A Palestinian state is a legitimate right
For years now there has been pandemonium and oppression in the Palestinian lands, where for 400 years during the Ottoman period peoples of different religions, languages and cultures lived together in peace and security. The slaughter and killing that continue with all their ruthlessness in the present day began when the region came under British domination and accelerated with the founding of an independent Jewish state.
For the Jews, the founding of an independent Jewish state on Palestinian land was a sacred mission. Another important aim is to preserve the existence of that state, which was established in May 1948. When the Zionists decided to found an independent Jewish state on Palestinian territory, one of the first problems they faced was the small size of the Jewish population living there. In the early 1900s, Jews constituted less than 10 percent of the population of Palestine. Thanks to the efforts of the Zionists, the number of Jewish migrants, 100,000 in the 1920s, reached 232,000 in the 1930s according to official figures. By 1939 there were 445,000 Jews out of a total population of 1.5 million. From representing 10 percent of the population just two decades before, they now constituted 30 percent by 1939. Jewish settlement areas were also expanded in line with the rise in population. By 1939 the land owned by Jews had doubled in comparison to the 1920s. By 1947, there were 630,000 Jews in Palestine and 1.3 million Palestinians. Between the partitioning of Palestine by the United Nations on November 29, 1947 and the founding of the state of Israel on May 15, 1948, the Israelis acquired a substantial part of Palestinian lands. As a result of pressure and killing in Palestinian villages, the number of Palestinians living in some 500 cities, towns and villages fell from 950,000 to 138,000. A great number of these people had been killed, and others were exiled. The Zionist terror groups that would later form the Israeli Army attacked Muslim villages at night and in broad day light. Muslims were shot, and everywhere these groups passed through was burned and destroyed. By these means, some 400 Palestinian villages were wiped off the map in 1948 and 1949.
Besides the theft of land, resources and culture associated with the settlements and the ongoing separation wall (which will be three times as long and twice as high as the Berlin Wall, and which is already segregating Palestine into economically, culturally and agriculturally unworkable Bantustans), there are the continuing shocking human rights abuses. These include, but are not limited to: firing upon unarmed demonstrators; sniping at children; innumerable raids of Palestinian homes conducted with grave and undue force; crippling restrictions on freedom of movement; illegal collective punishment involving the bulldozing and destruction of family homes, gardens, orchards and community structures; the incarceration of family members as ransom for wanted persons; the undiscriminating roundup and detainment of thousands of Palestinians, held without charge in abominable conditions; and the documented criminal torture, abuse and murder of detainees.
Israel's brutal occupation of Palestine is the root cause of much of the problems in the Middle East. The Palestinian Israeli conflict is the single issue that has generated the largest number of United Nations resolutions, the Palestinian problem has loomed large on the international scene, even though Palestine can be described as a small territory, and the Palestinians—the indigenous Arab people of Palestine— a relatively small population. In 1967, the former Soviet bloc countries cut diplomatic ties with Israel as a consequence of the June War of that year. Indeed, many Third World governments expelled the Israeli diplomatic missions from their capitals and offered their premises to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), internationally recognized in 1974 as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Since the end of the cold war, most countries have restored diplomatic relations with Israel.
The idea of a Palestinian state should be uncontroversial. The United States supports the notion, as does the UK. Indeed, in his 2009 Cairo speech, President Barack Obama insisted: "Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's." Yet Obama appears determined to veto the move towards Palestinian statehood, while Britain has hinted it is likely to abstain in a Security Council vote. The two faced approach by these nations definitely prove their unwillingness to support the cause of Palestinian statehood, which ultimately could worsen the situation in the Middle East and the Muslim world.
For years now there has been pandemonium and oppression in the Palestinian lands, where for 400 years during the Ottoman period peoples of different religions, languages and cultures lived together in peace and security. The slaughter and killing that continue with all their ruthlessness in the present day began when the region came under British domination and accelerated with the founding of an independent Jewish state.
For the Jews, the founding of an independent Jewish state on Palestinian land was a sacred mission. Another important aim is to preserve the existence of that state, which was established in May 1948. When the Zionists decided to found an independent Jewish state on Palestinian territory, one of the first problems they faced was the small size of the Jewish population living there. In the early 1900s, Jews constituted less than 10 percent of the population of Palestine. Thanks to the efforts of the Zionists, the number of Jewish migrants, 100,000 in the 1920s, reached 232,000 in the 1930s according to official figures. By 1939 there were 445,000 Jews out of a total population of 1.5 million. From representing 10 percent of the population just two decades before, they now constituted 30 percent by 1939. Jewish settlement areas were also expanded in line with the rise in population. By 1939 the land owned by Jews had doubled in comparison to the 1920s. By 1947, there were 630,000 Jews in Palestine and 1.3 million Palestinians. Between the partitioning of Palestine by the United Nations on November 29, 1947 and the founding of the state of Israel on May 15, 1948, the Israelis acquired a substantial part of Palestinian lands. As a result of pressure and killing in Palestinian villages, the number of Palestinians living in some 500 cities, towns and villages fell from 950,000 to 138,000. A great number of these people had been killed, and others were exiled. The Zionist terror groups that would later form the Israeli Army attacked Muslim villages at night and in broad day light. Muslims were shot, and everywhere these groups passed through was burned and destroyed. By these means, some 400 Palestinian villages were wiped off the map in 1948 and 1949.
Besides the theft of land, resources and culture associated with the settlements and the ongoing separation wall (which will be three times as long and twice as high as the Berlin Wall, and which is already segregating Palestine into economically, culturally and agriculturally unworkable Bantustans), there are the continuing shocking human rights abuses. These include, but are not limited to: firing upon unarmed demonstrators; sniping at children; innumerable raids of Palestinian homes conducted with grave and undue force; crippling restrictions on freedom of movement; illegal collective punishment involving the bulldozing and destruction of family homes, gardens, orchards and community structures; the incarceration of family members as ransom for wanted persons; the undiscriminating roundup and detainment of thousands of Palestinians, held without charge in abominable conditions; and the documented criminal torture, abuse and murder of detainees.
Israel's brutal occupation of Palestine is the root cause of much of the problems in the Middle East. The Palestinian Israeli conflict is the single issue that has generated the largest number of United Nations resolutions, the Palestinian problem has loomed large on the international scene, even though Palestine can be described as a small territory, and the Palestinians—the indigenous Arab people of Palestine— a relatively small population. In 1967, the former Soviet bloc countries cut diplomatic ties with Israel as a consequence of the June War of that year. Indeed, many Third World governments expelled the Israeli diplomatic missions from their capitals and offered their premises to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), internationally recognized in 1974 as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Since the end of the cold war, most countries have restored diplomatic relations with Israel.
The idea of a Palestinian state should be uncontroversial. The United States supports the notion, as does the UK. Indeed, in his 2009 Cairo speech, President Barack Obama insisted: "Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's." Yet Obama appears determined to veto the move towards Palestinian statehood, while Britain has hinted it is likely to abstain in a Security Council vote. The two faced approach by these nations definitely prove their unwillingness to support the cause of Palestinian statehood, which ultimately could worsen the situation in the Middle East and the Muslim world.