Palestine, 1917 - 2020
Palestine was perceived as part of Bilad al Sham (Greater Syria), today's Syria, Lebanon and the Levant. In November 1917 Lord Balfour wrote to Lord Rothschild, representing the World Zionist Organisation favouring Palestine as a national home for the Jewish people clearly ensuring the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities are not prejudiced. The British mandate replaced the Ottoman Empire. The original 20% Jewish - 80% Arab of the 1920s was reversed through Jewish immigration particularly from Europe during Nazi repression.
Violent acts were perpetrated by both sides without respite during the 1920s and 30s culminating in the Arab revolution of 1936-39. British military power with the RAF deployed to bomb lightly armed Arab rebels with Major General Montgomery, for a few months commander 8th Division in northern Palestine, was described as 'blood mad' in his attitude towards the rebels. Majors Montgomery and Percival (who surrendered Singapore, 1941) burnt ordinary people's homes in Ireland during the Irish War of Independence until the IRA burnt 120 Big Houses in retaliation.
In 1945 Irgun and Haganah, Jewish militia launched an offensive against the British Mandate in Palestine. The bombing of the King David Hotel, Jerusalem, hastened the British withdrawal. By 1947 Winston Churchill wanted an end to this 'senseless, squalid war' which was referred to the UN who established UN Special Committee on Palestine, (UNSCOP). In 1947 the UN voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab States UN resolution 181. The fighting in 1948 resulted in the Naqba (disaster) with 500,000 Arabs fleeing from Jewish irregular armed forces, into squalid refugee camps in neighbouring countries. Arabs now represented 15% of the total population of Palestine.
Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) won the 1948, 1967 and 1973 wars and gained the territory by refusing Palestinians the right to return, which they set about colonising, the attendant military occupation of this new land defined Israel for decades. Israel killed 200 civilians in various countries in revenge for the Munich Olympic killings without the media attention the Palestinians received. Ariel Sharon urged settlers to grab the hillsides and colonise the West Bank. Arafat urged the Palestinians to be as David with Goliath. The biblical Jewish claim to Israel is refuted by their expulsion to Egypt. The only Jewish lands mentioned in the bible are Judea and Samara, the current West Bank. Victor Klemperer recounted his relentless degradation as a German Jew during the first eight years of Hitler's rule. Klemperer showed immense compassion for Palestinian Arabs who feared they would lose their homeland to a Jewish state. 'I sympathise with the Arabs who are in revolt, in 1933, whose land is being bought a Red Indian fate.' klemperer wrote in 1934, 'The Zionists want to return to the Jewish state of AD 70... are just as offensive as the Nazis. with their nosing after blood, their ancient 'cultural roots', their partly canting, partly obtuse winding back of the world they are altogether a match for the National Socialists...'
President Clinton's peace initiative; President Bush and Israeli PM Olmert's initiatives and the Oslo accords all concentrated on a two state solution, Netanyahu's building on the E1 corridor split Gaza and the West Bank from West Jerusalem. Most Palestinians do not agree with this two state scenario.
Jewish settlers break into Palestinian homes when the owner is away, change the locks and move in, this is stealing, the Palestinian owner is arrested for his own safety. IDF soldiers break civil law in attacking entirely innocent Palestinians. Israel recently attempted to legitimize the Jewish West Bank settlements, built on Palestinian lands, this is still stealing. The 2006 defeat of the IDF, in the 34 day war, by Hezbollah who fought from prepared positions with heavy weapons in Lebanon revealed the poor fighting ability of the current IDF.
Currently there are 6.3 million Jews and 6.3 million Arabs in Israel. The Israeli apartheid system is unsustainable. What does the future hold? The policy of Greater Israel with Netanyahu encouraging settlers to steal the best parts of Palestine and evict their rightful owners will leave the Palestinian elite in Ramallah
complicit.
The 'One State, Two State or whatever everyone wants' uninformed statement by Donny from Queens, 2017, reversed the 50 year US policy towards Israel ensuring the US is allied with Israel. The US $3.8 billion annual subsidy ensures the military supremacy of the IDF for now. Iran, active in neighbouring Syria, the Israeli refusal to accept Muslim refugees along with Israeli PM Netanyahu facing corruption charges - Israel is not in a commanding position in the Middle East.
The Jews numbering a mere 12 million worldwide and persecuted throughout their history then proceeded to persecute the Palestinians - why?
Donny from Queens the impeached twitter addict and the Israeli PM, indicted for corruption, imposed their peace plan, January 29, 2020, by confirming Israel as the last colonising power. The Palestinians were excluded, Israel gets everything they want, the Palestinians nothing but a tunnel linking Gaza with the West Bank. Kuchner, a Jew, is not impartial and did not consult the Palestnians. An undivided Jerusalem, capital of Israel is fully divided into est and west Jerusalem. A Swiss Cheese full of contradictions, no plan at all.
'Bibi' claims electoral victory, however the 20 Arab seats in the Knesset ensures 'Bibi's' defeat. Lieberman openly derides 'Bibi' for his reliance on the Rabbis.
The Geneva conventions along with the UN Charter prevent acquisitive states from using wars, whether aggressive or defensive, to expand heir borders. Since Israel became the occupying power over East Jerusalem and the West Bank in June 1967, it built over 240 Israeli settlements, which house 650,000 settlers which have been condemned by the UN Security Council as flagrant violation of international law.
These settlements are built on confiscated Palestinian property, relying on illegal appropriation of Palestinian natural resources including water, land and minerals and forcing Palestinians into constricted space in their own territory this robs the Palestinians of a future (Politicide) as is their intent. The proposed annexation of extensive West Bank lands in July 2020 is stealing.
The international community will ban trade with Israel's illegal settlements with the Occupied Territories Bill currently progressing through the Irish parliament which will demonstrate leadership on which the world has been lacking.
Source: Enemies and Neighbours, Arabs and Jews in Palestine and Israel, 1917-2017, Ian Black, Penguin, 2018.