No, no - Israel did NOT give back the West Bank. What they gave back is "some" control of Gaza and removed the illegal Jewish settlements there. Palestine is made up of the West Bank and Gaza, which are separated geographically by Israeli land. Here is a map: http://worldatlas.com/webimage/count...
Gaza is a very tiny strip of land, with an area of 360 sq km, yet densely populated (about 1.3 million people). With Israel's restrictions imposed on it, it is basically an open air prison. Out of desperation, they are launching homemade rockets into Israel. If Israel treated them with equality, respect, and honored international laws the Gazans would not get to the point of such hopelessness and would have no need to resort to violence.
Instead of taking my word for it, read other sources - the top UN Humanitarian Affairs official, John Holmes, was just in Gaza and said he was shocked by what he saw. This is from the news article about it at http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080215/wl_...
He told reporters at a news conference that the misery he saw was the result of the current closed border crossings with Israel and the "limited food and other materials allowed in."
Also read the following, taken from http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/7577...
In large parts of Gaza nowadays, there is no electricity. Israel bombed the only power station in Gaza, and more than half the electricity supply will be cut off for at least another year. There's hardly any water. Since there is no electricity, supplying homes with water is nearly impossible. Gaza is filthier and smellier than ever: Because of the embargo Israel and the world have imposed on the elected authority, no salaries are being paid and the street cleaners have been on strike for the past few weeks. Piles of garbage and obnoxious clouds of stink strangle the coastal strip, turning it into Calcutta.
More than ever, Gaza is also like a prison. The Erez crossing is empty, the Karni crossing has been open only a few days over the last two months, and the same is true for the Rafah crossing. Some 15,000 people waited for two months to enter Egypt, some are still waiting, including many ailing and wounded people. Another 5,000 waited on the other side to return to their homes. Some died during the wait. One must see the scenes at Rafah to understand how profound a human tragedy is taking place. A crossing that was not supposed to have an Israeli presence continues to be Israel's means to pressure 1.5 million inhabitants. This is disgraceful and shocking collective punishment. The U.S. and Europe, whose police are at the Rafah crossing, also bear responsibility for the situation.
The agreement signed gave the Palestinian Authority limited governance over parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. There are 100 other legitimate political grievances that both sides have to negotiate: settlements (which still exist in the West Bank), the barrier wall, refugee issues, water issues, independence (promised in 1999, still hasn't happened), recognition of Israel, Jerusalem, long term peace, etc.
So, Israel never 'gave' the West Bank to the Palestinian Authority. And even if they did, that is a small part of a much larger problem that needs to be addressed.
If Israel gave back the West Bank, why is it still occupied? Palestine wants a return to the original borders, at the very least, as they see Israeli occupation as illegal. The Palestinians also believe the Israelis are carrying out a genocide against them. I'd have to say I side with the Palestinians. They have every right to still be angry. They were forced out of their homes, and they're in giant concentration camps! Yes, PUN INTENDED!
Compare the situation to, say, Egypt. It's Muslim, right? Wasn't always. It used to be Coptic, but the Muslims just kinda filtered in and became dominant. It was a gradual process, not a violent takeover. So, the Muslims gradually "took over" in a Christian area. Now, they see the Jews being helped by the Christians in a violent, sudden, illegal takeover of a Muslim area. No wonder they're upset!
This situation is a tangled mess. You have starving Palestinians who are angry about the living conditions (nearly slums) in the West Bank. They are poor and they are brainwashed.
Israel should consider improving the living conditions in the Palestinian areas. It's the only solution.
The Middle East conflict is not about land for peace. The Arabs have a huge land, where they can accommodate millions of people. They simply want to destroy Israel and other infidels. It is no point to give more land to them, they will not make peace with Israel. Israel should hold on to all territories of the Biblical Eretz Israel, including the Golan, Judea and Samaria. The Palestinians have a Palestinian Arab state, Jordan. Let them live there in peace and let Israel live in peace.
Probable because the Israel's haven't given it all back yet. When you give something back to someone that was theirs in the first place and YOU STILL control all the FUEL, HYDRO, WATER, FOOD, CURRENCY and MEDIA and have the ability to shut down any or all of these essentials of life with no objections from United Nations and actually support from the Bush Administration.I guess some may say Israel gave the west bank back
they must just come to terms that the entire area belongs to the jews, muslims and christians.
all this fighting is just destroying the place and the holy shrines
i have a btter suggestion
why dont the jews, muslims and christians get out of there and leave it to the hindus since they are the only people not fighting for it .
The Palestinians believe that Israel is their homeland and the radical branch wants the Jews out of Israel altogether. They will not stop fighting despite concessions from the Israeli government.
land for peace never works
first of all palestine was never israels to give back in the first place,and in answer to your question the same reason they are still illegally occupying palestine.because they are allowed to continue to run amok and create hell in the middle east.when will their u.s. paymasters reign them in?
