Second of some assorted footnotes to the preceding

That same reference to Biblical law and to "God says so" appears over and over again in official Israeli (and, more generally, Jewish) claims to sovereignty over the West Bank. As the end of this article from the Christian Science Monitor reminds us, the radical Jewish settlers' claims are explicitly based on such arguments, specifically that God "promised" all of Judea and Samaria - i.e., the West Bank - to the Hebrew people.

As the later-composed lyrics to the theme from "Exodus" have it, "This land is mine; God gave this land to me." For too many, that is not merely a song lyric, it's a statement of rock-bottom conviction.

Realize that in too many cases - not all but in too many - when we refer to "the settlers" we are referring to religious fanatics incapable of responding to rational argument.