Mohammed's view, is typical, and shows to all the World who wants peace and that Arabs are not prepared to leave in peace. They think that Arabs are entitled to have 23 states, but cannot accept that the Jews have one very small of their own on the Jewish ancestral land. Why not to think that all people are equal? Why not to be fair to Jews and Arabs in Middle East? Why not to remember Jews who were forced to flee Arab countries - almost the same number as Palestinians who fled Israel? History goes on, and the sooner Arabs recognize equal rights for Jews as a people, the better it will be for everyone. Those who cannot accept reality and think only of hatred usually lose.
If the all World around Arabs will be fair for Jews and Arabs and stop to be so heavily biased against Jews, I think Arabs will accept peace sooner.

Yuri Khramov, Vancouver, Canada

Israel has every right to defend itself. israel does not choose to go to war. With enemies on every border whose aim is total destruction israel has no choice. Peace will only come when the Arabs recognise Israel as a sovereign nation entitled to be there and to live in peace in secure boundaries. The security fence was built only to kee out the suicide terrorists. When the Arabs speak of Israel occupying Arab lands they literally mean every inch of Israel is occupied Arab land. Let us not kid ourselves. When the terrorists start loving their children more than they hate the Jews there will be peace. Until then Israel has to do whatever necessary for defence. Every decent human being should support the right of Israelis to live in peace, not risk their life each time they travel by bus, enter a shopping mall or go for a coffee in the local coffee house. That is life in Israel thanks to the acts of the terrorists.

ann levin, London, England

Most of the leaders of this world have attended colleges and/or universities to advance their knowledge and learn how to leave in peace, respect other people and be part of of the very wonderful world that God has given us on a golden plate for everyone to preserve. It is very sad to continue to read in the media the plans of some of those called "LEADERS" still firing threats of war and forgetting what this might cause the humanity: death of thousands, maiming of millions, overwhelming destruction, displacing millions. The only people who would enjoy this is the arms manufacturers, the arms dealers and the exporters countries. The past horrors of wars should have taught us the value of life. Let us give the new generation a chance to be part of the new world and to contribute to its abundance of richness and let their children and grandchildren continue the path of peace on earth.

Bernie Haddad, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Nice try, I'd say to Michael, London. Peace won't be there until the victims (the Palestinians whose land has been usurped by immigrants from all over the world) recognize that it was their (the Palestinians) fault, and if anyone dares to say whatever they believe is right (like Richard James) and everyone who knows what justice means believe it is right, they are accused of being 'only feed fuel to the flames by perpetuating this nonsensical sentiment'.
Finally, I'm sure your narrative of what happened in May 1948 would be as funny as your comment. Maybe you'll say the Palestinians attacked the Israelis "in their homeland" and tried to expell them but failed.

Mohammed, Beirut, Lebanon

To basil salah The Israeli invasion and occupation of lebanon was in response to attacks by plo, fatah or whatever alphabet soup murder cult that was operating there at the time. In fact, the current atmosphere of "shoot first and ask questions later" in the Jewish State was a result of the arab/muslim belief that good muslims must "finish what the nazis started", a belief that has persisted since 1948. No right thinking person can fault Israel for its actions when their neighbors, and even some of its own citizens, all blindly follow the ultra-xenophopbic murder religion you believe. Throughout the centuries islam has proven to be a very intolerant, primitively tribal belief that penalizes individuality and scorns the "other". islam is the problem of the middle east, not Israel. Truth to tell, you and your fellow "co-religionists" are the problem of the whole world.

Michael, Manila,

israel, like an old boxer may have one fight to many,israel has to resign from the job of americas military base in the middle east. to survive israel has to make peace with itself fear of the past is governing the futures of today"s generations. Building great walls only begs the question, which side is the prison.

michael joseph heavey, cahersiveen/adams town, MADNESS

Richard - you are absolutely right.

Turjo, London,

Israel must leave occupied land. MUST.
Iran, Syria, Egypt, SaudiArabia and the other MUST not support Hezbolla. Barak is on the road of peace.

Alf, Stockholm, Sweden

Let me offer a humble apology to world readers for the typical zionist ranting of Mr. Leon Blatt of my city, Seattle. The mind set of this ilk are in fact the greatest danger that the State of Israel faces. It is a slam dunk reality that the only way for Israel ever to gain security and acceptance in the region is by, with, and through a fully operative SC 242 peace with the Palestinians that would be not only accepted but embraced by a great majority, giving them something to nurture and keep, rather than now, brutalized in terror and desperation for 60 years, and having nothing left to lose. Zionism is racism and endless war.

tarquinis, Seattle, USA

There will never be peace in our time in the Middle East because the Arab peoples cannot tolerate the existence of the State of Israel nor can they tolerate the military defeats of 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973 and 2006,
For every pro arab individual in the EU countries, there are five maybe ten pro Israeli individuals, whatever our respective governments leanings may be.

chaplain, canterbury,

Richard - you are absolutely right.

Turjo, London,

The title of this article as well as the story is devoid of all reality and facts. It was Israel who invaded Lebanon in 1978 and 1982 and then occupied Lebanon for 18 years. It is Israel who has been flying war planes and indiscriminatly bombing civilian and civilian infrastructure over the last 30 years. It is Israel who presided over the two Qana massacres and the Sabra Shatilla massacres. Over those 30 years, Israel has killed more than 25,000 Lebanese civilians. It is Israel who still occupies Lebanese land and holds Lebanese prisoners. It is Israel who dropped more than 1,500,000 cluster bombs in Southern Lebanon 72 hours before the UN brokered truce.

Lebanon is still occupied, prisoners still held, civilians continue to die everyday because they step on the cluster bombs. Mr. James Hider the war never ended!

Basil Salah, Dubai, UAE

Richard James,

You refer to the the Palestinians being held in abject poverty. Perhaps it is useful to consider the massinve amount of aid and funding the the PLO and now PA have received over many years. You might wonder where all that money went. I would suggest that the Palestinian people where kept in the "abject poverty" you refer to by their own leaders (and other Arab countries) purely because of their value as victims - they are simply political pawns. All this while their leaders live large.

You are probably not inclined, however you might want to do a little reading to correct your mistaken belief that all Palestinians "were forced from their homes and land at gunpoint ".

Your puerile statements add nothing to the debate.

If Israel is such a horrible, apartheid-based, bellicous state, I have to wonder why so many Muslim refugees from Sudan trek through Egypt to seek asylum in Israel?

Andrew, Cape Town,

Mr. Hider

I would tell you to do your homework sir, Hezbollah lost no more then 80 fighters in the war, if that even, and you should best believe that they have over 5000 fighter not 3000. Must I remind you, it was not Hezbollah intent to go to war, a war that Israel planned for, as the facts point to and failed at. Resistance 1 - Occupation 0

Iron Bhudda , Irvine, CA

lets look at it from a biblical view. first of all, god promised the territory to moses, abraham, isaac and jacob. jacobs name became israel. you can not be occupiers in land that belonged to you in the first place. it is not by co-incidence that the land in mention is the exact land in which god promised all the way back to moses. the promise was fulfilled in 1948. game over

c avena, belair, md, us/md

Why should Israel get away with occupation and not suffer the consequeses? Is it because it thinks that it is God's chosen nation? Well, Muslims say that God has changed its mind and now they are God's chosen people. I dont know whether God actually updates or reviews His decisions but this middle east troubles are all about this particular belief held by both sides. It is so ridiculous. Why can't people just get along and talk things over instead of using violence?

Z Hussain, Rochdale, UK

I think Hezbollah lost fewer than the 650 fighters mentioned: certainly, it did not lose many of its best fighters: most of those killed were support personnel ( ansar). So Hezbollah is fully prepared for another conflict with Israel but would probably serve as another battalion of Syria fighting in the Golan rather than rocketing northern israel.

Joe Hannon, London, UK

I find it interesting that the media always uses different language depending on who they are talking about. if you read Militants hail prowess in propaganda show, and this article, you get the feeling that Israel (the largest and strongest military presence in the middle east) is the poor defenceless victim, and the evil 'militants' are out to destroy it.. have we lost sight of the fact that they too are fighting for survival? against decades of oppression? I agree with richard, israel must recognize its mistakes instead of blithely ignoring the past then wondering why its gaining in enemies not friends.

D, London,

had open borders - but then the Palestinians started blowing up Jewish kids and families in buses and restaurants - so that has changed things somewhat; not surprising really. get with the programme Mrs James and open your eyes!!

Martin Sugarman, London, UK

And why don't the Arabs get out of Mauritania and give it back to the native Tuaregs? And why don't the Arabs get out of Egypt and give it back to the Copts? And why don't the Arabs get out of Iraq and give it back to the native Chaldeans, and Assyrian Christians? And why don't the Arabs get out of Syria and give it back to the Greeks? These were all JEWISH lands before the culturally chauvenist Arabs occupied them. The minority indigenous populations of these lands are still persecuted by the occupying Arabs. What is the symbol on the Saudi flag: a sword. What is the symbol on the Israeli flag: a shield (the one David carried in battle against Goliath). Let the Arabs get their house in order before telling the Jews to go back to Europe. BY THE WAY, MOST ISRAELIS ARE JEWISH REFUGEES FROM ARAB LANDS, WHO LEFT ALL THEIR POSSESSIONS AND NEVER LOOKED BACK!

Leon Blatt, seattle, WA

There will never be peace until the Arabs recognise that Jews have a right to live in peace and that all their wars they have initiated for 60 years and wish to continue initiating are futile. They are committing a terrible wrong against their own and need to recognise that they are the instigators of this violence. The Arabs have opted for the "kill them all" option since 1948 to no avail. This is evidenced in their media and school curriculums.

People such as Richard James who ignorantly blame Israel only feed fuel to the flames by perpetuating this nonsensical sentiment. Suggest you read about what happened in May 1948. It is time to adopt an accurate and balanced perspective of what has transpired.

Michael, London,

Richard James - where are you suggesting that the Israelis move to? 6 ft under? That's where your heroes of Hezbollah (who are not Palestinians and were not diplaced in any wars) want them.

Craig, Liverpool, UK

There will never be peace until Israel recognises that to people who were forced from their homes and land at gunpoint and held in abject poverty for 60 years a wrong has been done against them which will never be forgiven. Israel must recognise that wrong, allow the palestinans to return to their former homes and land and compensate them for their suffering,
The alternative, kill them all or live in a state of everlasting warfare

richard james, london, uk