May 14th, 1948: The day the State of Israel was created, 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes as 530 villages were destroyed and 78% of historic Palestine was declared the territory of this fledgling nation.
So it’s fair to say that after the atrocities of the Second World War, the Jewish nation was justified in order to protect possibly one of the most discriminated against people in history. So, a plan was drawn by the UN in 1947 to make this a reality, splitting British Palestine into 55% Jewish State and 45% to a disjointed Arab counterpart. Palestine rejected this proposal as this would result in a huge loss of territory, as at that point, they controlled the majority of this territory & nearly two thirds of the population.
Born Into Fire.
The second the British mandate on Palestine expired, Zionist military forces took control of vast swathes of land under the flag of Israel, as Palestine straddled across the Gaza Strip & East Jerusalem. The following year, Israel was invited as a member of the UN, whilst Palestine was never officially recognised. It seems as if Israel's neighbours have never really accepted it into the neighbourhood, with Guerrilla groups attacking Israeli civilians and soldiers in response to Israel's declared goal of achieving a 'high blood count' to deter future attacks. Following this, the Suez Crisis & the Six-day war would prove Israel to be a competent fighting nation, maybe even too competent, as this underdog fought off a military force five times its own size, and in reward seizing the Golan Heights, Gaza & East Jerusalem. This meant that Palestine effectively held no land, simply a history. It took 26 years of Israeli Occupation until the Oslo Declaration of Principles was signed, granting Palestine 22% of their historic borders.
However, during the occupation, the human rights of Palestinians were severely compromised, and those who spoke up about it were imprisoned, and protesters were met with bullets. This went so far as to the recent use of artillery & air strikes in Gaza, killing 28 civilians who didn't even take place in the protests, this included 10 children. Israel isn't pursuing some fouled form of 'justice,' they're pursuing hate & the murder of innocent people to subdue the Palestinian population.
The Settlers.
The Green Line is the name for the de facto border between Israel & Palestine, however,
in recent times this has become less of an official position & more of a mere option for Israel. In what looks like an attempt to remove Palestine from the map, the Israeli government is investing in Jewish settlements in the West Bank; what’s essentially Palestinian land. These financial incentives are resulting in many young Israelis moving to the settlements for a more prosperous future, in what’s considered as the ethnic cleansing of Palestine. Last year, an ally of Israel, the US, condemned the settlements and stated that they’re no longer legal, demonstrating the world’s view on the settlements shifting to the reality of the situation. Despite this, Israel receives barely any backlash from the international community for their actions, allowing them to push further and further into Palestine with no repercussions. Furthermore, Palestine is only an observer state of the UN, not a member, so it’s impossible to formally denounce the actions of their troubled neighbour.
For the most part, the world has been ignoring the question of Israel absorbing Palestine, but what is the solution? Another set of borders drawn by the UN would be overruled by Israel, and in any negotiation Palestine would be too weak to successfully improve their situation. Though it may seem like a different reality, this is affecting people & overturning their lives & dreams. No one should have to wake up wondering if they’re going to be deported from a country they don’t even live in.
Written by: Matthew Minnis
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