07-18-2003, 08:57 AM
The rest of the world *should* give the Palestinians (and Arabs) some credit, for there are ultimately two sides to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In North America we don't often hear anything positive about the Palestinian side of the conflict, but they do have legitimate greviances. I only know a little bit about the conflict, but I'll try to present both sides as I see them.
The Israelis have two major concerns: the future of their people and the security of their state. These are not simple matters. Even if the Jewish settlement was halted right now, the nation of Israel would be very vulnerable. Jordan in the north, Syria/Palestine in the east and Egypt to the south; all occupying the high ground around a narrow strip of Jewish land on the coast. All it would take is one insane, quasi-religious asshole in a seat of governmental power to pit the Arab nations against Israel again. As any American or Israelite can tell you, these people are out there -- they are everywhere in fact and they can get quite a bit of latitude in the Middle East. The only sure road to national security for Israel is to build a geographically, socially and politically strong nation. Sucks if you happen to be a Palestinian, but it is simple logic if you are an Israeli. It is because of the military strength of Israel (and her allies) that the Arabs gave up trying to throw them back into the sea.
That's security -- insuring the future of the Jewish people in the West Bank is an entirely different dilemma. When the nation state of Israel was created, the majority of people in the West Bank were still Arabs. Given the considerable fecundity of the Arabs (similar to traditional catholic families) the future of Israel as a Jewish nation was in doubt. The Israeli solution to this was to displace the Arab population and reduce them to second class citizens -- a move that resulted in a Hebrew majority in Isreal. There is no question in my mind that the actions of the Israelis against the Palestinians were (are) both cruel and ammoral but I cannot predict what the future would have held in store for the Jews if they had not taken such steps. There has been ethnic cleansing against minority groups in other parts of the world -- and it has happened to the Jews once before. Who knows what the future could hold for them? In light of the several wars they have had against the Arab nations and the waves of asymetric warfare against civilians (terrorism), the decisions of the Israelis seem justified after the fact. Whether the policies of the Israelis created these problems or if it was all inevitable anyhow is an unanswerable riddle.
The short summation: The Israelis are fighting for their survival.
The Palestinians have two clear issues: The loss of their homeland and the oppression they suffer at the hands of the Israelis. I won't go on at great length about the Palestinian policy of return and the concerns it naturally raises in the Israelis. The Palestinians got jobbed of their land and they want it back. The Israelis cannot and will not give it back. For their own reasons, the Israelis don't even want the Arabs living in Israel. This is pretty much the root of the conflict.
The conditions the Palestinians live in and the nature of their resistance is a far more interesting topic. There are many Palestinian organizations devoted to ending the occupation. Only a small number of these organizations are "terrorist" groups. Many of these groups, such as the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) and Arafat's Fateh movement do not endorse violence; which is to say that they are mostly peaceful. Other groups, such as Hamas, are very violent. Hamas' express intent is to lift the occupation, destroy the Jews and then impose fundamental Islamic views on the region -- all in spite of the fact that the region has never been an Islamic Republic. Some of the peaceful Palestinian organizations support the peace process, such as the PLO, and others do not, such as Fateh.
One thing you may have noted is how I am speaking almost entirely generalizations. "Some" groups. "Many" people. "Mostly" peaceful. I'm not sure if hard data on how upstanding and righteous the Palestinians may- or may not- be exists. I am sure that the job of protecting Israelis would be easier if there were some way of telling the terrorists apart from the citizens. The fact that there is no way to tell and that every Arab is suspect in the minds of the Israelis could easily be an entire topic of its own. I don't want to get into a bed-wetting, liberal, crying jag so I will only touch briefly on what the Palestinians are enduring.
First: if you are a Palestinian living in the Levant, you are living in one of the world's most squalid hellholes. Many of these Palestinian communities have just about the highest population density per square kilometer in the world because of forced relocation to camps. The worst parts of Palestine are nearly devoid of proper utilities and medical treatment. I'm sure there are worse places in the world to live, but I'd bet that Palestinians are living in the bottom 5% of the world's lucky urban dwellers.
Second: Arrest, Interrogation, and Imprisionment. Palestinians have very few rights under the watchful eyes of the Israeli judicial system. They can be arrested and interrogated without the burden of proof. They can be imprisioned with only a confession as justification. It is quite legal for the Shin Bet to coerce such a confession by using 'moderate force'. There has been documented instances of Palestinians dying in custody.
To lend my post some credibility, I should fish up some figures on how many Palestinians are currently imprisioned and how many have perished in custody. I'm sure the numbers are out there. I know that records of the human rights violations in the West Bank are noted by the UN and other international groups. I should fish up those numbers... but I just want to get this post over with.
The only way I could accept the treatment of the Palestinians would be if I could somehow convince myself that they are all terrorists who are merely getting what they deserve...
The short summation: The Palestinians are resisting their tormentors by means both fair and foul.
So who is right? Anybody who is thinking can tell you that the situation in the West Bank has gone beyond simple 'white hat, black hat' labels. Morally, there is little to chose between them -- they have both done terrible things. Certainly, those Palestinians who have chosen to be terrorists and attack the civilian population are villians. However, the IDF has inflicted quite a bit of collateral damage in their counter attacks. At times, the only distinction between them and their enemies is that they are targeting people who have chosen to make themselves combatants. It is a significant difference, but also a cold comfort if you consider only the end results of the violence. I can speculate, but I cannot judge -- I don't know what I'd be doing were I a Palestinian or an Israeli.
Considering the whole situation, I'd say that my sympathies lay mostly with those Palestinians who are not bombing, shooting or killing Jews -- and I'm sure the majority are not terrorists. With only a bit of study, it becomes clear pretty quickly which people in general are the victims of the occupation. Specifically, the people who have died or been maimed, on both sides, are the real victims of the intifada.
Despite my sympathies, I think I trust the Israelis more. Yes. I know. That's #$%&ed up. Despite some of the terrible things they have done and are still doing, it is still obvious (to me) that we share more in common with them than we do any Arab ethnicity. I suppose I would feel safer with the Israelis on top rather than any of their neighbors.
So that's my best shot, for what its worth. I don't know the whole story behind the intifada and the occupation, but I do suggest that anyone buying the simple "Israel good, Arabs bad" story needs to do some more reading, at least.
The Israelis have two major concerns: the future of their people and the security of their state. These are not simple matters. Even if the Jewish settlement was halted right now, the nation of Israel would be very vulnerable. Jordan in the north, Syria/Palestine in the east and Egypt to the south; all occupying the high ground around a narrow strip of Jewish land on the coast. All it would take is one insane, quasi-religious asshole in a seat of governmental power to pit the Arab nations against Israel again. As any American or Israelite can tell you, these people are out there -- they are everywhere in fact and they can get quite a bit of latitude in the Middle East. The only sure road to national security for Israel is to build a geographically, socially and politically strong nation. Sucks if you happen to be a Palestinian, but it is simple logic if you are an Israeli. It is because of the military strength of Israel (and her allies) that the Arabs gave up trying to throw them back into the sea.
That's security -- insuring the future of the Jewish people in the West Bank is an entirely different dilemma. When the nation state of Israel was created, the majority of people in the West Bank were still Arabs. Given the considerable fecundity of the Arabs (similar to traditional catholic families) the future of Israel as a Jewish nation was in doubt. The Israeli solution to this was to displace the Arab population and reduce them to second class citizens -- a move that resulted in a Hebrew majority in Isreal. There is no question in my mind that the actions of the Israelis against the Palestinians were (are) both cruel and ammoral but I cannot predict what the future would have held in store for the Jews if they had not taken such steps. There has been ethnic cleansing against minority groups in other parts of the world -- and it has happened to the Jews once before. Who knows what the future could hold for them? In light of the several wars they have had against the Arab nations and the waves of asymetric warfare against civilians (terrorism), the decisions of the Israelis seem justified after the fact. Whether the policies of the Israelis created these problems or if it was all inevitable anyhow is an unanswerable riddle.
The short summation: The Israelis are fighting for their survival.
The Palestinians have two clear issues: The loss of their homeland and the oppression they suffer at the hands of the Israelis. I won't go on at great length about the Palestinian policy of return and the concerns it naturally raises in the Israelis. The Palestinians got jobbed of their land and they want it back. The Israelis cannot and will not give it back. For their own reasons, the Israelis don't even want the Arabs living in Israel. This is pretty much the root of the conflict.
The conditions the Palestinians live in and the nature of their resistance is a far more interesting topic. There are many Palestinian organizations devoted to ending the occupation. Only a small number of these organizations are "terrorist" groups. Many of these groups, such as the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) and Arafat's Fateh movement do not endorse violence; which is to say that they are mostly peaceful. Other groups, such as Hamas, are very violent. Hamas' express intent is to lift the occupation, destroy the Jews and then impose fundamental Islamic views on the region -- all in spite of the fact that the region has never been an Islamic Republic. Some of the peaceful Palestinian organizations support the peace process, such as the PLO, and others do not, such as Fateh.
One thing you may have noted is how I am speaking almost entirely generalizations. "Some" groups. "Many" people. "Mostly" peaceful. I'm not sure if hard data on how upstanding and righteous the Palestinians may- or may not- be exists. I am sure that the job of protecting Israelis would be easier if there were some way of telling the terrorists apart from the citizens. The fact that there is no way to tell and that every Arab is suspect in the minds of the Israelis could easily be an entire topic of its own. I don't want to get into a bed-wetting, liberal, crying jag so I will only touch briefly on what the Palestinians are enduring.
First: if you are a Palestinian living in the Levant, you are living in one of the world's most squalid hellholes. Many of these Palestinian communities have just about the highest population density per square kilometer in the world because of forced relocation to camps. The worst parts of Palestine are nearly devoid of proper utilities and medical treatment. I'm sure there are worse places in the world to live, but I'd bet that Palestinians are living in the bottom 5% of the world's lucky urban dwellers.
Second: Arrest, Interrogation, and Imprisionment. Palestinians have very few rights under the watchful eyes of the Israeli judicial system. They can be arrested and interrogated without the burden of proof. They can be imprisioned with only a confession as justification. It is quite legal for the Shin Bet to coerce such a confession by using 'moderate force'. There has been documented instances of Palestinians dying in custody.
To lend my post some credibility, I should fish up some figures on how many Palestinians are currently imprisioned and how many have perished in custody. I'm sure the numbers are out there. I know that records of the human rights violations in the West Bank are noted by the UN and other international groups. I should fish up those numbers... but I just want to get this post over with.
The only way I could accept the treatment of the Palestinians would be if I could somehow convince myself that they are all terrorists who are merely getting what they deserve...
The short summation: The Palestinians are resisting their tormentors by means both fair and foul.
So who is right? Anybody who is thinking can tell you that the situation in the West Bank has gone beyond simple 'white hat, black hat' labels. Morally, there is little to chose between them -- they have both done terrible things. Certainly, those Palestinians who have chosen to be terrorists and attack the civilian population are villians. However, the IDF has inflicted quite a bit of collateral damage in their counter attacks. At times, the only distinction between them and their enemies is that they are targeting people who have chosen to make themselves combatants. It is a significant difference, but also a cold comfort if you consider only the end results of the violence. I can speculate, but I cannot judge -- I don't know what I'd be doing were I a Palestinian or an Israeli.
Considering the whole situation, I'd say that my sympathies lay mostly with those Palestinians who are not bombing, shooting or killing Jews -- and I'm sure the majority are not terrorists. With only a bit of study, it becomes clear pretty quickly which people in general are the victims of the occupation. Specifically, the people who have died or been maimed, on both sides, are the real victims of the intifada.
Despite my sympathies, I think I trust the Israelis more. Yes. I know. That's #$%&ed up. Despite some of the terrible things they have done and are still doing, it is still obvious (to me) that we share more in common with them than we do any Arab ethnicity. I suppose I would feel safer with the Israelis on top rather than any of their neighbors.
So that's my best shot, for what its worth. I don't know the whole story behind the intifada and the occupation, but I do suggest that anyone buying the simple "Israel good, Arabs bad" story needs to do some more reading, at least.