Quote:
Originally posted by crumbbum
1) In your opinion, why were the Palestinian refugees left in camps for 55 years? Considering the vast sums of money poured into the camps from the US, EU, UN, and Israel (but not the arab world, incidentally), why haven't living conditions improved?
2) Why did the Palestinians never demand a state or even autonomy before 1967 when the Egyptians and Jordanians controlled the territories?
3) If a state next to Israel is what the Palestinians want, then why was the PLO formed in 1964, before Israel controlled the West bank or gaza? What exactly did they plan on liberating?
4) If there IS a such thing as the Palestinian people, tell me about their history? How far does it go back? Is there a Palestinian language? Is there a unique Palestinian culture? Why is there hero and leader, Arafat, an Egyptian?
5) In 1948 the State of Israel absorbed nearly 700,000 refugees from the arab world. Why didn't anyone absorb the Palestinian arab refugees?
6) If the Palestinians have a historical tradition, then why is it that the Jews in Palestine were referred to as "Palestinians" before 1948?
7) If Israel is evil, and robbed the Palestinians of their homeland, and is an enemy, why do so many Palestinians depend on employment in Israel? Why are 20% of Israelis arabs?
I would like to see truthful answers to these questions.
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1) The dwellers of those camps are mainly villagers and agricultural workers whos land was taken away from them. On many occasions, they themselves have refused to be moved to more permanent locations. This is because they refuse to give up their right of return and do not look favourably on what would look like a permanent relocation to a host country. Go to a Palestinian refugee camp and ask someone there what they think. They'll explain their attachment to their land. As for the monies you claim to have been poured into the camps. Please know that Israel has not committed one cent to UNRWA despite the fact they took over all the moveable and immoveable possessions of the refugees (lands, houses, furniture, livestock, bank accounts etc). You mention the EU but you don't seem to realize that the EU is a relatively young group that hasn't existed during the bulk of this conflict. I believe you over estimate their contribution. Also, with respect to the UN, much of the UNRWA's budget is contributed to by Arab countries.
2) The Palestinians have been seeking an independant, autonomous, entity since the early 20th Century. To become more knowledgeable, look at all the Palestinian conferences held since the 1920's concerning the subject.
3) The Palestinians had continuously called for a united democratic bi-national Palestinian Jewish state in Palestine. This position was continuously rejected by the Israeli state which defines itself in exclusivist racial terms as a Jewish state. It remained until the conference in Algiers when the Palestinians, at the request of Arab countries and the international powers, adopted the 2 state concept for the Palestinian Israeli conflict. The idea of a unified democratic bi-national state is far superior and far more humane than the notion of a religiously based political entity.
4) To my knowledge, we don’t have a Lebanese language, a Syrian language, an Egyptian language, a Moroccan language, or a Sudanese language. People are not necessarily defined by their language. The Palestinians are the decendants of the Canaanites, Hebrews, Philistine, and Arab residents of Palestine and they assumed their distinct Arab character after the 7th century. The Palestinians have some idiosyncratic cultural traits and other traits that they share with people from the region. Alas, a large portion of the Jewish Israelis have no cultural traits that they share with the region. They are alien and they brought their Russian, Ukranian, Polish, German, and other traits with them to a land that they have no affinity, no history, to. Unlike the Palestinian Jew, who shares everything with the Palestinian people. As for Arafat, you show great ignorance. He is from the Husayni family of Jerusalem, a family that traces its roots through Jerusalem for many centuries.
5) The Palestinians do not want to be absorbed. They want Israel to recognize their right of return. I don’t know what your background is, but wherever your country is, then that’s where you belong and the Palestinians belong in Palestine. Israel did not absorb refugees; they took Jews from inside and outside the Arab world and told them to immigrate to Palestine. They tells Jews that they must not continue to live in countries outside Palestine because humanity will never come to accept them despite the fact that Jews have lived and survived within Arab societies throughout history.
6) That proves my point. They were because they were part and parcel of Palestinian society. Jews in Palestine, prior to the rise of Zionism (1897), were an integral part of the Palestinian society and the land continued to be named Palestine until 1948 when a major portion of it was forcibly transformed into an exclusivist Jewish state.
7) The 20% Arabs in Israel are remnants of Arabs of Palestinian society. They are a small portion. Today, the Palestinians count over 7 million people. 1 million in Israel, 3 million in the occupied territories and 3 million waiting to return to Palestine. If some Palestinians in the occupied territories depend on employment in Israel for their income, it is because they have been deprived of their businesses and lands. Israel is hardly giving back.
You seem to lack sources. If you'd like, I'd be happy to recommend a reading list to you.