For the real reason for the ongoing conflict is Arab refusal to accept Jewish self-determination in any shape or form. Indeed, recently Israel’s PM Netanyahu accepted Palestinian and Jewish states side by side. The unanimous Arab reaction was a refusal to accept Israel as a Jewish state.

Israel’s territorial compromises, such as the Gaza handover, led only to more rocket attacks and extremism. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has stuck to every hardline position of Arafat. In particular, he demands resettlement of refugees in pre-1967 Israel, not the West Bank. This denies the rights of the similar number of Jewish refugees from Arab lands, and sidesteps Arab responsibility for starting the wars. When will the story of Jews expelled from Arab countries ever be told?

One-sided pressure on Israel, while ignoring Arab refusal to compromise on any major issue, is not going to encourage peace. Rather it will only exacerbate hostility, and bring more conflict. It has already encouraged an even harder line from the Arab League.

They are obligated by the Road Map to actually take action to stop the terrorism and incitement, including in their educational institutions, regarding the conflict.  Unfortunately, it seems that their idea of “peace” is different from ours, so it’s not likely that even if Israel did freeze the settlements that would make a difference in their stand.

The commenter would have us believe that Israel is the criminal in this situation.  On the contrary, Israel did not illegally settle this land; many other sources have indicated that these settlements are legal under international law.  Jordan, in fact, illegally seized the West Bank; it was captured in war by Israel in 1967.  The actual ownership is in dispute at best, since the West Bank was part of the Palestine mandate, which was meant to be a Jewish country.  The justification for Jews being in this land is that it is indeed the land promised to the Jews in Biblical times.

Sadly, we are hearing the Palestinian narrative repeated.  What seems to be ignored is that it is the Arabs (and the Palestinians in the immediate area) that have “systematically brutalized” the Jews, first in Arab countries where they lived for centuries, then in Israel.  It’s time for a proper settlement of this conflict, but surrendering everything and getting nothing in return is not the answer--the Arabs have to fulfill their commitments before Israel does more for them.

It truly is hard to understand why logic goes out the window when some “journalists” write about the Israeli-Palestinian illegal occupations.

Each and every one of those “settlements” that are outside of Israel are illegal.

By trying to come up with some justification to allow just some of the illegality to further continue is ludicrous.

If one was going after a car theft ring, do the authorities negotiate with the criminal head of the car theft ring and agree to let a few cars be stolen; just please stop the majority of your car thefts?

Israel is and long has been engaged in systematic brutality of a captive people and they have been stealing land and resources from them for decades.

It’s time for Israel to face the full brunt of what it has done contrary to UN resolutions and international law.