You will note that on April 28 - may 15,1947, the Un formed a committee, called UNSCOP which advised to partition the British mandate called Palestine. On Sept 8-1947, the committee report suggested partitioning Palestine' The Higher Arab committee rejected the plan. On Oct 2-1947 the Jewish Agency accepts the plan.
I clearly stated that the Palestinians rejected the UN partition plan. Please reread my post.
The next entries are these.
October 7 - 15: Arab League convenes in Lebanon, warns of Zionist danger after Mandate and allocates a million Sterling Pounds for Palestine
- October 29: Britain announces departure in 6 months if no solution achieved
- November 27: Arab League Committee head report warns of inability of Palestinians to face the Zionist armies without help and organization.
- November 29: UN general Assembly votes on an amended partition plan calling for a 56.5 % of Palestine for a Jewish state, 43 % for a Palestinian one and internationalization of Jerusalem. Votes were 33 for, 13 against, 10 abstinations. Arab representatives left the meeting.
There it is. On Nov 29, 1947 the UN General assembly votes on amended partition plan, calling for a 56.5% of Palestine for a Jewish state; 43% for Palestine one and internationalization of Jerusalem. The Jews had accepted the deal, but the Arabs walked out. On May 15, 1948, after the end of the British mandate, the Jewish league announced the state of Israel, consisting mainly of area given to it under the partition plan which the Arab league rejected. Both sides went to war,
Which two sides are you referring to?
but in the truces signed in 1949, the Israelis controlled approximately the same land given to it in the partition, however, Jordan, Egypt, and Syria divied up the Palestinians areas. In the 1967 war, Israel conquered all of the area of the original British mandate. The UN called for the area conquered in 1967 to be given back to the Palestinians in resolution 242, and after the Yom Kipper war in res. 343. In 1993, in the Clinton, Arafat, Rabin deal, the PLO took over adminsitration of these lands and all sides agreed to work toward a Palestinian state. This plan Arafat rejected under Clinton, and Bakarak, in 2000.
There was no finalized plan.....it never got that far.
In summation, did the Palestinians have a chance for a state. Absolutely, in 1947, the Jewish league accepted the partition, but the Arab league did not.
Do you know why it was not accepted? If I had been Palestinian, I would have rejected it as well. They were getting screwed.
In 1993, all sides agreed to work toward a state, but in 2000, Arafat refused to hold up his end of deal; and refused to accept the existence of Israel in exchange for land.
Arafat's primary reason for refusing to negotiate further was because Israel refused to withdraw the 370k settlers it had planted in the West Bank during the late 80s and early 90's. That was done under the then Minister of Housing, A. Sharon; that was where they stuck him after he had been found guilty of war crimes by an Israeli military tribunal in the early 80's.
As part of the negotiations, Israel wanted those settlements annexed into Israel proper. The UN Partition had already given Israel the best of everything including 56% of Palestine and now, Israel wanted 5-8% more of the land for its new settlements.
And do you know why Israel was adamant about this point?
Did Israel employ terrorism against the Palestinians, absolutely. Did the Palestinians employ terrorism against Israel in the 1940s, absolutely. However, Israel was far bettor prepared to fight and won the battles in 48 - 49 and every war since then.
Do you understand that it was not the Palestinians who fought Israel in 1948?
Since then, the Israelis have ignored the original partition plan for Palestine and ignored all subsequent UN resolutions calling for a new Palestinian state. The Palestinians had their shot in 1947 and passed on it. Its proven to be their undoing.
Bingo, the Palestinians did have their shot in 1947, but the Arab league was willing to fight to the last Palestinian trying to keep the Jews out.
Bingo shit! You still don't get it. Again it was not the Palestinians who fought the Israelis but rather the neighboring Arab countries. The Palestinians were mostly sheep ranchers and countrymen; not fighters.
Why. primarily I think because the Koran as written, in certain passages denounces the Jews, and the hardliner fundamentalists couldn't ignore the Koran and accept Jews in their midst.
Really? The Koran? To my knowledge the Koran does not discuss the partitioning of Palestine.
Frankly until the Jews started pushing for a state in Palestine, the Arabs probably would have been willing to live and let live, as there were small Jewish settlements in Palestine, withou many problems in the 1920s. The Jews having their own state was going too far and the Arab states wouldn't accept it.
Let me explain how this all came about. Until the mid 19th century, Palestine was inhabited mostly by Moslems, some Arabs, some Christians.....a few Jews. Starting at mid century, the Zionist Jews decided to return to their roots. The Jews had mostly fled the Middle East during the great Dispora over a thousand years before.
The Zionist migration began to increase by the turn of the 20th century, and their settlements in Palestine began to grow. By the 1920s, they had considerable clout in Palestine. The Zionists were mostly urban, and acclimated quickly to the small cities of Palestine. The Palestinians were mostly farmers and ranchers who rarely owned the land they worked. They had little clout and had no understanding of organized politics. They were easily outmaneuvered by the Zionists.
As early as the 1920s, friction began to develop between the Zionists and the Palestinians. During the 30's, that friction grew. Both sides were pushing for independent states.....Britian was the ruling authority. Palestine was one of its colonies. The Brits mucked things up pretty much and tensions grew. By this time, there were open clashes between the Palestinians and the Zionists.
At one point, the Zionists decided the Palestinians had to leave what was to become Israel. They eventually backpedaled off that position but the Zionists remained split over the issue. Over time, the British partition plan became more generous towards the Zionists particularly after it became known that the Brits knew what Hitler was doing to the German Jews in the 1930s but did not act until much later. The guilt hanging over the Brits was pretty effective.......the Zionists had gotten most of the Palestinian jewels......the ports, the major cities, the mountains and water reservoirs in the North, the seacoast etc. After WW II, things got even more messy and the Brits handed over the whole partition issue to the UN. The UN proceeded with the British partition plans but the Palestinians balked.........no surprise there. Any fool could see the split was not equitable.
In the end, their is enough blame for all sides. However, it was shortsighted of the British to ignore Islam and the Koran, and let the Jews establish a state in an area dominated by Israels historic enemies. There were reasons the Jews left 2000 yrs earlier, and some of those reasons still existed. And considering the devastation of WWII, there were other places availabe.
You're absolutely right. Unfortunately, we are stuck with the situation the way it is. What we need to be doing is helping to correct some of the past wrongs, and getting the Palestinians into their own country.
Its the Israelis and the neighboring Arabs who have been doing all the fighting.....but its the Palestinians who have been screwed by both sides IMO.
ted |
