If Israel wants Peace then Why does it build Settlements on the West Bank?

There is no need for a long answer here, or a deep in depth study showing statistics, news reports etc...

Its very simple - What the Israeli government says and what the Israeli government does are two completely different things. All it would require is to look at the multitude of incidents in Israels long brutal history to see this. The Israeli government has never wanted peace with the Palestinians UNLESS the Palestinians are willing to accept a fully controlled (Israeli controlled) patch of land with no military, no airspace, no navy.... Nothing basically - to be the unarmed and unwanted people in the region, that's the only type of 'Peace' Israel is willing to accept.

@ ag318pun - '@ Wilbert and others like him. Why are you in the Israeli section?

You people have plenty of Arab sites to go to and spew your venom.'

First of all this is not an 'Israeli' section, this is a very small section on 'Israel' which is part of a very large and popular site around the world called Yahoo Answers. Currently there are two types of people, those who believe in calling that patch of land Israel and those who believe in calling that patch of land Palestine. Regardless of what you call the country there are currently three kinds of people living in that land - Palestinians, Israelis and Foreigners. As this section holds discussions involving all those people, ANYBODY has the right to enter this section whether you 'approve' of it or not. Who the hell are you to question where people are answering their questions on this site, you're a nobody.

Scumbag Zionists like yourself refer to the truth as 'Arab Venom' - you can call it whatever you like, the truth stands tall and stands strong.

Like all your delusional friends on here, you have the viewpoint of an 8 yr old child, with statements like:

'Israel had won all the land they are building on in several wars started

by the Arabs. No part of the West Bank belongs to them. If they don't

like the present arrangement, then try and take it back. The Arabs should

be happy with what they have now.'

LOOOOOOOOL at you!

You just used peace and Israel in the same sentence and that is wrong my dear friend. The very idea of this so called state is to create Jewish supremacy on as much Arab land as possible. That is anything but peace.

Maybe our Israeli friends here can tell us why does Israel build settlements on a land it claim is held for security reasons? More settlements means more lands to protect them! And then, the reason for the occupation changes from security claims to settlement claims as Netenyahu said "Israel can't return to the 1967 because it will leave too many Israelis beyond Israel's official borders". This is how people there in Israel define peace.

Anvil gave a great answer. Arabs legions did not "conquer" the West Bank- they stopped the IDF from advancing further. Nor is there any examples of expulsion. And Anvil overlooks that the Arab league only allowed Jordan to annex the West Bank on the grounds that it not prejudice any future claims to an independent state. Palestinians fell into two categories on the West Bank, refugees and existing settlements. Refugees wanted to go home, as was promised to them when Israel was accepted into the UN (UN194); existing settlements were fine with Jordanian citizenship. Also is is interesting that the claim is made that the 1949 line is indefensible- strange considering that the claim is made the Arabs were beaten in 1949, 1967 and again in 1973. Sounds defensible to me Nor was the land "stolen". The Jewish population of the West Bank was less than 1%, pre1948. Nor was the land made into a desert. Agriculture had existed long before European settlers arrived. Yes settlers have made areas "greener", but only because Palestinians are under strict water rationing while settlers have well watered lawns and swimming pools. You also overlook the fact the land was promised to the Palestinians first, in 1916- before Balfour was written.

"Only negotiation without preconditions will lead to meaningful co-existence." Preconditions? You mean like "recognition of a Jewish state" "refusal to negotiate on Jerusalem, refugees, Jordan valley and complete sovereignty"? ALL of which Israel has insisted on before any talks are had- which kind of makes the talks moot.

So anvil has given your answer- many Israelis don't want peace- and justify it by spreading false propaganda.

Israel had won all the land they are building on in several wars started

by the Arabs. No part of the West Bank belongs to them. If they don't

like the present arrangement, then try and take it back. The Arabs should

be happy with what they have now. But no, the Arabs don't want any

peace until all the Jews are gone and there is no more Israel.

@ Wilbert and others like him. Why are you in the Israeli section?

You people have plenty of Arab sites to go to and spew your venom.

I guessed someone would come up with their usual and only excuse. Hamas rockets. These very same people also remember only too well the ceasefire made between Hamas and Israel when Hamas ceases firing rockets if Israel stopped attacks on Gaza in 2008. This ceasefire lasted 4 months which Hamas honoured to the letter broken by Israel on another attack on Gaza killing 6 Palestinians Further proof that Israel does not want peace.

That argument no longer holds water Right Simon .

@ Anvil If you bother to read the link you will hear Mark Regev, Israels own spokesman, admitting that Israel broke the ceasefire. Are you calling him a liar.?

Israel does not want peace. They want to expand more and more until they reach their promised land which is from Nile to Euphrates and they want to annihilate the whole arab population already living there. That or made them their slaves. Israel and Peace are two words which have two opposite meanings.

The so called West bank is Judea and Shomron,as well as Jerusalem.The term West bank (of the River Jordan) is a misnomer.It extends to within 9 miles of the Mediterranean Sea,and is the Heartland of the land of Israel.It was conquered by the so called Arab Legion,a British trained and financed Army under the command of Brig Gen.John Glubb.They sacked the Jewish homes and Synagogues of the Old City and expelled every single Jew who had not been slaughtered ,from all the land that they now claim.In 1949 an armistice was signed after the Arabs had failed to wipe Israel off the map,leaving indefensible borders.

In 1967 Israel liberated Judea including the old City.Now for the first time the Arabs of Former Jordanian occupied Judea declared themselves to be Palestinians and demanded the land that Israel had liberated.

At camp David Israel's than socialist Government offered 90% of this land for peace.The Palestinians,wanted more.They than started a campaign of suicide bombers and killed Jewish civilians in buses,cars.restaurants,schools and in their homes.Israel withdrew unilaterally from Gaza.The responce was 10,000 missiles launched against Israel.It became obvious that one could not give land to Arabs for peace.

To prevent terrorism Israel had to seal off it's borders from The Palestinians.That worked.

The Arabs want to weaken Israel by returning to the indefensible cease fire lines of 1949.Israel needs to ensure safe borders.Israeli's want to return to places where Arabs had removed the Jewish population by force and massacre.Israel saw what happened when it withdrew from Gaza.It will not allow the Palestinians to fire missiles at them from the very borders of Tel Aviv.This is what they demand before the start discussing "peace".What they want is the peace of the grave.Israel cannot be fooled again with empty words.In the Arab world "peace agreements"are not worth the paper they are written on eg the Egyptian peace treaty.

Israel wants peace but no longer a treaty that will not bring peace.

Lastly you claim that the contested land is Palestinian.It is certainly not.It was conquered by Arabs and it's Jewish population exiled in 1948,and it's land stolen and turned into a desert ,but liberated with Jewish blood and turned into an oasis .It will not be stolen, like Sudetenland, by international Arab led pressure.

Only negotiation without preconditions will lead to meaningful co-existence.

Ps Wilbert.you keep on with the Arab propaganda line about"Gaza keeping a truce which Israel broke."I wish we could be given your source of your information.It does not jive with the facts that are common knowledge.

Palestine belongs to israel, they can build their **** wherever they want on their land, of you have a problem LEAVE

Because Jewish villages on the mountain tops are the BEST GUARANTY for Peace.

See what happened with Gaza, when Jews left.

Immediately Arabs started shooting missiles into israeli civilians.

No way Israel will let it happen again.