Israel worried Fatah may resume suicide attacks

Recent and may not so recent Arab history is mixed with personal glorification leading to dictatorship. Fatah was and largely is a popular liberation movement. Arafat was able to hijack it and created a mini dictatorship comparaded to all Arab countries. Had it not fbeen for Israel occupation, the PA would have gotten A+ in oppression and corruption. L.G. Dayton is pushing for that in the WB since the Bush era. Abbas, which is a behind-the-scene and obedient man had no difficulty in continuing on the path of his devil/master. But, how on earth could a genuine liberation movement quitely become an instrument for repressing the people it wants to liberate. And not ashamed of serving the occupier?. That is an Arab golden secret!

When the bedouins/arabs aka pals voted on election day did the future candidates (hamas) included have a political platform to explain WHY they be voted in? If so did they PROMISE the world to their constituents? Like we the hamas political party would destroy the JEWISH Nation of Israel and dismantle it for the pals? My point is who are the candidates besides hamas did the bdeouin/arabs aka (pals) vote for the lesser of two EVILS, then shame on them their wishes came true, to NO AVIALE hamas CREATED this situation for their contstuients now that their bed is made on their own wishes then they (pals ) cry foul. What will it take for these people to understand that their future state is NOTHING BUT A DREAM, the pals need to take matters into their own hands OVERTHROW hamas, recognise ISRAEL, and MAKE A soild/ valid peace agreement and support it and stand by it . May The Lord Bless You and keep You in Peace!!!

Congrats on your good post to me; I have nothing to add, you are completely right.

Ivar Israel owes the palestinians nothing certainly not a right of return. The right of return idea was put forward in a UN General Assembly resolution & resolutions passed by the General Assembly have no legal authority and are nothing more than glorified proposals to choose accept or reject freely. Also the only official body in the world that claims that refugee status can be inherited is UNRWA. This is an organistion set up to look after palestinian interests only, all other refugees in the world are dealt with by the UNHCR and they find refugees new homes instead of calling for a right of return & they do not see refugee status as inheritable. As for the settlements maybe in time Israel wlll chose to abandon the bulk of them but it won't be rushed & its always going to keep some of the big ones which are legally classed as cities in Israel. The palestinians have had in proportion more money in the past 61 years than all the refugees looked after by the UNCHR combined

Wake up Yaakov. 1967 is in the distant past. It is 2009 and that will be the starting point for borders. If your pals wait until 2010 that will be the starting point. Tic Toc. The only thing you can do with 1967 is play Pick Four. You may get lucky and win a few bucks.

long ago if they had used peaceful protest.He knew it was not quite as black and white as you paint. Here is part of what you have omitted. 1.For hundreds of years Arabs have been killing Jews in Palestine,long before any of the spin trotted out now,just good old fashioned racist motivated killings. 2.You cant have both peaceful demonstrations and terrorism both going on at the same time and be credible.Contrary to what you say his non violent protest were at the beginning of the intifada. He refused Israeli citizenship and entered on a tourist visa so Israel had every right to deport him especially as he was instigating people not to pay taxes,tax evasion is a crime in any country. Why leave all this out then want to be credible?

Anyone from any nation should travel anywhere freely. Yet for example Turks need visa to go to USA. If something, it is your beloved rich countries who do not let poor to visit their countries. Israelis are of course safer in Israel than abroad (who can deny this?) but this does not mean they should not travel. If you interpret this as a threat then you are a lost case also from medical-psychiatric point of view. Several Turks get killed every year in Germany due to racism by skinheads, Turks are not safe in Germany, I tell you this, now am I threatening the Turkish nation by saying this ?

First off, the Palestinians weren't going to be given Gaza connected to the full West Bank, with a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem. The capital was going to be located in Abu Diss which is a suburb of East Jerusalem. Second, Israel was going to annext 9 percent of the West Bank in exchange for 3 percent of crappy lands from the Negev. Israel also wanted to annex the Jordan Valley in the West Bank thus cutting the West Bank into 3 cantons. Israel wanted to control all Palestinian borders thus no such thing as sovereignty. Israel also wanted to control Palestinian airspace and offered nothing reference refugees meaning compensation. Give me a break, Israel destroyed Camp David 2000, not Arafat.

It boogles the mind that you would be eager, actual eager to see Jerusalem in Palestinian hands. I can understand why some think it a necessary condition, but you would actually be joyful at the prospect. Bizarre.

What if say Arafat had accepted the Clinton parameters at Camp David? There would be a Palestinian Arab state in WB and Gaza with the capital in East Jerusalem by now. What if Arabs had turned Gaza into a peaceful and productive zone after the Israeli disengagement using the 1 Billion Dollars that Turkish business associations (TOBB) had offered instead of turning it into a war zone? Mzaybe There would be peace before Olmert was ousted from office. You know; one can have many idle thoughts but then must live with the realities on the ground.

What if say 5.5% of the electorate in Israel voted the wrong way last time and now regret it? What if they had voted the other way? Well there would be a Kadimah/Labour/Meretz government, the peace process would be underway from where Olmert left off, there would be no articles in Haaretz worrying about a third intifada or suicide bombers and we'd all be getting ready to open the champagne. That 5.5% should really be rounded up, excommunicated, have their passports confiscated and be kicked out of Israel, or whatever the nutty ex-JWC head is urging today for those who don't toe the Likud line. Oh well, it was just a wishful thought...

Yes Israel is very well protected but there is no security that is totally fool proof. When there is a will there is a way. Therefore Israel's government has the duty to do all they can to to prevent any attacks, suicide bombings or harm to the citizens. But I am a little bit dismayed at your last sentence which sounded somehow like a threat to me Israelis are safest in israel, not abroad though. what does that mean? That Isarelis should stay home and not travel just like any other nation? That maybe in some countries maybe Turkey they might be in danger? If this is what you mean what a shame on you.!

Israel has thoroughly beaten back Abbas. Israel has shown the Palestinians that their efforts toward peace are useless....they will be picked apart bit by bit. They will be hobbled by Israel's refusal to empower such peace efforts. Only when such efforts are long gone, and violence has returned will they possibly say...hey we had a pretty good chance back then...I guess it wasn't the wall that was keeping the peace, it was Abbas.

When all else fails--go with terror as an excuse not to make peace. So what if the PA has clamped down on terror, cooperated on security, kept the West Bank in check during Cast Lead--fear sells.

No, not Ramallah, but East Jerusalem and all of its colonies that were built to choke it off from the Palestinian hinterland. Return to borders of pre June '67. Or, mutaully agreed upon equitable land exchange, dunma for dunma with equivalent resources. Compensation for destruction and theft of palestinian property, business and damages. That is what is necessary for openers. We'll leave Ramallah for dining and shopping, but the palestinian government will be located in East Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine.

-Demilitarized Arab State with Ramallah as the capital- 17 A Likud treaty. Everyone knows Jerusalem will be in the final mix if there is ever a treaty. If there is to be no treaty Jerusalem will probably end up in a pile of ashes along with the rest of the Mid East.

Demilitarized Arab State with Ramallah as the capital. End of hostilities, Peace Treaty, Love.

they need an ISRAELI PEACE PROPOSAL. land for peace was killed. Oslo was killed. Arab peace initiative ignored. What does israel want ? do you have a peace proposal to offer to the palestinians?? Spell it out NOW

The PLO will lose the Presidental waiver to have an office in the US. No more money from the US and other nations. Dialogue is the only way forward, not terror.

why the border fence should be finished!

The problem with destroying Abbas and all hope for peace is that it put Hamas in the driver's seat. To survive Fatah will have to respond in a fashion to restore it's credibility. Netanyahu got what he wanted. Israel will pay the price.

maybe you should re-read the article. harel & issacharoff aren't making much of value judgements about anything at all. it's all pretty descriptive, in a 'this is going on on this side, that on that side' way. even reg. the PA & abbas' demanding a freeze, whether obama is right /wrong in not pushing the israelis further, it does de facto become unrealistic on the part of abbas to expect achieving a total freeze at this point. so it's "too tall a tree" to climb, although he may in principle be right. the analysis is also totally correct on the internal pal. strife. the rift between fatah & hamas is indeed impossible, while fatah within itself is in serious tension. finally, what do you expect from an israeli commentator but to give in one way /another an israeli perspective? sometimes one forgets that these aren't swiss /dutch but party to the conflict themselves. (i don't expect you to reply, as usually you act like a good snob, but i wouldn't mind being surprised.)

not Imperial India. If a 'Ghandi' emerged in the West Bank, Israel would first ridicule him, then corrupt him and if all that didn't work, deport him. People forget that there was a civil disobedience movement in the territories long BEFORE the Intifadas became so deadly. The civil rights approach was tried already. Guess what? Israel smashed it in short order. Mubarak Awad, a Palestinian-American youth counselor in Palestine's West Bank tried to organize nonviolent civil disobedience against the Israeli occupation and repression, the Israeli government deported him in 1988 back to the United States. He proceeded to establish the group, Non-violence International, but he is still banned from Israel. Never mind. Nice thought.

israel is right in worrying about a new round of violence erupting in the WB. but it would in any case not be a wise course to follow for fatah & PA. if anything, by keeping quiet & order and by making it explicitely clear that they really are the party seeking a true lasting peace w/israel, they would further disarm the israeli right which won't have much steam to run on pretty soon the way they're going. i fear that's too much wisdom to expect from the pals. they prefer to run it both ways, talking peace a-n-d right-of-return, security a-n-d armed struggle. so the likelihood is they will play it right into the arms of the political right in israel & the armed clash that inevitably will follow. there's no way like defeating your opponent by cornering him without a shot. at this point fatah could've done that. also, at this point there's no credence to the claim that the PA wouldn't have the capability to keep everybody in line. just that it would be politically costly.

Worry only guarantees future conflict. The only solution is what is needed: justice for the Palestinians, which means the liquidation of ALL Israeli settlements. The settlements and their infrastructure are useful to Israel only as a potential means of reducing Israel's debt to Palestinians refuset their absolute international rights to return to their rightful patrimonies within the pre-1967 Israeli borders.

I do not understand why people did not like my comments, mine is a technical interpretation and nothing else. Israel does have the most fail-proof border surveillence on earth. Plus, Palestinians are almost never legally accepted to enter israel even in serious medical cases. In very few incidents where people from Gaza or West Bank tried to enter israel illegally (sometimes not for terror attack but simply to illegally work) almost all of them got killed by IDF snipers. I do not accuse israel for this, I just say it as an information. Israel is by far the safest country right now from the point of view of Palestinian suicide attacks because it is very well protected. Israelis are safest in israel, not abroad though.

tourists normally carry passports, so they would've convinced you. in addition, if they had been jews they would've worn skullcaps. these people were christians.

If you don`t want a war - don`t start a war! Got it? Palestinian Arab Muslim mentality DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL

Even the arabs admit the intifatas made the arab cause diminish and fail and was a MAJOR step backwards...SO go ahead, and fail and flail again ,,,

1. Has Made bombs and killed Jews? Check! 2. Has been convicted and sentenced to life in israeli Jail? Check! 3. Will make even greater demands on Irael (that we both know wont be met) that will cause a 3rd or even 4th intafatah? Check! The choices for pal leadership ranges from really bad to extreamly bad. Is there no Pal who actually wants peace and is man/woman enough to achieve it? The pals need a Ghandi not some street thug named Barghouti...

For future reference to any Israeli advocating the removal of Road Blocks in the west bank, this is what you get... free movement for suicide bombers...

Sir, Thank you for the response. Your subject is (foreign) nation building and fight for "souls of (foreign)the people" is substantially diffirent, though honorable, topic. You also refer to GCs which are applicable to regular wars between state players. Suppression of Hamas worked admirably, though it is quite possible some additional steps may be necessary. It is unfortunate that some civilians suffer - we still need develop definition of civilians in the new context - but that is the nature of the wars.

We hear this same story of "why dont the Pals use their money for schools and hospitals..etc" but you are being blind yourself there and a hypocrite for that matter. When you see how people live in Gaza and how the WB is divided into little ghettos for the Pals, you'll see how it's absolutely impossible for them to build a viable economy. Gaza is a prison guarded by Israel and the foundation for a healthy ecenomy is waaaaaay out of their league. People are living in horrible conditions. You seem to ignore that completely. Not to mention a lot of Gaza was bombed by Israel in Cast Lead, you think they just recover from that overnight? I'm not saying those rockets are justified but you have to understand the roots of their desperation to understand why they go for such methods. i beg you Lily go down to the WB and Gaza and see what people live through day-to-day (a system created by Israel) and maybe that will give you some context

If Abbas becomes a pariah in his own homeland, then he can hardly be expected to lead the Palestinians toward the 'quasi state'[an economic dependency zone] that Israel has in mind for the West Bank. This is the problem when you grant mobile phone licenses to Abbas Jnr and other such bribes. You get something of a quisling [nice] but he becomes redundant on the 'street'. So, Israel might have to consider another route. Barghouti is relatively untainted by corruption scandals and has kudos as a resistance operator. A man with some charisma which Abbas the technocrat never had. If Israel really wants to marginalise Hamas [without more Cast Leads] they could do a lot worse than cut a deal with Barghouti. Of course he would drive a much harder bargain than Abbas, but then Abbas was hung out to dry by Sharon in the Gaza redeployment years ago[a "plucked chicken"]. Now with the Goldstone imbroglio He has the stench of failure that makes him little more than an ornament. Haniyeh, some born again al aqsa operator or Barghouti? Only one really makes any sense.

It is perfectly possible to win a counter-insurgency war. The classic is the British in Malaya or, in a different way, in N. Ireland. The Brits, Australians and Canadians are quite good at it, the US is now getting better. The military basis is to seize, hold and develop. That means infantry take towns and villages, fortify and defend them and get civic and economic development underway. The cardinal rule is that the civilian is NOT the enemy but the prize - if they are removed from insurgent control and have a better life, then the insurgent base is reduced and its political standing undermined. So civilians are treated with kid gloves and respect at all times. Your idea that punitive attacks render the insurgents' space 'uninhabitable' is the polar opposite of that, it is simply punishment of the civilian population, which may or may not support the insurgency, and is completely counter-productive. It is perfectly feasible to fight a CI war without breaking ANY Geneva Conventions.

You are describing the outcome of peaceful solution, something Abbas is unable to achieve and Israel is unwilling to give. Should the two sides reach such agreement then I agree with your assessment, in the meantime what Israel is providing Abbas is pure crumbs, the removal of a handful of checkpoints out of over 600, the settelement enterprise continue unabated, the 12,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails and the seige of 3.5 million Gazan is still in effect. While Netanahu like his predessors talk of peace, their actions say otherwise.

Liberating, isn't it? By the way, are you recording the latest series about Israel on Turkish TV? Is that were you get your news from?

he knows there facts he just does it to piss people off... or he's just an ignorant guy hating israelis just to hate... he's never been to isr he just knows from rumors i've been to isr and israeli hospitals re free even for the palestinians(non citizens of isr) they dont pay any taxes... sorry but if some people tries to blow ur cities u cant send an invitation to all of them u just send it to the innocent ones! its hard to separate the harmless people in ME...

Sir, You are correct - "The reality is the IDF " or any other army in the world is not successful is fighting counter insurgency wars. It is relatively new type of armed enmity that requires a new set of definitions - including definition of "victory", etc. One can not "win" this kind of "war" - still making insurgency costly is possible by rendering their space inhabitable. It is all new situation and no known international law is applicable (of course including the grossly misquoted GCs). Of course Hamas kept most of the banditry intact - but it is probably irrelevant. Destruction of parts of Lebanon is in order if non State players - militias or organizations - mount an aggression against the state.

plate cars. There are several recorded incidents

are you not on the same planet? Do you not know cast lead was started because they launched 8000 rockets into Israel, kidnapped a soldier IN ISRAEL and this is all after Israel withdrew from Gaza? Do you think Israel just went in for no reason? It's mind boggling how blinded people like you are. If the Pals don't like how they live than maybe they should stop being murders and use their money to build schools and hospitals, universities. You know, something good for mankind instead of terrorism. Until they want that kind of country, they can't have peace and as they been offered their own country many times starting back in 48, it doesn't look like that is their top priority either. Just murder and take over the entire country. I hope Israel never leaves the west bank! We learned our lesson after leaving Gaza. More terrorism! Way to go Pals! way to show the world you are civilized!

All the kings men etc etc...could not put Humpty Dumpty together again. Ok, its a children's rhyme. Yet how true, as in the case of Mr.Abbas. Fatah obviously has better leaders. Hamas has the unconditional support of Iran. Let us remember, that before Cast Lead, the majority of Palestinians living in Gaza were quite happy to resettle in the Fatah controlled West Bank. However the current mood is of defiance. Justified,? Absolutely, Fatah will either change or be forced into another confrontation. The question is, with whom.?

with the necessary authorization he/she can But then again its abit hard cos time and time again the Pallies have taken a liking to blowing themselves up in buses,malls,restaurants,universities. they abused this privelege to kill innocent unarmed civilians, and danced in the streets handing out candies and sweets,cheering after each attack. now you know why in most cases they cannot. BTW: can Kurds from Northern Iraq or PKK territory enter Turkey???

''... Israel should do in the west bank what it did in Gaza, namely, crush the enemy.' Another Israeli myth in the making. It managed to kill just 300 insurgents in Gaza, despite all the aircraft and weaponry deployed. The Hamas forces are virtually intact and there will now be a rush of new recruits. Hardly 'crushed'. Similar to Lebanon 2, another heavy-handed bombardment that killed ample women and children but hardly impacted on Hezbollah's military capacity. Israelis love the idea that everything can be solved in one magic stroke with the next winning blitz.The reality is tthe IDF is not much cop at fighting counter insurgency wars, as we have seen. Conscript armies generally aren't and the leadership anyway won't risk fighting the necessary infantry-led, close quarter battles, due to the higher casualty levels.. You can't crush an insurgency by bombing and shelling. You can take revenge on the civilian population, sure, but military victory or success it ain't.

This is a baseless fear. A Palestinian, either in west bank or gaza, cannot enter israel alive. One has to enter israel alive in order to execute a suicide attack in israel. Only a dead Palestinian can enter Israel. So there will never again be suicide attacks in Israel by these people.

his name is sultan abu il einein not ghneim

the only reason of the roadblocks in wb was to reduce the risk of suicide attacks coming from WB Fatah... last 3 months Gov begun to reduce roadblocks in Judea samaria... as a gesture to resume the peace process Fatah leader in lebanon = resume suicide attacks i guess Israel is not the only one who tries to kill the peace process as some says... Peace is no money no power no domination of the people by the tyrants of fatah and hamas! they never wanted peace... for some israelis peace is lost land and more rockets from terrorists israeli politicians will have to find new propaganda much harder than war... the powerfull people in these lands needs war to keep the power.. poeple should not let this happen.. but palest and israelis re to blind to see that which is natural in a 100 years of war zone

Fatah has not been committing suicide attacks because it has been unable to and not because it has not been trying. Anyone recall how many Fatah leaders were punished for terrorism?

Israel should initiate an aggressive campaign turning directly to the Palestinian people. Lay out the facts and lay out the opportunities that are possible if Palestinians reject currently held positions that they are better off without Jews and Israel. The campaign can talk about sharing, about Jerusalem and about special access mechanisms that are possible in a united Jerusalem. It is impossible to split Jerusalem, the Palestinians must be told, but special access can be setup where both sides feel connected to the holy sites. The obsession by the Palestinian leadership to grab sovereignty over Judaism?s holiest site will only lead to a never-ending conflict. The campaign should educate the Palestinian people about Jewish history and remind them that the support that Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and others are giving them is both short term and will not lead them into better times. They will dump the Palestinian cause at some point, something that most Palestinians already know

funny how Israeli behaviour is never considered a factor for flaring tensions huh? Very funny indeed.

- "The PA has climbed up too high a tree; when American pressure managed to force Israel to contain its building in the West Bank, it demanded a complete freeze in settlements as a precondition for resuming the negotiations with the Netanyahu government. " - Too high? Is this analysis? - "Hamas' list of excuses for refusing is bordering on the absurd." - Or is it opinion? - "Grassroots operatives may take their words literally as justification for violent attacks - first and foremost, for carrying out sporadic shootings in the West Bank." - Or is it malign use of conjecture? - "The behavior of the PA on the issues mentioned, along with the improved capabilities of its security forces and the fear this could turn, one day, against Israelis." - - "The ground is far from calm, indicated by the clear increase in stone-throwing incidents aimed at Israeli drivers in the West Bank." - Or is it incitement?

He wants to go to war again. I'm still not convinced that Muslims or Arabs are a monolith. I've talked to some Lebanese and Dubai Arabs here and there around LA and they don't want to fight, they tell me. But you know, we have to pay attention to what Arabs and Muslims are telling each other and not just to us. If the threat to our lives is there, we won't be lambs to the slaughter anymore. Not over here. Not in Israel either. Israel must retain it's military edge in the area on account of the neighborhood it lives in and I am all for that! I don't know what to say after listening to Shazli and you know that guy who is an expert on the Pyramids is an idiot too. All I can say is we better hold on to things like AIPAC because without American support, I'm not sure what fools in the Arab and Muslim Worlds would do to us if we don't draw the line or stiffen our resolve. Let's just not be foolish ourselves either. Hey! Buying something like Al-Jazeera would be a brilliant move fellows!

It will be much easier to focus military attention on Fatah. They are cornered in the West Bank !

I read this thinking there might be blame on all sides. But no, in that traditional Israeli way, it blames everything on the Pals. Even the settlements are the Pals' fault because Abbas demanded too much, in expecting Israel to live up to its road map settlement freeze commitment. It's ALL the Pals' fault. Israel as ever, is pure and innocent. It's as if it was the Pals occupying and stealing land in Israel. It's as if the Pals had launched Cast Lead against Israel. It's as if the Pals had elected a bunch of extremists and opportunists to control the PA. The blindness is staggering and dangerous. If you know yourself so little, you're doomed.

of suicide murder attacks. Would Prof Golstone step in and accuse the Palestinians of a crime against humanity,if they did resume suicide murder?

The Palestinians for the most part want to live under a Muslim regime in all the territory they feel is theirs.(Israel and the West Bank).For them that supersedes economic recovery and having a state. They will take the state if they don't have to accept Israel as a Jewish majority country so that the possibility is still open to finishing it off. It's the Western mentality that hopes economics and a Palestinian state is enough. It's not the Palestinian Arab Muslim mentality. It's not impossible for that to change but Good Luck!

states. BAM they get by "peace" what they could not get by war and terror.

Israel must protect her citizens.

It will not be possible for the arabs to launch a massive suicide campaign again. Maybe a few, but NOT what they did before - blowing one bus and a cafe every week. As far as Gaza... every dead arab from cast lead is the responsibility of Hamas. They allowed 6000 rockets onto S'derot. They are lucky Israel only "lightly" retaliated. The entire Gaza could have been leveled. If you don't want a war - don't start a war! Got it? Goldstone... bend over and file your report!

You just have to read the Talkbacks of Palestinian sympathizers to see that their expectations will lead them to nothing in negotiations. It's the same 1967 borders and right of return shtick with the mistaken belief that more aggression will somehow get it. No change in the Palestinian position with some random violence will mean the status quo. The Palestinians can rally their sympathizers to get some useless condemnations at the UN or some isolated boycott somewhere on the planet.

They complain about the building of the Wall but forget what it was built for. As long as they have the potential for animosity and terrorism you need to keep them at bay. It is their actions that they are paying for.

They complain about the building of the Wall but forget what it was built for. As long as they have the potential for animosity and terrorism you need to keep them at bay. It is their actions that they are paying for.

If what you say is true, then it is the younger generation of Pals that are out of touch. Israel is not throwing crumbs at you. Its a state, with a land swap and at the end it will probably involve a sharing of Jerusalem. Short of that, get ready for continued misery, death and destruction for all in the are. I kind of think the former is a better deal - for all, especially the children of today's young adults. Don't let tribalism, religiosity and hatred deprive you of what could be a very good and free life.

If Fatah starts suicide bombing again, Israel should do in the west bank what it did in Gaza, namely, crush the enemy. Israel is , has and always will the cause of all thats bad in the eyes of the world, so whats the difference if there is another Goldstone report. Israel must protect her citizens.

One solution Israel seems unable to look at is to make all Palestinians equal to Jews in law and in practice. A very good first step would be to return or pay for all Palestinians property which has been expropriated.

are in the first paragraph. [...] who represents Fatah in the refugee camps of Lebanon. [...]But how reliable the report is remains unclear. ok, lets solve the refugee problem for once ( it is long due), and let`s verify info before we publish, not to induce Israeli population into a state of fear! No more violence. Peace in the middle east!

Begin the transfer. The worse thing the Israelis can do is allow the situation it allowed under Sharon, wherby Israel allowed bus bombings and blew up empty buildings in Gaza in return. The price must be made clear before the homicide campaign begins.

6. The Occupation 7. The Occupation 8. The Occupation 9. The Occupation 10. Don't forget the other factor pressing towards a Third Intifada - The Occupation.

Fatah and Abbas at its head can not maintain their hold on power if they do not show credible movement towards a peaceful solution and serious concessions from Israel. The crumbs that Mr. Netanyahu is throwing in Abbas' direction just wont cut it. Fatah, despite its corrupt leadership is still Palestinian and have the same aspirations as all Palestinians. When the time is ripe, the upper echelons of Fatah will not be able to escape the wrath of the younger generation. Abbas proved time and again his incompetency and his out of touch with the people he is supposed to lead. Should he fail to engage in serious peace negotinations by the end of this year, he should resign and live happily ever after somehwere else.

hamas is taking over the palestinians,with iranian money/weapons.abas is a dead man walking.He will try to unleash whatever e still can against Israel,in order to boost his standing among the palestinians...If he resumes the suicide attacks,Israedl should wipe out the whole pack of rats.Both hamas and fatah...

The Arab peace initiative. Bam, problem solved.

How could you list the various areas of "bad blood" without noting the hateful response of Israel to President Obama's effort to reinstate negotiations? The "in your face" attitude of the PM and the FM and many MKs is bad blood in my thinking. They went out of their way to time announcements of extensions of settlements, evictions, whatever, to most reduce Obama's credibility with all parties. Maybe you think that is just dandy, but many of us here in the USA have other thoughts about it.

Israel already freed itself from the logic that whoever is tougher is more patriotic. Palestinians haven't. Thus the logic of terrorism attracts Fatah activists. If the bloodiest terrorists are the more patriotic Palestinians, then Fatah won't beat Hamas unless it becomes Hamas. And that is a dead end for Palestinian sovereignty, for peace, for economic development and governance, and sets the West Bank for a Fatah - Hamas war. Attempts at a third Intifadah only will ensure it is the last attempt, and Israel will unleash its full might even after having been goldstoned at the UN. Fatah has an opportunity to present the economic revival and governance improvement in the West Bank, compared with dismal conditions in Gaza, as the triumphant, patriotic logic, as opposed to the terrorist one, Hamas crows. If Fatah does that, it will renew itself and will beat hamas in the polls by a landslide. Just cut the chains to the terrorist logic and win a Palestinian state.