Perhaps you can explain something to me/others. Those of us in the west just keep hearing about “settlements” and can’t visualize what they are exactly. But as I’ve come to understand it, they are very some different animals. Some are just a handful of people living in trailers on top of a hill surrounded by razor wire, and we outsiders can pretty easily say that kicking them out should be no big deal. OTOH, some of them (and I’m guessing these are the ones you’ve named), are essentially suburbs of Jerusalem, with large numbers of people living, working and shopping in permanent structures. Moving all of them is a much different proposition.
You described the settlement situation perfectly. Some are just a few crazies living in Gaza and the W.B. for the “principle of the thing”, and some are actual suburbs or towns where there are houses, streets, shopping centers, schools, even universities (Ariel). Therefore some are easy to remove (and should be), while some are just logistically nearly impossible to remove.
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wampeter – welcome aboard! I’d love if you signed up and we had another Israeli here
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Thanks! I’ve been a lurker for a LONG time, and am currently a guest… but my trial period is up in a few days, and being a student, I won’t be able to pay the fees. Back to lurking… 
Oh, and I actually laughed at your comments about the settlers (read: the annoying ones), just don’t like when extreme leftists would rather get rid of the Jews than the Hamasniks. I don’t think you’re one of them, though.
-wampeter
Not by a long shot… I am (or at least was :() a Shinui voter. Not sure what I’ll do next time, though.
[hijack]It’s quite common here for people who can afford it to pay the way for posters who can’t. If you’re interested, send me an email (in my profile) and we can work out the details.
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Dani
[hijack]Really?? (I’m very interested, but only if it’s not inconvenient) I can’t access member profiles. My email is in my profile, if you want to contact me.[/hijack]
Sorry for the selfish hijack in GD. Please continue the conversation…
-wampeter
But the border between the West Bank and Jordan will open up. Mightn’t that help with Palestinian economic recovery?
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Excuse me, but I don’t seehow anything can ever happen except more violence. Face it, there cannot be two Palestinian states (Gaza and West Bank), separated by Israel. Where are the electric, water, gas lines going to run?
Something could be worked out. Several countries have non-contiguous territory. The U.S. has Alaska.
Do you mean, Gaza allied with the West Bank? Or Israel allied with Palestine?
But it could be sold practically anywhere else in the world.
Something could be worked out. Several countries have non-contiguous territory. The U.S. has Alaska.
Do you mean, Gaza allied with the West Bank? Or Israel allied with Palestine?
But it could be sold practically anywhere else in the world.
There are, even now, relatively few restrictions on passage of Palestinians from the W.B. into Jordan. It may sometimes be more difficult to return, but the horror stories about Palestinians not let back home, while they exist, are in truth few and far between. They also happen to be “news”… So the situation there isn’t going to change much.
Main point is, the Jordanian economy is pretty much in the toilet right now, and has been for several years now. In its current state it’s barely supporting itslef, let alone an influx of employment seekers from a population of comparable size.
Some peace and quiet in the region could indirectly help the Palestinians (as well as all of the rest of us) by helping all of the economies of the neighboring countries (including Israel), but I wouldn’t expect any direct effect such as you’re suggesting.
Dani