To the Point

Gaza Pullout and the Future of Peace in the Middle East

Next week, at least 55,000 Israeli troops are prepared to evict 8,000 fellow Jews from settlements in Gaza. The deadline for voluntary departure is Monday; removal by force is promised for Wednesday. The pullout will likely mean confrontations between settlers and their supporters, and soldiers. Militant rabbis are urging resistance, some troops may refuse to obey orders, and it's possible that Israelis may shoot at each other. Why do some Jews want to live surrounded by hostile Palestinians? Why do their fellow Israelis want them to leave? We go to the heart of the settlements that Ariel Sharon has vowed to tear down, get a Palestinian point of view and look at the long-term consequences for Israeli politics and the peace process. Making News: Bush Signs New $286 Billion Highway Bill into Law Critics say the transportation bill passed by Congress last week is "bloated" with political pork, but the White House says it could have been much worse. President Bush signed it today in Aurora, Illinois, in the district of Speaker Dennis Hastert, who helped negotiate the transportation bill through the House, bringing home tens of millions of dollars worth of projects. Lynn Sweet is Washington Bureau Chief for the Chicago Sun-Times. Reporters Notebook: Don't Google Me! Despite its promise that "all the world's information...on all people" will be "universally accessible," there appear to be limits. The Internet search engine has refused to talk to CNet News for a year after the Internet agency reported the results of a Google search on Google-s CEO. In fact, Google declines to discuss the issues the incident raises about the Internet and personal privacy. Mark Glaser of USC-s Online Journalism Review explains how Google-s strengths came back to haunt it.