The Plight of Palestine

When many people think of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they think of it as a people who survived genocide trying to secure their homeland from violent Arab settlers. But many overlook the other side of the story. Since 1948, Israel has used the suffering from the holocaust to justify forcefully and violently extinguishing a people from land they have lived on for hundreds of years because they feel as if they have a right to the land. Although Israel is the Jewish homeland, it is not theirs alone. Since their exile from Israel at the turn of the millennia, Arab settlers have made homes in the land of Israel, homes that they have lived in for generations. But come 1948, it was decided that the Jewish people should be entitled to their homeland. At first, the land of Israel was equally carved between Jewish and Palestinian lands. IMHO, things should have ended here. The Jewish people now have a homeland to go back to, and the Palestinians still had most of the land they have lived on for years. However, the Palestinian's and Arabs did not want to give up any land, which is understandable, but instead of negotiation, the Arab League declared war on Israel. Even after the war ended in 1949, there have been strong tensions between Arabs and Israeli's. 

Ever since Israel's founding, the Israeli's have been slowly encroaching and colonizing Palestinian lands. Thousands of Palestinian's have been evicted from their homes and forced to flee so Israeli settlers can set up new Jewish settlements.

Due to the holocaust, most western nations have been sympathetic to Israel, ignoring Israel's genocidal actions against the Palestinian's.

An Israeli soldier runs over a Palestinian's legs with a truck.
(Link to photo)

Everyday there are reports of agression against the Palestinian people by Israeli troops in the West Bank. Here's a few:

Israel demolishes Palestinian West Bank homes

Israel evicts over 30,000 Bedouin's without notice

Palestinian Childrens art exhibit shut down by pro-Israeli groups

Israel cracks down on non-violent Palestinian demonstrations

Israeli settlers invade Palestinian village

Israel is prepared to use snipers to disrupt peaceful demonstrations 

Israeli troops capture and dehumanize theatre owner

Israel brainwashes and brutally interrogates young Palestinian's 

Israeli soldiers attack non-violent protesters

Israel is planning to shoot any Palestinian protesters who approach West Bank Jewish settlements

Israel blocks ambulances from taking injured Palestinian civilians to hospitals

Israeli solders fire tear gas into Palestinian village

Israeli solders attack Palestinian refugee camp

Israeli Army interrupts Dutch music Orchestra concert in Palestine  

Israel sues Bedouin villagers for cost of their own evictions

Israeli settlers burn Palestinian farmland

Israel's War Crimes

Want more? There are plenty of links here.

You will never hear about these atrocities in the mainstream media, but they are happening as we speak. Over the years Israel has successfully conducted a propaganda campaign painting them as the victim of violence by "radical jihadists". That they are just defending their homeland against savage invaders. Yet we are completely ignorent to Israel's genocidal occupation of Palestinian lands.

There is even a dedicated Wikipedia article on this issue. Comparing Israel's treatment of Palestinian's to that of Apartheid in South Africa















With all of this oppression, we begin to see why the Palestinians have turned so violent against the Israeli's. They feel that the only way they can be free is to fight for it. They feel that any attempt at peaceful resistance will only be put down the Israeli army.

This week, Palestine will seek full UN membership and recognition of their state. I strongly support this measure, as it will bring more attention to the situation in the West Bank and their fight against the Israeli occupation. Yet the United States has said that it will veto Palestine's admission to statehood, because we have apparently bought into the lies that Israel wants peace and that the Palestinians are the main aggressors.




 If we really want this conflict to end in peace, we need the Israeli's and Palestinians to sit down, negotiate, and most importantly; respect each others sovereignty within a two state solution based on the UN partition plan. It is only then that both partys can come to a compromise and live side by side.

There are two sides to every story, and it is important that you are willing to experience both before making conclusions.