A 40-year journey to a low point
During the 40 years since 1967 there have been ups and downs in the relations between Israel and the Palestinians. Today they are at a low point, perhaps the worst of all.
By Danny RubinsteinFor more than a week now, the most popular Arabic television station, Al Jazeera, has been broadcasting man-in-the-street interviews in various places around the Arab world to mark the 40th anniversary of the Six-Day War. The responses are interesting. In the Gulf Emirates many people don't know anything about it. Especially the young people. They are asked what the 1967 Huzayran (June) War says to them and they answer with a shrug.
In other places people say the Arab defeat was caused by the impotence of the Arab rulers. They speak in generalizations, without mentioning the name of any particular ruler. For most of the speakers the war is associated with the president of Egypt at the time, Gamal Abdel Nasser. Interviewees in Cairo say the problem was that Nasser was surrounded by unreliable people, including the Arab rulers, his partners in the war.
The Palestinians' answers tend to deny the definition "war" to the events of June 1967. "On the very first day at 10 A.M. everything was over. Is that a war?" said a shopkeeper in Gaza. Then he gave an example: Suppose the Israeli government decides today for the tanks of the Israel Defense Forces to retreat immediately from their positions in the West Bank, and they start moving toward Israel. How much time will that take them? At least two weeks. So how is it possible that they occupied the whole West Bank in three or four days?
The conclusion: There was a conspiracy. Traitorous Arab leaders collaborated with Israel and helped it gain control of the territories. Many of the Palestinians who say this are referring to King Hussein of Jordan. They don't explicitly mention his name, but they hint that the Jordanian regime was and remains a secret ally of Israel, and it conspires with Israel.
A number of Palestinian commentators have analyzed the 40 years of the Palestinian struggle against the Israeli occupation. They began after 1967 with violent resistance and an armed struggle (Palestinian terminology makes little use here of terms such as terror and terror attacks). They mention the acts of sabotage inside Israel and the plane hijackings. This happened mainly in the 1970s when, using terror, Yasser Arafat and his partners in the Palestinian Liberation Organization brought the Palestinian problem out of obscurity and onto the international agenda.
The second stage, in the 1980s and 1990s, was characterized mainly by what is called unarmed "civil revolt," the peak being the first intifada. After that, during the Oslo period and following the collapse of the peace process, the violence was renewed. Its identifying characteristic was suicide attacks. Each of these stages of resistance was exploited to the full, more or less, and now we are in the current phase of resistance - the phase of steep-trajectory weaponry.
These analyses serve as a suitable context for describing the change in Hamas' position, which has been very evident in recent days. In Hamas they understand very well that the air force bombardments in the Gaza Strip and the arrests of leaders in the West Bank attest to Israel's impotence in dealing with the firing of rockets and missiles. They expect an escalation in the violence and demand that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas immediately stop meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
"Israel is exploiting the meetings as a cover for its increasing aggression," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuheiri said over the weekend. A journalist from East Jerusalem has told of the great anger aroused by a newspaper photograph two days ago showing Hanan Ashrawi of the Palestinian parliament shaking hands with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni at a conference in Vienna. "This is a disgrace," he said. "Tzipi Livni is lending a hand to the arrest of Ashrawi's colleagues in the Palestinian parliament, and Ashrawi is embracing her."
During the 40 years since 1967 there have been ups and downs in the relations between Israel and the Palestinians. Today they are at a low point, perhaps the worst of all.
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Johnboy: "All the examples you cite (except China, I imagine) have a piece of paper that says the land now belongs to them" Ozzie: "But we do john. Its called the old testatment." Hate to tell you, Ozzie, but for it to be a legal deed to title it needs to have a signature on it. Try as I might, I can't find one. It needs a signature because - Gosh! Not that I don't trust anyone or anything! - there will always be a sneaking suspicion that the beneficiaries of that title deed just wrote it up themselves and only claimed it was given to them by Someone Else in authority. Heaven Forbid!! Literally, I guess....
Eli: "Nothing says you have to return territory that you captured in war if you are still at war." The Govt of Israel, explaining to the Israel High Court of Justice how it justifies its military actions in Gaza and the West Bank: "We are engaged in an armed conflict short of war". Short Of War, Eli. Out of the mouth of the Govt of Israel, and accepted as Truth by the highest court in that land. There is no war. Israel says so. What is happening does not rise up to the level of a "war". That's because there isn't one, Eli. There is OCCUPATION, and there is RESISTENCE TO OCCUPATION. It's just that the Govt of Israel doesn't want to admit that, so it makes up its definitions i.e. it can act as if there WAS a war, even when it admits that there ISN'T a war. How's THAT for duplicity, ya' gullible nitwit.
Sadly, I cannot disagree with his remarks; when will Islam move forward from its present 'stone age' thinking & contribute to the modern world? Of course there are great people out there, but one cannot help but notice the stagnation, indeed decline of the Arab world. Where are all the thinkers, & artisans that created magnificent buildings such as The Dome of the Rock? What will happen when the oil runs out? Where is the leadership? Abdul at #3 I fear is living in lala land.
they willnever defeat israel.is best they live in peace so they can have job and groth for their families
"All the examples you cite (except China, I imagine) have a piece of paper that says the land now belongs to them". But we do john. Its called the old testatment. This is a document that is held in high regard by approx half the worlds population and from where the mjority of laws that govern us under western civilization are derived from. You wanted paper, you got paper.
while. Nothing says you have to return territory that you captured in war if you are still at war.
Hi, i like the analysis. But , I think Israel existence is at stake now. Look How they got spanked by a small group of militia hezbollah. How many tanks got detroyed? Israel is no very weak.
It appears that our Turkish friend is implying that a reimposition of the ancien regime of the Beys and Pashas will solve the "middle east problem". I would suggest that people who live in glass houses ought not throw stones, considering the fates of the Armenians and Kurds in Analtolia.
The widespread belief in this "conspiracy," as well as poor Abdul licking his pathetic chops over Israel's imminent demise tell the real story of why Israel cannot expect to effect a compromise with the Arab world. Much of the Arab (Muslim) world live in the 13th Century--that's their fault, not Israel's-- while the Jewish state has made it to the 21st. The twain cannot meet, no matter how much wishful thinking on the subject there is on the Israeli left.
E: "China returns Tibet" China has sovereignty over Tibet. Has had for 1,000 years E: "India returns Kashmir" India has sovereignty over Kashmir. Has had since India gained independence E: "Armenia returns the Azeri" Don't know that one. E: "Russia returns Kaliningrad" Russia has sovereignty over Kaliningrad; it was ceded to her by Germany E: "US returns California,Porto Rico,Arizona,New Mexico,and Texas" The USA has sovereignty over those territories, Egon, and has the papers to prove it. E: "This all in accordance with the principle that there should be no gains from wars." You can not ACQUIRE land by seizing it in a war. But you can insist that the loosing side CEDE land to you as part of the peace settlement. All the examples you cite (except China, I imagine) have a piece of paper that says the land now belongs to them. Israel doesn't. That's the difference.
1. Rabin's comments were mad about two weeks or ten days before the war. Four days before the war started Egypt moved 100,000 troops to the border. 2. Begin was out of Government. Your passion is commendable. Distortion discredits you.
D, You might want to read a little about the history of the Arabs. They have contributed many things to the world including the mathmatical theories computer programs based on.
I beleave that Israel should return the teritories conquered in 1967 after China returns Tibet,India returns Kashmir,Armenia returns the Azeri teritories,Russia returns Kaliningrad(Konigsburg),and the US returns California,Porto Rico,Arizona,New Mexico,and Texas.This all in accordance with the principle that there should be no gains from wars.
To #10 and others. There has never been a UN resolution, 242 or otherwise, that calls for Israel to return all the territories (and to whom, Jordan?) It merely says to surrender territories, not "the" territories. The Arab response was no negotiations and no peace with Israel. But I guess it's your right to revise history as you wish.
Okay,so let's assume that come June 5, 1967, the Israelis decided to grab the West Bank, the Gaza, the Sinai, and the Golan. Let's assume the whole war with its hundreds of Israeli dead and wounded, and thousands of Arab dead, was a vast conspiracy at expansion. Just assume that fiction for a moment. Wouldn't it make sense, then, that on June the 13th or so, having conquered this territory, that the Israelis would start making plans for massive transfer of the natives to Jordan? Doesn't it make sense that the Israelis would never have returned the Sinai with its beaches and oil, never given back the Gaza Strip, never helped to create the Palestinian Authority via Oslo, never offered Arafat 97% for a state? I prefer the truth, namely that, the whole thing has become one muddled up mess. That's bad enough. Can't the conspiracy theorists take a vacation, even for a couple of days?
...the Palestinians are trying to explain away the the obvious amazing miracles performed by the God of Israel which quickly turned the tide and overthrew the (3) much larger Arab countries. The Six Day War is a picture of what is getting ready to happen with the Iranian president.
The only justification of the conspiracy I can think of is this - the Arab regimes were tired of dealing with the Palestinians, so decided to goad an Israeli attack, so that the Palestinians become an Israeli problem.
Hello Danny Rubinstein, I enjoyed your analysis, however, I am siding with the Palestinians on this one as it feels and sounds like another Israeli land grab and conspiracy to me. Plus the comments below by those in my post script by those who were involved with this event supports that conclusion, too. In addition, this so called war (which I feel was really a pre- emptive strike) is filled with the typical Israeli exaggerat- ions and propaganda-- Israelis were in a fight for their sur- vival and the big bad Arabs were coming to get it. Chances are the oppose is the true. Especially, given the fact the Egyptian fleet was on the ground and it was the squirts in the Israeli army who hit them first. Still, the great irony of the 1967 war is found in the argument made by John Quigley, professor of law at Ohio State University who stated in his book, A Chall- enge to Justice notes: "Under the UN Charter there can be lawfully no territorial gains from war, even by a state acting in self-defense... The response of other states to Israel's occupation shows a virtually unanimous opinion that even if Israel's action was defensive, its retention of the West Bank and Gaza Strip was not." Thus Israel needs to get out of the territories and return the land to the Palestinians as mandated in UN SC Resol- ution 242 . Cheers and thanks, Dutch P.S. Those involved with the 1967 war The commander of the Air Force at the time General Ezer Weitzman said there was "no threat of destruction." Menachem Begin admitted the following: "In June 1967 , we again had a choice. The Egyptian Army concentrations in the Sinai approaches do not prove that Nasser was really about to attack us. We must be honest with ourselves. We decided to attack them." The late Yitzhak Rabin's admission also seems to confirm this: "I do not think Nasser wanted a war. The two divisions he sent to The Sinai would not have been sufficient to launch an defen- sive war..." Dutch
the 'palestinians' could not be cheated, for there were no palestinians in 1967. nor would be 'palestinians' today were the judea and samaria remain part of jordan. they would be regular arabs, just like they really are. they feel cheated only because other 20 arabs tribes received states of their own. the difference between these tribes is subtle compared with 'german' or 'chinese tribes'. yet we only have one china or germany.
What does Walter mean?
I am convinced the majority of Israelis never wanted it to become like this. I am sure they really expected the 1967 victory to be a step further to peace. In stead, in their ignorance, they let the most evil forces to take over the agenda of their country and they permitted the violent oppression and the destructive land theft and settlement build to get completely out of hand. Now they are stuck and most of them see no way out: they are coming to a dead end. Some say: let`s oppress and bomb the Palestinians even MORE, so they will FINALLY stop nagging us (a tactic that failed miserably the past 40 years) but most have become apathic and disillusioned. In such a situation, an Israeli leader must stand up, fly to Damascus and make a peace deal with Assad. Before anyone could blink an eye, he would be back and have the Knesset approve it. It is Israel and only Israel that can make this step forward. Who will instill new hope in the hearts of Palestinians and Israelis alike?
Abdul: What is the contribution of your brethren to the world besides crude oil, which is simply Lady Fortuna smiling at you? Whereas the Israeli have likely developed the computer you're typing on. It's the cold war all over again, as Putin clarified today.
Sometimes, things are better seen from the outside in.
Yes the Palestinians have been 'cheated' by their Arab brothers, but not in the way I think you meant. They have been cheated in the way they have been cynically exploited within refugee camps.
40yrs on n u have never been more vulnerable, today its haifa & sedrot and not to far in the distant future it will cover the whole of the stolen & occupied lands of palestine, enjoy ur soon to be short & phyric victory.
They talk about GOD ! Which they dont even know what is FAITH. They talk about WAR, Which they dont even know how to fight with HONOR. I wish They all stop bring childreen into world. Lies Rapes Underground Dirts All in Middle East ! Atilla Liman Karagözoğlu
No doubt, the Palestinians made many mistakes in the past and today (first and upmost to not give up violence as a means of resistance). But there is also no doubt that the Palestinians have been cheated by Israel, the U.S. and their Arab "brothers" many, many times over the past decades. And I'm afraid a few times too often in order to still believe in the good of mankind.