I just happened upon a story in USA Today about how young Palestinians are living in "despair" because they don't have their own state because of Israel. It's a bizarre report if you think about it. The British Mandate in Palestine was split into two parts under a UN resolution in 1948; just under half was to be a Jewish state (Israel) and the rest was to be a Palestinian state. Immediately, the Arab countries surrounding Palestine invaded in an attempt to drive the Jews out and destroy Israel before it was even in place. That attempt failed, but nevertheless, the areas which Israel did not control were taken over by Jordan and Egypt. There was no Palestinian state because the Jordanians and Egyptians would not leave and let the Palestinians govern themselves. In 1967, the Egyptians tried again to destroy Israel. Egypt blockaded the southern Isreali port city of Eilat, demanded that UN peacekeepers depart (which they did) and massed troops along the border of Israel for an invasion. The Israeli forces struck back. Israel got word to the Jordanians that if Jordan did not attack, there would be peace between Israel and Jordan. The Jordanians, however, did not keep the peace; they attacked. The resulting fighting ended with the Israelis in possession of all of what had been Palestine plus the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt and the Golan Heights in Syria (the Syrians too attacked.)
Since then, Israel has made peace with Egypt and given back the Sinai. Israel has also made peace with Jordan but the Jordanians gave up their claims to any portion of what had been Palestine. There have been ongoing negotiations over the last twenty years between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Those began when Israel agreed that the Palestinians could get partial self rule in areas of the West Bank and Gaza. Twice, the Israelis offered to meet roughly 99% of the Palestinians demands in exchange for peace and a recognition that Israel would remain as a Jewish state. Twice, the Palestinians rejected the offers. Indeed, there is no Palestinian state today because the Palestinians would not allow that to happen.
Simply put, there is no reason to blame Israel for the lack of a Palestinian state.
USA Today, however, does not stop there. It goes on to lament the high unemployment of Palestinians and blames the Israelis for that too. It's another bizarre report. After the Six Day War, there were moves towards integrating the economies of the Palestinian areas with Israel. By the late 1990s, tens of thousands or perhaps hundreds of thousands of Palestinians worked in Israel each day. It was at that point that the Israelis first offered the Palestinians to meet 99% of their demands. The Palestinian leader, Yassir Arafat, however, not only rejected the offer, but he also began the "intifada", the assault by Palestinian terrorists on Israeli civilians. As the terror attacks mounted, the Israelis had to protect themselves. The result was that travel between Palestinian areas and Israel proper was limited. Thousands of Palestinians were unable to commute to work in Israel and lost their jobs. After a while, the attacks died down and things started to return to the status prior to the uprising. Then the Palestinians launched the second intifada. This time, the Israeli government built a barrier to keep Palestinian terrorists from gaining access to Israeli civilian areas. Travel had to go through secure check points. The Palestinians working in Israel lost their jobs as travel between the two areas was halted due to terrorism. It is Palestinian terrorism that caused the high unemployment in the Palestinian areas.
But the story does not stop there. Many of the Palestinians and their supporters actually promote unemployment among Palestinians. I guess they think it makes them look more sympathetic. A good example is the Soda Stream plant that was shut recently. Soda Stream is an Israeli company that sells most of its products in Europe and the USA. It built a plant in an Israeli town outside Jerusalem in the West Bank. The majority of the workers in the plant were Palestinians. These were good jobs. So what did the Palestinians do? They got the BDS movement to organize a boycott of Soda Stream because it had a plant in a so called settlement. After some of the stores that handled Soda Stream products got skittish, the company capitulated and shut the plant in question. All production was moved inside Israel proper. Soda Stream is still producing its products. The products are still being sold all over the world. All that has changed thanks to the Palestinian inspired protests is that thousands of Palestinians lost their jobs. And now USA Today wants to lament unemployment among Palestinians? Are they kidding?
Since then, Israel has made peace with Egypt and given back the Sinai. Israel has also made peace with Jordan but the Jordanians gave up their claims to any portion of what had been Palestine. There have been ongoing negotiations over the last twenty years between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Those began when Israel agreed that the Palestinians could get partial self rule in areas of the West Bank and Gaza. Twice, the Israelis offered to meet roughly 99% of the Palestinians demands in exchange for peace and a recognition that Israel would remain as a Jewish state. Twice, the Palestinians rejected the offers. Indeed, there is no Palestinian state today because the Palestinians would not allow that to happen.
Simply put, there is no reason to blame Israel for the lack of a Palestinian state.
USA Today, however, does not stop there. It goes on to lament the high unemployment of Palestinians and blames the Israelis for that too. It's another bizarre report. After the Six Day War, there were moves towards integrating the economies of the Palestinian areas with Israel. By the late 1990s, tens of thousands or perhaps hundreds of thousands of Palestinians worked in Israel each day. It was at that point that the Israelis first offered the Palestinians to meet 99% of their demands. The Palestinian leader, Yassir Arafat, however, not only rejected the offer, but he also began the "intifada", the assault by Palestinian terrorists on Israeli civilians. As the terror attacks mounted, the Israelis had to protect themselves. The result was that travel between Palestinian areas and Israel proper was limited. Thousands of Palestinians were unable to commute to work in Israel and lost their jobs. After a while, the attacks died down and things started to return to the status prior to the uprising. Then the Palestinians launched the second intifada. This time, the Israeli government built a barrier to keep Palestinian terrorists from gaining access to Israeli civilian areas. Travel had to go through secure check points. The Palestinians working in Israel lost their jobs as travel between the two areas was halted due to terrorism. It is Palestinian terrorism that caused the high unemployment in the Palestinian areas.
But the story does not stop there. Many of the Palestinians and their supporters actually promote unemployment among Palestinians. I guess they think it makes them look more sympathetic. A good example is the Soda Stream plant that was shut recently. Soda Stream is an Israeli company that sells most of its products in Europe and the USA. It built a plant in an Israeli town outside Jerusalem in the West Bank. The majority of the workers in the plant were Palestinians. These were good jobs. So what did the Palestinians do? They got the BDS movement to organize a boycott of Soda Stream because it had a plant in a so called settlement. After some of the stores that handled Soda Stream products got skittish, the company capitulated and shut the plant in question. All production was moved inside Israel proper. Soda Stream is still producing its products. The products are still being sold all over the world. All that has changed thanks to the Palestinian inspired protests is that thousands of Palestinians lost their jobs. And now USA Today wants to lament unemployment among Palestinians? Are they kidding?
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