Your implication is that the Arabs (by that I think you mean non-Palestinian Arabs -- perhaps Jordan, Egypt, Syria, etc) are the ones responsible for Palestinian poverty.
It is not Syrian bulldozers that crush Palestinian schools, orchards and water treatment plants. Nor is it Jordan rockets that blow up entire blocks of apartment buildings to kill one suspect. Nor is it Egyptian tanks that shoot at ambulances. Nor Saudi troops that impose 24-7 curfews, harass random people at roadblocks or prevent pregnant women from getting to hospitals to deliver their babies.
It is ABSOLUTELY in Israel's interest to have the Palestinians living in poverty! (at least in the short-term)
The most important thing it does is drive the Palestinians into desperate situations where they will be:
a) more willing to associate with extremist groups
b) more willing to concede more and more for less -- for anything at all.
A second thing it does is strengthen Israel's economy:
a) providing easy export of Israeli goods
b) providing VERY cheap labor to Israeli companies (unemployement in all of the Palestinian territories is VERY high. In most places around 60%, in some places > 80%)
Israeli gov't document after Israeli gov't speech has said over and over again, their strategy is to drive the Palestinians into total hopelessness. They will be starved to death. Their lives will be kep miserable and hopeless.
The Palestinian Authority is (largely) a secular organization. That being said, there is a CONSIDERABLE amount of influence by religious fanatics (Hamas is just one.)
THIS PRESSURE MUST GO AWAY!
I will never argue this point. Ever.
What I will argue, is the best way to go about doing it. Hamas can not be bombed or starved out of existance -- especially when that includes the bombing and starving of an entire population. That tactic will not work. The only way to get rid of these organizations is to offer an alternative that offers real solutions.
We both agree that the Palestinians are not in stable, free, livable conditions.
Right now, Hamas is the only organization doing anything to help that situation (in the eyes of the average Mohammed Palestinian.) The Palestinian Authority is a corrupt and powerless entity. International workers are either not allowed in or shot on site by IDF. The extremists are the only ones left.
Everytime somebody's wife dies in childbirth on a dirt road...everytime another water treatment plant gets bombed...everytime somebody's olive grove gets destroyed Israel strengthens its perception in the eyes of Palestinians that it is arrogant, destructive, violent, and opposed to peace.
IDF admits to targeting fresh water wells, water treatment plants, schools and hospitals. Is that really good policy? Do you really think that can solve the problems?
Do you really think that blowing up another apartment complex, torturing another child, or knocking down 30 more houses will lead to peace?
Finally, we get to the point of negotiations. I would argue that Israel is not negotiating in good faith. Western press accounts to the contrary, as each day passes, the 'facts on the ground' continue to show more Israeli settlers destroying more Palestinian homes and taking possesion of more settlement land than the day before. That is not good faith.
In the town of Rafah (pop. 120,000), in Gaza, there have been 430 homes destroyed since Oct 2003, leaving more than 2000 people homeless. The boundry of the city has been moved back 150 meters and that area has been filled with Israeli settlers and soldiers. Since Sept 2000 almost 15,000 people have been made homeless, in this town alone, by Israeli bulldozer and settler.
Can you imagine a foreign army coming into your town and destroying the homes and livelihoods of more than 10% of the population? Would you be convinced they were 'peaceful'?
This wonderful wall is destroying untold amounts of Palestinian villages, homes, farms and businesses. The end result will NOT be a seperate Israel and Palestine, as claimed. The end result will be a seperate Isreal and the Palestinian territories split into over 80 sections, seperate from each other. That's not autonomy! That is more than 80 seperate prisons of steel, concrete and guns. The wall prevents Palestinians from visiting a neighboring town just as much as it prevents them from going into Israel. The goal is not to prevent terrorism, but to commit genocide of the Palestinians -- ethnically cleanse Israel. I do not use the word 'genocide' loosely. I am absolutly convinced this is a goal and intended outcome of Arial Sharon's policies.
Does that seem like honest negotiation to you?
Israel is the more powerful party. Israel has the bigger guns. Israel has the most money. Israel commits the most violence. Israel destroys the most property. Israel kills the most people. Regardless the excuses for any of that, Israel is in control of the situation to a much greater extent than the Palestinians are.
Israel is the entity occupying land. Israel is the entity that systimatically uses torture. Israel is the entity that has imposed huge amounts of violence and oppression against a civilian population. Israel is the one continuing to steal land today. Israel has the backing of the largest economic and military power in the world.
Israel is the only party in the region who can start the process of peace. That is why I say it is primarily Israel's responsibility to solve the problem equitably.
This does not take away responsibility from the Palestinians, other Arab nations, or anybody else in the world. But Israel must -- is the only party who can -- make the first move.
[edit: misspelling -- fat fingers.]
[This message has been edited by mobrul (edited 02-17-2004).]
posted 02-17-2004 05:21
