Response to "tired" Danielsan: Sunday (June 20), Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei openly acknowledged that the Al Aqsa Brigades are no mere 'offshoot'. In an interview with the London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, Qurei said:

"We have clearly declared that the Aksa Martyrs Brigades are part of Fatah... We are committed to them and Fatah bears full responsibility for the group."

If the Palestinian Authority is funding and promoting the terrorist groups, then bombing a PA police station is not unreasonable. I'm sure the Mossad had a lot of intelligence on what was going on in that police station. I wish the USA CIA was as good.

You wrote: "Since the people of Palestine have been living in temporary refugee camps since the Israeli state refused the right-of-return..."

There are camps in some Palestinian cities and also in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. Israel has built free housing for Palestinians so they could leave the camps. Al-Sultan in Rafah is just such a neighborhood. But what have their Arab brothers done to relieve their suffering? What have the wealthy oil sheiks done to improve the housing, education, medical care, and infrastructure for Palestinian people? A LOT less than Israel has done (with most of the work done by Israel between 1967 and the Oslo agreement in 1993). You seem to blame Israel for the condition of the Arabs living in the camps. Do I need to remind you that in 1948 Five Arab nations joined together to wage an offensive war against the very existance of a tiny Jewish nation in the mideast? That the refugees were caused by this Arab attack?

Also Palestinians don't need to "hide themselves" unless they are engaged in gun and bomb smuggling, kidnappings, sniper attacks, lynchings, honor killings, and planning more suicide attacks. Only terrorists need to hide themselves. And Israel is obligated to find them and shut them down one way or another. Non-lethally if they can, and lethally if there is no other way. This is what you object to?

As for the power imbalance: consider this. It is not a heavily armed population of 5 million Israelis against a relatively unarmed population of 4.3 Palestinian people.

It is 5 million Israelis against 1.3 BILLION Arab/Muslims. That's 50 times as many people, 800 times as much land,and with military powers 20 times greater than Israel.

Of 23 Arab/Muslim countries, only 2 have signed peace treaties with Israel and recognized their right to exist.

Your letter shows me you have bought the propaganda that Israel is mighty and powerful and the Palestinians are tiny and defenseless.

Your point that the IDF live amongst the civilian population is an interesting one. It is true, that IDF soldiers are residents of Israel and live in houses and neighborhoods. From what I understand (and I have never been to Israel) is that you see people with guns everywhere. The joke is that Israel is the only country in the world where you can see a 17-yr old in a dark alley with an M-16 and you think "Thank God!"

The Israelis don't use residential neighborhoods to hide their munition storage facilities, their training camps, and their rocket launchers.

Under Oslo, Israel gave 30,000 Palestinian policemen guns and ammo. Those same guns and ammo were used to kill Israeli citizens.

Under these circumstances what would you have the Israelis do? A wall at least provides some protection ---and atacks are way down already because of it.