Centerfield

Good news? This is yet another dangerous capitulation by Israel and no doubt Gaza will be a terrorist haven.

Obviously Israel is the sacrificial lamb to boost the sagging fortunes of the Bush administration. No doubt Condi came down hard to force Israel into this absurd agreement.

But Laura, if Gaza becomes a terrorist haven, or even shows signs, we all know that Israel has both the power and the will to go right back in and re-assert authority. I have ZERO doubt about that. To me, the notion that anyone in the Bush administration would or even could

With this development, the onus is currently on Abbas et al to show that they can autonomously conduct their affairs responsibly. Might they fail this test? Absolutely. If so, it'll be their bad.

It may very well be a dangerous capitulation, but if Israel doesn't take some risks, there will never be peace (maybe there won't anyway). I know it's easy for me to say living in the US, but I can't see the point of going on this way for generations. Israel's current policy is doing nothing to reduce terrorism and waiting for the Palestinean Authority to become the European Union is pointless. I am waiting for people that oppose any Israeli concessions to come up with some alternative. All I can see of continuing the way they are is generations of more violence. It's got nothing to do with who is to blame; it's a question of whether you try to change things or simply continue along a path that shows no sign of improving.

Gotta walk before they can run. If they want autonomy, the Palestinians have to show they're not going to use it to continue the intifada. And yes, Israel has to give some if they expect to make progress. Tit-for-tat just leads to more of same. They've had decades of that.

Israel has already given some, they have relinquished Gaza. In my view there should be no more Israeli concessions until the palestinians renounce and fight terror and renounce and end the incitement going on in their schools, mosques, media etc.

I still hold to the view that this agreement regarding Gaza is a very dangerous capitulation on the part of Israel. They will have no way of knowing how many arms or terrorists will flow into Gaza until it is too late. Will a missile strike on a passenger plane going to or from Ben Gurion airport convince the fools in Europe or the U.S. government the folly of this absurd arrangement?

Will a missile strike on a passenger plane going to or from Ben Gurion airport convince the fools in Europe or the U.S. government the folly of this absurd arrangement?

One might just as well ask how long of an absence of such events would convince critics of the policy's wisdom.

Waiting for the Palestineans to renounce violence is like waiting for Godot. It's never going to happen any more than the IRA was going to renounce violence before there was an agreement. Abbas is in no position to disarm the militants. He is simply too weak. That's simply a fact of life. But if Israel makes no movement, Abbas's position is only going to get worse and so will Israel's. There's already increasing talk on the left about a so-called bi-national state that would eliminate Israel entirely. It seems to me that it's in Israel's interest to get a Palestinean state running.

I don't mean to minimize the danger involved. It's almost a certainty that Hamas will never accept anything less than all of "Palestine." And I'm skeptical about the idea that Abbas can coopt Hamas. But the current situation promises nothing but more violence. And, frankly, at some point American support for Israel is going to wane if it is seen as being recalcitrant.