

Eventually they, or what is left of them after Palestinian " special treatment", will come crawling back to Israel with their tails between their legs. Then we secular Jewish taxpayers can accept them at our own terms. Yonatan, Your virulent hatred of your (presumably) fellow Jews is astounding. My blood chills and my heart shudders at your open desire to witness Palestinian "special treatment" of your 9,000 brothers and sisters, so that it results in "what is left of them". We, as a people, have reached new lows. If there are Jews out there who can dispense such hatred with a clear consience, we are most certainly in for many further troubles and tragedies in the future, well beyond the scope of any governing body. "Oy La'nu". Shlomo Hubscher

This is a wise and neccesary decision by Sharon. It has deflated the colonists balloon and will present them with real difficulties in mobilising their supporters. As for the extremists, the Kahanists and that sort, they should be placed under house arrest or detention until the end of August. And for those who will resort to violence, the army gave a clear answer on that yeserday. If the soldiers are confronted with a life threatening situation, they can response with what is neccesary to protest their lives-full force. This heightened language used by the Yesha and far right about "Jews expelling Jews" and no Jew should support this "deportation" is vulgar bordering on the obscene. What other nation would use this language in referring to its fellow citizens? What they are seeking are the conditions of civil war. This disengagement was voted on by the elected legislative body of the government and is supported b the majority of Israelis. For that to be defied and the democratic process so scorned is criminal and its proponents should be treated as just that-criminals.

Our free press (be it blessed) is mistaken "details" for "news. The last one is "Five Givati troops tell their commanders won`t participate in pullout". Big deal!! How many soldiers are engaged in carrying the legal decision of both the Government and the Knesset to pull out of Gaza? Four thousand? Ten thousand?. And how many soldiers serve in Givati? Five wo`nt participate? So what!!! That is not worth even one line in the press. It is totally irrelevant. Why nobody announces that Baruch Marzel has a beard? Because it is also irrelevant!!! Now come.... Mordechai Benari

Eli Vardi boldly claims: "But the majority of Israeli citizens are for it." How does he know? There never was a vote. If polls decided things in this country, maybe Shimon Peres would finally win something.

Cudos to Sharon. He's getting things done for the first time in years. let's give it a try. We all want peace afterall

It is about time that we applied the law in this country. We cannot allow a minority (parliamentary or otherwise) to run the country - that is not democracy. Any sympathy I had for the people being evicted has gone because of the manner in which they have allowed a few extremists to become their mouthpiece! Unfortunately the tar is sticking everywhwere Lets get out of a place we should not have been in in the first place! Bravo Mr Sharon

"To leave Israelis out of Gaza is good, but the best is to leave the settlers there and to allow PA to treat them (on the equal footing with all the Gaza militants, of course). This will save us, the normal Israelis, the menace of being flooded by greedy, haughty and violent people who are used to see themselves as the Masters of the Land." Not only that - there will be that naby kess Orthodox in Israel. The Orthodox and the haredim (ultra-Orthodox) have been forcing their brand of religion on the rest of us Israelis ever since the estblishment of the State. With their reproduction rate and that of the Arabs, Green Line Israel will become majority Orthodox Jew-Arab by 2048. So an even better idea would be to leave all the West Bank settlers where they are toom and under Palestinian sovereignty. This will save Israeli taxpayers (of whom there aren't that many) a lot of money as well - the costs of the settlers' defense, of building and maintaining their settlements, roads, schools and yeshivot, and, of course, the cost - financial and otherwise - of their resettlement. Let's leave the settlers where they are and under Palestinian rule and prevent violence between Jews! Eventually they, or what is left of them after Palestinian " special treatment", will come crawling back to Israel with their tails between their legs. Then we secular Jewish taxpayers can accept them at our own terms.

mr vardi, for some reason, you think that the most dramatic watershed in the history of the jewish state boils down to a summer camp "color war". you fail to recognize the significance of the situation and dwell solely on the number of blue and white flags waving. consider the following: 1. many people against the disengagement wave blue and white flags as well to demonstrate that being against government policy is not being against the government 2. those flying the orange ribbons clearly represent the population willing to show their commitment. 3. all recent SCIENTIFIC polls taken of the public opinion prove otherwise than your claims of what the majority of Israeli citizens are for. maybe you will think twice before making blanket statements with no substance to back up.

When will"OURLEADERS" wake up from their drunkeness from excess power and releize that not only are they polerizing the country,the Jewish people.and spliting the unity and effectiveness of the IDF.the result will-be G-D forbid 2 armies and two commanders--the outcome of that should be understaderable even to a DRUNK May HASHEM protect and watch over Klall Yisroel.

Wow..so much melodrama. The obvious reason Sharon is shutting the strip has a lot less to do with the bombing yesterday and a lot more to do with trying to beat the protestors at their own game. They threaten to flood the strip is 4 days, lets close everything down early so they wont get in. Makes sense if you are Ariel Sharon or the IDF. Remember the images of a few weeks ago? Would anyone be happy by seeing that multiplied by a factor of 10? My only problem with pulling out is Israel is giving away something for nothing. And also, in getting nothing, they mortars will simply shift from within the strip to more places outside the strip. Although, on a better note, I have no problem with opening up the 110mm howitzers to show applauding Palestinians what real shelling is. These people need to turn on Hamas like a mob rat.

There's a good old proverb: "Help yourself and G-d will help you". If you think that permanent boarders that Israel wants to create for the best of its citizens are bad, so come here, fight against and pray. Rav. Shlomo Amar said very wisely that "he can't agree with the pullout idea, but if will be implemented, we should accept it from G-d". Nothing happens without His consense.

The question is not whether you are for or against the disengagement, the question is whether or not Israel has become a Stalinist regime where polical freedom is no longer relevant. No matter what each and every Israeli's thoughts are on the issue of disengagement, the ideals of democracy have been abused here. For that reason alone every Israeli should be shouting in protest.

The begining of the bolshevik revolution is upon us here in Israel. As we get closer and closer there will be less rights for citizens and less freedom of movement What little civil liberty we have will be taken away from us, even those who support the disengaugement and live in Tel Aviv Sharon want to recreate the Bolshevik state here in the middle east with himself as Lenin, if not Stalin

To leave Israelis out of Gaza is good, but the best is to leave the settlers there and to allow PA to treat them (on the equal footing with all the Gaza militants, of course). This will save us, the normal Israelis, the menace of being flooded by greedy, haughty and violent people who are used to see themselves as the Masters of the Land. Just a short affirmative action: let them feel for one month what their Arab neighbors are feeling - because of the settlements - for 38 years. Educate them, Mr Sharon!

I am not just throwing around insults. Sharon said "by the end of 2005, not a single Jew will remain in the Gaza Strip". Sounds like a pledge made by a tyrant 70 years ago! Would he say something like that about Arabs? He is finished. He will be gone, but Gush Katif will live on-patience-just wait and see!

Patricia - When I come to have a look in Netanya, there will be at least one blue ribbon - mine! Tzippy

Come on and have a look in Netanya. You will be lucky if you can find a white and blue ribbon....

This seems to be the harsh response the PMO announced as a reaction to the Netanya bombing. What a sign of weakness and surrender to terror! It is a comfort that Israel is not alone. Am Yisrael should put their trust in the one and only God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who promised the land, including Gaza, Yehuda and Shomron, to His people, the Jews. Please join me in prayer for the brave Jewish residents in Gaza and Shomron. http://www.pray4zion.org

Weren't they outlawed years ago? Never the less, let's see if the IDF (Sharon) backs down yet again or even can wait untill the 17:th. What's so hard to tell the settlers that those that are out of the territories by....let's say the 17:th get compensation and those that don't will have to pay for being evicted and won't recive compensation. That would have them running for economical cover?

deos he really think this will bring peace? i doubt it, he can not be that out of touch

it's about time........

But the majority of Israeli citizens are for it. You just have to see the utter failure of the orange ribbon campaign. Despite manning major junctions throughout the country for the last few months, there are only about twice as many as blue and whites. The blue and whites distributors have hardly appeared on most junctions, and yet they there are almost as many around. As usual the majority are those that are wary to show their committment.

I am against the disengagement!