A Primer on the Situation in Palestine

Profile of Gaza (BBC)
And a Profile of Israel (BBC)
And some general background from Global Policy (UN)

Don't believe me. Do some research of your own and draw your own conclusions.
Read some of the sorry history of this troubled land. (United Nations)
or peruse MidEast Web for Coexistence's vast collection of historical documents

Shalom Haver! (Hello my friend(s))

To those who would understand the Palestine/Israel problem, a good summary history is available from Jews for Justice, of which the conclusion is, ironically, a good place to begin.

And, for the present and recent past, begin here (disproportionate casualties)

Since the beginning of the Intifada in 2000, Palestinian casualties have been almost five times the number of Israeli casualties, A synopsis

The killing of minors (children) has been even more disproportionate, with almost eight Palestinian children killed for every Israeli child, (956 compared to 123 as of 26 December, 2008) and this dis-proportion has been much more marked latterly.

The circumstances of death of each of these children is described here.

From the beginnings of the Zionist project to create a Jewish nation in Palestine, many Jews regarded the native population as a nuisance, as somehow less entitled to the land than themselves. This attitude became entrenched in Zionist policy with the development of “revisionist Zionism”, and the idea of somehow ridding Palestine/Israel of its troublesome natives. In their own words, Israel's leaders speak - a pdf slideshow.

Ironically, almost all of these problems were clearly foreseen by a group of prominent American Jews in 1919, when they sent a statement to the Paris Peace Conference.

In 1946/7, at the end of the British Mandate, the population of Palestine was one third Jewish and two thirds Arab (1946 census). The Majority Arab population rejected the UN partition plans, which were, none the less IMPOSED against this expressed will by a UN vote in which all the local UN members dissented, and the British abstained.

In favour: 33
Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Byelorussian S.S.R., Canada, Costa Rica, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Haiti, Iceland, Liberia, Luxemburg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Sweden, Ukrainian S.S.R., Union of South Africa, U.S.A., U.S.S.R., Uruguay, Venezuela.

Against: 13
Afghanistan, Cuba, Egypt, Greece, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Yemen.

Abstained: 10
Argentina, Chile, China, Colombia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Honduras, Mexico, United Kingdom, Yugoslavia.

So much for the principle of “Self-determination of indigenous peoples”, a founding principle of both the League of Nations and the United Nations!

And now, the present day:

Profile of Gaza (BBC)
And a Profile of Israel (BBC)

The "road map" which is the main “solution” presently on offer is much less than it is made out to be by its proponents, as anyone who takes the trouble to read it in full will see, and the Israeli "reservations" render it even more of a sham.

Then recall that this very day, and every day, the Israelis are expanding the illegal settlements in the Occupied Territories and disregarding more UN resolutions than have been passed against any other "state"

Assalaam 'alaikum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu

Peace, God's mercy and blessings be upon you (and upon us all)

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