Ted Re..Because two different entities made the same proposal does not mean it was a fair one. First, the Partition Plan was pushed onto the UN by the British at the last minute. Why would the UN start to make changes at that point?
So. You have just said why it could be unfair, but you have yet to give one reason why it was unfair.
Look, Harry, I appreciate that you've done all this research but please, when I post something, read it, don't gloss over it. Now, for the third time, there were several advantages to the land the Israelis got in the partition. There was more developed infrastructure with at least two good seaports. While Gaza isn't landlocked, there is no seaport. Israelis got most of the coast line, more of the land, the mountains in the north with their reservoirs of water, the major cities, and the climate is more temperate due to its proximity to the sea. The only jewel that the Palestinians can boast of is the water aquifers and now Israel wants them.
Secondly, there were considerable politics that went into that plan. The Zionists had better control of those politics than the Palestinians and actively participated in the crafting of the Plan.
How can you be so sure, without even reading the plan, and knowing the exact populations of each etc. Simply put, you are just giving me reasons to justify your bias, not because you know it was a bad deal, but because you felt it was a bad deal.
I have read the history leading up to the Partition Plan. There were Zionists in London influencing the Brits. There were no Palestinians doing the same. Further, British sentiment after WW II favored the Zionists because of what had happened in Germany. If you sitll continue not to believe what I say, do another google search.
When Israeli statehood looked imminent, the neighboring Arab countries told the Palestinians to flee Palestine since the Arabs anticipated attacking and defeating the fledgling state of Israel. The Palestinians complied. As you suggested earlier, it looked like Israel would be easy pickings. The neighboring nations and the Palestinians were sadly mistaken. Israel turned out to have far more firepower than the surrounding nations. The Arabs were handily defeated. Clearly, the Palestinians sided with the wrong people but really, they did not have much choice in the matter.
I agree entirely, until the no choice part. Palestine did have a choice, which was to agree to the partition. As we both agreed, the Palestinians backed the wrong horse and paid dearly for it; but they did have a choice.
How can you say that? I have said repeatedly, the Zionists did not like the Palestinians and were considering ways to get rid of them. Once the Zionists had gained some population by the 1920s, the two sides were at odds with each other 24/7. As evidence of Israelis distain, the Israelis immediately confiscated the property of the Palestinians who fled the war, refused to let them back into the country after the war, and continue to refuse to compensate them for the confiscated property in spite of the fact, that Israelis and non Israeli Jews alike are pushing their own war compensation claims with Switzerland. Talk about hypocrisy.
The Palestinians had no real choice. The ones that did not run still are second class citizens in Israel and lack all the rights of Jewish Israelis.
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