I was not at the event. You are thinking of another response.
What I said was that there are no Israelis living in Gaza, other than settlers. I did not say Jews. Of course there has been a Jewish presence in Palestine for thousands of years. However, it was in the late 1800's when Zionists began immigrating to Palestine en masse. At that time, there were very few Jews living there. The few that were living there, mostly in and around Jerusalem, were very religious Jews. The vast majority of those Jews, who were living peacefully side by side with their Palestinian Arab neighbors, did not support the Zionist enterprise. They believed that it would damage relationships with those neighbors, because of it's exclusionism.
To say that in 67' all that the Israelis did was move back into the West Bank and Gaza is misleading. They seized that land preemptively by military force, taking all of Jerusalem and illegally occupying the land. Many Israeli political and military leaders have admitted openly, in the Israeli press, that this was a war of conquest, to take that land. International law dictates that when land is seized and occupied by military force, the occupying power cannot move in their civilian population and settle them there. Moreover, it states that the occupying power must protect the people that they occupy, Israel is doing the exact opposite. Israel is attempting to make life so utterly miserable for the Palestinians, that they will leave. You have a supercharged, racist situation, where one side ( the Israelis ), has almost all of the military might and wields it very aggressively, with little regard for civilians. Yes, the suicide bombings are absolutely wrong, this does not justify massive collective punishment. In fact, collective punishment and home demolitions are both forbidden by international law.
Oslo stated that neither side should try to effect facts on the ground, that neither side should try to actively predetermine the outcome of process. Israel ignored that, by actually increasing settlement activity. They totally disregarded the spirit of Oslo by accelerating the takeover of the West Bank.
Of course, I do not support the cleansing of all Jews from the area. What I want is for Israel to be a good neighbor. Palestinians have stated that they would have no problem with Jews living in a Palestinian state, in the West Bank and Gaza. Those who need to be removed, are the illegal settlers who have a fundamentalist religious agenda of taking that land through force and are a paramilitary, hostile force. Jews who want to stay and live peacefully, as citizens in a Palestinian state are free to remain, if they choose. I think that for now, a two state solution, with the sides being monitored by an international presence, is the only way to reach a peaceful outcome. Maybe in the future, when the trust has returned ( Palestinian Arabs and Israelis and Jews do have a history of living peacefully side by side, for the most part. ), there can be one democratic state, where everyone there shares all the land together. We are not there yet. There is too much hostility right now, and the sides need to be seperated. That seperation needs to be fair, though and not enforced by the military might of Israel. The only fair solution right now, is the two state solution, which the majority of Palestinians are perfectly willing to accept.
Re: Brian Avery Speaks In Santa Cruz
Date Edited: 17 Mar 2004 08:18:07 AM
What I said was that there are no Israelis living in Gaza, other than settlers. I did not say Jews. Of course there has been a Jewish presence in Palestine for thousands of years. However, it was in the late 1800's when Zionists began immigrating to Palestine en masse. At that time, there were very few Jews living there. The few that were living there, mostly in and around Jerusalem, were very religious Jews. The vast majority of those Jews, who were living peacefully side by side with their Palestinian Arab neighbors, did not support the Zionist enterprise. They believed that it would damage relationships with those neighbors, because of it's exclusionism.
To say that in 67' all that the Israelis did was move back into the West Bank and Gaza is misleading. They seized that land preemptively by military force, taking all of Jerusalem and illegally occupying the land. Many Israeli political and military leaders have admitted openly, in the Israeli press, that this was a war of conquest, to take that land. International law dictates that when land is seized and occupied by military force, the occupying power cannot move in their civilian population and settle them there. Moreover, it states that the occupying power must protect the people that they occupy, Israel is doing the exact opposite. Israel is attempting to make life so utterly miserable for the Palestinians, that they will leave. You have a supercharged, racist situation, where one side ( the Israelis ), has almost all of the military might and wields it very aggressively, with little regard for civilians. Yes, the suicide bombings are absolutely wrong, this does not justify massive collective punishment. In fact, collective punishment and home demolitions are both forbidden by international law.
Oslo stated that neither side should try to effect facts on the ground, that neither side should try to actively predetermine the outcome of process. Israel ignored that, by actually increasing settlement activity. They totally disregarded the spirit of Oslo by accelerating the takeover of the West Bank.
Of course, I do not support the cleansing of all Jews from the area. What I want is for Israel to be a good neighbor. Palestinians have stated that they would have no problem with Jews living in a Palestinian state, in the West Bank and Gaza. Those who need to be removed, are the illegal settlers who have a fundamentalist religious agenda of taking that land through force and are a paramilitary, hostile force. Jews who want to stay and live peacefully, as citizens in a Palestinian state are free to remain, if they choose. I think that for now, a two state solution, with the sides being monitored by an international presence, is the only way to reach a peaceful outcome. Maybe in the future, when the trust has returned ( Palestinian Arabs and Israelis and Jews do have a history of living peacefully side by side, for the most part. ), there can be one democratic state, where everyone there shares all the land together. We are not there yet. There is too much hostility right now, and the sides need to be seperated. That seperation needs to be fair, though and not enforced by the military might of Israel. The only fair solution right now, is the two state solution, which the majority of Palestinians are perfectly willing to accept.
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