By “Palestine,” we mean the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. This makes up 22 percent of what used to be Palestine before Israel became a state in 1948.
In 1967, Israel occupied the remaining portions of Palestine and has maintained that occupation ever since. The Palestinians want: (1) full statehood, (2) an end to the occupation, and (3) to be left alone. Israel wants the Palestinians to leave (or drop dead) so they can maximize the state of Israel, hence the occupation.
The conflict this year is increasing in violence. It’s been quite a year.
If you’re following the reportage, you will read a lot about “settlers.” These are Israeli Jews who have chosen to live on Palestinian territory commonly out of a religious devotion to the idea that God gave the Jews that land. From their perspective, they are reclaiming what existed as the Kingdom of Israel three thousand years ago. It’s not uncommon for the settlers to be extreme zealots and vicious anti-Arab racists. Some Israelis also choose to live in the occupied territories for the tax benefits and are not zealots.
The settlers have a long and rich history of violence and treating the Palestinians with contempt. Their position is they are doing God’s work.
The state of Israel also builds settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, intended to house settlers. There are presently around 700,000 settlers living in the West Bank. This is all illegal under international law.
The current rightwing government in Israel has made a number of provocative statements about its intent to expand settlements—which Israel is always doing. The Palestinians feel this is devouring its future state. It would be like negotiating a pizza while someone else is eating it.
The Israeli military, called the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), conduct raids in the West Bank, the cover story of which is to pursue “militants,” but creating fear in the territories has always been an Israeli tactic.
Late last January, the IDF raided the northern West Bank town of Jenin killing nine Palestinians, including a 61-year-old woman. This prompted various militant groups to fire rockets from Gaza into Israel. These rockets are typically crude, lack guidance systems, and usually hit nothing but sand. However, they are criminal, ineffective (tactically, strategically), and welcome devastating reprisals by the Israeli air force (IAF). They are illegal, immoral, and stupid. But when you’re enraged, you sometimes make bad decisions.
On Feb. 22, the IDF conducted a raid in the northern West Bank town of Nablus which left ten Palestinians dead and more than 100 wounded.
Because of the rockets fired out of Gaza, the IAF subjected the Strip to a beating on Feb. 23. According to an army spokesperson, the jets “struck a production site for raw chemical material production, preservation and storage along with a weapon manufacturing site.” Israel has a long history of pulverizing the Gaza Strip as well as tormenting its population of 2.3 million. I have described the major assaults elsewhere.
Last Sunday, on Feb. 26, two Israeli settlers were killed in a drive-by shooting. The two brothers lived in the settlement of Har Bracha. The shooting sparked massive revenge attacks on Palestinians. Settlers arrived by the hundreds in the Palestinian town of Huwara shooting people, burning buildings and cars.
According to the Guardian:
“Shootings, knife attacks, burning crops, vandalism and the theft of land and livestock are supposed to make life for Palestinians so unbearable they have no choice but to leave. On many occasions, the Israeli army has been documented failing to stem the violence, or even joining in.”
This year has been peppered with such spasms of violence, and it is all taking place in the context of Israel’s rightwing government.
Tzvika Foghel, an Israeli lawmaker from the rightwing Jewish Power party, told local radio that the form of “collective punishment” seen last Sunday was justified. “A closed, burned Huwara; that’s what I want to see,” he said. “That’s the only way to achieve deterrence.”
The prime minister’s office makes tepid statements about curbing violence, but it’s well known the IDF are part of the problem, and that this government under Benjamin Netanyahu is quite dedicated to provoking Palestinian anger, as well as treating the territories to punishments and fear.
If Israel was concerned about terrorism, violence, and security, it would leave Palestine, end the occupation, and move its wall to Israel’s side of the Green Line—the boundary line marking the West Bank.
The solutions are simple. Israel has other priorities
