Quote:
Originally posted by stan the man
it was the list of dates i found to be vague
your argument would have been more poignant if the dates had been backed by some form of foot note
everone loves a good footnote
the real benefit of this forum is the educational value of the well constructed arguments
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Go to this link
http://www.msnbc.com/news/801833.asp?0cv=CB10
On the left side of the page, down a little theres an interactive presentation titled: Israel and the Palestinians- A Conflict Guide, click on: A history of Jewish Settlements, it provides the pictorial walk through that Mojo is refering to.
Issues over history, religious right, and so on are secondary. (minus the extremists such as the ones that see the entire land known as Israel is really Palestine and vs versa)
It gives me the thought of wondering (using America as an example) if the Native Americans fought back (they did actually) as western expansion happened were they terrorists? Im sure there were some "innocent" settlers butchered by Indians, so were they savage terrorists for doing so? Is this just a matter of anthropolgy: the ones with the biggest guns is whos really right. I dont think relatives of those killed on buses or a from a missle see it that way.
IMHO that this boils down to the occupied areas of the 67 war. Im not even refering so much to the Israeli occupying forces themselves, but the settlements. Its no question that the Arab populus lost land with the war. Just like everyone else down through the ages of history; thats called conquest and its a fact of life. The Palestinians were given internationally recognized land with borders which they had to deal with. When settlements began popping up in those areas, is when friction was taken up a notch.
Its said by Israel that they must maintain the occupation for security reasons. Aside from that being right or wrong; its a valid reason; neutraly speaking. The settlements are entirely different. What messege do you think is being sent to the Palestinians in that Jewish settlements are increasingly appearing in their areas? These settlements have the full protection of the Israeli military.
A few abandoned posts were dismantled, same with a small number of smaller settlements. New ones were going up after them. Sharon has stated he will decrease settlement expansion. "Decrease"? What about stopped all together and any settlement in those areas dismantled completely? I dont understand what the relation is in settlement dismantelization (is that a word?) and the underlying security.
**Just a side note on a personal level. THese are things as I see them, I not stating this as "the way" or what everyone else should be believing. Im not attemtping to give a history lesson either. The things I state are as Ive interpeted in my study of history and personal visits to Israel.