I would just like to go over a brief history of the Palestinian/Israeli “Conflict”. Namely, the illegal Colonization of Palestinian territory.
Hopefully some of you will learn something new, and maybe some of you will change your opinion of the entire matter.
But, I'm not foolish. I know there will be people defending Israel no matter what. Don't bother calling me an “Anti-Semite” which in reality is an
entirely made up, and useless term, for it means nothing. I do not “hate Jews”, nor am I a “Neo-Nazi”, a National Socialist, a skinhead, or a
Hitler wannabe. So please leave all this name calling at the door. If you think I am wrong in any of this, please debate with information, facts, and
logic. Not name calling and straw-man fallacies.
And please do not bring up WWII. I am not against Israel being a state, they are already there so it's not very practical saying they should leave.
All I'm saying is they need to negotiate FAIRLY with the Palestinians on a border, and stick to it.
East Jerusalem/Occupied East Jerusalem
Originally, and according to the 1947 UN Partition Plan, Jerusalem was supposed to be internationalized as a
Corpus Seperatum; that means, a
political entity under the UN's trusteeship and separate from both the proposed Arab and Jewish states. However, as a consequence of the 1948 war,
West Jerusalem came under the control of Jewish forces and East Jerusalem ended up part of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
On 28 th of June 1967 Israel unilaterally expanded the borders of East Jerusalem from 6.5 km² (the boundaries as designated by Jordan) to 70.5 km²
to include lands from many West Bank villages while avoiding populated Palestinian areas. Today when people talk of East Jerusalem they sometimes mean
that part of the city that was under Jordanian jurisdiction (6.5 km²) and at other times they mean that part of the expanded Jerusalem that lies
inside the occupied West Bank (70.5 km²).
Jerusalem Resident/Jarusalemite
Any Palestinian born, living, or is a descendant of a Palestinian born or living in Jerusalem is considered a Jerusalemite. Despite the fact that
Israel formally annexed the expanded part of Jerusalem in 1980, the Arab residents of the city are treated as
Jordanian residents in Israel and
are issued special ID cards different from those given to residents of the West Bank. Moreover, those
residents suffer from inadequate
infrastructure and poor services despite the fact that they pay the same taxes as their Jewish counterparts.
Green line/ 1949 Armistice Line
After the cessation of hostilities between the Arab countries and Israel in 1948, an Armistice agreement was signed in 1949. The agreement delineated
the borders of each party and designated the "No Man's" land between them according to the location of their respective armies. This line demarcated
the borders between Israel and the West Bank and Gaza Strip as recognized by the international community. It is worth mentioning here that Israel does
not specify the boundaries of its state. Although the line became known later as the "Green line", its proper name is the "1949 Armistice Line".
Seizure/Expropriation/Confiscation
Any property or asset in the West Bank and Gaza (including East Jerusalem) that came under Israeli control after the 1967 war is considered "seized."
The words "expropriation" and "confiscation" are also used interchangeably with it. These words sometimes have a positive connotation as when a
government legitimately expropriates or seizes an asset for the benefit of the community. However, it is important to note that when Israeli
authorities expropriate assets in the occupied territories these activities are illegal even if the Israelis designate them "for public use". Israel
is not the legitimate authority in the occupied territories and thus has no right to change their status in any way no matter what the ostensible
reason maybe.
Jewish Colony/ Settlement
It has been common practice to refer to Israeli built up areas in the West Bank and Gaza as "settlements", yet this label is misleading. When people
move to live in a particular part of
their country, they are "settling" and that's
legal. However when they move to live
in the land of
other people, they are "colonizing" and that's obviously
illegal. According to international law, the West
Bank and Gaza Strip are "occupied territories" since Israel took them through military force in the aftermath of the 1967 War. Thus it is very
important to stress that Israeli activities in the West Bank and Gaza are "colonizing" activities, what they are building are "colonies", and the
people living in them are "colonists". Furthermore, the Israeli Supreme Court describes them as "Jewish" settlements since only Jews live in them.
Hence the correct name for those illegal settlements is "Jewish Colonies".
Outpost
An Israeli structure (civilian or military) beyond the 1949 Armistice Line that did not get official recognition by the Israeli government. More often
than not, these outposts have the tacit approval of the Israeli government and are the precursors to new colonies. Israeli governments usually delay
their recognition of those outposts for political considerations.
Green Area
That is an area zoned by municipal authorities for open space in which no construction is allowed. The ostensible reason for such designation is to
maintain a minimum of greenery within a congested city, however in the case of East Jerusalem the real reason was to keep these areas clear of any
Palestinian development. Not only that, but in two case (Abu Ghneim and Rekhes Shuafat), areas that were previously marked as "green areas" got
transformed into Jewish neighborhoods.
Redeployment/Withdrawal
Redeployment refers to the pull back of Israeli troops from areas in the West Bank and Gaza. Redeployment is significantly different from withdrawal
since it implies that the troops merely relocated their positions and may move back at any time. That is, Israel is retaining its sovereignty over the
entire occupied territories. The Palestinians on the other hand prefer to call them withdrawals to indicate a transfer in sovereignty.
Continued in reply:
edit on 4/11/12 by ideasarebulletproof because: (no reason given)
edit on 4/11/12 by ideasarebulletproof because: (no reason
given)