Gaza: The jailed state

48 comments from readers

GideonPolya
24 May 2007 at 10:25

To decent people around the world the continued, war criminal, abusive imprisonment of 3.7 million Palestinians (3 quarters Women and Children) by Racist Zionist-run Apartheid Israel is intolerable and demands comprehensive sanctions as were successfully applied against Apartheid South Africa.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Population Division provide up-dated demographic data from which we can estimate that the post-invasion excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that did not have to happen) in the Occupied Palestinian Territories now total 0.3 million and the post-invasion under-5 infant deaths total 0.2 million.

There are now some 7 million Palestinian refugees with 4.3 million registered with the UN in the Middle East. The annual under-5 infant death rate in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) is 0.5% as compared to 0.1% in Occupier Israel - evidence of gross violation by Apartheid Israel of Articles 38, 55 and 56 of the Geneva Convention relative to the treatment of conquered civilians.

EACH YEAR nearly as many Occupied Palestinian under-5 year old infants die AVOIDABLY (2,400) as the number of Israeli victims of “terrorism” over the LAST SIXTY (60) YEARS (2,600 according to the Israeli Ministry of Foerign Affairs). 80% of annual homicides in the Holy Land are committed by Jewish Israelis.

Further, we can estimate that so far in the first 7 years of this century the total AVOIDABLE Occupied Palestinian under-5 infant deaths total about 17,000, over 6 times the number of Israelis killed by “terrorism” over the last 60 years. And, of course, one notes that “avoidable under-5 infant deaths” is just one component (albeit a major component) of the “total avoidable deaths” (for detailed analysis of this ongoing slow, Palestinian Genocide see "Palestinian Genocide" on the humane and ethical Canadian MWC News).

What Racist Zionist-run Apartheid Israel is doing in the OPT is a Palestinian Genocide as defined by the UN Genocide Convention, Article 2: " In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such: a) Killing members of the group; b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group."

Those who deny, ignore, excuse, minimize, obfuscate, support, advocate or are otherwise complicit in gross abuse of Women and Children - or indeed of anyone - have crossed the line between decent humanity and proto-Nazi barbarism.

mitchy
24 May 2007 at 13:35

Hear, Hear. It is a sickening example of how the once oppressed have become the oppressors. All thanks to the UK & US governments, via the Balfour Declaration, 1947.

DenisMac
24 May 2007 at 15:08

Come off it. The Palestinians have had over 60 years to accept that they already have 70% of what was planned as the Jewish homeland (i.e. Jordan), that they can have the West Bank and Gaza as well if they will only come to terms with the fact that international affairs are not run according to the jihad-based theory of inter-state relations (as Peters argues most convincingly), but according to the Westphalian nation-state concept. The Palestinians and other Muslims cannot have it both ways: enjoying the many states created for them by the post-1918 settlement, but denying legitimacy to only one state, Israel. The minute the Palestinians show the moral courage to accept this reality and recognize Israel, then stop calling for its destruction, there will be a chance for prpogress, a prpogress that will benefit both sides enormously. Hamas has repeatedly called to recognize Israel, to stop the violence, and to abide by previous agreements. It has failed to do any of these, and Israel can hardly be blamed if it is forced to take action when rockets are slamming into Sderot and other places daily. The UK would do the same, and perhaps worse. The solution to the Middle East crisis is not to be found in demonizing and attacking Israel, but in realizing that Israelis want peace as much as anyone, but are denied it so long as it is surrounded by terrorists and others who wll not join the world of civilized nation states. Israel — let me be emphatic about this — is not an 'apartheid' state. Look at its record on religious tolerance, racial tolerance, women's rights, gay rights and much else within Israel proper, where it is not faced by thousands of people trying to kill Jews. If it were an apartheid state, why would it have taken over 80,000 Palestinians for treatment to Israeli hospitals last year. Why do Palestinian women share the same maternity wards with Israeli women? Why are there thousands of Arab students (including Palestinians) at Israeli universities? It's time to get real about this. Treat Israel properly, stop lying about her, stop siding with organizations like Hamas and Hizbullah who are totalitarian, theocratic right-wing organizations who would eat socialists before breakfast, and start reading things like the Hamas charter in order to open your eyes to the fact that you are in the same boat as those left-wingers who shook hands with Hitler back in the 30s. Don't take all your ideas second-hand. As why, if Israel is such a demonic apartheid state, nowhere is segregated in Israel. In the West Bank, there are security measures. But I'm Northern Irish and I can remember police and army checkpoints everywhere, security walls (which still exist), checks every time I went into a shop or office. Nobody liked it. But the alternative was being blown up, so we took it on the chin and understood that the UK had not turned us into an open-air concentyration camp. Of course, it's bad for Palestinians. But the answer lies 100% in their own hands.

Policeman'sson
24 May 2007 at 22:42

Let me be emphatic about it - Israel is an apartheid state! I too am from Northern Ireland and I also remember the army checks and the security barriers around Belfast city centre and the searches before you entered shops and the IRA bombings and loyalist death squads but this is all small fry compared to what is going on in Palestine. At least in the recently finished troubles the British did not dispossess the Catholics of South Armagh, Fermanagh, Tyrone and give their lands to the Protestants. Nor did they bring in extra Protestants from Scotland to expand their ethnic group, nor did they declare that Northern Ireland was a specifically Protestant state, although I'll give you the old NI PM James Craig did. Nor did the British deliberately impoverish their Catholic population, or restrict their travel or impose curfews and closures or shoot their children on a daily basis or launch air strikes on Divis. Denis Mac you obviously think you know what you're talking about but you haven't got a clue. Try visiting the West Bank, I suggest you go help a Palestinian farmer harvest his olives close to an illegal Israeli settlement and wait and see what response you get from the peace loving Israelis. Anyway, you talk nonsense about Arab history - 100 years ago all of Palestine was Arab land - how dare the British give it away to immigrants - perhaps you wouldn't mind if the British declared that Northern Ireland was to become a Kurdish state, afterall they are a perscuted people who don't have a state of their own and in anycase there are many European states you could move to. Perhaps you wouldn't mind, but I f***ing would!

lavinia moore
25 May 2007 at 03:48

always people will come up with comparisons of equal orr worse or better situations to justify their praise of Israel and condemnation of palestinians or vice vers.

But the fact are what matters. Not the "so-called" and contrived facts on the ground. But the historical facts

fact 1 palestinians land and homes were stolen in order that they could be "given" to Jewish people.

Fact 2 Palestinians were driven out of their homes and off their land and they justifiably feared they would be murdered as some of the fellow countrymen were.

Fact 3. Not satisfied with taking over half of Palestine for themselves, the israelis have remained inoccupation over the residue of what once was Palestine.

Fact 4. The occupation is illegal.

Fact 5 The occupation is cruel and inhumane and the Palestinians living in the occupied territories are subjected constantly and sytematically to human rights abuses.

Fact 6. the Palestinians held an election which was judged to be fair by international observers.

Fact 7 America and israel decided they would not accept the rights of the palestinians to elect their own government according to their wishes. They have have sucsequently done whatever they can to topple the legitimately elected government, and this includes starving the Palestinians into submission.

Given these facts, why cannot anyone see that what palestine needs is full recognition and support, because unless the world does this, then they will simply be annihilated and then there will be those who will triumphantly claim that the new "facts on the ground" will be said to prove that the Palestinians never existed in the first place.

The world needs to wake up.

We ought to be very ashamed at what we have allowed to happen and what we have been prepared to tolerate over the past several decades.

Michael LeFavour
25 May 2007 at 03:57

Unfairly demonizing a people has been documented as the first step in genocide. Congratualtions...a couple of you have something in common with Hitler.

Let me be emphatic about it...Israel is an Apartheid state. Israel is a bantustan the size of postage stamp where the vast majority of Middle Eastern Jews fled to in fear of their lives from genocidal racists...Arabs. Now they are confined there and told if they just give up part of it to a people that will close even more land to them everything will be just fine.

To decent people around the world barring Jews from being citizens or from even stepping foot in your country based solely on their religion is a monstrous affront. One can only assume any new terrorist sanctuary built on the tiny sliver of the Ottoman empire set aside for the reconstitution of the Jewish Homeland will be off limits to those pesky Jews.

Further, supporting the maniacal barbarism of the Arabs who dance in the streets with human intestines, rampage through public parks hacking elderly Jews to pieces with hatchets and knives, shooting children and pregnant women at point blank range, bashing the brains out of toddlers asleep in their cribs, blowing themselves up on crowded buses full of kids, and celebrating all of the above as being heroic or somehow justified is crossing the line from rational human to ignorant dupe. Supporting these hideous people is of a questionable moral orientation. In a moral sense, are we not all accessory to this sensless murder when we do not oppose those who romanticize, shift the blame for, or apologize for Palestinian terrorism? Significant numbers of apologists are to be found among the ranks of journalists, entertainers, writers, and--most of all--forum posters.

Gideon, your figures are the stuff of fairy tales. EU hopeful Turkey has an infant mortality rate twice that of the so called occupied Arabs. And who built those hospitals? The Israelis. Without Jewish goodwill the infant mortality rate could be 7 times higher as it is in other Islamic basket cases that have more armed thugs than nurses like Sudan and Afghanistan. I do agree with you though, all those deaths you speculate could be avoided could have ended if the racist Arabs had embraced the Jews from the beginning instead of trying to murder and terrorism them...need evidence? Look into how Israeli Arabs are doing.

Policeman's son, try visiting Gaza as an openly Jewish Jew see how long you last waving an olive branch around. Through the 70s, 80s, and 90s Arabs and Israelis mingled and worked together with no check points and few restrictions. The Arab economy saw double digit growth and the liberated people found freedoms never before enjoyed under Jordanian or Egyptian occupation. The Arab standard of living in the disputed territory was higher than anywhere in the Arab world except for inside Israel. But then in 2000, suddenly, Arab religious and elected leaders blared calls for jihad and violence. Followed by hundreds of mortars and rockets falling on Israeli homes, suicidal young men blowing themselves up in crowds of Israeli civilians, and Jewish school children being targeted by Arab snipers. At the same time, a security barrier was constructed and crippling restrictions materialized. If you try hard, you can probably see a connection.

Further, the Arabs did not own the land, it belonged to the Turks. I am part native American. Just because my ancestors hunted or fished on a territory doesn't mean the land was ours. By and large Israel has not taken private property from the Arabs and since no Palestinian heritage can be traced beyond 1963 when it was fabricated you do not get to fill in the dots between all the scattered Arab homes and call it Arab land. Calling it all Arab land is an exaggeration and ignorance of the unbroken Jewish presence for 3 thousand years.

Lastly challenging the British decision to give away a tiny sliver of the Turkish empire to the Jews is challenging all of the legitimacy of any country in the Middle East or racist...maybe you can explain why I shouldn't believe the latter of you?

Michael LeFavour
25 May 2007 at 04:42

The last thing in the world we need is to support a murdering death cultist society based on racism and religious bigotry. Allowing a totalitarian tyranny to form is surrendering moral legitimacy. No free nation has the right to stand by and allow it to happen. We must all oppose the creation of a terrorist sanctuary on Israeli land. It will reward barbarism and further the cause of violence over justice.

fact 1 the vast majority of displaced Arabs were landless to begin with, many were registered as refugees to receive handouts even though they were never even displaced. Some did lose their homes, but if they had accepted UN 181 none of them would have lost anything. Who is to blame? Not the Israelis.

Fact 2 The vast majority of Arabs left at the request of their own leaders. Hostile to the Jews British newspapers did not report any forced evictions for any of the weeks while the evacuees were leaving or any time shortly after, the myth of Arabs being forced off their land is just that, a myth. Most left without ever seeing an armed Jew and thousands were begged to stay, those that did were not put into refugee camps...that was the fate of those evacuees on the Arab side of the cease fire line.

Fact 3. Not satisfied with 77% of Palestine, the Arabs launched a war of genocide in 1948 to massacre the defenseless Jewish community in what remained of the Palestine territory not stolen from the Jews. If they had accepted UN 181 much of the 23% of the territory left would have been attached to transJordan. It is not likely they would have been satisfied with anything short of complete subjugation and a return to dhimmi status of the Jews because in 1963...before Judea and Samaria were liberated from Hashemite occupation the Palestine Liberation???? Organization was formed.

Fact 4. There is no occupation. Israel fought a defensive war with Jordan. When Jordan crossed the ceasefire line in 1967it voided the cease fire and the line. When Israel liberated the land it became in dispute. When Jordan and Israel signed a peace agreement the center of the Jordan river became the accepted border. What the Arabs now demand is irrelevant. At best it is an unallocated portion of the Mandate for Palestine. Israel and it's citizens are in Judea and Samaria legally and there is nothing the Arabs can site to prove otherwise.

Fact 5 The Arabs living in disputed territory had never had better lives or more freedom as when Israel liberated the land from the Hashemite occupiers. For the first time in history women were allowed to vote in local elections, non land owners were allowed to vote in local elections, Israel built, at the expense of it's Jewish tax payers 5 institutions of higher learning where none had existed, the economy soared as it switched to the NIS, and life expectancy rose. Any restrictions in place are to combat terrorism. Unable to face men, Arabs chose to target women and children, so men had to impose restrictions on them to prevent it. On the other hand, terrorism is brutal and disgusting, as are those that ignore it, justify it's use, or make apologies for those who engage in it.

Fact 6. the Palestinians held an election which was judged to be a farce by rational observers. Further, a vote is not the same as freedom. Without a bill of rights to protect personal liberty and individual rights an election is meaningless. Two starving men stranded on a deserted island could vote to eat a third, but the decision would hardly be fair to the man to be eaten. Gays, women, and religious minorities will lose if a terror sanctuary is allowed to be formed. As free men we are honor bound to oppose it.

Fact 7 American leadership is criminally negligent for giving away one dime of our money to terrorists. Aid has increased during the so called embargo on the so called Palestinians.The world provides the majority of money to the Arabs. The Arabs hate us despite our kindness. meanwhile real people are actually starving all across Africa and the weapons and bombs keep pouring into Gaza.

Laviniam you need to wake up. The people you deem as the victims are in reality a macabre death cult determined to sacrifice all their children over Arab racism and religious bigotry.

William
25 May 2007 at 06:55

The assertion that Israel is an Apartheid state is a misnomer. Today, within Israel, Jews are a majority, but the Arab minority are full citizens who enjoy equal rights. Arabs are represented in the Knesset, and have served in the Cabinet, high-level foreign ministry posts and on the Supreme Court. Under apartheid, black South Africans could not vote and were not citizens of the country in which they formed the overwhelming majority of the population. Laws dictated where they could live, work and travel. And, in South Africa, the government killed blacks who protested against its policies. By contrast, Israel allows freedom of movement, assembly and speech. Some of the government's harshest critics are Israeli Arabs who are members of the Knesset.

The situation of the Palestinians in the territories is different. The security requirements of the nation, and a violent insurrection in the territories, forced Israel to impose restrictions on Arab residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip that are not necessary inside Israel's pre-1967 borders. The Palestinians in the territories, typically, dispute Israel's right to exist whereas blacks did not seek the destruction of South Africa, only the apartheid regime.

If Israel were to give Palestinians full citizenship, it would mean the territories had been annexed. No Israeli government has been prepared to take that step. Instead, through negotiations, Israel agreed to give the Palestinians increasing authority over their own affairs. It is likely that a final settlement will allow most Palestinians to become citizens of their own state.

As for the assertion the Jews have no claim to the land they call Israel, the Jewish people have maintained ties to their historic homeland for more than 3,700 years and they base their claim to the land on at least four premises: 1) the Jewish people settled and developed the land; 2) the International community granted political sovereignty in Palestine to the Jewish people; 3) the territory was captured in defensive wars and 4) God promised the land to the patriarch Abraham.

Palestine was never an exclusively Arab country, although Arabic gradually became the language of most of the population after the Muslim invasions of the seventh century. No independent Arab or Palestinian state ever existed in Palestine.

comay
25 May 2007 at 11:23

Your time-line has 3 major inaccuracies:

1 The UN call for Israel to withdraw in 1967 was met with the "3 No s of the Arab League: "No negotiation, no recognition, no peace with Isreal". Their stance has not changed

2 As admitted by seeral Palestinian leaders, Sharon's walk did not trigger the 2000 intifada, which had been planned by Arafat even before he went to Camp David;

2 in August 2005 Israel withdrew not ony troops but also civilians. It ony re-established control of the borders with Gaza when the rockets began being launched from Gaza into Israel

ikotubo
25 May 2007 at 12:38

Actually, it is Palestine that is perpetuating a brutal occupation of Israel and humiliating ordinary Israelis on a daily basis. It is stone-throwing, 5-year old Palestinian kids that commit war crimes daily against innocent Israelis. And it is Palestinian troops that prevent Israeli women in labour from getting medical assistance, and are demolishing Israeli homes as I write. These, after all, are what you'd be made to believe by the global media if you'd just arrived from planet Mars.

Irony
25 May 2007 at 15:46

And they are getting away with it...

PeaceNow
25 May 2007 at 21:35

Abe - Mr Chehab's is accurate to a point. Mr Chehab want us to believe that if Hamas recognised Israel, Palestinian would be better off and Israel will give the Palestinian their freedom. The PLO recognised Israel and the Palestinian are no closer to Statehood. Recognition of Israel is not the issue. The issue is the brutal occupation and Israel's unwillingness to recognise a Palestinian State anywhere in the occupied territories. the building of the apartheid wall commenced under a Fatah led government. The colonies expansion policy started after the Oslo accords. Jews only roads expanded under the Road Map. the killing, house demolitions, closures, checkpoints etc were and still the norm under Fatah led Authority and under Hamas. there is no difference in the Israeli violent behaviour against the Palestinian under Fatah or Hamas led Authority. let us not kid ourselves that Israel will be any different tomorrow under a Fatah led authority. Israel want land without people no less.

About Al-Qa'eda in Gaza, are they any different than Dahlan and Co.

Michael LeFavour
26 May 2007 at 18:36

WarNow, your shrill rhetoric is amusing, but full of flaws. For example, you claim there are "Jewish only" roads. Can you name just one? There are Israeli only roads, but no Jewish only roads. And the reason these exist is due to "Arab only" terrorism.

You also argue that there is no difference in Israeli behavior to Fatah or Hamas, which is not true, but any similarity is due to the fact that Hamas and Fatah have negligible differences in ideology. Both seek the establishment of a terrorist sanctuary on land that Jordan and Egypt controlled for 19 years without a complaint from any of the leaders of these same groups.

The issue is not the so called occupation. There is no occupation other than the hatred for Jews that occupies the Arab mind and the dependency on Arab oil that occupies the West. Land has nothing to do with it. There are 22 other Arab countries and over 50 Muslim countries where they can live in contentment far from the Jews they and you (presumably) hate.

The issue is Arab racism and religious bigotry. Every nation, yes...even the only Jewish nation, has a right to self defense. This sometimes includes killing and security measures. All the ancillary tactics you cite as evidence of brutality are a direct result of Arab violence. End the hatred occupying the Arabs and the measures end. Trust me, it will be easier for you to figure this out than admit you are wrong...

Steve M
26 May 2007 at 20:12

"Its residents [the Nahr el-Bared ghetto], like all Palestinians in Lebanon are blatantly discriminated against and not even officially counted. They are denied citizenship and banned from working in the top 70 trades and professions (that includes McDonald's and KFC in downtown Beirut) and cannot own real estate. Palestinians in Lebanon have essentially no social or civil rights and only limited access to government educational facilities. They have no access to public social services."

http://palestinechronicle.com/story-052407141358.htm

PeaceNow
26 May 2007 at 21:42

Michael LeFavour - about naming one road for Jews only, read the following story by By SHULAMIT ALONI (Israeli peace activist) - On one occasion I witnessed such an encounter between a driver and a soldier who was taking down the details before confiscating the vehicle and sending its owner away. "Why?" I asked the soldier. "It's an order--this is a Jews-only road", he replied. I inquired as to where was the sign indicating this fact and instructing [other] drivers not to use it. His answer was nothing short of amazing. "It is his responsibility to know it, and besides, what do you want us to do, put up a sign here and let some antisemitic reporter or journalist take a photo so he that can show the world that Apartheid exists here?"

and here is another story - The Israeli occupation authorities have issued a decree to build a road, for use by Jews only, through parts of the ancient city of Al-Khalil (Hebron, in

English). The creation of this Jews-only road, itself another example of a blatant act of institutionalized discrimination, would result in the theft of land belonging to several Palestinian families and the demolition of

their homes. Additionally, the areas that are slated for destruction by the occupation forces include a Muslim cemetery, the Alsaqawati Muslim Shrine and the Am Aljadeda "Water Spring."

anti-Ayatollah
27 May 2007 at 16:29

"There are Israeli only roads, but no Jewish only roads"

Far from from being a Liberal Democracy -the Jewish State represents a Tribal democracy. As such there is not much difference between the notion of Jewish or Israeli.

Michael LeFavour
28 May 2007 at 05:26

WarNow, you did not name a Jew only road. You named a Jew hating atheist that claims she witnessed a soldier stopping a....NON ISRAELI Arab from using an Israeli only road. That is not the proof I asked for. Nor has she herself ever provided proof the incident took place at all either. Considering her lunatic ravings she is not a reliable witness, nor would I ever accept anything she has to say either. Her fake story, even with the embellishing you gave it, would have sounded better if it were an Israeli Muslim denied access to an Israeli only road. The simple fact is you are lying or ignorant if you claim that "Jewish only" roads exist.

As to your portrayal of an imminent domain issue as a Jewish only road construction project. Show me the link to where I can read this so called "decree" myself, or tell me the date it was issued and by what agency so I can verify it myself.

You really should not make statements that can't be verified if you wish to be taken seriously. Have you ever even been to Israel? Thought not...

Michael LeFavour
28 May 2007 at 05:46

"Far from from being a Liberal Democracy -the Jewish State represents a Tribal democracy. As such there is not much difference between the notion of Jewish or Israeli"

Which may have explained a war mongering atheist's slip of the tongue when demonizing said State. But as to the difference of Israeli and Jewish...ask the Muslim Israelis in northern Israel cheering as rockets were slamming into nearby Jewish towns last summer if they know the difference.

PeaceNow
28 May 2007 at 20:37

Michael and William - you can't have democracy based on religion because it excludes all other faiths. why not call it Democracy Israeli Style...

and here is what the Jewish South African Minister said about Israel when he visited it and as reported in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. make sure that you read the last sentence.

by the Michael - please keep your head above the gutters and be respectful to the others.

Ronnie Kasrils, South Africa's minister for intelligence services as quoted by Gideon Levy May on 24, 2007 and published in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz

"When I visited the territories I also passed through Israel and I saw the

forests that cover the remnants of the Palestinian villages. As a former

forestry minister, this was especially striking to me. I also went into a

few settlements. It was insane. Young Americans spat on the flag that was on

my car. The occupation reminds me of the darkest days of apartheid, but we

never saw tanks and planes firing at a civilian population. It's a

monstrousness I'd never seen before. The wall you built, the checkpoints and

the roads for Jews only - it turns the stomach, even for someone who grew up

under apartheid. It's a hundred times worse.

"South Africa changed me and strengthened my South African identity. And

then I began to understand that the main problem of Zionism is the

exclusivity of the establishment of a national home and the concept of the

chosen people. Very soon I started to oppose it. The establishment of a

national home for Jews alone seemed to me like a parallel of apartheid. The

apartheid leaders also spoke about a chosen people. In 1961, prime minister

Hendrik Verwoerd said that Israel is like South Africa. That opened my eyes.

For many years we were also aware of the military cooperation between Israel

and South Africa - a joint offensive naval force, missile boats, the Cheetah

planes and the big secret of the nuclear weapons. Prime minister Johannes

Vorster, who had a declared Nazi past, received a hero's welcome from you. This added to my feelings regarding Israel.

PeaceNow
28 May 2007 at 20:43

Michael - your question in the last post "Have you ever even been to Israel? Thought not...

I may have not been to Israel but "have you ever been to the moon?" thought not....

we live in global village my friend and have a nice day.

PeaceNow
28 May 2007 at 21:13

Michael and William - I have discovered that Jews Only Roads don't have names. They are given numbers and you will find the Israeli maps identifying such roads in the websie of the Israeli peace group B'Tselem. the website is http://www.btselem.org/English/Maps/Index.asp

in the website you will find the following comments - The map displays three kinds of roads in the West Bank: roads on which Palestinian travel is restricted, although no special permit is required, roads on which Palestinians are forbidden to travel unless they have a special permit, and roads on which only Israeli citizens are allowed to travel.

As appears from the map, while the built-up area of the settlements in the West Bank covers 1.7 percent of the West Bank, the settlements control 41.9 percent of the entire West Bank.

Since 1967, Israel has established in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip 152 settlements that have been recognized by the Interior Ministry. In addition, dozens of outposts of varying size have been established. Some of these outposts are settlements for all intents and purposes, but the Interior Ministry has not recognized them as such.

Israel has established in the Occupied Territories a separation and discrimination regime, in which it maintains two systems of laws, and a person’s rights are based on his or her national origin. This regime is the only of its kind in the world, and brings to mind dark regimes of the past, such as the Apartheid regime in South Africa.

have you ever visited a Peace Group? thought not....

TM
29 May 2007 at 07:13

Welcome to the Left!

There's so much misinformation posted above in the comments, that it's almost laughable. For example, the exclusive roads in the West Bank are not Jewish only, they are Israeli-only. This means that the 20% of Israelis who aren't Jewish can also traverse these roads legally. And they do. In fact, the country that has roads which are exclusive to a single religion is Saudi Arabia with its Muslim-only roads. There are numerous other examples in the comments above pointing out that the rage expressed is ridiculous, in large part because everybody here continues to absolve the Arab countries and the Palestinians from their culpability in the history of this conflict.

Nonetheless, I write not to engage the frothing commenters here - who has the time? - but only because the timeline included in this article is so absurd that it disqualifies any other part of what the writer seeks to state.

As an example, he writes that in 2000 Gaza was affected by Sharon's visit to the Al Aqsa mosque which sparked the "intifadah." This is incorrect, although he can be excused for writing it since it is what the Palestinian propaganda machine has promulgated for several years now. However, neglecting to mention both Israel's offer to the Palestinians in 2000 of a state that would include 100% of Gaza, not to mention the later Israeli offer which came at the end of the year and beginning of 2001 at Taba, based on the Clinton parameters, has to be considered shoddy reporting at best.

Of course, a little more integrity in the timeline would also mention the non-stop rocket attacks that have been launched without provocation by the Palestinians over the past couple of years at Israeli civilian centers. In fact, an honest article would simply state that if the Palestinians would stop attacking Israel from Gaza, they would be left entirely alone. If they had actually sought to build something of a mini-state, they would have succeeded by now. Despite the rejection of Hamas by most international funding bodies, the Palestinians in Gaza have received more aid in 2006 than in 2005 - it was just not funnelled through the PA. The PA, under Hamas, was busy building up its arsenal, presumably with money that could have been used to build infrastructure, parks, education and the economy. Instead, unprovoked, they attacked Israeli civilian areas over and over. Well, except once when they attacked an army outpost inside Israel, killed some soldiers and kidnapped one who hasn't been heard from since.

mitchy
29 May 2007 at 11:31

Well, I think many of you are speaking through a hole in your bahookies.

We're all entitled to our views, but noone in their right mind, regardless of which side of the fence their opinions come down on, is (or should be) condoning the killing of innocents. Whether it be the state sanctioned terror of the Israelis or that of the Arab factions, tit for tat killing of civilians is not the answer and does not endear the world to either side in this conflict.

PeaceNow
29 May 2007 at 22:56

Mitchy - thank you very much for your post and indeed all killing of innocents should be condemned and nobody should condone such killing. I also add that being a suspect doesn't come with an instant death sentence by the army of so called 'only democracy in ME'. suspects should have their day in a fair and just court not given the bullet or a rocket from an F16 in the middle of the night. Peace will only prevail when we get in touch with our human side and reach to the other. Peace is when you treat and show the other respect and honesty at every opportunity. I have always condemned suicide bombing against Israeli citizens and I am yet to read about similar condemnation from the pro occupation Israelis. the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza is a violent act 24/7. I do hope that Michael reads my post for what it is.

helps@chariot.net.au
30 May 2007 at 03:26

Unbiased proposal for a “peaceful, final, and fair resolution” of the Israeli – Palestinian conflict

Given that proliferation of nuclear weapons is constantly increasing, it will be in the best long term interest of Israel to come to a definite peaceful agreement:

· internally, with the Palestinians,

· externally, with the bordering Arab states (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt),

· regionally with the Moslem world (Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Emirates, etc.)

before it becomes impossible to achieve any long-term “peaceful solution”.

Considering that over time, Israel’s superiority in nuclear capability will begin to diminish vs. its adversaries, as they are likely to obtain access to nuclear arms themselves, (from such sources as Pakistan, China, Russia, etc.), therefore, in order to prevent a horrible nuclear confrontation in the Middle East, Israel would be well advised to negotiate a peaceful, final and fair resolution of all outstanding problems with the Palestinians and the bordering or regional Moslem states, as soon as possible, by:

· Reaching agreement with the Palestinians, residing in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, for the creation of an independent, viable Palestinian State, that would incorporate these territories with a connecting land corridor (similar to the corridor that existed between West Berlin and West Germany).

· Compensating the former Palestinian residents (or their surviving descendants) for the properties and assets lost by them in 1948, when expelled (or escaped in fear for their lives) into the surrounding Arab states at the time of the War for the creation of the State of Israel. With a fair compensation, these former Palestinian residents could resettle into the new, yet to be created, Palestinian State or emigrate elsewhere, but by accepting fair compensation, would give up the claim for a “right of return to Israel”.

· Offering to the Palestinians, (who still live within Israel proper), fair compensation for their properties and assets, provided they resettle into the new, yet to be created, Palestinian State or emigrate elsewhere, but by accepting fair compensation, would give up the claim for a “right of return to Israel”.

Hopefully, this way, the Middle East crisis could finally be diffused with:

· Israel achieving its implied objective of becoming and remaining basically a purely Jewish state within its secure and internationally recognized borders,

and

· The Palestinians, getting their own independent, viable State, while obtaining fair compensation for lost properties and assets, or alternatively, gaining the opportunity to resettle elsewhere in the region or the world at large.

Michael LeFavour
30 May 2007 at 04:29

WarNow,

Since you claim you can't have democracy based on religion, why do you support the so called Palestinians? Have you read the Hamas Charter? They were democratically elected. Do you suppose the people you admire will have many Jews in their government?

If you wish me to keep my head above the gutters you will need to post something that I do not have to root around in the muck to find value in what you are saying. So far all I see is garbage, but I am hopeful.

As to your discovery of Jewish only roads on the mass suicide group B'Tselem's web site, you have not discovered anything. I will quote you and the Useful Idiot's site, "The map displays three kinds of roads in the West Bank: roads on which Palestinian travel is restricted, although no special permit is required, roads on which Palestinians are forbidden to travel unless they have a special permit, and roads on which only ISRAELI CITIZENS are allowed to travel." I added emphasis so that even a lunar astronaut can understand there is a difference from being Jewish and being Israeli. It must be...B'Tselem says so.

As to whether I have ever visited a peace group? of course I have, the USMC. If you think peace activists create peace you need your head examined. Peace groups do not bring peace, peace groups enable tyrants, dictators, and thugs to accomplish their goals. It sounds like you are saying military action is always bad? All of what Israel must do to defend itself is wrong. Which proves pacifism is a negative doctrine. You don't tell us what your alternative is, you just level charge after charge without bothering to understand context of why things happen and why war is often the most humane method of achieving peace and security for your own people when under threat.

Lastly, as to reading your post for what it is. I see exactly what it is. You are attempting to make a moral equivalence between a murderer and a cop that has to kill the murderer to stop him. You have never been to Israel, you have never had to make command decisions in a life and death situation, you have not thought your position out very well at all. There is no instant death sentence for terrorism, but sometimes a surgical strike saves more lives than a full scale invasion would just to make an arrest. They don't just turn themselves in, you know. And they are hidden by these so called civilians when the police do come. Further, your treat and show respect seems all directed at Israel. Israel has Muslims in all walks of their society, can the same respect be seen from the Arab side? Don't apply altruistic standards to the Israelis when you ignore those standards with your terrorist friends. You say you condemn suicide bombing...with a caveat I am sure. As long as others condemn Israel's self defense. I don't get the double standard, but what do I know about the moon?

Michael LeFavour
30 May 2007 at 05:01

Ed,

I don't know where to start. The conflict is not about land. There is more than enough land to go around in the Middle East. Israel is the size of a postage stamp on a football field and you want us to believe that if Israel just gives up half that stamp everything will be just fine? Forget all those calls of annihilation and genocide...just kidding, right?

The only thing that has ever been on th agenda is the complete destruction of Israel. In 1963 the Palestinian Liberation Organization was formed. To "liberate" what? The original PLO Charter stated "Article 24. This Organization does not exercise any regional sovereignty over the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, on the Gaza Strip or the Himmah Area." They did not want the land that is supposedly under occupation now. What did they want? The Jews to disappear.

I agree that time is running out. If you are absolutely objective you will face several certainties.

1) The Arabs and Jews will never get along.

2) It is not immoral to separate people that will never get along.

3) The Arabs have 22 countries near by where they could be assimilated easily.

4) There are also 50+ Muslim states.

5) There is only 1 Jewish state. Europe or America is a long trip, and they do not have Jewish customs, Jews would be tolerated but not really welcome.

6) If one side is not completely defeated the war will continue indefinitely until one is.

7) Jordan is 77% of Palestine, forbids Jews from being citizens, and allows so called Palestinians to become citizens.

8) Any compensation would have to take into consideration the property lost by the Jews when fleeing other countries.

9) Any terrorist sanctuary created would have to take into consideration Israel's security.

10) The creation of a third state in Palestine would be viewed as a reward for violence and seen as a victory for Islamic radicals, furthering the likelihood of future violence when they want something next.

11) The list goes on but I am too tired to continue.

Mick
01 June 2007 at 12:58

DenisMac # 3.

Absolutely right in everything you say!

To label Israel an "apartheid State" is an absolute misrepresentation of all the facts and a sad joke. Just try visiting almost any Arab Country with an Israeli stamp in your passport and see how far you get. Saudi Arabia has separate roads for Muslims & non-Muslims and a Christain guy was arrested two weeks ago for mistakenly being on the wrong road outside Mecca - didn't hear all you guys bleating about "apartheid" then!

Bottom line: The Palestinian Leadership doesn't want a State and never has done. It wants Israel to cease to exist and for all Jewish influence to be eradicated from the Middle East. Their sole aim is to integrate "Palestine" in its entirety into the Islamic "Waqf." The Palestinian Leadership has said this so many times, but the rest of the World doesn't want to listen to what it doesn't want to hear!

Until the Palestinian civilian population; shamelessly exploited and treated like dirt by its own leadership and the rest of the Arab World, decide it wants something better, this will not end.

Raul
01 June 2007 at 22:22

Is Lebanon an apartheid state? It is what a Lebanese friend who lives here in Brazil tells me. He is referring to the Lebanese government’s policy towards its 400,000 Palestinian inhabitants who make up over 10% of Lebanon's population.

Palestinians were invited to move to Lebanon in the wake of the 1948 Arab Israeli war but today they have no rights of citizenship. They are barred from all professional jobs such as medicine and law and are not even allowed to own property. While all foreigners are allowed to use the Lebanese health care system this basic human right is not applied to the Palestinian inhabitants. Since they cannot engage in any activities other then menial labour the Palestinian community is forced into a life of poverty. Since they cannot own property the Palestinians have been confined into 12 refugee camp ghettos located on the fringes of Lebanon's cities. The Lebanese military has refused to safeguard law and order in the camps, resulting in criminal gangs terrorizing the population and often fighting amongst themselves.

PeaceNow
02 June 2007 at 14:05

Mick - can you guys make up your minds? you are telling us that Israel is a democracy and yet you keep comparing it to non democratic countries.... a democracy respects the rights of its citizens and all people are equal under the same laws.

as we all know Israel has a number of different laws. there is the Israeli laws for Jews only. there are the Ottoman laws in relation to stealing Palestinian land that applies on Palestinian only and there is the colonial British laws in relation to administrative detention without trail and collective punishment that apply on Palestinians in the occupied territories. and of course there are the unwritten laws that allows the Israeli occupation army to kill any Palestinian they suspect that he/she is breathing air illegally.

ikotubo
02 June 2007 at 14:18

PeaceNow: Well said!

Mick
02 June 2007 at 17:26

Israel is a democracy to be proud of which respects the rights of all its citizens. Ask the 1.5 million Israeli Arab citizens (out of a total population of some 6 million) which Middle Eastern Country they would like to live in and they will soon tell you. Just go to any Israeli hospital, university or even the Israeli Parliament (Arab citizens have the same voting rights as Israelis) to see equal rights in action.

Believe me, if any other Country's citizens were suffering the daily missile barrage currently killing and injuring Israeli civilians in Sederot & the Western Negev, that Government would be responding in a much harsher manner than the Israelis are currently doing.

"There hasn't been a single day in the last half year when we didn't have at least one child from Gaza under treatment for injuries sustained in internal Palestinian violence. We have contact with the Palestinian Authority health authorities all the time and we continue to treat Palestinians despite the Kassam rocket barrage on Sederot." ( Prof. Shaul Sofer, Head of Soroka University Medical Centre's Paediatric Emergency Dept).

ikotubo
02 June 2007 at 17:49

Mick: Apartheid South Africa was also a "democracy," and that did not prevent it from implementing the policy of apartheid. Indeed, have you ever wondered why Israel not only CHOSE apartheid South Africa as its strategic ally, but in fact equipped that odious regime with nuclear weapons (which could only ever have been used against black people in the rest of Africa)? It was because that relationship was a symbiotic one: both regimes believed (and Israel still does) in racial supremacy and segregation. The plight of the Palestinians both in Israel itself and in the occupied territories is therefore no accident.

Indeed, you could even argue that Nazi Germany was another "democracy," at least insofar as Hitler's rise to power was strictly in accordance with the constitution - not to mention the genuine popular support it also enjoyed.

So, let's spare ourselves this well-worn supposition that democracies cannot be atrocious regimes.

PeaceNow
02 June 2007 at 20:30

Mick - read the following story in the Jerusalem Post (link below) and tell me how much the Palestinian enjoy living under Israeli control and if the indiscriminate killing urged by the Rabbi any different than a suicide bomber?.

the difference being this is on a grand scale in comparison.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1180527966693&pag...

this is what the Chief Rabbi said in a letter to PM Olmert " All civilians living in Gaza are collectively guilty for Kassam attacks on Sderot, former Sephardi chief rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu has written in a letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Eliyahu ruled that there was absolutely no moral prohibition against the indiscriminate killing of civilians during a potential massive military offensive on Gaza aimed at stopping the rocket launchings.

The letter, published in Olam Katan [Small World], a weekly pamphlet to be distributed in synagogues nationwide this Friday, cited the biblical story of the Shechem massacre (Genesis 34) and Maimonides' commentary (Laws of Kings 9, 14) on the story as proof texts for his legal decision.

According to Jewish war ethics, wrote Eliyahu, an entire city holds collective responsibility for the immoral behavior of individuals. In Gaza, the entire populace is responsible because they do nothing to stop the firing of Kassam rockets.

The former chief rabbi also said it was forbidden to risk the lives of Jews in Sderot or the lives of IDF soldiers for fear of injuring or killing Palestinian noncombatants living in Gaza.

Mick
04 June 2007 at 10:47

FACT - Over 350 rockets were fired from Gaza directly at Israeli civilians in Sederot and the Western Negev during the Hamas "cease fire" period 26 November - 15 May. At least 260 missiles have been launched from Gaza at Israeli civilians in undisputed Israeli teritory in the last 2 weeks (15-30 May), killing and injuring civilians.

These missiles are deliberately launched by Hamas & associated terrorist groups from the midst of the Gazan civilian population. So much for Hamas looking after the interests of the civilian population who supposedly elected them!The Israeli Government has an absolute duty to protect its citizens by trying to remove the source of this continuous rocket fire. The Israelis go further than any other Army in similar circumstances to try and minimise the loss of civilian life, to the point where they often endanger the security of their own troops. They get very little credit for this in the international media. Any other Country subject to continual missile attack on its civilian population over such a long period of time (7 years in the case of Sederot) would surely be carpet bombing the source.

If the Gazan population wants to live in security, they will have to start to take some responsibility for trying to stop the rocket attacks launched from their midst and take some steps to ensure that the gushing stream of international aid flowing to their Government is directed towards their welfare, rather than on arms for the various terrorist groups.

PeaceNow
04 June 2007 at 12:58

Mich - I suggest that you stop reading the Israeli press and pay a visit to your psychologist.

only the mentally sick could justify bombing a whole city with no regard to its civilian population of over 1 million. and we thought Hitler the murderer is dead and burried.

are you telling us because 2 Israelis, and their death saddens me in as much as the tens of Palestinian victims of the Israeli assault, you justify killing hundreds of Palestinian civilians.

the might of the Israeli occupation army couldn't stop the counter attacks and you expect the ordinary civilians who are the victims of the Israeli occupation to do the job that the Israeli killing machine couldn't do. what a logic and a sad one.

ikotubo
04 June 2007 at 17:17

PeaceNow: It seems to me that you're wasting your time trying to get these people to engage with basic logic. They clearly do not wish to, because they have been told by "God" that Israelis are a chosen people - a people governed by different standards of morality from those governing everyone else.

But all is not lost, though: In the past, we were all prepared to accept the lies and the endless logical contortions - including the supposition that stone-throwing Palestinian kids were a threat to Israel's existence. And Arafat was supposed to be the only obstacle to peace. And we all had good reasons to do so: After all, here are a people who (with the Poles, Gypsies, communists, homosexuals, etc) had suffered so much under Hitler. But now that they have overplayed that card, the world is slowly beginning to wake up to the dangers posed by their fanatical and sinister ideology.

PeaceNow
04 June 2007 at 20:47

ikotubo - thank you and you are absolutely right. it is a waste of time trying to reason with people who have this mentality. it is like a Jew trying to reason with an SS officer, futile. there are mad people out there who are devoid of their humanity.

I am an optimist and believe that the Palestinians and the Israelis will live in peace one day. I have real and human Jewish friends who share a vision of a just peace.

I have no hatred for Jews. I am against the brutal Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. I am against the daily violence that the occupation perpetrates against the Palestinians 24hrs everyday of the year. I am against targeting the Israeli civilians by the rockets in the same manner I am against subjecting the whole Palestinian people to violence, assassinations, humilation at the check points, curfews, embargo, economic starvation, the apartheid wall etc.

we need peace and it will happen one day.

ikotubo
04 June 2007 at 23:21

PeaceNow: Well said! I agree with everything you've said. And you're a very brave man/woman indeed, because it's not easy to endure the constant accusation of "anti-Semitism" from these dangerous fanatics, just because you dare to criticize a monstrous and glaring injustice.

Mick
05 June 2007 at 15:22

I personally couldn't and wouldn't stoop as low as to accuse those who merely disagree with me of "mental sickness." Furthermore, there's absolutely no relevance to any FACTS outlined in my previous posts by using Nazi alliteration and spouting garbage about "The chosen people" and "The world beginning to wake up to the dangers posed by their fanatical and sinister ideology."

FACT - The Arab terrorist groups in Gaza are deliberately targeting Israeli civilians with rockets (270 at Sederot and Western Negev since May 15 alone!) using their OWN civilian people as a shield. There are obvious consequences to this. Most nations would pull their women and children away from the frontline, but this is a culture of death that educates its children to die as martyrs for the cause of a Middle East without Israel, rather than accept a two state solution which has been on the table for years.

The Israeli Army fights a 24 hour 7 day a week battle against the products of this evil education system, happy to blow themselves up purely to kill and maim Israeli civilians. The families have celebrated the death of their children when they have been successful in blowing themselves up - SICK or what!

Incidentally, do the Israelis kidnap foreign journalists and aid personell and threaten to kill them? Does the constant threat to the security of civilians worldwide (causing us all no end of hassle at international airports everywhere) come from the Israelis? No- Is that telling you anything?

PeaceNow
06 June 2007 at 02:58

Mick - Israel is an occupying State and is making life hell for the occupied people of Palestine. The Israeli occupation is 24/7 violent act against the Palestinians.

Israel kills peace activitst, kidnapps children, ministers, elected members of Parliament, women and peace activists and put them in administrive detention as per Colonial British Laws prior to 1948.

We all have seen Israeli children sending messages of death to the children of Palestine on Israeli rockets.

Dropping an Israeli one ton bomb on a 4 storey Palestinian building in the middle of the night is far more worse than a qasam rocket. Jenin massacre is still fresh in our minds. Sabra and Shatila camps massacre in which Sharon was found responsible is also fresh in our minds. And lets not forget the murder of the family of 7 on the beaches of Gaza.

If you are really concerned about the welfare of the Israeli civilians be concerned about the Palestinians civilians too in the same manner I am.

I didn't accuse you of mental sickness because I disagree with you, but because of your advocacy to carpet bomb a whole city with over one million people just because 2 Israeli civilians were killed by qasam rockets. and if you call yourself sane, then God help us.

Amihai
06 June 2007 at 12:13

If the intent is to reach an accommodation of peaceful coexistence between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs, which Israelis are very eager to reach, the Hamas based Palestinian Authority must adhere to three simple requirements of the entire international: 1) adhere to previously negotiated and signed agreements between the Palestinian Arab leadership and the state of Israel; 2) accept in principle Israel's right to exist, that is not just the fact that Israel exists, but rather its right to do so; and, 2) cease all acts of terror and violence towards Israel and Israelis and the preparation for such acts. These three requirements are at the very core of every relationships including of course proper international relations.

The question is often asked: Has Israel met these three requirements? The answer is clearly yes, although some would interpret reality differently. But the UN, EU, US and Russia are the entities that have concluded that it is the Hamas based government that has not met these pre-requisites and they are the entities, within the context of the Quartet, that demanded the Hamas based PA's government to meet these pre-requisites.

Since nearly a year and a half has passed since this request has been place, the Hamas based government has refused to meet these requirements. To the average Israeli that I am the message is clear: The Hamas based government has concluded to adhere to its charter which calls for the actual annihilation of the Jewish state of Israel and the use all, yes, all means by which to achieve this goal, including the mass murder of Jews of all ages and walks of life as a clear violation of all the fundamental negotiated and signed agreements between the Palestinian Arab leadership and Israel. This approach obviously does not bode well for Israel's high interest in reaching an accommodation of peaceful coexistence between Arab and Jew, between the Jewish state of Israel and an independent Palestinian Arab political entity.

Amihai
06 June 2007 at 13:05

Having stated the above, I would still wish to ask a fundamental question: Do the Palestinian Arabs have the ability or even the will to govern themselves within a unique and independent Palestinian Arab political entity?

The Arabs of Eretz Israel (Land of Israel)/Palestine is by all accounts a relatively very young people that began to evolve largely as a result of and in opposition to the growing Jewish community in the Land in the in the beginning of the 20th century, and has come to a degree of maturity as a people only in the 1960s.

Having been recognized as a unique community, the British Peel Commission has offered it to establish an independent state on the overwhelming majority of Eretz Israel/Palestine, 1937. The local Arab leadership rejected this offer. It has also rejected the offer of the UN made ten years later, 1947. The Palestinian Arab leadership could have demanded the establishment of an independent state on the entire area of Judea-Samaria (west bank), the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem between the years 1948 to 1967 when these areas were under exclusive Arab control, but it has not done so. When in 1979 Menachem Begin and Anuar Saadat offered it autonomy that in time would evolve into statehood, the Palestinian Arab leadership rejected that offer as well. It has rejected Ehud Barak offer for statehood on 97% of the disputed territories of Judea-Samaria, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, based on the Oslo Accords, 2000, and it has done all by not adhering to basic requirements in achieving an accommodation of peaceful coexistence with Israel based on what is presently on the table, the Roadmap to Peace.

In addition, the few times the Palestinian Arab leadership has been given all the support by Israel, the Arab world and the international community to govern the territory and people under its control, e.g. 1994-2000, 2005 to present in Gaza, this leadership exhibited both lack of will and lack of ability to do so.

The question that I, an average Israeli, ask is: Do the Palestinian Arabs either want or can govern themselves, and if not, perhaps any future approach to resolving the Palestinian Arab problem should come about as an integral part of Israel's peaceful relationships with both Jordan and Egypt from whose countries Israel took control of the disputed territories in the first place in its defensive Six Day War, 1967?

Mick
06 June 2007 at 13:37

"We all have seen Israeli children sending messages of death to the children of Palestine on Israeli rockets." - Where??? In your dreams?

What we actually do see is the Palestinian educational system continuing to indoctrinate children from kindergarten upwards to die as martyrs for the cause of a Middle East without Israel. Farfur is the Palestinian version of Micky Mouse, who reminds the thousands of children watching in every show, that they must never accept Israel's existence and that the ultimate ideal is to die for Allah. Sick or what!

"Jenin massacre is still fresh in our minds." What massacre? "I see no evidence that would support a massacre took place." - Colin Powell, US Secretary of State, whose view was subsequently confirmed by the United Nations, Human Rights Watch and an investigation by European Union. The Palestinians own Review Committee reported a final death toll of 56, including 34 combatants. No women or children were reported missing.

I am very concerned with the welfare of Palestinian civilians, because believe me, we all want a lasting peace in this region. I believe that they have had a very raw deal from their original "occupiers" (Egypt "occupied" Gaza and Jordan "occupied" West Bank between 1948 -1967) and that they continue to be extremely ill served by their leadership and by the terrorist groups who continue to deliberately operate from their midst. Billions of dollars in international aid have been spent on weapons for the various competing factions, or simply stolen by the Leadership for their own purposes, rather than on improving the lives of the civilian population. Arafat was worth tens of millions of dollars when he died and his widow continues to live the good life in Paris, all on money stolen from his own people! As soon as their leadership is prepared to accept a genuine lasting two state solution (something they were never of course offered under their previous "occupiers") rather than hold out for a Middle East without Israel,the sooner life will improve for them.

I certainly never advocated or believe in carpet bombing. If you re-read the relevant post, I am clearly saying that other States whose civilians were subjected to continual rocket attacks over a 7 year period would have resorted to this. The Israelis go further than any other Army in similar circumstances to try and minimise the loss of civilian life, to the point where they often endanger the security of their own troops. In contrast, witness the current battering of the Palestinian civilian population in Lebanon by the Lebanese Army in persuit of the terrorist factions inside the camps. I don't see much World outcry about these Palestinian human rights though?

Admin
12 June 2007 at 13:11

From Letters to the Editor...

I am not Muslim or pro-Palestinian. I am English, Jewish and pro Human Rights and for 40 years these rights have been denied to the three quarters of a million Palestinians and their families who were dispossessed by an Israeli army (arguably authorized by the UN) who represented a minority faction in the land that was Palestine. The State of Israel was founded on the flawed proposition that Palestine in

1948 was ‘a land without people for a people without land’. This was patently untrue. About one million people lived in Palestine at that time, the minority of whom was Jewish. This was either ignored or concealed. These are facts, all else is commentary. The Israel Palestine conflict is about land that has been expropriated and water supplies that have been diverted. Today Israel treats international law and the UN with contempt and the world seems to be impotent in the face of international Jewish lobby groups who for years have persuaded their members to leave good homes and jobs in New York, London and Paris in order to fly to Israel to buy or build second homes on Palestinian land. This flies in the face of justice and morality. The proposition that a religious minority can deprive an entire people of their human and civil rights is invalid and devoid of any moral force.

Palestinians

have a right to their own autonomous state on at least 50%^ of the original land of Palestine, generally in accordance with the original UN resolution for partition.

MICHAEL HALPERN

Mick
18 June 2007 at 21:31

Michael Halpern - The Israel Palestine conflict is actually about the Arab refusal to come to terms with a Jewish State on one sixth of one percent of the Middle East. You seem to forget that if the Arabs had accepted the 1947 UN partition plan, there would have been no Middle East conflict. The Arabs who remained in Israel, resisting other Arab rulers' exhortations to flee, were granted full citizenship and enjoy a greater degree of rights and higher living standards than ordinary citizens of most Arab countries. Go to any Israeli hospital to see Arab patients receiving exactly the same treatment and service as Jews.

What flies "in the face of justice and morality" is your blind refusal to accept that the only democracy in the Middle East is a totally legitimate Country with exactly the same rights as the Countries around it.

Peter Reilly
19 June 2007 at 12:56

“The conflict is not about land”

What nonsense. It is all about land.

We take you land and your home, land that your family has lived on and worked for generations. With that goes your livelihood, your community and your worldly possessions. We expect you to move to another country (there is plenty of Arab land you can settle on, and if you cannot afford to buy just because we have taken your livelihood, you can live in the desert, steal someone else’s, or live in a slum.

We want to take more land and expand our borders and populate it with our people from all over the world. That many of us live, thrive and prosper in Western democracies where we have good jobs and houses and experience no persecution (on the contrary, we are well represented in the governments, law and commerce of those countries) is not relevant. We are justified because of our religion and race. Our religion was founded in this country and we have our antiquities here. The fact that most of us are atheists (including the founding fathers like Ben Gurion) is irrelevant. The fact that many of us have no DNA linking us to this region is also irrelevant. We are not racists. We are superior to the indigenous population, so they can move to another country, or settle here and accept our laws which discriminate against them.

"We declare openly that the Arabs have no right to settle on even one centimeter of Eretz Israel... Force is all they do or ever will understand. We shall use the ultimate force until the Palestinians come crawling to us on all fours." –

(Rafael Eitan, Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defence Forces - Gad Becker, Yediot Ahronot 13 April 1983, New York Times 14 April 1983).

Mick
19 June 2007 at 17:32

Peter Reilly - Your rant falls sadly on its face when you take into consideration the following basic facts.

1) The Jews have had a continuous presence in what is modern day Israel since biblical times.

2) Thousands of hectares of land were legally purchased by Jews from the early nineteenth century onwards, largely from absentee Arab & Turkish landowners. The British High Commissioner appointed the Bentwich Committee to investigate Jewish land purchases in 1932. The Committee investigated 700 land purchases and found not one instance where Jews acted immorally.

3) The 1947 UN partition vote established the State of Israel, a Country entitled to the same rights as any other UN member.

4) The Arab rulers rejected the UN decision and sent their armies in an offensive war to destroy the fledgling Country and eradicate the Jewish presence from the area. The resident Arabs were exhorted to leave by the Arab rulers and 649,100 did so. The Jews won this war at huge cost. The Arabs who remained (approx 1.5 million today out of a population of 7 million) were granted full citizenship and enjoy a higher living standard than many of their fellow Arabs in neighbouring Middle East countries.

5) 850,000 Jewish refugees were expelled from neighbouring Arab countries post 1948 and in most cases, left with nothing. They had no dedicated UN Relief Agency, received no international aid and do not live in refugee camps today, but were re-settled without fuss by a fledgling Country which made the desert bloom with the sweat of its brow.

Bit of a difference!