Click here to send us your comments >> James M. Price, Haymarket, Virginia, USA: I wish Israelis would stop using the term "settlements" in reference to communities built on land that was Israel earlier and longer than most modern nations in this world ever existed. A Jew is not (illegally) "occupying" land that Jews have occupied continuously for more than 3,000 years. Insisting on recognition of this fact is not a repudiation of territorial compromise, but merely a demand for honesty in reporting and honesty in diplomacy, both of which are in seriously short supply in these post-1973 oil embargo days. Ceding yet more land by fence or by withdrawal in the face of continued killing and rejection is self destructive and in no way a prelude to a real and lasting peace. I am praying that the unfolding events in the Gaza Strip will convince a solid majority of Israelis of this fact and that they will stay convinced. All Jewish communities in the West Bank (i.e. in Judea and Samaria) should be maintained and protected. Any further "concessions for peace" should be made in exchange for a real and lasting peace however long that might take.
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