Solidarity for beginners Palestine / Israel conflict | by Carol Martin

people of araBic language and culture constitute the majority. They adhere to the religions of Islam and Christianity, and have lived for thousands of years under various rulers of the Ottoman Empire. Other peoples of the Hebrew language and Jewish religious faith lived side by side with them in these territories. However, pogroms and wars ensued between these neighbors driving the Jews, a minority, from this land to parts of Europe and eventually the Americas.

In 1947, British-controlled Palestine partitioned the area into two separate states, one for Jews and one for Arabs. The Jewish leaders then proclaimed the state of Israel on 14 May 1948. Fighting broke out between Israel and its Arab neighbors as British troops were leaving. Israel proceeded to annex large areas of land and destroyed some five hundred Palestinian villages. Palestinians fled to the `West Bank’, an area controlled by Jordan, and to the Gaza Strip which was controlled by Egypt. 14 May 1948 is therefore commemorated by the Palestinian Arabs as `al-Nakbah’, or “the Catastrophe” of displacement.

Zionism is a movemenT founded in 1896 whose goal is the return of Jews to the biblical land of Israel.  Returning to Israel was seen as the only or best way of protecting Jews from centuries of anti-Semitism. The Holocaust, which resulted in some six million Jews being killed by the Nazis during the Second World War, gave a huge impetus to this movement.  The problem from the outset has been that the biblical lands were mainly occupied by non-Jews by time of the founding of Zionism.  Kenya was proposed and then rejected as an alternative Jewish homeland.  Modern Zionists make little if any allowance for the fact that many Muslims and Christians lived ­ and still live ­ in what became Israel in 1948.  Instead, they claim exclusive right to what they say was biblical Israel and therefore deny they are `occupying’ anyone’s land; they claim to be the indigenous people.  Many Jews, both in Israel and elsewhere, distance themselves from what they see as Jewish nationalism and colonialism.  This is why it is important to distinguish between Jews and Zionism.  All Zionists are Jews but not all Jews are Zionists.  Some Jews, including in Israel, are not only actively anti-Zionist but also oppose the discriminatory and expansionist policies and practices of Israel.

By 1949, new `Boundaries’ for israel and Palestine were designated by United Nations resolutions, to include the “Green Line” which made feasible the consideration of a two-state solution to the conflict. UN Resolution 194 stipulated that Palestinian refugees should be permitted to return to their homes, or be compensated by the state of Israel for lands taken. But this border became elastic, as various peace negotiations over time failed, allowing the Israeli government to illegally expand its settlements by taking land and water from Palestinian villages. Retaliatory incursions by suicide bombers from Arab Palestine into Israeli communities caused Israel to strengthen its military blockades as an occupying force. No final decision has been made on the future of the territories, so Palestinians remain under temporary occupation. The suspension of democracy and political rights affect them as a result of the unresolved conflict.

This is answered By The Jews’ definition of what constitutes their `rightful homeland’, politically, biblically, and historically. (See map) 1) `The Land of Zion’ constitutes the biblical boundaries of the `Promised Land’ ­ known as Samaria and Judea for the descendants of the Abrahamic faiths. This includes both Jewish and Christian Zionists. On the other hand, this land is considered by the Arabs as `Greater Palestine’ where, Arabs can trace their origins to pre-1948 Palestine. It is more of a demographic rather than geographic concept that justifies the Arab homelands. 2) `Israel proper’ is considered within its pre-1967 boundaries that include Israeli-annexed Sinai which Egypt lost during the 1967 Six Day War. 3) `Greater Israel’ within the post-1967 boundaries, to include the `Occupied Palestine Territory’ (OPT), which also includes in the Gaza Strip in the official OPT definition.

In September 2000, discussions in The USA amongst the conflicting parties (Israeli and Palestinian leaders) collapsed, dashing hopes of ending Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and parts of Jerusalem. The Palestinians asked for their own independent Palestinian state. What followed was the first “Intifada” uprising by Palestinians on September 28, 2000, after about 1,000 armed Israeli troops marched on Muslim holy sites in East Jerusalem, opening fire on Palestinian protesters at the main holy site for Muslim pilgrims, the al-Aqsa Mosque.

When Israel declared statehood in 1948, and European Jews returned to what they considered their original homeland, some 750,000 indigenous Palestinians, whose ancestors had lived in historic Palestine for hundreds of years, were forcibly expelled by, or fled in terror of, the powerful militias that would soon become the army of the Israel state. Indigenous Palestinians remained locked under a military rule. About one million Palestinians inside Israel today (under 20 percent of the population) were allowed to stay. They have Israeli citizenship, can vote, run for political office, and serve in the Israeli Knesset, or parliament. But not all rights inside Israel are granted on the basis of citizenship. Some rights and obligations, sometimes known as “nationality rights”,

favour Jews over non-Jews (who are overwhelmingly Palestinian), including social services, the right to own land, access to bank loans and education, military service and more. This is why

Israel has often been called an ‘apartheid state’.

Despite  International law and UN resolutions, particularly resolution 194 calling for repatriation and compensation, Palestinians forced into exile have not been allowed to return to their original homes by Israel, which has subsequently defied three more UN resolutions. As a result, more than three times as many Palestinians live under Israeli military occupation in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, than remain inside Israel proper. As Israel gained more control of lands after its `Six Day War’ with Egypt in 1967, many Palestinians living in Israel were moved to `refugee camps’ in the West Bank and live there to this day. Palestinians say there can be no peace and harmony with Israel until Israel ends its occupation, allows Palestinian families to return to their lands, and agrees to Palestinian self-rule and statehood.

Israeli officials claim The huge wall, known to Palestinians as the “Apartheid Wall”, built on the western edge of the West Bank, is designed to protect Israel by keeping potential attackers out. Begun in 2002, this wall includes 8-10 metre high concrete walls, electric fences, trenches and security patrol roads. Inside Palestine, more blockades exist, such as concrete and boulder road blocks, road tunnels, fences, and bridges to curtail movement.

The wall was supposed To follow the Green Line border between Israel and the West Bank of 1967, but instead, curved significantly onto large tracts of Palestinian farmland and major water sources. Thousands of hectares of land on both sides of the wall, amounting to almost 10% of West Bank land, have been seized by the Israeli military, and cleared of houses or farmland. Palestinian farmers now require permits to pass through access gates manned by the occupation forces in order to work on their own lands separated by these electric fences. Some farmers are denied permits, and their land deteriorates, allowing the Israeli government to confiscate it. The wall has surrounded the Palestinian city of Qalqilya in the northern West Bank, thereby bringing the valuable Western Aquifer System entirely under Israeli control. Presently, 60% of the pre-1967 Palestinian-owned lands are under full Israeli Occupation.

When israel declared sTaTehood in 1948, and European Jews returned to what they considered their original homeland, some 750,000 indigenous Palestinians, whose ancestors had lived in historic Palestine for hundreds of years, were forcibly expelled by, or fled in terror of, the powerful militias that would soon become the army of the Israel state. Indigenous Palestinians remained locked under a military rule. About one million Palestinians inside Israel today (under 20 percent of the population) were allowed to stay. They have Israeli citizenship, can vote, run for political office, and serve in the Israeli Knesset, or parliament. But not all rights inside Israel are granted on the basis of citizenship. Some rights and obligations, sometimes known as “nationality rights”, favour Jews over non-Jews (who are overwhelmingly Palestinian), including social services, the right to own land, access to bank loans and education, military service and more. This is why Israel has often been called an `apartheid state’.

The palesTinian wesT Bank is now divided up into an archipelago of small Bantustans where all Palestinians are ruled by an outside military, are restricted in their movements, and have their lands and water wells taken for building more Jewish settlements. This constitutes institutionalized Apartheid which defies international law, and which South Africa disbanded in 1994. furTher resources and informaTion can be found on the Amandla! website.

• Why is Jerusalem a problem?
• What does International Humanitarian Law say about this conflict? What human rights are being violated?
• What’s the difference between the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem? Who controls?
• What are proposed solutions to this conflict? Is a two-state solution possible now?
• What can YOU do about helping to resolve this conflict?
• And more!