The public image of Israel's Orthodox settlers residing in the West Bank has been one of belligerent, bigoted youths, and rightwing extremists who are "vociferous opponents of withdrawal, claiming an ideological attachment to the land," and committed to see hostile Palestinians "transferred" out of this supposed sacred Biblical land. The criticism continue as opponents claim that the settlers violate international law, legitimize force by armed messianic Jews and ruin the chance of establishing a viable Palestinian state. WIth that said, it should not be much of a surprise that many have been blamed as the ultimate barrier preventing the long-awaited peace negotiation between Israel and the Palestinians. However, although many continue to strongly hold to this shallow belief regarding this particular group of people, others are transforming their perspective, considering them now as the possible, potential solution to this complex issue. In the article titled, "In West Bank Settlements, Sign of Hope for a Deal," by Ethan Bronner, and blog post titled, "Israel's Orthodox Versus the State," by Sarah Harlan, a different perspective is offered expressing Israel Orthodox settlers who are eager in withdrawing from the West Bank to further progress toward a mutual agreeable solution.
Both Bronner and Harlan focuses on two particular ultra-Orthodox Israel communities situated in the West Bank which consists of the majority of Israel's Orthodox settlers, and half of all construction taking place in West Bank settlements: Modiin Illit and Beitar Illit. While these places may represent strict religious observance and study, they yearn for compromise with their fellow Palestinians neighbors. The authors argue that most ultra-Orthodox do not consider themselves settlers or Zionists and express no commitment to being in the West Bank. They explain, most settlers did not (and do not) necessarily migrate in this geographic region to continue the historic Zionist mission of reclaiming the Jewish homeland, but instead out of affordability and accessibility. Once housing became no longer available in Jerusalem for these ultra-Orthodox Jews, or were either rejected by other Israelite cities due to their occult-like culture, many found the West Bank as their ultimate last resort. As Mayor Yaakov Guterman of Modiin Illit stated, "We are not here for political reasons…ninety percent of the people are here for the affordability, not for ideology". 
With that said, relocation of these settlements is not only probable, but expected. Since they appear less ideologically committed to the West Bank, opposition toward the establishment of a Palestinian state has decreased substantially. Although other important factors must be taken into consideration such as housing availability in Israel, border realignment, and safety concerns, withdrawing from this territory is still highly feasible with support coming from all directions. When Mayor Guterman was asked about the prospect of a Palestinian state rising one day on his own town line, he responded, "We will go along with what the world wants. We have gone through the Holocaust and know what it means to have the world against us, The Torah says a man needs to know his place. "So, although the Israeli Orthodox settlers have been pegged in the media as that undesirable force that continues to maintain Israel intractable on land issues in the peace process, others view it as an exaggeration or an excuse for failures to move the peace process further. As Dr. Gershon Baskin, a well-known Israel-Palestin public policy expert, had clearly put it, "The ultra-Orthodox are simply 'not a primary factor' in the stalled peace process".
While there was virtually no information accessible concerning the blogger, Sarah Harlan, disallowing further criticism on the credibility of her posted work, much was obtained on the following writer, journalist Ethan Bronner. Personally renowned for his prolific works as a news correspondent, he is currently Jerusalem's bureau chief of New York Times since March 2008, following four years as deputy foreign editor. Although of American origin, he seemed to have written extensively upon Israel's peace talks, the West Bank crisis, and other current Middle East issues, validating his reliability in providing us a credible published article involving this particular issue.
If their is anything I might question, it would be the source from which this article was derived from: the New York Times. Notorious for its left-leaning liberal news (at times even accused for being anti-Israel and pro-Islamist), I tend to find their news very biased and distorted. However, I must admit to see it was a big surprise to see this article emerging from this American daily newspaper, as it seemed to sympathize and at times even emphasize with this highly controversial, conservative, Orthodox Israelites.
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