000, some of the settlers themselves spoke out on their decision to stay in the West Bank. ‘“It’s not an issue for us,” said Sarah Friedman...“We’re not leaving. Nobody is thinking of leaving.”’ The woman went on to say, ‘“We are really strengthening the country... now there are hard times. Everyone’s eyes are on (us) to see if we can withstand and stay here.”’ As far as the Palestinian view, the article explains how they view the settlers as an unwelcome nuisance and the military presence that comes along with their settlements, wrecks their quality of life.In response to the increased Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza strip, among other things, many Palestinians have taken to their uprising known as the intifada, stronger than ever. The intifada, which began in 1987 as a mainly non-violent uprising, to speak out about the Israeli occupation (Anderson, 2000, p. 114), is gaining more presence recently. The Palestinians are angry over many recent, violent and forceful acts committed by the Israeli military (“Not Intifada, This Time it’s War,” 16 November 2000). Even Yassar Arafat, the president of the Palestinian authority is backing the uprising that is moving towards military methods to get their needs met. In the same article concerning the intifada as mentioned above, it is said, “...He (Arafat) is traveling the globe to ensure that his people’s ‘uprising of truth and justice’ remains high on everyone’s mind.” The Palestinians hope that by moving the violence and focusing pressure on the Israeli settlements and away from their own civilian areas, the Israeli’s will realize that they cannot continue to maintain hold of those settlements without great losses. But, the question is, can the Palestinians withstand all they have lost and will continue to lose in this battle over land? ...
