Re: Re: Israel tells Gazans to brace for war escalation

[Guest guest]

I see it differently.

Israel was granted land by the UN in 1948. The surrounding Arab nations immediately attacked a sovereign nation recognized by the UN and tried to wipe it out. They lost and Israel took some of the land as nations have always done after wars. Several more attempts were made to wipe out Israel and each was defeated, even if only just.

As for the Palestinians, that is a term that was made up around 1948. Prior to that they were either Jordanians or Syrians, maybe Egyptians, since all three nations held parts of the Holy Land. What I find interesting is that 60 years on, those nations have not settled those refugees that are in their territory. They could have given them better conditions than the camps they live in, but they haven't.

I really think the best solution to all of this would be to give Gaza back to the Egyptians, something they might go for since terrorists and smugglers there target Egypt as much as Israel, and the West Bank, less Jerusalem, back to Jordan. Those two nations have been on good terms with Israel for a while, so giving that land back to them shouldn't be much of an issue. The UN, EU, etc. could pitch in by giving development aid to those areas and help those nations root out Hamas and Hezbollah.

Syria would not get the Golan Heights back because the last time they had them they fire cannon from them at anything that moved in Israel below. They have also been behind much of the chaos and fighting in Lebanon. Therefore, and for other reasons, they couldn't be trusted to have the Golan back.

In a message dated 1/10/2009 6:50:50 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, no_reply writes:

I hold with the Palestinians. Israel was a state made up in 1948 where a bunch of people were evacuated from an area at gunpoint and left a few measly pacels of land in exchange.New year...new news. Be the first to know what is making headlines.

[Guest guest]

This was the Palestinian Mandate, not a nation called Palestine. Most of the mandate was set aside for the Arabs and Jews were forbidden from settling in much of that land. There was a lot of politicking involved in all of this as Britain and France tried to take control of the Middle East since they had taken control of that land from the Ottoman Empire. I'll post one bit about that, but then we'll just have to agree to disagree on this subject.

http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_mandate_overview.php

What is the overview of the Mandate Period?

Geographical Distribution of the Mandate

In 1920, following the defeat of the Turks, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and the peace conferences after World War I, the British Mandate for Palestine was created by the League of Nations. The Mandate was international recognition for the stated purpose of "establishing in Palestine a national home for the Jewish people." (See What was the British Mandate?.)

The area of the Mandate was originally 118,000 square kilometers (about 45,000 square miles). In 1921, Britain took the 91,000 square kilometers of the Palestine Mandate east of the Jordan River, and created Trans-Jordan (later the Arab country of Jordan) as a new Arab protectorate. Jews were barred by law from living or owning property east of the Jordan river, even though that land was over three-fourths of the original Mandate.

In 1923, Britain ceded the Golan Heights (another 1,176 square kilometers of the Palestine Mandate) to the French Mandate of Syria. Jews were also barred from living there. Jewish settlers on the Golan Heights were forced to abandon their homes and relocate inside the westerb area of the British Mandate.

The total remaining area of the Mandate for Palestine, after these land deductions, was just under 26,000 square kilometers (about 10,000 square miles). The southern part of the Mandate – the desert of the Negev – was also closed by the British to Jewish settlement. The area was inhabited by 15,000 roaming Bedouins, and had no Jewish or Arab settlements in it.

The balance of the Mandate, the inhabited part of Palestine, and only the part west of the Jordan, was just 14,000 square kilometers. Jewish immigration was limited by the British from time to time, especially after the periods of Arab riots and severely restricted after 1939. At the same time, Arab immigration was not restricted or even recorded. By 1948, when the State of Israel was founded, 1.8 million people lived the western area of the Mandate, estimated to be 600,000 Jews and 1.2 million Arabs. Following the war between the Jews and the Arabs in 1948, the inhabited areas of the 14,000 square kilometers were divided along cease-fire lines between Israel and Jordan/Egypt. 8,000 square kilometers, or 57% of the reduced area (which is only 6.7% of the original Mandate territory), became Israel. The rest of the area of western Palestine, 5,700 square kilometers of historic Judea and Samaria, was annexed by Jordan – and renamed the West Bank - while 360 square kilometers were occupied by Egypt and called the Gaza Strip.

The Paris Peace Conference was held from January through to June 1919 and ended, as you know, with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. The treaty clearly identifies Palestine as a country and the borders of this country known as Palestine are indicated in the discussions of the Paris Peace Conference.A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps!

[Guest guest]

On Jerusalem, perhaps it would be possible to define it as nuetral

ground under the administration of a joint Jewish/Islamic/Christian

council? Israel could appoint a representative, as could Palestine and

the Vatican (acting as the Christian representative). Both Israeli and

Palestinian currency could be honored. The neutrality could be

guaranteed under a treaty limiting all parties to their borders unless

agreed upon or if another nation invades.

To be honest, I think all sides of the conflict have some level of

responsibility for the current situation.

> This was the Palestinian Mandate, not a nation called Palestine. Most of

> the

> mandate was set aside for the Arabs and Jews were forbidden from settling in

>

> much of that land. There was a lot of politicking involved in all of this as

>

> Britain and France tried to take control of the Middle East since they had

> taken control of that land from the Ottoman Empire. I'll post one bit about

> that, but then we'll just have to agree to disagree on this subject.

>

>

>

> _http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_mandate_overview.php_

> (http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_mandate_overview.php)

>

> What is the overview of the Mandate Period?

> Geographical Distribution of the Mandate

> In 1920, following the defeat of the Turks, the collapse of the Ottoman

> Empire, and the peace conferences after World War I, the British Mandate for

>

> Palestine was created by the League of Nations. The Mandate was

> international

> recognition for the stated purpose of " establishing in Palestine a national

> home

> for the Jewish people. " (See _What was the British Mandate?_

> (http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_ww1_british_mandate.php) .)

> The area of the Mandate was originally 118,000 square kilometers (about

> 45,000 square miles). In 1921, Britain took the 91,000 square kilometers of

> the

> Palestine Mandate east of the Jordan River, and created Trans-Jordan (later

> the

> Arab country of Jordan) as a new Arab protectorate. Jews were barred by law

> from living or owning property east of the Jordan river, even though that

> land was over three-fourths of the original Mandate.

> In 1923, Britain ceded the Golan Heights (another 1,176 square kilometers of

>

> the Palestine Mandate) to the French Mandate of Syria. Jews were also barred

>

> from living there. Jewish settlers on the Golan Heights were forced to

> abandon their homes and relocate inside the westerb area of the British

> Mandate.

> The total remaining area of the Mandate for Palestine, after these land

> deductions, was just under 26,000 square kilometers (about 10,000 square

> miles).

> The southern part of the Mandate – the desert of the Negev – was also closed

> by the British to Jewish settlement. The area was inhabited by 15,000

> roaming

> Bedouins, and had no Jewish or Arab settlements in it.

> The balance of the Mandate, the inhabited part of Palestine, and only the

> part west of the Jordan, was just 14,000 square kilometers. Jewish

> immigration

> was limited by the British from time to time, especially after the periods

> of

> Arab riots and severely restricted after 1939. At the same time, Arab

> immigration was not restricted or even recorded. By 1948, when the State of

> Israel

> was founded, 1.8 million people lived the western area of the Mandate,

> estimated to be 600,000 Jews and 1.2 million Arabs. Following the _war

> between the

> Jews and the Arabs in 1948_

> (http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_independence_war_start.php) , the

> inhabited areas of the 14,000 square kilometers were

> divided along cease-fire lines between Israel and Jordan/Egypt. 8,000

> square

> kilometers, or 57% of the reduced area (which is only 6.7% of the original

> Mandate

> territory), became Israel. The rest of the area of western Palestine, 5,700

> square kilometers of historic _Judea and Samaria_

> (http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_early_palestine_judea_samaria.php) , was

> annexed by Jordan – and renamed

> the West Bank - while 360 square kilometers were occupied by Egypt and

> called the Gaza Strip.

>

>

> In a message dated 1/11/2009 2:43:19 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

> ravenmagic2003@... writes:

>

> The Paris Peace Conference was held from January through to June 1919

> and ended, as you know, with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on

> June 28, 1919. The treaty clearly identifies Palestine as a country and

> the borders of this country known as Palestine are indicated in the

> discussions of the Paris Peace Conference.

>

> **************A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy

> steps!

>

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