West Bank settlement?
Question:
I have no wish to be controversial but the subject is very serious. It seems to a lot of people around the world, including loyal supporters of Israel, that Israeli settlement in the west bank is perhaps the greatest danger to Israel imaginable. Is there no feeling in Israel that this matter, in all its forms, legal and illegal, is and will be seen as beyond reason in this day and age?
It did seem to be strange that after the terrible murders of the family in Israel that Israel’s answer was to authorise more building in the West Bank. It also seemed strange to me that the settlement where these horrible murders took place was an isolated town in the heart of PA territory. Why would anyone want a settlement there?
Do not misunderstand me. I am just terribly curious as to why things are as they are.
Perhaps Jack Cohen can give an answer?
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My answer:
In order to answer your question adequately I must provide some background. Unfortunately, delving into the past tends to put off those who think that all the settlers are Orthodox and base themselves on the Bible. I am not Orthodox, far from it, and I do not support the settler's position based on the Bible per se. But, let me say up front, that Israel has a perfectly legal claim on the territories called "The West Bank" and the legal situation is that until a negotiated agreement is reached between Israel and the Palestinians, Jews have a legal right to build and settle there. To believe otherwise is to accept Arab propaganda.
1. One should be aware that this area, what is now Israel (including the West Bank), was inhabited by Jews from the destruction of the Jewish State by Rome in 55 bc until the Muslim conquest of the 7th century ad. It is important to remember that there were no Arabs here until then, they came from Arabia and conquered the land and forced most of the inhabitants, Christians and Jews, to convert to Islam or be killed. From 1517-1917 it was part of the Turkish Empire.
2. In 1917, during WWI, the British Government issued the Balfour Declaration that stated that they would establish a "Jewish homeland" in "Palestine" as they called it (the term derives from the Philistines who no longer existed) if they conquered the land from the Turks.
3. The British conquered the Land and were given a Mandate to control it by the League of Nations, with the legal requirement to fulfil the Balfour Declaration. Nothing was mentioned about an Arab State in Palestine.
4. After WWI there were various treaties, such as the San Remo Treaty of 1922, that required the British to establish a Jewish homeland. But, not only did Britain unilaterally establish "Transjordan" from part of the Mandatory territory, in 1938 they also reneged on their commitment to establish a Jewish State.
5. After WWII, the Jewish forces (Haganah, etc.) fought the British and the Arabs and established the State of Israel in 1948, recognized by the UN. At no time did Israel give up its right of sovereignty over "the West Bank." Although Jordan occupied the West Bank from 1948-1967, this occupation was never recognized in international law. So the "West Bank" was never under Arab sovereignty, and certainly never under Palestinian sovereignty. This may come as a surprise to most people fed on the pro-Arab propaganda of the western media. But, let me repeat that, the West Bank is neither "Arab land" nor "Palestinian land", it has never been under the sovereignty of either. It is disputed land between Israel and some supposed Arab entity.
6. Therefore it is not surprising that Jews believe that they have the right to live on the West Bank, just as Arabs do. But, Israel Governments, while first not supporting such settlement (under Labor Governments) in the expectation of a peace agreement with the Palestinians after 1967 and then supporting settlement (under Likud) when there were murderous suicide bombings of the two intifadas (1980-2000s), now is freezing all new settlements and buildings in established settlements under pressure from the US. This is an artificial situation, when settlements are growing and there are major Jewish towns on the West Bank that all Israeli Governments intend to incorporate into Israel in any agreement with the Palestinians.
7. One of the few political moves an Israeli Government can now make is to continue building and expanding settlements as a pressure on the Palestinians to either stop terrorism or to make some move towards peace. This is what the Netanyahu Government did in the wake of the horrible murders of 5 in Itamar. You could call it state-controlled building. But, 500 building permits are on the face of it minimal. Incidentally Itamar is not in "PA-controlled territory," it is in an area that is under Israeli control according to the Oslo Accords interim agreements, which divided the WB into three categories (PA control, Israeli control, joint control). Only the 7 Palestinian cities (Ramallah, Nablus, etc.) are in PA-controlled territory.
8. There is no doubt that Jewish/Israeli building on the West Bank will continue and will expand the longer the Palestinians refuse to compromise and engage in direct peace negotions with Israel.
9. At present the Palestinians are apparently not prepared to deal with Israel, because they are divided between Hamas in Gaza and Fatah on the West Bank, and because the Pali-leaks exposure on al Jazeera showed that the Abbas regime lied to its own people.
10. That is why the PA is attempting to obtain a unilateral establishment of a Palestinian State thru the UN. But, if they act unilaterally, so can Israel, and the future of the West Bank might then be determined by force rather than thru negotiation.
I have no wish to be controversial but the subject is very serious. It seems to a lot of people around the world, including loyal supporters of Israel, that Israeli settlement in the west bank is perhaps the greatest danger to Israel imaginable. Is there no feeling in Israel that this matter, in all its forms, legal and illegal, is and will be seen as beyond reason in this day and age?
It did seem to be strange that after the terrible murders of the family in Israel that Israel’s answer was to authorise more building in the West Bank. It also seemed strange to me that the settlement where these horrible murders took place was an isolated town in the heart of PA territory. Why would anyone want a settlement there?
Do not misunderstand me. I am just terribly curious as to why things are as they are.
Perhaps Jack Cohen can give an answer?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
My answer:
In order to answer your question adequately I must provide some background. Unfortunately, delving into the past tends to put off those who think that all the settlers are Orthodox and base themselves on the Bible. I am not Orthodox, far from it, and I do not support the settler's position based on the Bible per se. But, let me say up front, that Israel has a perfectly legal claim on the territories called "The West Bank" and the legal situation is that until a negotiated agreement is reached between Israel and the Palestinians, Jews have a legal right to build and settle there. To believe otherwise is to accept Arab propaganda.
1. One should be aware that this area, what is now Israel (including the West Bank), was inhabited by Jews from the destruction of the Jewish State by Rome in 55 bc until the Muslim conquest of the 7th century ad. It is important to remember that there were no Arabs here until then, they came from Arabia and conquered the land and forced most of the inhabitants, Christians and Jews, to convert to Islam or be killed. From 1517-1917 it was part of the Turkish Empire.
2. In 1917, during WWI, the British Government issued the Balfour Declaration that stated that they would establish a "Jewish homeland" in "Palestine" as they called it (the term derives from the Philistines who no longer existed) if they conquered the land from the Turks.
3. The British conquered the Land and were given a Mandate to control it by the League of Nations, with the legal requirement to fulfil the Balfour Declaration. Nothing was mentioned about an Arab State in Palestine.
4. After WWI there were various treaties, such as the San Remo Treaty of 1922, that required the British to establish a Jewish homeland. But, not only did Britain unilaterally establish "Transjordan" from part of the Mandatory territory, in 1938 they also reneged on their commitment to establish a Jewish State.
5. After WWII, the Jewish forces (Haganah, etc.) fought the British and the Arabs and established the State of Israel in 1948, recognized by the UN. At no time did Israel give up its right of sovereignty over "the West Bank." Although Jordan occupied the West Bank from 1948-1967, this occupation was never recognized in international law. So the "West Bank" was never under Arab sovereignty, and certainly never under Palestinian sovereignty. This may come as a surprise to most people fed on the pro-Arab propaganda of the western media. But, let me repeat that, the West Bank is neither "Arab land" nor "Palestinian land", it has never been under the sovereignty of either. It is disputed land between Israel and some supposed Arab entity.
6. Therefore it is not surprising that Jews believe that they have the right to live on the West Bank, just as Arabs do. But, Israel Governments, while first not supporting such settlement (under Labor Governments) in the expectation of a peace agreement with the Palestinians after 1967 and then supporting settlement (under Likud) when there were murderous suicide bombings of the two intifadas (1980-2000s), now is freezing all new settlements and buildings in established settlements under pressure from the US. This is an artificial situation, when settlements are growing and there are major Jewish towns on the West Bank that all Israeli Governments intend to incorporate into Israel in any agreement with the Palestinians.
7. One of the few political moves an Israeli Government can now make is to continue building and expanding settlements as a pressure on the Palestinians to either stop terrorism or to make some move towards peace. This is what the Netanyahu Government did in the wake of the horrible murders of 5 in Itamar. You could call it state-controlled building. But, 500 building permits are on the face of it minimal. Incidentally Itamar is not in "PA-controlled territory," it is in an area that is under Israeli control according to the Oslo Accords interim agreements, which divided the WB into three categories (PA control, Israeli control, joint control). Only the 7 Palestinian cities (Ramallah, Nablus, etc.) are in PA-controlled territory.
8. There is no doubt that Jewish/Israeli building on the West Bank will continue and will expand the longer the Palestinians refuse to compromise and engage in direct peace negotions with Israel.
9. At present the Palestinians are apparently not prepared to deal with Israel, because they are divided between Hamas in Gaza and Fatah on the West Bank, and because the Pali-leaks exposure on al Jazeera showed that the Abbas regime lied to its own people.
10. That is why the PA is attempting to obtain a unilateral establishment of a Palestinian State thru the UN. But, if they act unilaterally, so can Israel, and the future of the West Bank might then be determined by force rather than thru negotiation.
posted by Jack Cohen at 9:48 AM
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