[Abcdxxxx]

Well, I can shed a little more light on the Israel's side of things.

The "Road Map" is being seen as a formality, and an obligation. More of a joke then anything. Something the world is pressuring, and it's more of a "let's play along again" attitude. The assumption is that these talks will crumble... but this was the same attitude taken during Oslo, and that stuck. In retrospect, Oslo failed, and the interim Palestinian government has failed. Israel feels it's provided concession after concession with nothing in return to suggest this leads to progress. If Israel refuses, they're seen as intolerant, and very few believe the Palestinians or the violence that comes along with their movement will be satisfied with a small coexisting state,

As it stands now, Arafat retains control. He runs the finances. The new PM has been a close partner of his despite the good cop/bad cop media charade. Nothing has changed. Bush called for a total reform, and that hasn't happened. Bush called for free elections. That hasn't happpened. Abu was appointed instead. Why are we proceeding to the next step?

Simply put - The disputed land was always divided, it was conquered from Egypt, and Jordan, not one single consolidated rulership. Therefore it's unreasonable to view this same division of borders in relation to African pontoons (as Chomsky calls them) or to expect a divided Israel to work. Israel retained the disputed land after 1967 to create more defensable borders, and returned the rest. It was mainly undeveloped land.... and there's a lot of undeveloped land in the Middle East due to agricultural, and geographical conditions.

So here are the real issues ....
What have the Palestinians done to prove they are working in good faith? Even if Israel agrees to dismantle settlements, what exactly are we going to define as a settlement? What exactly do the Palestinians define as a settlement? Wouldn't it be a form of ethnic cleansing to remove Jews, or Israeli citizens from the West Bank? Why should anyone support the creation of yet another arabic state where Jews can not be citizens, and own land ? Isn't there a danger in negotiating with those who take militant actions to fight for their political beliefs? Shouldn't we hold the PA to it's various peace treaties, and cease fire agreements? Will the Palestinians stop once there is a state, or will they continue to fight? What reason do we have to ignore the past doctrines of the PLO, calling for death to all Jews, when this is what continues to be tought in schools? How does this work in the favor of Israel at all? For a Palestinian state to exist, they would have to ride the back of enemy Israel. So let's talk about water rations. Energy. Import/Export. Rather then debate the violence and various ways to reprimand Israel, wouldn't it serve the creation of a new State to focus on these issues first?

Finally. What does Israel gain through this road map?

(also, how many of you are aware that there has been an on-going battle for the past year between the IDF and outpost settlers in settlement areas who continue to squat illegaly? )