| While I don’t always claim to know everything (but in a pinch, I may make it sound that way!), I really must question what is actually going on in this Middle-East conflict. Palestinians are blowing themselves up, Israel is flipping missiles right and left and nobody really seems to be trying to solve anything. Granted, one does hear bits and pieces of information thru the world press, but much of that is biased one way or another, and when it comes down to it, EVERYTHING most of us think we know I based largely on 2nd hand information. The most recent conflict seems to have started right in the midst of peace talks when whatever elements of the Palestinian’s side murdered an Israeli Cabinet Member, the Minister of Tourism, in his hotel. Immediately retaliating, Israel launched a series of attacks on Palestinian-held territories and the whole thing began to escalate. Again. The real question I have here is why is this whole thing such a never- ending game of attack and retribution? From a bystander’s point of view it really looks to me like neither side is interested in promoting peace, but in reality, would rather continue until the “other side” is simply removed from existence. So, amidst all the confusion, I did a little reading on the history of Palestine, and found that several issues are seldom if ever actually reported in the press. Some of the more pertinent points include; 1) In a region characterized by an arid and semi-arid climate, scarce water is increasingly considered crucial for the welfare of its countries and peoples. The Occupied Palestinian Territory, especially the elevated areas of the West Bank, is endowed with an abundance of renewable water resources compared to the rest of the Middle East. Israel's severe restrictions on drilling for water, planting and irrigation placed on the Palestinians have maintained at a low level the amount of water made available to the Palestinian population. Israeli policies ensure that most of the water of the West Bank percolates underground to Israel and that Israeli settlers are provided with preferential access to water resources. As a consequence, a "man-made" water crisis undermines the living conditions of the Palestinian people. 2) In 1947, the United Nations proposed the partitioning of Palestine into two independent States, one Palestinian Arab and the other Jewish, with Jerusalem internationalized. One of the two States envisaged in the partition plan proclaimed its independence as Israel and in the 1948 war it expanded to occupy 77 per cent of the territory of Palestine. 750,000 Palestinians, over half the indigenous population, fled or were expelled. In the 1967 war, Israel occupied the remaining territory of Palestine, until then under Jordanian and Egyptian control. The war brought a second exodus of Palestinians, estimated at more than half a million. General Assembly resolution 194 of 11 December 1948 states that: "...The refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible." 50 years later, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) continues to provide education, health care, relief assistance and social services to the 3.6 million Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic, and the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Living standards in refugee communities remained poor throughout the area of operations, and were characterized in some fields by high unemployment, falling household income, overburdened infrastructure, and restrictions on employment and mobility 3) The building of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory began soon after the 1967 War. That policy has accelerated since the beginning of 1990 with the Israeli Government encouraging settlers to make their homes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem. The establishment of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has been the subject of various resolutions, in which the Security Council determined that the Israeli policy and practice of establishing settlements had no legal validity and constituted a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East. That position was reaffirmed in Security Council resolution 465 in 1980, which determined that Israel's policy and practices of settling parts of its population and new immigrants in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem, constitute a flagrant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Tenth Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly in February 1999 recommended in an overwhelmingly adopted resolution the convening of a conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to enforce the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, and to ensure respect in accordance with common article 1. 4) Finally, The City of Jerusalem has been the object of conflicting claims by Jews and Palestinian Arabs, both peoples consider it the embodiment of their national essence and right to self-determination. The UN adopted in 1947 the Partition Plan for Palestine which retained the unity of Jerusalem by providing for an international regime under UN control. That formula, however, did not materialize. With the all-out war between the two communities in 1948, which was joined by the neighboring Arab States, Jerusalem was placed at the heart of the conflict. The Israel-Jordan Armistice Agreement of 1949 formalized the de facto division of the City into the eastern sector, including the Old City, controlled by Jordan, and the western sector, or the new City controlled by the new State of Israel. The 1967 war, which resulted in the occupation by Israel of East Jerusalem, reopened the debate over the two competing claims. Israel, which annexed East Jerusalem in 1980, considers that "Jerusalem, whole and united, is the capital of Israel", and wants the City to "remain forever under Israel's sovereignty." It invested vast resources into changing the physical and demographic characteristics of the City. The Israeli claim has not been recognized by the international community which rejects the acquisition of territory by war and considers any changes on the ground illegal and invalid. On the other hand, the Palestinians have claimed East Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent State of Palestine to be established in the territories occupied since 1967. The status of the Holy Places has a special significance in that debate and proposals have been made for their internationalization. With the developments in the peace process since 1991, there is great concern that the evolving de facto situation on the ground should not prejudge the outcome of negotiations on the status of the City. So, after reading on these issues, and after not reading nor hearing anything about these “secret” issues in the liberal mainstream media, I begin to wonder just what the actual truth is about what is going on and who the bad guys really are. Yasser Arafat is certainly no Saint, and likely is one of the primary instigators of trouble in the region. However, Israel appears to have all the earmarks of being a party to the problem as well. Rather reminds me of my older brother, when I was growing up. He’d pick on me, harass me and then when I got in trouble for retaliating, he’d hold his hands up innocently and say “What’d I do???” If Israel is going to restrict water rights, encourage occupation of another territory, and in general act as the proverbial “bad neighbor”, they are going to incur the wrath of the rest of the world eventually. Just today, the media reports that Secretary of State Colin Powell is strongly criticizing Israel as it continues to launch missile attacks against “targets” in the Gaza and West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Monday told a parliamentary committee: "We have to deal [the Palestinians] very painful blows, continuously, until they understand that they won't achieve anything with terror." So what does Israeli call it when they do what they're doing...? |
| Who's the bad guy here? |