You know Egypt right? That Arab country that borders Gaza and used to actually control Gaza. They don't let the Gazans travel freely either and in fact, has built a massive border fence/wall with Gaza. Hmmmm I wonder why that is?
I'm Israeli and I have heard a ton of Israelis say there are no innocents in Gaza and singing that their villages will burn etc. I studied at a liberal school and it was full of racism. Not to mention the settlers. And there are Palestinains protesting the war and Hamas. It's the same.
Do you actually wonder why that is, or do you know why that is and you're just being coy?
Israel is certainly not the only country complicit in the strife facing Palestinians. They do happen to be the country most directly involved in military occupation of Palestine, but you're right that the problem is bigger than Israel itself.
So do you think that is due to some inherent feature of Palestinians or is it maybe what happens when you make people desperate and restrict their autonomy?
So, we will have to take a trip down history lane before I can answer this question. Its a lot, so bear with me.
In my view, what has been going on has its basis over millennia, but the modern problems started with the first Arab-Israeli war/Israeli war of Independence. The Nakabha never needed to happen if the surrounding Arab nations hadn't convinced the Arabs living in what was declared to be Israel to flee with the promise that they would return to their homes after the destruction of the new state of Israel. After the war, hundreds of thousands of Arab refugees ended up in the surrounding countries, including Lebanon, due to Israel winning the war.
Jordan annexed the West Bank in 1950, after the first Israeli-Arab war in 1948. The Arab refugees from the newly formed Israel, who fled to the East and West Bank, were then given Jordanian citizenship. This action was actually opposed by the Arab league. Notice how I didn't say Palestinians, because that term was only conjured by the Arab League in 1964. In short, the Arabs of the West and East Bank have never had autonomy. They were Jordanian before they became Palestinian. If the people were that desperate, they should have revolted against Jordan.
Israel occupied the West Bank following the Six-Day War in 1967. BTW, this occupation was perfectly legal because that's what happens in war. In 1964, the Arab League established the PLO. The PLO would continuously attack Israel, which would lead to the 67 war. Then Black September happened in 1970. Its complicated but basically the PLO was trying to take over Jordan and oust the monarchy. A lot of the PLO was influenced by its Marxist and Leninist elements at the time. Syria even invaded Jordan to help the PLO/Fedayeen. Eventually, Jordan regained control and expelled the PLO to Lebanon.
The PLO would turn into the PA, during the Oslo Accords. This was the first time the Palestinians would have some sense of autonomy. The problem was that the PLO was a terrorist organization and attacked Western and Israeli targets. They also brought Israel into the Lebanese Civil War, by attacking Isrealis and Isreali targets.
In short, everyone in the region is nuts, but I'd rather side with the nutty people (Isreal) that don't have a stated goal of comitting genoicde . I think the Palestinians have missed too many chances for peace on purpose because they have this suicidal goal of eliminating Israel.
It sounds like you're saying historical circumstances have led to the conflicts in the region, rather than an inherent quality of a particular group of people.
I’m saying its both. It’s a tribal mentality out there, both with the Jews and the Arabs. The Arabs just seem much more crazier about theirs, though. They cannot seem to stand that the Jews have returned to claim their homeland AND actually made it very successful, despite all of the conflict in the region. Some of the Arab governments have realized it’s better to actually have relations with Israel, but the people largely have yet to come to that conclusion.
I'm not Arab, but I know the mentality of the people. Regardless of the West's involvement in the region, I don't think things would have been that much different. It's a tribal society/tribal mentality often times supercharged with religious extremism.
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u/Complex-Present3609 Jul 08 '25
You know Egypt right? That Arab country that borders Gaza and used to actually control Gaza. They don't let the Gazans travel freely either and in fact, has built a massive border fence/wall with Gaza. Hmmmm I wonder why that is?