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Finally, Israel are pulling out of the Gaza Strip. Hopefully, the West Bank followed in similar fashion, and we can move forward toward peace in this region.

This removing of Jewish settlers and troops from occupied land, is really only the first step.

This doesn't mean I support Ariel Sharon, since he is part of the problem. He is still a bl@#dy b@st#$d.

Oops! Excuse my language.

Anyway, bring up any issue you like in this topic.

Do you support the withdrawal of Jewish settlers?

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 storyteller writes...

While accepting it as a political reality, I don't really understand why they have to go. After all, why can't they just keep on living inside the new Palestinian state? I guess land is not bought and sold as here and they don't really own the land they've been living on. It's a pity they settled on the land like that. I do feel for them being forced to leave like that. It's all quite tragic. I hope, however, that it will genuinely help the peace process along. Otherwise it will have been a wasted sacrifice.

If you look at a photo like this one, it's hard to envisage peace coming out of all this. The face on that woman spells "war" and someone will pay the price somewhere down the line.

These are not happy times.

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I don't feel any sympathies for the Jewish settlers. They were in occupied lands, and the UN were against having settlements in these terrorities, but the Jews decided to build and live there anyway.

Many Palestinians were forced of their properties too when the Jewish settlers moved in.

Some Palestinian families went on oversea holidays, only to return to find these settlers taken over their homes. Others have had their homes bull-dozed, and Jews built new homes over the old Palestinian homes.

What supports did Palestinians get from Israel and the US when that happened?

None.

They shouldn't have been living and building in the first place. Had the Israel government done the right thing in the first place, all the death would not have happened.

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Maybe so, storyteller, but I still feel for the Jewish settlers.

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So much for peace.

Israeli soldiers had started killing again. Five dead Palestinians, today. Do you think the Palestinian militias won't hit back in revenge. There is supposed to be a ceasefire, but it seemed that the Jews are always the one who break any ceasefire.

Another bad news is that the settlements they are keeping in the West Bank are developing quickly and large.

This is going to go up in flame, again. Every time a step forward in peace, it is the Israeli government who are the first to take five steps backward.

It seemed Israel don't know the words "peace" and "ceasefire".

Of course, George Bush would defend his great friend, Ariel Sharon, even though it is Israeli who are first to break the peace.

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 storyteller writes...

I would agree that peace isn't happening just yet. I wouldn't lay all the blame on Sharon, however. His mentality is not much different from Arafat's: the two made the mess together, as representatives of their respective peoples. Arafat's passing doesn't change that.

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Well, it seemed that peace have gone to pieces again.

The Hamas have reteliated yesterday in revenge for the killings of the 5 palestinians, two of them happened to be unarmed teenagers.

The cycle of revenge would begin renewed, all because Israeli government and soliders can't stick with the ceasefire. This always happened. Each time peace forward a bit, and there is a general ceasefire, it is Israelis who pull back first.

Like the Jews, Muslims believed in "the eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" mentality. So it would be silly to expect Muslims to sit back, while Israelis attack, or vice versa. As long both sides continue to attack one another, the cycle of violence will never end.

I don't trust the Palestinians to keep their words, but I also don't trust Israelis. And the fault lies with Israelis this time around.