Guardian Unltd - When the first shot is fired

[Englander]

Daphna Baram
Monday April 18, 2005
The Guardian

Three Israeli divisions and more or less the entire police force are now ready for one of the biggest military operations in Israel's history: the evacuation of about 8,000 settlers - most from the Gaza Strip, and a few hundred from the northern West Bank. Ariel Sharon's unilateral "disengagement" plan is about to move to an operational stage. The political tension between most Israelis, who back Sharon's plan, and the settlers and their supporters is rising. The 8,000 settlers, out of a total of 400,000 in the occupied territories, are to be paid compensation and returned to Israel proper. The rest are bracing themselves for what they regard as an existential struggle.

Sharon's attempt to calm them by implying that the disengagement plan will strengthen Israel's hold on the West Bank and allow the vast majority to stay was not well received. "No more niceties," settlers told the Israeli paper Ha'aretz after the vote to approve the plan a month ago. "From now on we shall move beyond the boundaries of the law".

The settlers are divided into two groups. The first is the ideological, often religious, hardcore who pioneered the settlement project after Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza in 1967. Their claim to the land is often based on "biblical rights". The settlers' leadership consists mostly of descendants of this group.

The second, much larger, group (up to 90%) was lured by government campaigns and financial benefits in the 80s. It is widely assumed that they would willingly go back to Israel proper in return for compensation. But even in this group, many were born in the settlements and had children there. Their claim to the land may be less "biblical" and more practical, but some will not give it up without a fight. The boundaries between the two groups are getting blurred.

More at;
Guardian Unlimited

[Violet_Crumble]

1. Enemies of the State...

That bit about the radicals among the settlers being more interested in land than in the State of Israel and democracy was spot-on. These are the same people who attack Palestinians with impunity, yet no-one calls them terrorists and devotes thread after thread to what they do to the Palestinians. In reality those settlers are enemies of both the Israeli and Palestinians, and those chortling with glee at the slightest possibility of chaos and civil-war happening to the Palestinians should stop and try to think about what these settlers are trying to do...

Violet...

[Jdemsindiana]

3. Why should you care?

First of all most of the settlers are not interested in Israel they are relgious zealots who don't care about Israeli policey most of them are not violent and suprisingly most of them don't hate arabs
in fact many of them do business with Palestinians it seems your real quam really is with Israel not just settlers or the IDF

[Violet_Crumble]

8. Why should you bother reading my posts before replying?

It appears quite clear that yr responding to a post someone else wrote that contained something completely different. Go fucking argue with someone who said those things yr arguing about. That person isn't me...

Yes, I do have a quaLm with Israel's policies regarding the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Unfortunately that means I can't join the party and skip around in a circle throwing rose petals and singing the praises of Israel without exception. I also have a quaLm about the IDF who are ordered to react in usually out of proportion ways and harming Palestinian civilians, and the settlers who are causing the trouble and attacking Palestinians. Likewise you won't find me singing their praises when they do things like that...

If you feel like explaining why you believe Israel should be free of any criticism over its treatment of the Palestinians, feel free to do so. It should be interesting to see...

Violet...

[Jdemsindiana]

10. You get more with......

The Palestinians should have learned something a long time ago if they would have truely gone the Ghandi route with peaceful protests and non-violent civil disobidience the Israelis would have been forced to the negotiating table the Israel Peace movements would certainly have the upper hand but no the Palestinian people decided they did not want to go down that path they picked Murder,Sabotage and Rocket attacks. And then they continue to lie about Israel over and over again has Israel done somethings wrong in my judgement yes you bet they have. But the Palestinians have a choice either they can continue to be pawns in the greater struggles of Arab-Pan Nationalism and Islamic Fundamentalism or they can sit down and make peace. The Israelis would rather talk then shoot Rubber bullets and Smoke Grenades and tear the homes of Terrorist down. Palestinians do know one thing the Media is not interested in peace talks they are interested in violence and they can reach a greater audience by mutilating Israelis.

[Jdemsindiana]

2. Yessss...

The Guardian is a unbiased source if you ask north koreans what they think

[Englander]

4. Would you prefer Fox News? n/t

[Jdemsindiana]

5. Fox news and the Guardian

news you can't count on both as biased as hell agendas out the wazooo

[Violet_Crumble]

9. Yeah, slap us with some unbiased Jerusalem Post!!

Faux and the Guardian are on a par agenda-wise???? That's easily got to be one of the most five ridiculous things I've read today...

Violet...

[Scurrilous]

6. 'Jewish blood will flow'

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3074413,00.html

Knesset Member Arieh Eldad shares gloomy disengagement predictions with Ynet

<snip>

"Knesset Member Arieh Eldad (National Union) says he is determined to foil the upcoming Gaza and northern West Bank pullout, and warns the disengagement plan is bound to lead to violence.

"Jewish blood will flow in the summer," Eldad told Ynet, and added pullout objectors are determined to reach Gaza communities slated for evacuation despite an IDF ban.

"We will cut the fences wherever we encounter them," he said. "If we need to go through Arab villages, we'll travel through them in order to reach Gush Katif."

[Jdemsindiana]

7. About the National Union

every nation has its nut balls in Israel Nation Union is one of them