On 15 May 1948, 78% of the historical Palestine was occupied by the Zionist Jewish movemont. Palestinians were forced to exile.
On 5 June 1967, the remainder 22% (what is known as the West bank and Gaza). More Palestinians were forced out of their homes.
Here is a brief account of events of the Palestine occupation:
HISTORY
The Jewish invasion of Palestine began in 1881. Before the first large wave of immigrants started arriving, Palestine had a population of half a million; most of the population was either Moslem or Christine, and only 20,000 were Jewish. Every segment of the population enjoyed the religious tolerance characteristic of our civilisation.
Between 1882 and 1917 the Zionist movement settled about 50,000 European Jews in our homeland. In 1917 it succeeded in getting Britain to issue the Balfour Declaration, promising the Jews a national homeland of their own in Palestine.
In the wake of the Balfour declaration and over 30 years, the Zionist movement succeeded in settling more European Jews on the land, thus confiscating the properties of Palestinian Arabs.
By 1947 the number of Jews have increased but constituted only one third of the population; they owned 6% of Palestinian arable land.
Following the Second World War and the atrocities committed by the Nazis against the Jews, the United Nations, influenced again by the major powers and in sympathy to the Jews, issued a partition resolution granting the colonialist settlers 54% of the land of Palestine. Their dissatisfaction with the decision prompted them to wage a war of terror against the civilian Arab population. They occupied 81% of the total area of Palestine, uprooting a million Arabs (both Moslems and Christians). Thus, they occupied 524 Arab towns and villages of which they destroyed 385, completely obliterating them in the process. This instilled fear into the minds of many Palestinians, forcing them to flee Palestine. Having done so, they built their own settlements and colonies on the ruins of our farms and our groves.
The roots of the Palestine question lie here. Its causes do not stem from any conflict between two religious or two nationalisms. Neither is it a border conflict between neighbouring states. It is the cause of people deprived of its homeland, dispersed and living mostly in exile and in refugee camps.
Declaration of Israel 1948
The Zionist movement managed to get itself accepted as a United Nations member. It further succeeded in getting the Palestine Question out of the agenda of the United Nations and in deceiving world public opinion by presenting our case as a problem of refugees in need either of charity from do-gooders or settlement in a land not theirs.
The 1956 and 1967 Wars
The racist
state launched a war against Egypt in 1956. In 1967, Israel launched another war occupying Egyptian Sinai as far as the Suez Canal, and Syria’s Golan Heights in addition to the remaining lands of Palestine (the West Bank and Gaza). More Palestinians are kicked out of their homes and more settlements are built for Israelis.
All these developments have led to the creation in our area of what has come to be known as the ‘Middle East Problem’.
A Jew who was born in New York and all his ancestors are Americans has the right to go to Palestine and live there. While a Palestinian who was born in Palestine with ancestors going back to hundred of years is not allowed to return to Palestine even for a visit. Does any law permit this to happen? Is there any justice in such a discriminating case?
Judaism vs. Zionism
We do distinguish between Judaism and Zionism. While we maintain our opposition to the colonialist Zionist movement, we respect the Jewish faith. The Zionist movement continues to be a threat to the Jews themselves. They discriminately rank Western Jews as first class citizen, Oriental Jews as second class citizens, African Jews as third class citizens and Palestinians as no citizens at all doing all possible efforts to get rid of all of them and declare a pure Jewish state in Palestine. If you are not convinced, think for a moment what the flag of Israel means; two blue lines with the star of David in between. The two blue lines mean the Rivers of the Nile and the Euphrates.
The present situation
There are 6 million Palestinians living in exile and 2.5 million living in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel has gone as far as to literally torture Palestinians by confiscating their water, poisoning their livestock, destroying electrical power plants, and roads. Towns and villages are cut off by roadblocks and check points. People cannot go to prayer, let alone work, to provide their families with an income that can keep them alive. Many in Gaza, one of the most densely populated regions in the world, are living in total darkness due to the recent destruction of their only electrical power plant. 80% of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are under the poverty line. 10,000 are in prison. Over the years, the Palestinians have tried to raise their suffering to the Security Council. Without failing a single time, any resolution to condemn Israel was blocked by a Veto by the USA. Encouraged with this support, Israel further suffocates the Palestinians of the West Bank with a hope that such a miserable life will force them to leave Palestine.
THE WALL
The construction of the Israeli separation wall began on the 16th June 2002. It is built inside the West Bank capturing 40% of its area. For the most part the barrier, which could eventually extend over 750 km, consists of a series of 8 meters high concrete walls, trenches, barbed wire and electrified fencing with numerous watch towers, electronic sensors, thermal imaging and video cameras, unmanned aerial vehicles, sniper towers, and roads for patrol vehicles.Israel maintains that the Wall is a temporary structure to physically separate the West Bank from Israel and thus to prevent suicide attacks on Israeli citizens
While the Israeli public continues to believe that the wall is a security project, reality on the ground is quite different.
The myth of security: 'The wall will prevent suicide attacks.'
Reality: history shows that a country can never achieve security or peace by enclosing an entire people behind a wall. The imprisonment of a desperate people is a certain recipe for violence and hatred. But security is not the aim of Israel, if that were the case the wall would not have been built deep inside Palestinian territories.
No one would spend 2 billion dollars on 'temporary security measures'
'The path of the wall was planned for political and not security reasons.'
The wall will not separate Israelis from Palestinians but Palestinians from their land! Security will be achieved if the Palestinians are given a viable state with their rights recognised.
(Extracts from Jude Sajdi).
