Pull a Gaza in the West Bank?So the major reason Gaza did not work out is because Israel left the border with Egypt open, so Hamas could smuggle weapons in. I figure, let Israel decide where it wants it's own borders. Draw the lines, build a wall, and withdraw from the part of the West Bank it doesn't want totally, annex the rest.... | |
The problem with this logic is that Israel didn't exist until 1948.
I can also tell that you're American, because of your lack of knowledge in geography. Hundreds of ethnic groups lived in this region alongside Jews until 1948, when the Israeli Declaration of Independence was made. Overnight, borders were drawn and those people who at one point lived on their own land were now in another person's territory. Central Europe was like this, from the end of WWI until the fall of the Soviet Union. Borders were constantly redrawn and until today, people in Bozen, an Italian city in the north of Italy still speak German, with a high German population whilst Silesia, a province in the north of the Czech Republic, still speaks Polish along with Czech, because after World War I, the easternmost part of this region was awarded to Poland by the victorious Allies after rebellions by Silesian Polish people and a plebiscite. These are just two examples. Now, think of the Middle East, with its people that spans back to antiquity, which is older than Europe.
Borders are a fickle thing and by redrawing it only brings added tension and hostility.
Israel now exists and you cannot eradicate the people who live there now. However, the Israelis must realize that their border must stay the same and not to expand their settlements into the Gaza Strip, which they've been doing for over a decade now.
Also, grant Palestine statehood and give them their own sovereignty.
There is no clear solution for this mess, but to give something to the Arabs (yes, they're Palestinians and other ethnic groups) is a start. The Jews have their homeland, now it's time to give something back to the Arabs.
Cheers.
Israel controls all entry into Gaza including the crossing with Egypt which they regularly got the Egyptians to close, claiming there was smuggling of weapons to Hamas. If the Palestinians dont get weapons, how do they defend themselves from Israeli missile strikes and bombs? The Palestinians elected Hamas as their government and Israel and the U.S. wont negotiate with them even though they represent 1.5 million.
You dont see that the occupation of the disputed areas is the problem. There are no definite borders but Israel put the security wall on Palestinian lands and bulldozed farms to do so.
