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Politics : Foreign Policy Discussion Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Neocon who wrote (2494)	1/21/2003 1:13:04 PM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 15987

1. The "Palestinians" were never a people. They were Arabs living within the Ottoman Empire, and, later, the British Mandate, many of whom emigrated to Palestine after the Jews had made substantial investments and stimulated the local economy. 2. "Palestinian" land was not expropriated, but was bought by the Zionists. Only later, as a result of war, was there substantial flight that left land in Israeli hands. 3. During the '30s and '40s, despite substantial persecution in Europe, the British Mandatory authority severely limited the immigration of Jews into Palestine, while turning a blind eye to illegal Arab immigration. 4. The establishment of Jordan took 80% of the original Palestinian territory out of play for Jewish use. Of the remaining 20%, the proposed UN partition would have gerrymandered Israel so that most Arabs would have lived outside of Israel, presumably to be annexed by Jordan, leaving the Zionists less than 10% of the original territory in dispute. And yet the Arab powers were firmly rejectionist, and vowed to drive the Jews into the sea by force of arms, despite the fact that they had all of the advantage in the region. 5. It has been well- established that the main reason for "Palestinian" flight was the advise of Arab radio to get out of the way of the massacre that was anticipated. Incidentally, it may be that some Jews used the situation as a pretext for clearing out some villages, but, considering the extreme peril they were under, that is hardly worth contemplating. 6. Despite the success of the Israeli army in repulsing the Arab attacks, the Arabs had many more troops and much more equipment. Their training was poor, and they did not have an effective strategy, but they still held the balance of power in the region. Thus, it seems to me understandable that those Arabs who had fled were considered dangerous to readmit, and that Israel used its victory as a way of establishing more defensible borders. 7. Despite its security concerns, Israel has been the most democratic regime in the region. Considering the nature of most of the surrounding Arab regimes over the years, and the ardor with which the "Palestinians" embraced terrorism as a tactic, it seems strange to give Arab propaganda especial credit.