dear F Z

my dear naive friend
The term "Palestine" derives from the word Philistine,[3] the name of a non-Semitic ethnic group, originating from Southern Greece, closely related to early Mycenaean civilization.[4] Inhabiting a smaller area on the southern coast called Philistia, whose borders approximate the modern Gaza Strip, Philistia encompassed the five cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath. the word palastine has very little to do with the geographic location of israel.

frabs, vienna,

It is ironic to note that some people think that Palestinians are staying in Israel!!
No Sir Israel was created in 1948 but Palestine was created at the dawn of creation! Thus who is staying with who?

F Z, Jerusalem,

GB did the right thing as long as hamas control the palstinian government they should not get nothing from any country .the british people must under stand that by supporting hamas they are bringing the terror their door steps!! wake up.

Ronen, Tel Aviv, Israel

ronen hadani, tel aviv, israel

hold on..did i read this right? "£500 million for the Palestinian economy in royalties from BG Group" I guess Palestinians don't need the money in their economy.. this is typical of the backwards mentality in Palestinian leadership.  This is NOT a gift .. this is a business deal that would benefit both the country of Israel and Palestinian territories.. but instead.. Hamas officials would rather cut off their nose to spite their face.  It's too bad that the Palestinian people don't recognize that their own manipulative leadership is to blame for a lot of their economic and civil problems.

Joe, Los Angeles, CA

Generation after generation of Palestinians has lived off of the generosity of the Americans they hate. Check your archaeology, Israeli roots in the area go back thousands of years. Israel is a U.N, sovereign nation--a nation like France, Belgium or Switzerland. Hamas has already turned Gaza into a cesspool of violence, where Israeli greenhouses used to produced massive amounts of vegetables. Can the Palestinians create anything beyond violence?? Look at their schoolbooks--hatred of Israel, the most vile anti-semitic trash one could find. In the west, it would be called "child abuse."

The Palestinians are the ONLY people on the entire planet who have INHERITED their "refugee" status. And so continue to live off of western welfare instead of creating any stable government whatsoever. It was Israel who helped found their universities, as wanting as they are. The Destroy Israel campaign by terror groups is merely another form of "business," ensuring perpetual poverty. Pathetic.

frank gero, ottawa, canada

Since refugee camps were mentioned in the comments it is worthy to note that the refugee problem was created after the 1948 war when Arab residents fled to the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. After over 50 years, none of the above Arab States have yet given citizenship to some of these Palestinians - they live in camps with few or no rights.

It is ironic to note that Palestinians that stayed in Israel have rights: they received full Israeli citizenship. As of 2/2002 there were 980,000 Arab Israeli Citizens (mostly Muslim, some are Christian) who have the right to vote and have parties of their own represented in the Knesset, Israel's parliament. It is also ironic to note that neither Jordan nor Egypt gave the Palestinians the option of an independant state, but Israel did in October 2000.

Joe, Los Angeles, CA

It would seem to me, that commerce could be the basis for creating trust and respect, rather then using weapons and rockets. I would also say to many of the commentators, Israel is a fact, it exists and will continue to exist even if you dont like that idea. IMHO, both sides need to elect strong leaders they can get behind and work hard to find real peace. Israel and the Palistinians need to accept each other.

Ron, Los Angeles, USA

To Rod, Scunthorpe, UK
As you are a very eclectic person who thinks knows better than anyone the history of the middle east, hocan I humbly correct you and state that Jews did live in fact in the middle east alongside arabs for thousands of years - hence I think its completely wrong and misleading your claims that we are the occupiers - true, there was a war (not started by Israel) which Israel won and gained territory, and eventually they will come up with a settlement with the Palestinians. But at the moment, as you can see, the two main Palestinian factions kill themselves voraciously. I kindly point out that Israel withdrew unilaterally from the Gaza strip last summer, and under palestinian control, look how the situation has evolved in Gaza...

Michael, Bristol,

This is a great development. Business and the working of the market may bring peace to the area. Politics, religion and ideology just tear things apart. The common economic needs of people to live in prosperity may get us there.

Reuven, Houston, Texas

Re ESLombard

I just don't understand why the Palestinians are not more grateful to the
US. I know they have had their land stolen and have been abused ,
denigrated and kept in camps for the past 40 years by a particularly
unpleasant zionist regime supported, armed and financed by the US
- by why, oh why, don't they love the freedom loving people of the US?

Christopher Dodwell, St.Leonards-on-Sea, UK

As a Kaiser Chief once said, 'I predict a riot'.

Bryne Stothard, Beijing, China

To Michael, Bristol. In jail you are provided with food, water and electricity as well.
And it is even free!

Surprisingly, prisoners don't consider it as a 'gift'.

Josu, Basque Country, Spain

Never see a Palestinian refugee camp have you ESLombard? The two biggest are the West Bank and Gaza. The other smaller ones are spread across Lebanon and Jordan. You should go and say hello one day

Stash, Ibrag, Malta

Much as it may be distasteful to agree with the Hamas spokesman, it would appear that he has a point.

The Palestinians would be most unwise to sell the gas to Israel and thus allow themselves to be hostages to the whims of the Isrealis, who have not been reluctant to withhold payments (legitimately owed by them to the Palestinians) for politcal reasons.

gg

g goldstein, London,

Sadly, ebob is in dire need of some Holocaust education that the Brits unfortunately will be getting rid of to cater to the Islamists in their midst. The Pals have lost in retribution for terrorist activity the equivalent of one day's worth of innocent lives lost during the true Holocaust. To equate the two unfortunately is typical among Europeans these day who (a) have neither the sense of propriety or morality to know their equivalence leaves them with nary a problem equating the arsonist with the firefighter, and (b) easily relapse into their old anti-Semitic ways. Shame.

Fry, Washington, DC

ESLombard, get a reality check! The Palestinians don't owe America anything and neither do the Americans give the Palestinians any aid either! (Read www.ifamericansknew.org for all the facts and figures). The only "indirect aid" the Palestinians receive from America is in the way of Apache helicopter gunships, F-16's etc that used on them. When all is said and done, remember just one fact - The Palestinians are not immigrants but the indigenous people. The Israelis and Zionists however are immigrants!
P.S. You might want to google "USS Liberty" and learn what happened to it and by whom!

Rod, Scunthorpe, UK

It is no wonder that the Palestinians are not at all happy with israel. Israel is happy to spend time and effort selling palestinian gas and pocketing the money, but it cannot seem to bother carrying out PROPER bona fide negotiations for peace with Palestinians. Sure they can now hold up "Hamas" as an excuse but what of the decades before that when they failed even with Fatah. It surely is time that the USA stopped supporting Israel and supported peace alone.

Sergei, London, UK

ANOTHER BRITISH FRAUD

In another story it was stated that the Palestinians will receive only 10% of the proceeds of the sale of their gas.


From the Israeli paper Ha'aretz, June 18, 2006

British Gas likely to resume talks on Gaza coast reserves

"{BG has a joint franchise in the Gaza Marine gas field off the Gaza coast, which contains some 37 billion cubic meters of gas, with the Palestinian Authority, which has a 10 percent stake, and CCC (3" percent), which is owned by the Lebanese Khoury family.

Arik Silverman, Milwaukee, USA

ESLombard,
what should the Palestenians pay you or your US government for? for all the pain and suffering the US government has helped Isreal inflict on the palestenians people? or for the land stolen from the Palestenian people. Well i wont even be suprised if you asked the black south africans to pay back to the white apartheid white people and your fellow republicasn all the money realized from the natural resourse of south africa.
the palestenians should be able to decide for themselves who they want to do business with, and if they decide their natural resource should not be directly sold to Isreal or any other government, so be it.

akim akima, lagos, nigeria

In response to SC,

The use of the term "Islamist" is not double standards, but trying to be more accurate than using the term "Islamic Fundamentalist", as the original Fundamentalist Groups were Protestant Christian, and based in the United States. Using the same term implies that the groups share characteristics beyond being fringe extremist religious groups, which they don't.

LB, London,

ESLOmbard, I agree with your view. The palestinians should pay the US. They could deduct the amount owed to the US out of the reparations the US is due to pay for its act of complicty alongside Israelis in their perpetration of the Palestinian Holocaust. .

ebob, London, UK

in the words of the Kaiser Chiefs 'I predict a riot'.

Bryne Stothard, Beijing, China

Hmm I always thought that peaceful co-existence, EU-style, involved economic co-operation and reconciliation rather than wars. This would seem to be a heretical idea in some quarters.

Gideon, Matsudo-Shi, Japan

So the Palestinians are going to turn down a £500m business deal, which would benefit its economy and population? It shows they put hatred towards Israel before the welfare of the Palestinians...

Besides, nobody acknowledges that Israel does provide water and electricity services to the Palestinians...surely they could cut their supplies too! Hamas accepts this but is not willing to give anything in return...

Michael, Bristol,

hey that's a good idea ESLombard,maybe you could ask isreal aswell while your at it.i mean you have got to be even handed hey!

gregg, sydney, australia

Sir,
Since the use of the simplistic term, "Islamist" has become quite common. Why then the reticence in using the term "Jewist," surely this reeks of double standards?

SC, London, United Kingdom

"Beggers Can't be choosers" goes the old say. And with 1b$ US in contributions by gullibles standing up in line every year, the Palestinians can certainly NOT be dexribed as beggers. This only means that the world should stop treating Israel as thew aggressor here and seeing the Palestinians as the poor innocent victims which they are not...

Ohad, Haifa, Israel

Amen ! Hamas is 100% right to object to this deal.
Israel does not deserve a second chance. They have killed too many innocent Palestinians !

John, London, UK

Normally, if I were a welfare recipient (e.g.UNWRA),and I
came into an inheritance, I would be expected to pay back
that agency. Inasmuch as the Palestinians are to be heirs
to such munificence from their gas reserves, whether or not they sell the BP gas to Israel, they should settle up their 58 year aggregate UNWRA charitable gift. Perhaps they could thereby reimburse the US and others for their charitable, humane contributions. Let the Palestinians sell the gas to someone else than Israel, but I should like the US Congress to insist on reimbursement to us.

ESLombard, Staunton, Virginia