When I was in high school, I remember quite vividly watching the evening news one evening when a Palestinian boy had thrown a rock at an Israeli soldier who was in full battle dress uniform. What was the response for that transgression? Well it was quick, the boy was murdered by the solder.
I wanted to know why this boy risked his life like this, so I started to look into how Palestine was stolen by Israel.
Yes, I saw it as being stolen and for many years, most of my life in fact, I viewed the nation of Israel as Palestine.
Pretty recently I was pressed to look more deeply at the Palestine/Israel situation. This time, I went more deeply than I did as a young punk.
My views were also tempered by my military service. Yes, Israel has long been an ally to the United States. (I will NEVER forgive Israel for her attack on the USS Liberty. https://www.usslibertyveterans.org/)
We pour a cubic buttload of money into Israel. For what? Seemingly to have a “friend” in the Middle East.
Now, we give a bunch of money to Palestine as well. Why? Well for humanitarian reasons.
So let’s discuss the situation between the two “nations”. I am using nation for Palestine eventhough they really do not have a nation. They are but a mass of people living on land that their owners permit them to occupy.
Palestine wants a) its land back, b)sovreignty, and c) the elimination of Israel. For most of my life, I thought I understood their plight and shared the view.
Israel wants a) peace and b) per Bebe the elimination of Palestine.
The two sides wish to occupy the same land, yet eliminate the other. This cannot and will not work. They are unable to come to any form of understanding. Now with that said, I still despise the Israeli government for how it behaves, conducts itself, and pushes others.
For Palestine… meh, they have lost their claim to the lands. To the victor go the spoils.
On numerous times they have been offered land, and peace, but they are absolutist and will not accept the deals. When you initiate a war, and you lose land, you also lose the claim to it, legally and morally.
Lets look at the major milestones of their wars:
1948 Arab-Israeli War: Following the declaration of the State of Israel in 1948, neighboring Arab states, including Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq, launched a military intervention in Palestine, which eventually led to the first Arab-Israeli war.
1956 Suez Crisis: Israel, along with France and the United Kingdom, invaded the Sinai Peninsula in response to Egypt’s nationalization of the Suez Canal. – Bad Israel
1967 Six-Day War: Israel launched a preemptive strike against Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, resulting in the occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, and Golan Heights. – Potentially Bad Israel – I was born during this war and I have not studied the points of instigation. This was when Israel brutally attacked a US Navy Science vessel.
1973 Yom Kippur War: Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel during the Yom Kippur holiday, aiming to regain territories lost in 1967. – Bad Arabs acting on behalf of Israel.
1982 Lebanon War: Israel invaded Lebanon with the aim of eliminating Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) presence there, leading to a prolonged conflict. Bad Israel
First Intifada (1987-1993): A Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, marked by widespread protests and clashes. Bad Palestine
Second Intifada (2000-2005): A period of intensified Israeli-Palestinian violence, triggered by a visit by Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount, leading to widespread conflict and incursions on both sides. Both bad.
Gaza War (2008-2009): Israel launched Operation Cast Lead in response to rocket attacks from Gaza, resulting in a large-scale military operation. Gaza got its dick smacked by Israel for its bad act.
Gaza War (2014): Israel launched Operation Protective Edge in response to rocket fire from Gaza and to destroy tunnels used by militants, resulting in a significant escalation of violence. Gaza once again got its dick smacked by Israel for another bad act.
2018-2019 Gaza border protests: Palestinians in Gaza launched mass protests along the Gaza-Israel border, which often led to clashes with Israeli forces. Protest are fine, but Israelis killing unarmed protesters is a party foul.
2021 Israel-Gaza conflict: Intense fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, sparked by tensions in Jerusalem and subsequent rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel. Gaza once again got its smacked silly by Israel for another bad act.
2023 Hamas launches rockets into Israel from Gaza. Israel responds with a brutal pounding and several war crimes because the Israeli government is full of “Don’t give a fuck about what is right or wrong” it is only a war crime if they can play the victim.
In the end where does that leave me and my opinions? Well, My opinions are my own and hold no real value to others I suppose. I do however feel compelled to note as I did early in this post that the Palestinian leadership has brought most of this onto themselves. I predicted at the begingin of this latest action that Netanyahu would go scorched earth on the Palestinians.
The neighboring countries need to open their doors to the Palestinians and take in those refugees. Those refugees need to accept that Palestine no longer exists and hasn’t since 1948. There are likely very few of them that were born in Palestine.
As for Israel, the US needs to defund them and the government officials need to stand trial for their war crimes. Not for genocide either, but everything else. Palestinian is not a genus on the human branch of taxonomy.
For all I care, they could both lose the land and turn it into a UN sanctuary for displaced citizens around the world and those people could remain their as long as they were lawful and peaceful. If they cannot live peacefully, then they can be deported to wherever the hell they came from or whomever would accept them.