Palestine

[Darth Tater]

Ryan,

Your post indicates that YOU completely missed the point.

[Art]

LD,

If you don't have the capacity to appreciate the conversation in front of you, please don't bother to participate. Terrorism, again, is a simply defined word. It means what it means. EG, even if the Israelis were sponsoring direct incursions into so-called Palestinian land and killing civilians with purpose, it wouldn't be terrorism. It would likely be a war crime, but it would not be terrorism.

It really can't be stated much more clearly. Further, it has nothing to do with an opinion. Terrorism IS defined. It's not an opinion that it's defined, it simply IS. Therefore, you may respectfully disagree with the facts you've been presented, but, that would make you close-minded and altogether incorrect, which I don't suspect you are at all times.

All the foolhardy comparisons about other times in history as it compares to now is irrelevant. No, LD, America wasn't built on acts of terror. When we fought for our independence, we took our very overwhelmed force and fought the British armed forces. We didn't go into England and kill civilians for the sake of killing civilians.

I'm stunned there is anyone that legitimately can't see precisely the difference in the sides involved here. While it is lamentable that Israel is continually harassed and provoked into responding and those actions kill some people who have no part in the fight, it is not on a similar level with the atrocities the terrorists are conducting against the people of Israel.

Israel's right to exist is not a point to negotiate. Whether Palestine has a right to spring into being after never existing in the history of the world is another point altogether. And unlike the article here states about a Palestinian leaving for Bolivia, nothing nearly so drastic is required. Simply go back to Syria or another "friendly" Arab state as they will happily take you in, I'm certain.

[luckydevil]

The Arab world is behind there is no question about it. Parts of the Koran makes you wonder about the religion, there are parts that are scary and preach hate. For all of that there are parts of the koran that teaches tolerance and peace. The book itself is a contridiction. You can make that argument for many holy books, including the bible. To say the muslims and arabs embrace hate on the basis of culture and religion is absurd. The reason why hate is coming out of the middle east is due to opression, poverty, isolation,etc. I blame the leaders of these countries. If you read world history Muslims and the Arabs world one were the most cultured and advanced people in the world. At one time christians were perceived to be savages and limited. Its just a cycle of history. By no means is Palenstine to receive all the blame. Israel is guilty as well. While the Palenstines commit sucide bombs, the Isreals use tanks and guns. I find it funny tanks and guns can be accepted but sucide bombs is not accepted. As far as I am concerned guns and tanks are just as bad as sucide bombers. As a American I feel it is our duty to protect Israel and their interests. Lets be honest here if we didnt help Israel I truly beleive that the Arab World would commit acts of genocide. With all that said I beleive that our policy towards the middle east needs to change. Every once in a while I think we need to tell the palenstines we care for their interests as well. Looking from the Palenstine side there is a reason to be suspect of us, because we have sided with Israel on every war and issue since 1947.

[Darth Tater]

luckydevi--'...Muslims and the Arabs world one were the most cultured and advanced people in the world'

Read that history further and do you know why the were so cultered and advance? Christians and Jews translating much of the Greek into Arabian, provided most of the medical knowledge and (especially the Jews) provision of services banned by the Koran and Haddith.

[The Evil Genius]

Art,

It appears we are arguing over semantics here.

Just out of curiosity, where is it that you get your definition of terrorism? I cannot find a source that so narrowly defines it.

Is not the use of terror - terrorism?

[luckydevil]

Art do you realize symptizers of the British were lynched in this country during the time period. Do you realize that during the war the country was divided into 2 groups. Loyalists of the British were called the "Tories" while the patriots( the ones who were fighting for our freedom) were called the "Whigs". Here is one quote of the feelings towards the Tories. " A Tory is a thing whose head is in England, and its body in America, and its neck ought to be stretched. Ben Franklin son was a Torie. Some acts of terror that were commited against the Tories including lynching, tarring and feathering, and many were put in jail. If you are going to talk about our history better read a book about it. I can tell you didnt pay attention in history class.

[Art]

EG,

If you are going to consistently apply all military action by all nations of the world as "terrorism" because the use of bombs can terrorize, then it will be difficult to communicate with you on any meaningful level when speaking on this.

The definition I offered happened to come from the American Heritage Dictionary. It didn't have to be searched for all that hard. Further, you know what terrorism is and what it is not. September 11 was terrorism. What we're doing in Afghanistan is not. If, to you, both are somehow similar, then, really, we're not so much arguing semantics as we're witnessing issues with sanity.

But, that said, if you honestly feel Sept. 11 and our response is the same, then I'll credit you with some consistent basis for expressing that dubious position. Likely, though, you see it as something other and if so, then you already know the difference and you don't really need to continue expressing that any use of force is terror. Stunning.

[luckydevil]

There was a reason why Israel was one of the top 10 countries in the world on the Amnesty International Human Right Abuses. Israel isnt so innocent

[Art]

LD,

Liberally applying the meaning of terrorism to include the history of mankinds crimes is a loving touch, and I'll admit, it's difficult to express a rational counter to such an irrational concept.

We weren't terrorists in WWII when we allowed the deportation of all Japanese in this country, 70 percent of who were American citizens. We weren't terrorists when we rounded them up and put them in camps. We may have terrorized those people and certainly no one would today allow Bush to institute similar rules for Muslims that were inacted for the Japanese, but, the differences are clear and without much contrary meaning.

Like EG, if you are willing to lump all objectionable human behavior into the single terrorism umbrella, then more power to you. It's just not really all that compelling.

[The Evil Genius]

Art,

I never said all use of force was terror related, or terrorism. Again, you put words in my mouth to twist this into your rant against common sense.

Again, I ask is the use of terror by a group or nation or person terrorism?

Here is what the American Heritage Dictionary at Yahoo says terrorism is...

"The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons."

So I guess in this case, an organized group isn't a country?

By the way, here is what the Encyclopedia Britannica (obviously written by LIBERALS!!!) says terrorism is ...

Systematic threat or use of unpredicted violence by organized groups to achieve a political objective. It has been used throughout history and throughout the world by political organizations of both the left and the right, by nationalist and ethnic groups, and revolutionaries. Though usually thought of as an instrument for destabilizing or overthrowing existing political institutions, terror has also been employed internally by a government's army or secret police against its own subjects to create a climate of fear and encourage adherence to the national ideology; examples include the reigns of certain Roman emperors, the French Revolution (see Reign of Terror), Nazi Germany, and the Soviet Union in the Stalinist era. Terrorism's impact has been magnified by the deadliness and technological sophistication of modern-day weapons and the ability of mass communications to inform the world of such acts.

[luckydevil]

I want to make this clear I am not a liberal. While I am not a hardcore conserative, I am a hardcore Republican. Art not everything is black and white. There are shades of gray in a lot of situations. I do not condone sucide bombers, i find it disguisting to be honest. I cant stand Arafat, the man is a terrorist. WIth that said I find the use of tanks and guns against a butch of kids throwing rocks right back at them disguisting. Art there is no simple answer. The easy answer is one side is right and one side is wrong. But that is being naive. Israel has the right to defend themselves but so do the palenstines. You bring up Palenstine sucide bombers but fail to neglect the fact that Israel went into refugee camps and killed many women and children. War is not simple, this isnt WW2 when it was easier to know your enemy and know your friend. I love the idea of a wall between the 2 "borders"

[Ryman of the North]

"Looking from the Palenstine side there is a reason to be suspect of us, because we have sided with Israel on every war and issue since 1947".

your ignorance on the subject of the middle east speaks volumes! luckydevi i really think you need to read a friggin book!as a matter of fact the us single handedly perpetuated this conflict because in the early eighties when the israelis went into lebanon (sanctioned by the lawful lebanese government)to destroy the plo the us stepped in and said there would be dire consequences if they continued their incursions past a certain highway and further told them to exit the country under a strict deadline.

also dont forget that when israel handed the abba dabbas the single worst loss in the history of warfare it was AMERICA who stopped them from following thru and conquering the arab world starting with egypt(military historians unanimously agree that they easily could have been in cairo in days!)

and no the american revolutionaries werent terrorists as they did not go into homes indiscriminately and kill civilians they did some crappy stuff to the loyalists but that was war between governments and generaly held to a minimum!

and as for the fact that israel supposedly is one of the top ten human rights offenders....take a look in the mirror bonehead look at the reactions to a single act of terrorism(9/11)in your own country and imagine living with crap like that every damn day!of course in trying to protect their people their are going to be times when individusal rights get trampled.

Death to all who support and condone the use of terrorism is the only answer!

[Darth Tater]

Originally posted by The Evil Genius

Encyclopedia Britannica....

Systematic threat or use of unpredicted violence by organized groups to achieve a political objective.

So, according to the Encyclopedia Brintanica Thesarus, terrorism is a synonym for war?

[Ryman of the North]

luckydevi please show me the source for this massacre i would like to read about it!

as responsability for the camps fall under arab mandate the palestinians who stop to think would see that it is their so called arab brothers who refuse them asylum or resettlement who are their real enemies not the israleis

[Ryman of the North]

and for evil note the use of the word unlawful in the first definition!

[Art]

EG,

What I find mind boggling is that you can use two distinct definitions that both express without a doubt that a country can not make terrorism and you seem to think you are on to something.

In the first case, you seem to want to think an organized group is a nation state. Except, the definition itself tells you that a society and a government is what is being coerced by the person or group and therefore rendering your leap that a society or government or nation can be lumped in with an organized group.

In fact, I've little doubt that the problem here is that you just are too proud to admit you are incorrect and therefore you'll take the opportunity to say that a country is just an organized group. Curious but not very effective I'm sure you'll agree.

In the second definition, you equally exclude Israel since Israel isn't using the military internally against itself, but, against specified territory outside itself. Again, I'm POSITIVE you know this. But, that is irrelevant.

The answer is as simple as focusing on what I've asked. Do you define 9/11 and our response in Afghanistan as terrorism or something different? If you define them differently, you've answered your own question. If you define them the same, come on back in and we'll talk about that.

[Darth Tater]

Originally posted by Art

EG,

What I find mind boggling is that you can use two distinct definitions that both express without a doubt that a country can not make terrorism and you seem to think you are on to something.

In the first case, you seem to want to think an organized group is a nation state. Except, the definition itself tells you that a society and a government is what is being coerced by the person or group and therefore rendering your leap that a society or government or nation can be lumped in with an organized group.

In fact, I've little doubt that the problem here is that you just are too proud to admit you are incorrect and therefore you'll take the opportunity to say that a country is just an organized group. Curious but not very effective I'm sure you'll agree.

In the second definition, you equally exclude Israel since Israel isn't using the military internally against itself, but, against specified territory outside itself. Again, I'm POSITIVE you know this. But, that is irrelevant.

The answer is as simple as focusing on what I've asked. Do you define 9/11 and our response in Afghanistan as terrorism or something different? If you define them differently, you've answered your own question. If you define them the same, come on back in and we'll talk about that.

you better read those definitions again or EG really has you.

[Art]

Originally posted by luckydevi

I want to make this clear I am not a liberal. While I am not a hardcore conserative, I am a hardcore Republican. Art not everything is black and white. There are shades of gray in a lot of situations. I do not condone sucide bombers, i find it disguisting to be honest. I cant stand Arafat, the man is a terrorist. WIth that said I find the use of tanks and guns against a butch of kids throwing rocks right back at them disguisting. Art there is no simple answer. The easy answer is one side is right and one side is wrong. But that is being naive. Israel has the right to defend themselves but so do the palenstines. You bring up Palenstine sucide bombers but fail to neglect the fact that Israel went into refugee camps and killed many women and children. War is not simple, this isnt WW2 when it was easier to know your enemy and know your friend. I love the idea of a wall between the 2 "borders"

LD,

I'm not aware I called you a liberal. In fact, I am aware that I have not, though you may be. Everything IS black and white. Your, "There are shades of gray in a lot of situations," is PRECISELY what's wrong with people. There is right. There is wrong. It's ok to say it. It's ok to understand it. We don't need to employ Carter's picket fence logic to examine 50 sides of a two-sided argument to understand things.

You mention that Israel went into a refugee camp and killed many women and children, but you neglect to mention that Israel had a standing policy to avoid those areas until they found the acts of terror against their people so profound and the origins so clearly within these safe havens, that they had to go in, and they rounded up dozens of wanted men. Palestinian people do not have a right to defend themselves by indiscriminately attacking Israeli citizens. There aren't shades of gray here.

This has nothing to do with being a Republican or a Democrat. Right is right. Wrong is wrong. You don't have to know the difference but ask yourself if there's a reason for it. That's what you're doing and I'd recommend you stop. Israel has long offered a peaceful existence. Israel has never attacked a neighbor without first being attacked. Israel has always been the defender against the views of that region that wish Israel to be destroyed. Even if you are looking for shades, it's awfully shaded to Israel's favor. Trying to excuse the terror by the Palestinians on one hand while presumably being in favor of our retaliation in Afghanistan smacks of a duplicitious stance.

Is it?

[Art]

OPM,

Rest assured, nothing in those definitions indicates that a country can commit terrorism against an enemy. When you find "nation" or "country" in there, let me know. Until you do, the qualifications for terrorism are always related to groups attempting to coerce change within the institutions. I do tend to agree with the definition here that a country can use terrorism against itself, but again, those acts are generally categorized under a different label of war crimes or crimes against humanity.

[Yomar]

Originally posted by Ryan bellerose

Death to all who support and condone the use of terrorism is the only answer!

I'll type up the questionnaire, you grab the gun!

[luckydevil]

Lets look at the history of palenstine. This is from - Encarta Encyclopedia .

This is Long but interesting

Man lived in Palestine since early ancient ages. There are ruins which trace back to the ancient Stone Age (500,000-14,000 BC) and the middle Stone Age (14,000-8000 BC). This age in Palestine is called Al-Natoofieh civilization, attributed to Al-Natoof caves, north of Jerusalem. Al-Natoof origin is not yet known. Their civilization was concentrated on the coast. They lived in caves such as those found on Al-Karmel Mountain.

In the Modern Stone Age (8000-4500 BC) the cave life of man in Palestine was changed to settlements. He changed from food collector to food producer. The first evidence supporting settlement life appeared in Jericho, which is the most ancient city in the world. It was established in 8000 BC.

The Brass Stone Age ran from 4500 BC to 3300 BC. A lot of archaeological civilization locations that trace back to that era were discovered in the Beer Sheba region, between the Hebron mountains and the Dead Sea and along the sea coast of Al-Khudiera.

The beginning of the third millennium BC was characterized with the emergence of the old empires in the east accompanied by the discovery of writing and the start of writing history. From here, historical ages started in Palestine.

Palestine has an extremely diverse terrain that falls generally into four parallel zones. From west to east they are the coastal plain; the hills and mountains of Galilee, Samaria, and Judea; the valley of the Jordan River; and the eastern plateau. In the extreme south lies the Negev, a rugged desert area. Elevations range from 408 m (1,340 ft) below sea level on the shores of the Dead Sea, the lowest point on the surface of the earth, to 1020 m (3347 ft) atop Mount Hebron.

The region has several fertile areas, which constitute its principal natural resource. Most notable of these are the Plain of Sharon, along the northern part of the Mediterranean coast, and the Plain of Esdraelon (or Jezreel), a valley north of the hills of Samaria. The water supply of the region, however, is not abundant, with virtually all of the modest annual rainfall coming in the winter months. The Jordan River, the region's only major stream, flows south through the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias), the region's only large freshwater lake, to the intensely saline Dead Sea.

The history of Palestine is one of continual warfare. It is also known as the Holy Land, the Promised Land, Canaan and the Land of Israel.

Early Hebrew history is outlined in the first five books of the Old testament and attributed to Moses.

Abraham, from Ur, is regarded as the traditional founder of the Hebrews. He led his people through Palestine into the Nile delta, an area known as the Land of Goshen. Abraham (peace be upon him), was the first of the Prophets whom we know lived and died in Palestine. He is the father of all Prophets, as many prophets descended from his offspring, including Prophets Isaac, Jacob, Yousef, Isma'il and Mohammed (peace be upon them). He was born in Orr in Iraq and lived there for a period of time. He destroyed idols, called for monotheism and faced Al-Namroud with evidence. They tried to burn him at the stake as a punishment for destroying the idols, but God Almighty made it cool and a means of safety for him. Abraham migrated with his nephew Lut for the sake of God.

Abraham, the Father of the Prophets, was one of the firm-willed prophets. He had a missionary role in calling for the message of monotheism in Palestine. He used to establish mosques and prayer niches for the worship of God everywhere he used to visit. It seems that he did not have trouble or distress with the people of Palestine, and he was not forced to leave it because of his religion and message. He remained settled in Palestine with full freedom of movement until his death.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Canaanites were the earliest known inhabitants of Palestine. During the 3rd millennium BC they became urbanized and lived in city-states, one of which was Jericho. They developed an alphabet from which other writing systems were derived; their religion was a major influence on the beliefs and practices of Judaism, and thus on Christianity and Islam.

Palestine's location - at the center of routes linking three continents - made it the meeting place for religious and cultural influences from Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Asia Minor. It was also the natural battleground for the great powers of the region and subject to domination by adjacent empires, beginning with Egypt in the 3rd millennium BC.

Egyptian hegemony and Canaanite autonomy were constantly challenged during the 2nd millennium BC by such ethnically diverse invaders as the Amorites, Hittites, and Hurrians. These invaders, however, were defeated by the Egyptians and absorbed by the Canaanites, who at that time may have numbered about 200,000. As Egyptian power began to weaken after the 14th century BC, new invaders appeared: the Hebrews, a group of Semitic tribes from Mesopotamia, and the Philistines (after whom the country was later named), an Aegean people of Indo-European stock.

The Israelite Kingdom

Hebrew tribes probably immigrated to the area centuries before Moses led his people out of serfdom in Egypt (1270? BC), and Joshua conquered parts of Palestine (1230? BC). The conquerors settled in the hill country, but they were unable to conquer all of Palestine.

The Israelites, a confederation of Hebrew tribes, finally defeated the Canaanites about 1125 BC but found the struggle with the Philistines more difficult. The Philistines had established an independent state on the southern coast of Palestine and controlled a number of towns to the north and east. Superior in military organization and using iron weapons, they severely defeated the Israelites about 1050 BC. The Philistine threat forced the Israelites to unite and establish a monarchy. David, Israel's great king, finally defeated the Philistines shortly after 1000 BC, and they eventually assimilated with the Canaanites.

The unity of Israel and the feebleness of adjacent empires enabled David to establish a large independent state, with its capital at Jerusalem. Under David's son and successor, Solomon, Israel enjoyed peace and prosperity, but at his death in 922 BC the kingdom was divided into Israel in the north and Judah in the south. When nearby empires resumed their expansion, the divided Israelites could no longer maintain their independence. Israel fell to Assyria in 722 and 721 BC, and Judah was conquered in 586 BC by Babylonia, which destroyed Jerusalem and exiled most of the Jews living there.

Persian Rule

The exiled Jews were allowed to retain their national and religious identity; some of their best theological writings and many historical books of the Old Testament were written during their exile. At the same time they did not forget the land of Israel. When Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered Babylonia in 539 BC he permitted them to return to Judea, a district of Palestine. Under Persian rule the Jews were allowed considerable autonomy. They rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem and codified the Mosaic law, the Torah, which became the code of social life and religious observance. The Jews believed they were bound to a universal God, Yahweh, by a covenant; indeed, their concept of one ethical God is perhaps Judaism's greatest contribution to world civilization.

Persian domination of Palestine was replaced by Greek rule when Alexander the Great of Macedonia took the region in 333 BC. Alexander's successors, the Ptolemies of Egypt and the Seleucids of Syria, continued to rule the country. The Seleucids tried to impose Hellenistic (Greek) culture and religion on the population. In the 2nd century BC, however, the Jews revolted under the Maccabees and set up an independent state (141-63 BC) until Pompey the Great conquered Palestine for Rome and made it a province ruled by Jewish kings. It was during the rule (37-4 BC) of King Herod the Great that Jesus was born.

Two more Jewish revolts erupted and were suppressed - in AD 66 to 73 and 132 to 135. After the second one, numerous Jews were killed, many were sold into slavery, and the rest were not allowed to visit Jerusalem. Judea was renamed Syria Palaistina.

Palestine received special attention when the Roman emperor Constantine the Great legalized Christianity in AD 313. His mother, Helena, visited Jerusalem, and Palestine, as the Holy Land, became a focus of Christian pilgrimage. A golden age of prosperity, security, and culture followed. Most of the population became Hellenized and Christianized. Byzantine (Roman) rule was interrupted, however, by a brief Persian occupation (614-629) and ended altogether when Muslim Arab armies invaded Palestine and captured Jerusalem in AD 638.

The Arab Caliphate

The Arab conquest began 1300 years of Muslim presence in what then became known as Filastin. Palestine was holy to Muslims because the Prophet Muhammad had designated Jerusalem as the first qibla (the direction Muslims face when praying) and because he was believed to have ascended on a night journey to heaven from the area of Solomon's temple, where the Dome of the Rock was later built. Jerusalem became the third holiest city of Islam.

The Muslim rulers did not force their religion on the Palestinians, and more than a century passed before the majority converted to Islam. The remaining Christians and Jews were considered ÒPeople of the Book.Ó They were allowed autonomous control in their communities and guaranteed security and freedom of worship. Such tolerance (with few exceptions) was rare in the history of religion. Most Palestinians also adopted Arabic and Islamic culture. Palestine benefited from the empire's trade and from its religious significance during the first Muslim dynasty, the Umayyads of Damascus. When power shifted to Baghdad with the Abbasids in 750, Palestine became neglected. It suffered unrest and successive domination by Seljuks, Fatimids, and European Crusaders (seeÊ Caliphate; Crusades). It shared, however, in the glory of Muslim civilization, when the Muslim world enjoyed a golden age of science, art, philosophy, and literature. Muslims preserved Greek learning and broke new ground in several fields, all of which later contributed to the Renaissance in Europe. Like the rest of the empire, however, Palestine under the Mamluks gradually stagnated and declined.

Ottoman Rule

The Ottoman Turks of Asia Minor defeated the Mamluks in 1517 and, with few interruptions, ruled Palestine until the winter of 1917 and 1918. The country was divided into several districts (sanjaks), such as that of Jerusalem. The administration of the districts was placed largely in the hands of Arabized Palestinians, who were descendants of the Canaanites and successive settlers. The Christian and Jewish communities, however, were allowed a large measure of autonomy. Palestine shared in the glory of the Ottoman Empire during the 16th century, but declined again when the empire began to decline in the 17th century.

The decline of Palestine - in trade, agriculture, and population - continued until the 19th century. At that time the search by European powers for raw materials and markets, as well as their strategic interests, brought them to the Middle East, stimulating economic and social development. Between 1831 and 1840, Muhammad Ali, the modernizing viceroy of Egypt, expanded his rule to Palestine. His policies modified the feudal order, increased agriculture, and improved education. The Ottoman Empire reasserted its authority in 1840, instituting its own reforms. German settlers and Jewish immigrants in the 1880s brought modern machinery and badly needed capital.

The rise of European nationalism in the 19th century, and especially the intensification of anti-Semitism during the 1880s, encouraged European Jews to seek haven in their Òpromised land,Ó Palestine. Theodor Herzl, author of The Jewish State (1896; translated 1896), founded the World Zionist Organization in 1897 to solve Europe's ÒJewish problemÓ (seeÊ Zionism). As a result, Jewish immigration to Palestine greatly increased.

In 1880, Arab Palestinians constituted about 95 percent of the total population of 450,000. Nevertheless, Jewish immigration, land purchase, and claims were reacted to with alarm by some Palestinian leaders, who then became adamantly opposed to Zionism.

The British Mandate

Aided by the Arabs, the British captured Palestine from the Ottoman Turks in 1917 and 1918. The Arabs revolted against the Turks because the British had promised them, in correspondence (1915-1916) with Husein ibn Ali of Mecca, the independence of their countries after the war. Britain, however, also made other, conflicting commitments. Thus, in the secret Sykes-Picot agreement with France and Russia (1916), it promised to divide and rule the region with its allies. In a third agreement, the Balfour Declaration of 1917, Britain promised the Jews, whose help it needed in the war effort, a Jewish Ònational homeÓ in Palestine. This promise was subsequently incorporated in the mandate conferred on Britain by the League of Nations in 1922.

During their mandate (1922-1948) the British found their contradictory promises to the Jewish and Palestinian communities difficult to reconcile. The Zionists envisaged large-scale Jewish immigration, and some spoke of a Jewish state constituting all of Palestine. The Palestinians, however, rejected Britain's right to promise their country to a third party and feared dispossession by the Zionists; anti-Zionist attacks occurred in Jerusalem (1920) and Jaffa (1921). A 1922 statement of British policy denied Zionist claims to all of Palestine and limited Jewish immigration, but reaffirmed support for a Jewish national home. The British proposed establishing a legislative council, but Palestinians rejected this council as discriminatory.

After 1928, when Jewish immigration increased somewhat, British policy on the subject seesawed under conflicting Arab-Jewish pressures. Immigration rose sharply after the installation (1933) of the Nazi regime in Germany; in 1935 nearly 62,000 Jews entered Palestine. Fear of Jewish domination was the principal cause of the Arab revolt that broke out in 1936 and continued intermittently until 1939. By that time Britain had again restricted Jewish immigration and purchases of land.

The Post-World War II Period

The struggle for Palestine, which abated during World War II, resumed in 1945. The horrors of the Holocaust produced world sympathy for European Jewry and for Zionism, and although Britain still refused to admit 100,000 Jewish survivors to Palestine, many survivors of the Nazi death camps found their way there illegally. Various plans for solving the Palestine problem were rejected by one party or the other. Britain finally declared the mandate unworkable and turned the problem over to the United Nations in April 1947. The Jews and the Palestinians prepared for a showdown.

Although the Palestinians outnumbered the Jews (1,300,000 to 600,000), the latter were better prepared. They had a semiautonomous government, led by David Ben-Gurion, and their military, the Haganah, was well trained and experienced. The Palestinians, on the other hand, had never recovered from the Arab revolt, and most of their leaders were in exile. The Mufti of Jerusalem, their principal spokesman, refused to accept Jewish statehood. When the UN proposed partition in November 1947, he rejected the plan while the Jews accepted it. In the military struggle that followed, the Palestinians were defeated. Terrorism was used on both sides.

The state of Israel was established on May 14, 1948. Five Arab armies, coming to the aid of the Palestinians, immediately attacked it. Israeli forces defeated the Arab armies, and Israel enlarged its territory. Jordan took the West Bank of the Jordan River, and Egypt took the Gaza Strip.

The war produced 780,000 Palestinian refugees. About half probably left out of fear and panic, while the rest were forced out to make room for Jewish immigrants from Europe and from the Arab world. The disinherited Palestinians spread throughout the neighboring countries, where they have maintained their Palestinian national identity and the desire to return to their homeland. In 1967, during the Six-Day War between Israel and neighboring Arab countries, Israel captured the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as well as other areas.

In 1993, after decades of violent conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, leaders from each side agreed to the signing of an historic peace accord. Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasir Arafat and Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin met in the United States on September 13, 1993, to witness the signing of the agreement. The plan called for limited Palestinian self-rule in Israeli-occupied territories, beginning with the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho.

Palestinian administration of these areas began in 1994. In September 1995 the PLO and Israel signed a second peace accord, expanding limited Palestinian self-rule to almost all Palestinian towns and refugee camps in the West Bank. Under the agreements, Israel maintains the right to send armed forces into Palestinian areas and controls the areas between Palestinian enclaves.

[Kilmer17]

There is no doubt that the Jews were there long before anyone even thought of a person as a Palestinian.

The land in question was Jewish and Christian Holy Land long before the Muslims decided it should be theirs as well.

Need exact proof? If it were the other way around, the Muslim Temple Mount and other so called "holy spots" wouldnt be built ON TOP of Christian and Jewish Holy Sites. They would be beneath them.

Some examples of Terrorism for the confused.

http://www.larryelder.com/profiling.html

[chiefhogskin48]

The Israeli state shouldn't exist to begin with. The United Nations overstepped their bounds and better judgement to create a state where none had existed for over 1500 years, when the Jews were almost completely (and legitimately in historical terms) driven out.

Unfortunately, this depatriation of native muslim population came with a predictable consequence, and now the world has to live with its actions. The fact that Israel has been nothing more than a heavily subsidized 51st state (yet one that acts COMPLETELY autonomously) for the past 35 years is even more galling. Does anyone really think that organized terrorism would be directed towards the US by Muslim nations had we not been so unabashedly one-sided in our favoritism of the Middle East?

I for one, don't. This will teach the United Nations a lesson, hopefully.

[@DCGoldPants]

Shouldn't exist?

That just blew my mind.

I think after losing millions of people in camps, giving them the land they 1st built on regardless of time was the least the world can do.

If they were a 51st state, then Arafat can stop saying "Death to America and Israel" and can just say "Death to America"

Don't worry though, if a few decades when Oil isn't around to be wasted, Israel will be the only one who can feed their people while all those Oil Countries really become 3rd world nations begging countries like American and Israel for money and food.

[Art]

Israel has an absolute right to exist. It formed itself and fought off those who would conquer it. As you've written about the Jews being legitimately driven out, they have likewise, legitimately driven out those who were in Southern Syria at the time.

Regardless, Israel has an absolute right to exist. The lands in question were desolate and untended. Jewish settlers purchased much of it from folks in the area and turned it into a viable area. Our "one sided" behavior in favor of a Jewish state may possibly stem from the fact that the Arab and Muslim world has continuously teamed up to fight this rightful country. Perhaps if they weren't so one-sided in their hatred of Jews we wouldn't have to support the only viable country in the region so wholeheartedly.

But, there was no Palestinian state or Palestinian people when Israel came into being. There were Muslims in the area living in Southern Syria and the Jews purchased and fought back to set the borders you see today. Well done.