so many villages gone

The red dots on the map below indicate Palestinian towns that have been eliminated from 1948 to date in the state of Israel. The green dots are Palestinian towns that remain. Note that Gaza and the West Bank are blank. Gaza is no longer a place of settlement for Israelis since the unilateral withdrawal of Jewish settlements in 2005 by the Sharon government. This was done because of the impossibility of the Jews in the settlements growing in number enough to be a majority of the populace. It was Sharon's admission of his concern to keep a Jewish majority in the Jewish State.

Since that time, Sharon is out of the picture and settlement in the West Bank is proceeding with vigor, ignoring Sharon's fear that such activity would create the need for a system of apartheid. The alternative of a real democracy, allowing Palestinians to be full citizens of an expanded Israel, is not a consideration, while the placement of settlements leaves no room for a Palestinian state. It is this dilemma that is behind the comments now heard from former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and others that Israel is committing national suicide with the settlements. A state for only one group of people won't survive in the 21st century.

Recently, Israeli businessmen have been warning Prime Minister Netanyahu that the apartheid label is going to kill the economy of Israel.