Couldn,t agree with you more, you hit the nail right on the head
firas

As a former British soldier in Palestine it is ovious that there will be no peace in the Middle East as long as Israel exists in its present form. Volunteers from all over the world should go to the defence of Gaza`

You are right on target. Thanks to Aljazeera this message is also reaching Arabs and non-Arabs. We are soooooooo ready for this "political tsunamis" to begin. Let Justice reign!!!!
We will never forget, never

I am an African-American male. I say that up front so there is some understanding of the historical, cultural, and political context from which I write. Please know that these words come from a person who considers himself a World Citizen and as such supports global rights of peace, security, prosperity, and happiness of all peoples. I agree that at the core of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict are the twin evils of dispossession and ethnic cleansing. The solution is to be found in the twin constructs of sovereignty and self-government and they must be affirmed in no uncertain terms. The information in your site clearly documents the historical events that started us down this path of despair felt by Palestinians beginning with the Balfour Declaration and now culminating in the current political climate that turns a blind eye to the invasion of Gaza by Israel. I write hoping for a cease-fire, for a global call upon all parties to end the violence that ultimately falls upon civilian populations on both sides, and for an unconditional initiation of dialogue between all parties immediately. There have been many wrongs, injustices, and cruelties experienced by all. Reconciliation will not be easy. However, everyday is another opportunity to begin anew. Every day provides a new dawn for hope and the ending of despair and destruction. Every day the sun rises and the possibility of another way of seeing things presents itself. I submit these words fully aware that there are many things I do not know. Yet this one thing is true, as a new year dawns there is an ever greater need to find solutions to the crisis not only in the Middle East but also globally wherever there are people who are dispossessed or not fully empowered. Finally, there has been an historic abuse of power particularly by the United States and Europe that must be recognized and curtailed. The advancement of rational approaches to difficult problems requires that bold steps be initiated beginning with the acknowledgement that Palestine must be remembered.

I thought that Ezorlo’s post was typical of the many ignorant, biased Westerners. He said, “Gaza's message is "hope, rule of law," etc. where does suicide bombings and rocket attacks on the civilian population of israel figure in that description? call a spade a spade. there has been a non-stop rain of rockets at Israel from gaza for the past few years. why do you call hamas a reign of hope and rule of law when it is obviously a bunch of thugs who want to kill innocent people.”

Any honest Westerner would recognize that 1) the Palestinians have lived on that land for centuries, and in many cases, thousands of years, 2) in 1948, the Jews stated military goals (Plan 'D') was to occupy all of Palestine, 3) Israel’s continued expansion of illegal settlements show Israel’s true intentions, 4) goods and produce made in Gaza have not been allowed to flow freely to European markets, 5) according to General Dayan, Israel provoked Syria into military action during the ‘Six-Day War’ in 1967, 6) four times the number of non-combat Palestinians have been killed than Israel non-combatants, 7) prior to the June 9 (2006 Gaza Beach Massacre), there was an effective peace between Palestine and Israel, 8) Of the water available from West Bank aquifers, Israel uses 73%, West Bank Palestinians use 17%, and illegal Jewish settlers use 10%. 9) Israel per capita water consumption is 4-times greater than that allocated for Palestinians (333 Cu. Meters for Israeli compared with 83 per Palestinian, 10) Palestinians are frequently prohibited from building homes, schools, and public structures on their own propertyin both Palestind and Jersalem, and 11) Palestinian homes are frequently demolished so that Israeli settlements can expand.

I could go on forever with more specifice about the insidious actions of the Israeli government. Why is it that so many Sabra Jews, who can trace their ancestry in Palestine for hundreds of years, have emigrated to the United States, and have enormous hate for the Ashkenazi European Jews, and considerable respect for the Palestinians? Why do Jewish employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) almost universally support the Palestinians? Why do Jewish physicians working for Doctors Without Borders, support the Palestinian cause?

Many ignorant Americans and Jews ask, “Why doesn’t Hamas stop their rocket fire?”. The answer is very simple: Every time that the Palestinians have ceased all militant activities, the Israeli government gone into their ‘Eternal Stall’ tactics. Then when the Western governments urge Israel to initiate peace efforts, Israel provokes the Palestinians with 1) increased targeted assassinations of ‘suspected’ militants (usually killing innocent family members”, 2) increased settlement activity, 3) increasing their economic strangulation of Palestinian with roadblocks and access to the outside world.

NO. ISRAEL DOES NOT WANT PEACE. They want all of Palestine. It is the Israeli government's acitons that are the cause for the increased Antisemitism that is springing up across Europe. To those who presently sympathize with Israel, I urge them to read the Internet version of Israel’s largest newspaper, Ha’aretz. (www.haaretz.com) Virtually all of my previously pro-Israeli friends (including Jews) who have begun to actively read Ha’aretz, are now openly sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. If I could sum up one word that they have for the Israel government it is: INSIDIOUS.

Dear salah, I received your email, and as a 1948 Palestinian refugee, and having lived in the US for over 40 years and had the benefit of the "bird's eye view" for so long, I would like to offer a short perspective on your description of "the open alliance of Arab regimes". It has been a consistent policy of Britain to dismantle Arab nationalism, and it escalated ever since Abdel Nasser revived it strongly with their attack on the Suez Canal. Previously Britain consistently created choke points for the Arab World, including shutting Asia from Africa with Israel, demolishing the Hijaz railroad, and cutting the silk road through Turkey to Asia. They also took over Aden, and Bahrain. As a worldwide control policy, they also took over Gibraltar, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Hong kong, The Falklands, etc.. Over the years, problems were forcibly created between Libya and Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, Morocco and Algeria, Mauritania, Sudan Splits, Syria and Lebanon, Jordan and Saudi, and many others, and recently between Gaza and the West Bank. This is a concerted long term policy to prevent a single voice for the Arab World, practically divide and conquer, and it is succeeding well. At some point religious strife was injected and continues the divisions. When the Arab population attacks its leaders, it serves the Grand Plan. The Gaza situation today is creating and resulting in such rifts, and it only weakens all Arabs. One can venture and say that one of the main reasons of the Gaza attack is to maximize the rift between the Arabs, especially since a war does not achieve any meaningful results for Israel as the Lebanon invasion has shown. The Arab Leaders are helpless when it comes to International Power, regardless whether they have the support of their people. Even France and Russia were helpless when The US moved on Iraq, and the rift lasted a long time, and these were nuclear world powers. Even China does not challenge the US. The lesson of toppling the Shah of Iran is fresh in the mind of Arab leaders of what consequences may be. I am of the opinion that a dialogue can be based on constructive criticism, reaching out to all and including peace advocates in Israel as you have said, and it can be coupled with educating the Arabs about this concerted effort to create divisions, and that attacking Arab leaders does not solve the problem. I had an employee from the West bank not too long ago, and she had just arrived to the US. She was under the impression that Arab countries are mighty and militarily very powerful, and could change the balance with Israel militarily. As such she was very down on all Arab leaders outside Palestine, and it was a while before she understood their situation. It seems the propaganda in Israel is very strong that the Arab World can annihilate Israel. Maybe it is to sell this concept to the Israelis to have them to serve in the army. Your website reflects a huge amount of dedication and continuous work, and it is a phenomenal effort. I believe a message of "strategic explanation and outlook" can go a long ways towards educating everyone

of course, it is obvious that the egyptian leadership is a jewish, american pawn, and that in it's quest for democray, the united states has overlooked the feudal monarcys of saudi arabia and other oil producing countries, but anyone with a soul knows the truth God's will shall prevail.

THANK YOU I AGREE 100 PERCENT.THE PATHETIC APATHY AND COMPLACENCY OF OTHER COUNTRIES MAKESME SICK TO MY SOUL, IF THIS WAS AN ATTACK ON LONDON OR ANY OTHER WESTERN REGION THE WORLD WOULD BE UP IN ARMS, BUT MANY SEEM TO PUT LITTLE OR NO VALUE ON PALESTINIAN LIVES....GAZA IS BLEEDING TO DEATH...MAY JUSTICE TRIUMPH OVER EVIL ! WE SHALL RETURN

Good Article, however all people have to understand that the Arab leaders and their governments are the one who started the war against any Islamic movement or elected Islamic government. This is because all these governments were assigned by the west as a replacement to their existence as occupiers is the Middle East. Do not forget that the ones who kicked the colonization troops from the Middle East were the Islamized revolutions like Shiek Omar Al Moktar, Shiek AbdAllah Al Jazearie, Shiek Ibrahim Hannono, and so on (not those traitors the so called nationalist like Ba'ath, Nasserism, ..etc). Therefore, these regimes are afraid from any civilized Islamist government to be in power. If Hamas was given the opportunity to govern in Palestine Hamas would have followed what the Palestinian wanted of being more advanced nation and more educated people. In that, Schools, hospitals, social life, economical life, anti-theft, freedom, and non-corruption would have been the norm in the Palestinian territories. All of this would not be acceptable to all Arab regimes because it will create a dilemma for them. Those regimes have used to live on suppressing, killing, imprisoning, and thieving their citizens. Therefore, these regimes have stood against Hamas including Abbas and the so called Palestinian Authorities. I urge every Islamic movement in the Middle East to take into its agenda that it is the one that will offer justices, technological development, social system, health system, and all means to create a powerful civilized democratic Islamic nations. The aim would be to create a state that opens its roads, its mosques, its schools, its factories, for innovations, for investments, for forward thinking and advancement.

Could this invasion of the Gaza be the start of a bigger agenda that the New World Order as in store for us.The Illuminati's end game is World domination and it will use any mean's to get what it want's.

Excellent article.ButI would like to suggest two more reasons that explain Israel's present and past policy towards its neighbours. The first is that peace endangers Israel's very existence as it would loose the support of the European and American Jews if it did leave in peace; funds would dwindle down and immigrants would be few and far between. The second is that a large part of the Israeli working population is employed directly or indirectly by the war industry, whose products are both exported and used locally. So if the arsenals are not emptied now and then - which also explains the exaggerated quantity of weapons used both against Lebanon and against Gaza - massive unemploymentwould ensue and cause social unrest.

I sympathise with all your comments although I do not wish to criticise Hamas. The UK government is corrupt, and weak and is in hoc to the US and consequently to Israel. Please do not think that the UK has a valid opinion about anything! it is totally controlled by the US.

First my compliments to the author. Lots to think about even though I am not in concert with all he proposes. I see several forces at work in this situation. There are national interests, theological interests, ideologies all mixed together. The US, British, Iraqi, Syrian, Jordanian, ... all see the problem as a nationalist problem because as nations the only way they can address the situation is as a nation. There are military interests since nations use diplomacy until it fails then war until it fails which brings them back to diplomacy. There are ideologies Zionist (a secular Judaism) as well as Arab (a secular side of the Muslim). There are theocratic interests Christian, Muslim, and Jew. What is *The* solution? Must it be a blend of all those factors? If not then which blend of factors will represent *The* solution?

Universallly, it seems, the reptile press of the world advocates and interprets "peace" as the creation of two states living side by side, with the dispossessed Arabs unable to return to their previous destroyed homes and villages.

The world doesn't need any nation states, let alone creating another one. The only just solution under capitalism is to abolish the nascient state of Israel (it has no borders and no constitution) and create a secular state embracing all whpo live in the state of Palestine in the geographical area it once was in. Religion can only be a personal belief or conviction and has nothing to do the control of any society. We in North America supposedly support the separation of church and state, an idea founded to free us from the control of the practioners who believe god exists. We need to put it into practice. The only "just solution" for Israel and Palestine is one secular state -- and the refusal of any more jews (it is a religion not a race)unlimited entry into the area.

If the jews want a temporal headquarters for their religion, like the christian catholics with their vatican, give them a same size territory, and the same for the muslims, with Mecca.

All nations of the world -- until we abolish them and establish a moneyless, wageless, stateless world community of cooperation -- should be secular. We must eliminate the belief that one person has the right to tell another what they should do or think.

Yours to incite World insight, Trevor Goodger-Hill

C R E D O

On 1 May l990 Citizens of the World spontaneously materialized as a non-profit non-membership entity with the sole purpose of creating in the immediate future a new coöperative world society of citizens of ecological consciousness dedicated to replacing money with abundance, wage-work with civic contribution, competition with collaboration, violence with friendship and nationalism with ethnic fraternity. As a world coöperative, iWi invites the sisterhood and brotherhood of humanity to incite world insight to protect our planet and all its species by documentation of the destructiveness of present-day capitalism in order to transform it into a moneyless stateless world economy where all produce in order that all consume. All Citizens of the World believe, in principle and in practice, ideas are stronger than force and there is a kinder, gentler way to change the world than killing other human beings. As responsible citizens we coöperatively reproduce ideas - and invite others who agree to reproduce and distribute them - to create such a society.

iWi Coöpérative, Trottier Mills, Québec, Canada, North America, Planet Earth, G0P 1H0 or iwi@ivic.qc.ca

Please take note, it is only one group and not all Americans. Read below letter, with many thanks.

The Hon. Dr. Burton Yost Berry, former US-Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Iraq. September 8, 1952


Memorandum of Personal Observations:



The making and receiving of official calls, and other contacts that a new Chief of Mission establishes with local
people in all walks of life, have provided me in concentrated form with an appreciation of Iraqi attitudes which we must take into account if we are to make progress with our area objectives. Thus, I hope following summary of my impressions will prove timely to Department in developing its over-all Middle East policy, and particularly in shaping its position on MEDO and several items on GA agenda.

Without an exception each new Iraqi acquaintance brought up first the Palestine issue and left no doubt as to depth of
his feeling. With little variation each said the Iraqis had no
quarrel with Jews as Jews who had been welcomed in Orient when the West persecuted them. But Zionism was something else which was cruelly selfish and dangerously aggressive. Zionism at work inPalestine, creating an Israeli state on lands which since days of Caliph Omar were Arab and today are part of Arab Spiritual heritage,inflicted an injury to the Arab soul which will never heal. And what was done could not have been done except through active intervention and continuing support of US. This I was told always with sincerity
and sometimes with very considerable heat. I was warned too that in the Orient where grudges are nurished and blood feuds flourish not to believe that lapse of time will change Arab attachment to Palestine,or that the young generation will hold different views or that US loans and grants will cause Arabs to forget and forgive.

French and British imperialism in North Africa regularly was the second subject introduced by Iraqis. They say North
African Arab states are controlled by French and British armies with civil liberties suppressed and right of self-determination denied.
They consider that US, by supporting British and French, has become equally responsible with them. Frequently I was asked why the US fights to save South Koreans from domination by a foreign aggressor when we do not fight to save Tunisians and Moroccans from a similar destiny. Then I was informed that we discriminate because Chinese and North Koreans do not belong to „international aristocracy“ whereas the French and British do. I was advised that all nations today demand quality of treatment and warned that the prospect of the survival of Western civilization depends on the West practicing equality now and abandoning in the next GA its outmoded policy of
discrimination. If the US continues its old course the Iraqis expect to see in North Africa and throughout Asia a violent reaction to old ideologies and an increasing eagerness of these people to turn to Communism as the only alternative to the former shining but now corroded democratic ideal.

The development of natural resources generally came up next for discussion although Foreign Minister Jamali and a few
others gave third place to the advancement of Fertile Crescent idea.
Our Point IV program was lightly brushed aside. The Prime Minister said it was „nothing“ while other Ministers, generally sympathetic, said it had had little impact to date. The more critical complained that we had oversold the program for two years and ended by creating a housing shortage in Baghdad to provide homes for TCA personnel.
The openly hostile accused us of trying with
triflingPoint IV aid to bribe the Arabs to forget Palestine. But it was the British that received the heavy fire. All of the ills of today were laid to the reactionism of IPC and British Government. My informants seemed to prefer to look to the past rather than the future. They felt things were not right and so sought someone to blame. The British and their Iraqi friends were the natural targets and they were pounded unmercifully. The pathological unanimity of this expression caused me to sympathize with members of Development
Board who fear that the several years necessary to complete their major projects may not be accorded them by a people impatient for results. It caused me to share the concern of Foreign Minister who said that the Government has no effective propaganda machinery, that there is not a single Arab language pro-Western newspaper in Iraq,and therefore those who hold pro-Western views ae shy while others who hold anti-Western views shout them out. I found that our good
works were not known or when known were interpreted by our enemies as being undertaken for nefarious purposes.

Area defense was a subject where the chief interest was to reject the concept of Western participation. Today neutrality
is the refuge planned against time when war clouds threaten. When suggested that an Iraqi wartime neutrality would invite a Soviet occupation, many Iraqis professed to prefer an untried Soviet occupation to an actual British domination. In searching an explanation of such unrealistic attitude I was reminded that Mesopotamia has experienced wars from the beginning of time but never reconstruction after a war. Moreover, in two World Wars Arabs fought with the Allies but experienced disillusionment and felt abandoned in the post-war periods. So area defense, which they interpret as
involvement and as inviting Soviet attack, is unpopular and will not be embraced now as an idea. On the other hand, a MEDO in Cyprus developing healthfully, with Iraqi Government informed of its development on continuing basis, can have a growing fascination for the Iraqi military and through them improve the likelihood of eventual association of Iraqi Government.

This description points up how weak our position is
in Iraq.In view of location of Iraq, this situation seems
serious to me, even hazardous, and cries for remedial action. I suggest, therefore, that the Department determine whether the situation in Iraq is characteristic of that in other Arab countries.
If it is, then we should re-examine whether the lands, manpower and oil of Arab World are as important to us as we have thought. Assuming that they are, I suggest that we look urgently to our plans to bring the Arabs around to the Western outlook. From Baghdad today it seems that surest way to accomplish this is by our Government squarely facing two problems.

First, is the restoration of the Arabs' confidence in American good will and good faith. A dramatic way to bring this home to the Arabs might be by insisting on enforcement of the United Nations resolutions on Palestine. It might also be accomplished as effectively but less dramatically through our day by day decisions demonstrating that our Middle East policy is as genuinely concerned with the re-actions of the Arabs as that of the Israelis. Such action would go far in restoring Arab faith in the UN and the US. Secondly,is the attitude of the UK and France. To harmonize such with world
conditions today we may have to insist that the UK assume in the Middle East the same statesmanlikle attitude it assumed in the Indian sub-continent in 1946 and then insist that the French adopt a similar attitude. I realize that these are heavy demands, but the Middle East is a great prize. Whether gaining it is worth risking taking this suggested position with Israel, the UK and France only the Department can decide, but from here it is very clear that until the US is again respected int the Middle East for the justice of its position our local friends will not risk raising their voices to support us. But when we have demonstrated a policy of fairness and friendship towards the Arab World we will have laid the foundation for rebuilding the prestige that the United States traditionally has enjoyed in this area.

Asalam alaikum. An excellent commentary, and courageous in its message. Please do not stop sending this message. The US public needs so desperately to hear it. The news media refuses to publish the truth and instead acts as a propaganda machine for Israeli interests, and the US government is manipulated by pro-Zionist lobbyists and politicians.

May Allah bless you.