"Goldstein". The name says it all: political motivation. "Sure, Palestinians are fine, they're not oppressed!" Sure.

I love how they show the best side of Ramallah, but forget about Gaza. Palestinians are living under the oppressive terrorist state of israel. It is a crime against humanity, not to let food and water through. It is collective punishment. israel's pretext is, they will stop them from manufacturing rockets. Yes SURE, they manufacture them with food and water... We need to stop our blind support for israel. It is only hurting us.

www.ifamericansknew.org

I've been in Palestine for 2 weeks on business. I have great hope for the Palestinian people. As the article states, there are many educated people who are working hard to improve living conditions. I had the opportunity to experience first-hand some of the day-to-day difficulties. On three separate occasions, we were not allowed to pass through checkpoints despite appropriate documents. We had to drive a considerable distance to cross through a different checkpoint. Many cities deep within the West Bank have checkpoints you have to go through to enter the city. The wall between Jerusalem and Palestine reminded me of the Berlin Wall that I visited 30 years ago--same ugly cement wall with barbed wire and soldiers with semi-automatic weapons pointed toward those crossing the barrier. All people deserve to live in freedom and dignity. That is not the life of the average Palestinian. Israelis also deserve freedom and dignity. Walls and weapons are not the answer to the problems.

Interesting pictures, and yet disturbing in that it would go 'poof' if the foreign aid stopped. What country can continue this way when it's sole existence is based on welfare?

progress is for peace.

suicide bomber, guns & radical mentality means ruin buildings, trash, death and destruction.

if these people wants good life, they know where to go, left or right*

I repeat my assertion that the US should abstain on the UN vote to declare Palestine a state! Israel will never give up the illegal settlements that now hold a half a million Israelis. It is time to recognize that Israel has over-played it's hand.

the USA cards will be exposed this week to show the whole world that they are in bed with the AIPAC and the jewish lobby....come on Obama...treat us like the way you like to be treated.. I dare you to have the courage to vote yes on a palestinian state...what are you afraid of? show some leadership and statemanship

What I found rather remarkable in a couple of these photos were the images of women and men working side by side. This is a major step forward if all of the individuals were indeed Muslim. Add to this uncovered heads and arms on the women, amazing.

The night club scene as well, clearly individuals enjoying what the club had to offer. Not sure if there is alcohol being served, or if there is music playing, or dancing. All no no's under Islamic rules.

The anti-semitic comment based on the reporter's surname is a prime example of the stupidity exposed by the writer. Such people are amidst us, and also vote. Scary.

We can understand this country not only by covering the news but also by covering usual stories.”

Someone should remind Goldstein that Palestine is not a country.

The Palestinians may someday get a country but only when they show the world that they deserve one and are capable of acting like civilized human beings. And enough already with the "when Israel treats them like human beings..." -Ramallah is proof that the only people that are crushing the Palestinian's dreams of having their own country are the Palestinians themselves (and of course the evil Arab regimes that use them as pawns to divert attention away from the suffering and abuse of their own citizens). Ramallah is just the tip of the iceberg regarding what the Palestinians from both Gaza and the West Bank can look forward to if they stop their destructive ways.

Stop playing the victim card and start taking responsibility for everyone's actions. Overthrow your corrupt and antagonistic leaders and build on what you have instead of destroying what other's have taken so long to create.

I want to remind all of you that the PLO and Hamas are both terrorist organizations. Why would the US support the formation of a country with terrorists as the leadership? I find that argument so outlandish. When the rockets stop landing in Israel and the suicide bombings stop then it is time to talk about statehood, until then, NO!

On another note, I find it really incredible that there are those that still complain about Israel restricting access to their country. What gives anyone the right to think they are entitled to work in Israel? Do you all think the same applies to our borders?

Israel Practises aparteid
* preferential citizenship, visitation and residence laws and practices that prevent Palestinians who reside in the West Bank or Gaza from reclaiming their property or from acquiring Israeli citizenship, as contrasted to a Jewish right of return that entitles Jews anywhere in the world with no prior tie to Israel to visit, reside and become Israeli citizens;
* differential laws in the West Bank and East Jerusalem favouring Jewish settlers who are subject to Israeli civilian law and constitutional protection, as opposed to Palestinian residents, who are governed by military administration;
* dual and discriminatory arrangements for movement in the West Bank and to and from Jerusalem; discriminatory policies on land ownership, tenure and use; extensive burdening of Palestinian movement, including checkpoints applying differential limitations on Palestinians and on Israeli settlers, and onerous permit and identification requirements imposed only on Palestinians;
* punitive house demolitions, expulsions and restrictions on entry and exit from all three parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Teresa,

The West Bank is more of a secular area and they do serve alcohol in the clubs. Actually many tourists go there to party because it is much cheaper than Israel. The West Bank took an attitude there to work with Israel and that is also why they have the high growth rate, if you note all the construction going on while in Gaza there are no imports of construction material because they are not used there to help their people but to get ready for war with Israel

Those of you who say there is no such things as Palestinians are full of yourselves and, in my opinion, spreading misinformation to further your own agenda. Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used between 450 BC and 1948 AD to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands.

The name "Palestine" is the cognate of an ancient word meaning "Philistines" or "Land of the Philistines". The Hebrew name Peleshet (פלשת Pəléshseth)- usually translated as Philistia in English, is used in the Bible to denote the southern coastal region that was inhabited by the Philistines to the west of the ancient Kingdom of Judah. The first clear use of the term Palestine to refer to the wider region as defined in modern times was in 5th century BC Ancient Greece. Herodotus wrote of a "district of Syria, called Palaistinê" in The Histories, the first historical work clearly denoting the region of Palestine as a wider region than biblical Philistia.

Approximately a century later, Aristotle used a similar definition in Meteorology, writing "Again if, as is fabled, there is a lake in Palestine, such that if you bind a man or beast and throw it in it floats and does not sink, this would bear out what we have said. They say that this lake is so bitter and salt that no fish live in it and that if you soak clothes in it and shake them it cleans them," understood by scholars to be a reference to the Dead Sea.

Robinson, writing in 1865 when travel by Europeans to the Ottoman Empire became common asserts that, "Palestine, or Palestina, now the most common name for the Holy Land, occurs three times in the English version of the Old Testament; and is there put for the Hebrew name פלשת, elsewhere rendered Philistia.

During the Byzantine period, the entire region (Syria Palestine, Samaria, and the Galilee) was named Palaestina, subdivided into provinces Palaestina I and II. The Byzantines also renamed an area of land including the Negev, Sinai, and the west coast of the Arabian Peninsula as Palaestina Salutaris, sometimes called Palaestina III.

The use of the name "Palestine" in English became more common after the European renaissance. It was officially revived by the British after the fall of the Ottoman Empire and applied to the territory that was placed under The Palestine Mandate. That mandate existed until the 'Creation' of the state of Israel in 1948 by UN mandate. The same process which the people who identify themselves as Palestinians, due to their extended heritage in "geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands" wish to use to have their status in the world returned.
I hope this has been enlightening to some. For those who doubt anything I have written, the internet and your local library can help you with that.

To those who persist in spreading falsehoods, I wish to remind you of the laws of Moses against bearing false witness against your neighbor. I sometimes wonder if the whole Palestinian issue is a test from God for the Israelis. God is not in a hurry, and if he promised something, it will happen when the time is right. It is not for man to speed or hinder that time. My opinion. Those who feel they have to push the Palestinians out of the 'promised land' and hurry the creation of the third temple, have no true faith in God. God expects us to treat our neighbors, all of them, with honesty, respect and kindness, regardless of our opinion of them or their religion. If you cannot reach your religious or social goals in that framework, you are turning to the 'dark side' and you will not be blessed in your efforts.

This brings me to the issue of the upcoming Palestinian effort to achieve statehood at the United Nations. I find this administration's expressed intent to Veto that effort disturbing and hypocritical. We say we support Palestinian statehood, yet oppose the only realistic path for creating it. If my knowledge of history serves me right, Israel was created in the very same manner. There were no negotiations with the people living there at the time, nor were the future creators of the State of Israel sitting back peacefully waiting for the UN to do this. It was a simple vote of the United Nations which created a viable state from violence and kaos. That state has survived considerable international opposition. Why won't this path work where the Palestinians are concerned?

One of the main recruiting tools of Al-Qaida and Arab extremists is to paint the United States as being racially biased against Arabs. Since the U.S. wholeheartedly supported the creation of Israel by groups who had been committing a wide range of terrorist attacks, against both the British and their neighbors, our stated intent to Veto a UN resolution creating a Palestinians state only reinforces their claims. The countries who support the Palestinians have little financial or material gain in the creation of a Palestinian state, rather for them, it is simply a matter of principal. We, in the US, during this time of financial troubles, should remember the extent our forefathers were willing to go on the basis of principal, and the financial consequences of alienating our Arab allies in the Middle East once again. Influential Saudi diplomats have said relations with the U.S. would suffer if Washington vetoed a Security Council resolution. We could hardly afford another Oil embargo, yet, it is not out of the question. China would be happy to ensure any Arab states participating would suffer few financial effects. This could easily trigger the financial collapse, the brink of which we have teetering for some time now.

I must ask, for what? Israel has repeatedly repudiated our efforts to broker reasonable solutions to the conflict, and has even reneged on agreements they agreed to in past negotiations. What have they done for the U.S. beyond making us a target for Arab and Muslim extremists? The thing about extremists is they only have a following when there is an issue which strikes to the heart of a group of people. The fact that much of the Arab world feels their brothers are being subjected to a modern ghetto designed to perform a gradual ethnic cleansing, is exactly the issue they are using. So I ask, why do we want to further the impression we support that action?

I know many people are concerned about supporting Israel due to their interpretation of the Bible. Well, my understanding is that almost all religions agree that we should treat all fellow men with peace and respect. I also don't believe God is in a hurry. I think the issue of Jerusalem should be removed from the peace process. The United Nations should make a 2 mile circle from the center of the Temple mount /Al-Asque mosque, and it should become a United Nations protected area for 100 years, at which point it's disposition would be negotiated by the exiting parties at that time. To ensure it's protection, the UN General Assembly should be moved within this protected zone, thus giving the entire world a stake in the security of the zone. The faithful of all religions could worship freely and the status quo could be preserved until cooler heads prevail. I understand that Israel feels that the temple mount is theirs and the mosque there must be removed to build the third temple and allow the arrival of their messiah, but that action is one which will tear the world apart, and one which, if they truly trust in their God, will happen when the time is right. The destruction of the third holiest site in Islam will not create a peaceful atmosphere for the creation of the third temple at this time. I do not believe that even the support of the United States could protect Israel from the wrath of the entire Muslim world, the majority of which lives outside the Middle Easy and has stayed out of the Arab-Israeli conflict altogether.

The facts in this case are really quite simple. The United States is dependent upon the Arab states for their energy resources. Israel only takes from the U.S. and thumbs their noses at us whenever they wish. Israel is a financial burden upon the U.S. economy, in exchange for which we only get tension with our other Middle Eastern allies. Vetoing a Palestinian effort at statehood before the UN will only create deeper rifts in the international community and serve as a recruiting poster for extremists to continue their destructive onslaught against the United States. Why not give peace a chance? What do we have to lose? I can understand that the US doesn't want to go against Israel, but I am of the firm opinion that we need to sit this one out and go with the will of the world.

As a past military officer, I am quite familiar with the writings of Sun Tzu. Most appropriate here is the statement that no nation has ever prospered during times of extended warfare. We are violating this principal and our enemies are enjoying watching our economy decline as they grow their own. We need to wake up and realize that it's time we embrace the Arab Spring and make friends where we once had enemies. If you want to create some jobs, send Halliburton et. al. to Libya to make some contracts with the new government. We have the expertise in rebuilding in the Middle East. Why not get paid for it this time and make some new friends in the process. It's obvious they are in favor that idea, and they already have billions at their disposal to spend.

One act, the vetoing of a Palestinian bid for statehood, will either build bridges, or burn them for the US. The financial and political consequences are clear. Should we pursue this action, it will only make it more clear to me, my friends and my family that our Government is no longer for the people, rather for the large amounts of special interest money that Israel pumps into the system every election. The funny thing is how much of that money came from the US taxpayers in the first place. Actually, to the millions of Americans facing major cuts in their benefits and pay, it's not very funny at all. And thanks to the Internet. They see the money trail like never before.

Stop lobbing rockets at Israel and then I will side with some things they are asking for till then NOPE!

Palestinian women are hot. Hmmm...........I wonder if they offer up any mail order brides? That might be something interesting to check into.

Before you comment I will say I meant you have never been HERE as in Israel and seen the standard of living of the Israeli Arabs HERE (same people as the Palestinians just within the borders of Israel b/c they decided to stay instead of fleeing in 48). They have a better standard of living HERE is this supposed "apartheid" state than in any neighboring country. Same rights as everyone else. The media likes to show the absolute worst image of poverty and suffering they can find in Gaza and the West Bank but never shows it HERE. WE have poverty and suffering too. We also have wonderful things. And so do they. But those kind of pictures don't sell papers do they? And talking about Israeli kids getting hurt or killed just doesn't seem as interesting somehow.

Question: does Gaza not have a border with Egypt, though which aid could have come?

Another question: Does the West Bank not border on the Jordan River, RIGHT across from the Palestinian state of Jordan? Couldn't Jordan have sent aid?

Oh, wait, I forgot: the Egyptians hated the Pals and had a law that no Pal could stay 24 hours in Egypt and their "brothers" the Jordanians are the ones keeping them in camps!

But keep blaming everything on Israel.