| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Peaceful march of Jews in London to support Israel... | |
| Posted by: | Steven Rose | |
| Date/Time: | 31/12/23 18:49:00 |
| Philippa, it is true that the atrocity perpetrated by Hamas occurred almost three months ago whereas the Israeli assault on Gaza is ongoing. But Hamas have threatened to repeat their murderous incursions until they achieve their ultimate aim of destroying Israel. Should the Israelis simply wait for the next attack? Your account of the creation of the State of Israel leaves much to be desired. You refer frequently to the Balfour Declaration of 1917, but you omit to mention the rather important fact that in 1947 the UN voted to partition Palestine between they Jews and the Arabs, the original two state solution. The UN plan was accepted by the Jewish population but rejected by the Palestinian Arabs and by the neighbouring Arab states. In 1948 Israel declared independence along the lines of the UN partition and the same day it was simultaneously attacked by all its Arab neighbours. In the course of the war 700 000 Arabs fled or were forced to flee their homes and in the aftermath 800 000 Jews fled or were forced to flee their homes in Arab countries. The difference is that the Arab refugees were largely kept in refugee camps by the neighbouring Arab countries whereas the Jewish refugees were welcomed by Israel and made a new life for themselves. These Arabic speaking Jews and their descendants now constitute over half of the Jewish population of Israel. The claim that Israel is presently engaged in collective punishment of the Palestinians is not justified. The aim is not to punish the people of Gaza . Indeed the Israelis have tried to warn them of impending attacks (which is more than the RAF did to save German civilians in the Second World War). The aim is to eradicate Hamas, who use the civilian population as shields. The situation is tragic, but what are the Israelis supposed to do? They cannot simply call a ceasefire and leave Hamas in control of Gaza, ready to strike again. Israel, like other nations, has committed terrible errors in the course of existence. The biggest mistake was to occupy Gaza and the West Bank after the Six Day War in 1967 and build Jewish settlements there. One of these mistakes was corrected in 2005 when the Israelis unilaterally withdrew from Gaza. Unfortunately Hamas gained control of Gaza in 2007 and instead of developing its economy and normalising relations with the Israelis they have used it as a launch pad to fire rockets into Israel, culminating in the atrocity of October 7. The behaviour of Hamas has also had the effect of undermining support for a two state solution in Israel. It is not just Netanyahu but ordinary Israelis who fear that if a Palestinian state were created on the West Bank, it would simply be used by Hamas or one of the other groups to launch further attacks into Israel whose right to exist they have never accepted. |