<Long, long before the Palestinians started the suicide bombing, while their losses were 25 to 1, the Israelis kept building West Bank settlements.

When you drop that 25-1 number, it might be interesting to factor out those who were shooting at or attacking Israelis at the time. I note that few people distinguish between Palestinians who are killed while sitting at a bus stop vs. Palestinians killed while firing automatic weapons at soldiers. Just a thought.

The equivalence between suicide bombing and settlement construction still escapes me. How many Palestinians have been killed by the construction of settlements? Maybe by falling bricks?

Oh, yeah, that's right. They are "defending their territory." First, I'm not sure by what means the West Bank has been suddenly defined as Palestinian territory. It didn't seem to be considered Palestinian territory for all of the 18 years Jordan controlled it, and could have easily created a Palestinian state with the stroke of a pen. Apparently abusing the Palestinians and then mounting yet another losing war of extermination against Israel seemed like a better idea at the time. And where is all the complaining about the occupation of Lebanon by Syria, with similar abuse of their Palestinian population? It gets very hard to see this in any terms other than a specific hostility of Arabs against Jews.

Second, I'm a little confused. Has it been stipulated now that NO Jews shall be permitted to live in the West Bank? Is this the problem? Do the Palestinians consider ANY Jews living in the area as an "invasion?" Why is it different from Palestinians who live in Israel? Why shouldn't Jews be able to live here and there in the area? Hell, I live in California. There are an estimated 2 million Mexicans and others who have poured over the border and are living illegally in my state. Is this an invasion? Should I respond by finding a Mexican restaurant and shredding the patrons with shrapnel bombs? Obviously, that would be insane.*

Long, long before the Palestinians started the suicide bombing, the Palestinians who were residents of what became Israel, who were guaranteed Israeli citizenship by the partition agreements, the Palestinians who had lived on that land for untold generations, were discriminated against by "their" government.

About twenty percent of Israeli citizens are Palestinian. How many Jews are citizens of Arab nations?

For instance, service in the IDF is a prerequisite of many rights of citizenship.

Which ones?

Palestinians are precluded from service.

One would think excluding Palestinians from compulsory military service which might require them to fight other Palestinians would be doing them a favor. You are of course aware that they can volunteer if they want. Or did you overlook that too?

Therefore, they are denied many, many other rights.

Which ones? Legal rights please. Don't come back with how more of them are poor, or are discriminated against informally. I would be the first to admit that life in Israel for a Palestinian ain't no bed of roses, especially when other Palestinians keep blowing Israelis to hell and making life even harder for the innocent ones, but I will match the lifestyle of a Palestinian citizen of Israel with that of a Palestinian living not just in the West Bank, but ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE MIDEAST. Want to take me up on that?

For instance, the "right of return". They are citizens, yet if they leave Israel many, many Palestinian citizens cannot return to their homeland. That would be like you taking a trip to Mexico, maybe to see a kid on an archeological dig, and not being able to come home.

This is a misrepresentation. There is no issue with Palestinian citizens of Israel leaving and returning, except security issues. "Right of Return" is, to put it simply, the right of any Palestinian who can show an ancestor having once resided in Israel getting the right to move there. If this occurred, the Jewish population would be completely overwhelmed by the descendants of every Palestinian who had ever lived there.

Imagine a similar proposal stating that anyone in America who could show ancestors from Europe would immediately acquire citizenship in those European nations, and be allowed to move in no questions asked (not that anyone would want to). How popular would that be across the pond?

And over the decades the Israelis have killed or imprisoned the Palestinian police forces, the only folks on their side who could have stopped it.

The main reason for this, of course, being that the Palestinian Police Force was basically working with the terrorists. But this too seems to be overlooked.

Somehow I expect an army, a State, with all their resources, to be a bit more responsible than an occupied, disarmed civilian population.

You know, for a "disarmed" population, the Palestinians sure seem to have a lot of guns and bombs. Or maybe you think only a tank or a helicopter can kill someone.

*A really red-hot leftist would somehow twist this around to condemning the taking of California from Mexico. Give it a shot! You know you want to.