The Map: The Story of Palestinian Nationhood Thwarted After the League of Nations Recognized It
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- Written by Juan Cole Juan Cole
- Published: 25 September 2012 25 September 2012
NOTHING COULD be more scary than the thought that this duo – Binyamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak – is in a position to start a war, the dimensions and outcome of which are incalculable.
It’s scary not only because of their ideological fixations and mental outlook, but also because of the level of their intelligence.
The last month gave us a small sample. By itself it was but a passing episode. But as an illustration of their decision-making abilities, it was frightening enough.
[This was the school Lee and I saw on our last trip to Palestine.]
Dozens of children returned to school on Sunday, taking part in an annual ritual that has taken on special meaning in this Bedouin tent camp.
The makeshift school buildings, cobbled together from mud and old tires, were built over the objections of Israeli authorities who are now threatening to demolish the structures.
Israel says it won't tear them down until alternate facilities are available.
"We'll go to school until it's demolished," said 10-year-old Islam Hussein as she dashed to the school on a nearby hill, after hastily dressing in clothes her mother gave her. She was faster than her brother, Mohammed, 6. Their mother Sara playfully threw shoes at them as she told them not to be late.
Behind them was their home: a series of huts of tin, plastic and wood, forming a kitchen, sleeping room and animal pens. Nearby was the family's camel herd. Bedouins have lived in similar conditions for centuries, sometimes preferring a nomadic life style to the offer of government-built towns.
About 150,000 Palestinians, or 6 percent of the total number in the West Bank, including those of Khan al-Ahmar, live in the 60 percent of the territory that remains under full Israeli control. This territory is also home to Jewish settlements, where 300,000 Israelis live.
For the radio show related to this page see: http://kboo.fm/node/49212 on KBOO 90.7 FM.
The Palestine Land Loss cards are available at http://www.fosna.org/content/mapcards
The Land Loss card quickly illustrates the basic political history of the Palestine-Israel conflict. The first panel shows the relative land Jewish and Palestinian land ownership just prior to the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. Jews at that time owned about 7% of the land, represented by the white areas on the first panel, and about 30% of the total population of Palestine. The second panel shows the U.N. partition plan of 1947 which gave the Jewish population about 55% of historic Palestine. The third panel shows the situation after the creation of the state of Israel, which involved the ethnic cleansing over 700,000 Palestinians from their land and the destruction of hundreds of Palestinian villages and towns. Israel was created on 78% of historic Palestine with only 22% for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. This panel also represents the basic outline of a viable two-state solution. The fourth panel represents the situation we face today: the Palestinian Gaza strip is under a cruel and permanent siege and closure and the Palestinian areas in the West Bank becoming isolated islands in a sea of Israeli control as Israel continues to annex and expand its control over Area C.
This United Nations OCHA map of Area C shows in better detail the Israeli controlled Area C which Israel is on the verge of annexing. It represents over 65% of the West Bank.
Read more: The ethnic cleansing of Area C: Maps and Audio. Campanion to KBOO's One Land Many Voices
On August 20th, the Israel Times reported that Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu “is determined to attack Iran before the US elections.” The report also said that Netanyahu was not waiting for a meeting with President Obama next month and that Obama could say little to convince him to delay a possible attack. Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak both believe Obama would have no choice but to support an Israeli attack before the US presidential elections in November.
So our supposed “ally” (we give them 7 million dollars a day) will try to give Americans “no choice” about going to war on the eve of an election. I hope Americans understand the gravity of this situation—and the cynicism behind it. As reported in “The Blaze” of August 20th, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey “had reiterated Sunday night his previously-stated position that an Israeli military strike will only delay Iran’s nuclear program, not totally destroy it…This also appears to be the opinion of Israeli officials…” The Israel Times report also noted that in Israel there is considerable opposition to an Israeli strike on Iran. President Shimon Peres, the army’s chief and top generals, the intelligence community, the opposition leader, and the Americans, are all lined up against Israeli action at this stage. Unfortunately, Netanyahu will make the final call. Apparently he is already making the case for war to his coalition allies.
Read more: Netanyahu, Romney, and the Imminent “October Surprise”