I can hardly support myself!!!

WHAT DOES "PALESTINE" MEAN? It has never been the name of a nation or state. It is a geographical term, used to designate the region at those times in history when there is no nation or state there. The word itself derives from "Peleshet", a name that appears frequently in the Bible and has come into English as "Philistine". The Philistines were mediterranean people originating from Asia Minor and Greek localities. They reached the southern coast of Israel in several waves. One group arrived in the pre-patriarchal period and settled south of Beersheba in Gerar where they came into conflict with Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael. Another group, coming from Crete after being repulsed from an attempted invasion of Egypt by Rameses III in 1194 BCE, seized the southern coastal area, where they founded five settlements (Gaza, Ascalon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gat). In the Persian and Greek periods, foreign settlers - chiefly from the Mediterranean islands - overran the Philistine districts. From the time of Herodotus, Greeks called the eastern coast of the Mediterranean "Syria Palaestina". The Philistines were not Arabs nor even Semites, they were most closely related to the Greeks. They did not speak Arabic. They had no connection, ethnic, linguistic or historical with Arabia or Arabs. The name "Falastin" that Arabs today use for "Palestine" is not an Arabic name. It is the Arab pronunciation of the Greco-Roman "Palastina"; which is derived from the Plesheth, (root palash) was a general term meaning rolling or migratory. This referred to the Philistine's invasion and conquest of the coast from the sea. The use of the term "Palestinian" for an Arab ethnic group is a modern political creation which has no basis in fact - and had never had any international or academic credibility before 1967. This page was produced by Joseph E. Katz Source: http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~jkatz/meaning.html

I think both countries are equally to blame for the ongoing problems in that area.

Palestine 200%

I support both of them and a peaceful coexistence so that they can foment peace in that region of the world and hopefully the peace will radiate to the other regions surrounding there.

I support peace.

The Palestinians have done and continue to do everything possible to lose the peace. In seeking what they consider to be perfect justice they have destroyed or made miserable two or three generations of their own children. There seems to be no "compromise" gene in their leadership. I feel very sorry for the Palestinian people. My heart, however, lies with the Israelis who, I admit, are far from perfect themselves. Their insistence on settlements is a continual provocation, their treatment of Palestinians is a desecration of their own morality and ethics. Both sides have fanatics, but the Palestinian move to terror since the sixties has proven to be self-defeating. It is they who have engendered the terroristic strategy of killing innocents that runs rampant in the world today. Considering that Palestinians and Jews are genetically cousins, think what progress could have been made in science, agriculture and business if they had been working together instead of this madness. Get rid of their leaders--bring in new ones who actually want peace by compromise.

Israel I like the way they stand up for themselves without considering what is PC. Plus I think the Palestines are a bunch of kooks

I support the people who lost their lives, hopes, and dreams after the establishment of Israel.

I support God's chosen people. Israel.

Palestine maybe through the fact that as an Irishman I have seen how the displacement of a people can cause so much pain and isolation and a sense of being lost

both deserve an autonomous homeland and a peaceful existence

I have great sympathy for the Palestinians who have lost their ancestral homeland and I would like them to have land which they can call their own.If it can be done by peaceful means then they have my full support.I cannot support terrorism of any kind whether it be government sponsored or otherwise. On the other hand I also support the Israeli's as Israel is their ancestral home too. The only solution I can see that might bring peace to the area is to give the Palestinians the land they want,and the western world to invest heavily in the new state of Palestine to build up a manufacturing base so that they can have their own economy,and work in their own industries instead of having to go over the border to work in Israel.

Neither.

the jewish one

Between the two, Israel but ultimately I support peace between them.

In the times of the Roman Hadrian, AD 100 the area was know as Palestine. In the year 5 BC the area included the West Bank, Gaza as well as the State of Israel. In 1200 BC the main language spoken in the area was Hebrew, and it was the most spoken language until 200 AD. At this time in history the area was still known as Palestine. Approximately 1,814 years later 1914 AD the Jewish population in the area was only 85,000,and the Arab speaking population was 683,000.The reason for the low Jewish population was because they the Jews had deserted their homeland the middle east and spread into Western and Eastern Europe. After the second war in 1948,the United Nations partitioned Palestine and the new State of Israel was born. The Palestinian Arabs quite rightly baulked at the idea that their ancestral land should be given to Europeans who's only claim to the land was that their ancestors had once lived there. And when you look at it logically, how would we all feel if suddenly your country was taken from you and given to displaced Europeans. There are two sides to every story and the world should realise that the Arabs of the area have just as much right to be there as anyone else. Peace in the area will never be achieved until both the Palestinian Arabs and the Israelis thrash out an everlasting peace settlement.And the western democratic powers should make sure that both sides get their heads together for the good of all.

I just find it amazing that two BROTHERS cannot seem to stop fighting. Didn't their mommies ever teach them to SHARE??

Neither.

Palestine. The biggest concentration camp in the globe. My 2 cents.

Palestine, it their land not the jews.(Not trying to be racist. If I offend anyone im sorry)

neither

isreal...although, I would love to see both be able to raise their children in peace and safety. It is deplorable how all arab nations want to commit genocide against the isreali people, when all they want is to be left alone. To me, it doesnt matter who owner the land in 1200 BC. America used to belong to the Indians, should they commit genocide against us? Its the same thing!

i support palestine. i feel they were unfairly displaced/forced to flee following the 1948 war, which was a direct result of the newly formed united nations partition plan of 1947. today israel's population is approximately 7.3 million, and over 5.8 million are jewish. there are over 4 million palestinian refugees to this day. there is something very wrong with this picture. i feel great compassion for palestinians having been forced off their land. however, i do not condone any of the violent terrorists who have wreaked havoc in israel in an attempt to reclaim their land. i understand the israelis position very well. they were given the holy land and they want to hang on to it. it is the land of their fathers fathers and in that sense, yes, they do have claim to it. however, what happened in 1947 would be akin to snatching real estate from todays americans and giving it back to the native americans. it would cause outrage. i believe the israelis must back down from their current agenda. they are very fortunate to have their land back ~ and they need to show more appreciation to their palestinian brothers. they need to lay down their weapons, initiate peaceful dialogue, and share a much larger portion of the land with the palestinians in order to restore harmony. all the members of the united nations must take responsibility for their decisions in 1947 and make reparations for a poorly executed plan and help invest in the reconstruction of palestine.

I support the Israelis, they have a claim to the land that is ancestral and were put through the grinder in Europe, both in Germany and Russia. They needed and deserved a homeland, and it made sense to settle them in ancient Israel. The Arabs have attacked them mercilessly, and been smashed every time they tried, because the Israelis don't put up with anyone's crap. You shoot a gun at them, they roll a tank down your street, blow you and your house up, and piss on the ashes. That is the only way they can survive with hostiles on every side. I think they should give parts of the occupied territory back, but I wholeheartedly support their right to be. I feel bad for the "Palestinian" people, they have been shit on for a long long time, and they deserve to live in peace. Peace cannot come until they abandon terrorism and find a middle groung with Israel, because I don't think that either is going anywhere, anytime soon.

PALESTINE! TILL THE END!

Israelstine. It's far better.

for every one of you.....I'm calling the human part in each and every one of you .. if you want to see the truth.. if you want to see the other part of the equation... if you want to see the reality....(no illusion) please...go to www.youtube.com type: "The Real TRUTH in GAZA - Where is the FREEDOM?" and tell me what you think..

Scubabob: Then why was there only 5.3% Jewish population living in Palestine in 1880,as there were no body throwing them out then.In the 18th century there were an estimated 1,360.000 Jews living in Europe,and in 1900 there were an estimated 11,000,000 living throughout the world,and as I have already said there were only 83,000 living in Palestine in 1917.Before 1917 there were 20% Christians living in Palestine and 10.7% Jewish, so even the Christians outnumbered the Jewish population It was only after they were persecuted in Europe during WW2 that they wanted to go back to PALESTINE,and if WW2 had never happened you could say that there would not have been a State of Israel today as the Jews would have been still living in Europe where they had been for over 1,500 years. As I have already said the only way for peace is that a state of Palestine should be created,after all it was called Palestine previous 1947 wasn't it?

Peace. Neither. So long as one exists i'm starting to think they will fight each other.

Palestinians to an extent. Israelites to an extent.

There are people acting like complete and utter cusswords on both sides. I wish they'd both stop.

Israel should pound them into the dirt. Get it done once and for all.

I support truth and justice and God. I'm not supporting either, but my heart goes out to the good people who've lost their lives. I have no respect for Israel using chemical weapons on hospitals, civilians, and children. White phosphorous, depleted uranium???? Hamas is only a very small single digit percentage of the population on gaza. Children make up almost 50%! Hellooo!? With a government with a secret intel agency as large and professional as MOSSAD, and a spy ring more evasive than the CIA or KGB, you'd think they'd be able to eliminate a group of infidels like Hamas more effectively without killing any children.

Israel,they have tried everything to support peace but Hamas has ruined those oppertunities,now they must pay.

I'm on neither side. These 2 countries been fighting over a piece of land for thousands of years and it will continue for another thousands of years.

My wish is that the distinction between these two references fades into a greater humanity of one.

Israel. Big time.

free israel

Whom do I support? I support peace.

Let's see - should i support a country that is one of our best friends. or some crazy terrorist scumbags who want to blow up the USA? I guess I'll side with Israel. Seems to make more sense. Don't you think?

Neither, I am just watching them destroying each other

Of course PALESTINE FOREVER....

I support the palestinian strugle, and I support the right for the existence of both states.

I, respectfully, feel that you are putting too much faith in your sources without regard for the other side of the story. Without accusing you of believing lies, I do argue that the sources you cited almost entirely ignore the attacks against Israel. The stories are spun in a way that makes Israel appear to be nothing more than a bully concerned only with hurting innocent women and children. The truth is the palestinian people have felt subjugated ever since the birth of Israel in 1948. While Israel has made countless attemps at a peaceful coexistence, the palestinians have continued to threaten the sovereignty and security of Israel. Until palestine recognizes Israel's right to exist and ends the unjust aggression, Israel will be completely justified in protecting its borders and its citizens by means of both reactionary and proactive military force.

Without any question I support Israel completely as all Americans should.

Neither but i belive that the Palestinians always get the raw deal and that the Israelis are always portrayed as little angels.

Palestine because they are weak.but world and peoples support power always.weak person become wrong too and power s words look right.

Israel. I feel hate for all Arabs now.

ENOUGH! EVERYBODY. OUT OF THE POOL!

Israel is our only friend in the Middle East.

Israel

If no one is interested in understanding the difference between "Zionism" and "Judaism" then you'll never know the truth about what's happening in the Middle East. Both terms are used interchangeably, but they aren't. The difference between the two is as simple as the difference between church and state. Judaism pertains to the religious/cultural aspect of the Jews while Zionism is nothing more than a political movement that claims to advocate for the Jews to justify their own existence. And as we have witnessed far too often in the United States politics and religion are as different as night and day - and so it is among those in the "Jewish" world. Modern-day Zionism was established in 1895 as a political movement, and although they advocated the "homeland for the Jews" concept, a homeland was not what they were after. They wanted a political state all their own in the Middle East. They tried to buy Palestine from Turkey in 1902 (or 1905) but were refused. There is evidence that it was this refusal that triggered WW1 in 1914. In 1915, Britain made a deal with the Arabs (the McMahon Agreement) in which they would give Palestine to them in exchange for their help weakening Turkey to allow Britain to win the war. The Arabs fulfilled their part of the agreement but because it didn't have the outcome Britain was hoping for, Britain reneged on the deal. In 1917, Britain found itself on the losing end of the war (thanks to Zionist manipulation in financing the Bolshevik Revolution, thereby ending the need for an eastern front - allowing Germany to focus on its western front against Britain). They made a deal to bring the United States into the war in exchange for the rights to Palestine - this was the Balfour Declaration. The Zionists have had the rights to Palestine (albeit illegally) since 1917 but didn't make any move to establish Israel until 1948. That's because the British Mandate which controlled the Middle East strictly forbade them from interfering in Arab society. The British Mandate ended once the United Nations was established - and when the Mandate ended, so did the restrictions on the Zionists. This was when Zionism declared Israel to be an independent nation. Does anyone know what "Lebensraum" was? It was an accusation against the Germans in WW2 that condemned them for supposedly conquering other countries to create more living space. There is no official term for it as it pertains to Israel in the Middle East, but if you will compare maps between 1967 and the present day, you'll find that Israel has been on a quest to do just that - if you can even find Palestine anywhere on the map, it is no bigger than a few neighborhoods. So, you have Israel invading Palestine to "create more living space" ("Lebensraum") and it's supported by the rest of the world after it was condemned in Germany's case. Israel became a political state as a result of Britain's breach of contract with Palestine in 1915 - making Israel an illegal state. But because people don't understand the difference between politics and religion/ethnicity, they're too afraid to speak out against it for fear of being labeled "antisemitic" - which doesn't apply anyway. The concept of antisemitism is associated with protecting the religious and ethnic aspects of the Jews - it can never apply to a political movement. But Zionism uses it to hide behind anyway to prevent anyone from criticizing them. "To determine the true rulers of any society, all you must do is ask yourself this question: 'Who is it that I'm not allowed to criticize?' " - Kevin Alfred Strom