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Source: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/editorial/outlook/3105182
Israel to Take Painful Steps to Peace
(Houston Chronicle) Yael Ravia-Zadok - In the coming months, with the implementation of the disengagement plan, Israel will embark on a path marking a new chapter in the Middle East. This plan is intended to reduce friction between Israelis and Palestinians, improve Israel's security situation, provide the Palestinians an opportunity to manage their own lives and design their own future, and establish conditions that will be conducive to the renewal of the peace process. Under the disengagement plan, more than 8,000 Israelis will have to leave the homes where they have lived for three decades; families that have never lived in any other place will need to be uprooted from the only place that was home. They leave the communities they have built, and the businesses and farms they have long nurtured. It is imperative to show solidarity with those Israelis who are forced to give up their homes. The writer is consul general of Israel to the Southwest U.S., located in Houston.