Settlements or Military Installations?
In 1967, Israel preemptively attacked its Arab neighbors. At the time, the West Bank was under Jordanian rule. It was like that since about 1948, after the creation of Israel. Before that, the West Bank was under British control, along with the rest of historical Palestine and Gaza. Even before that, before World War I, historical Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire.
Up until 1948, Palestine – as it was called – was home to Arab Christians, Arab Muslims and Jews. It was a melting pot of culture and religion. Unlike Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and other countries that were created from the Arab world, Palestine stayed a “neutral place” and Jerusalem was an international zone of sorts. Arabs lived across historical Palestine, from Haifa to Jericho, from Nazareth to Al-Khalil (Hebron) and everywhere in between, especially in Jerusalem. They lived in villages and cities and traveled freely across the land. Even though the people who lived there were under the British and Ottoman Empires up until 1948, it was their land and their homes for centuries leading up to the movement of creating a homeland for Jews in Palestine (Zionism).
Anyway, to get to my point let’s go back to 1967 when Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan and Gaza from Egypt. Internationally, through global public outcry and United Nation resolutions, Israel, under international law, was to move out of the West Bank and Gaza. As of 2012, they have not and they keep on building so-called “settlements” and building a separation wall in a land-grab so that they get as much of Arab land as possible.
As you drive around the West Bank, which is supposedly where the official state of Palestine is to exist, it becomes incredibly evident how Israel has systematically and consistently engaged in initiatives to make that an impossibility.
The most egregious of initiatives has been the so-called settlement movement.
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| “Settlements” – really military installations – surround every major Palestinian city and are connected by roads where only Israelis can travel freely. |
By looking at a map, you can clearly see that settlements surround all of the major cities of the Palestinian Territory. When you are on the ground and driving around, you understand that the settlement movement is actually a strategic and military initiative with the goal of pushing existing Palestinians out. The settlement is only one part of that initiative. In addition to settlements, there are roads that connect Israelis to other settlements and to Jerusalem and beyond. Palestinians cannot travel on those roads. In addition, these roads are magnificent! Like any highway or interstate system you would find in the United States. The Palestinian roads? Not so good.
And when you are in the major Palestinian towns like Ramallah or Bethlehem or Jericho or Hebron, you only have to look up to a nearby mountainside to see an Israeli settlement staring down at you with its rows and rows of new houses surrounded by security and connected by Israeli-only roads.
It’s so ridiculous and wrong, I can’t even type anymore.
