There should be an end to the occupation that began in 1967. The agreement must establish Palestine as a homeland for the Palestinian people, just as Israel is a homeland for the Jewish people. These negotiations must ensure that Israel has secure, recognized, and defensible borders. And they must ensure that the state of Palestine is viable, contiguous, sovereign, and independent.
Which candidate has come forth to endorse Bush’s recent statements about peace in the Middle East, which demands an end to Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian people and the creation of a viable Palestinian state?
In a word, none.
What we rather see applied within Israel-Palestine itself is a continuation of the policy that follows the one instituted by Ariel Sharon in the 90s, the “dunam by dunam” policy he applied for two decades to wrest land in the West Bank from the Palestinians, to essentially continue the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
Who is speaking out against it? Not the candidates. Only Bush seems intent on turning the tide against the racist policies that nullify a Palestinian state.
As proof the Israelis don’t give a hoot about Bush’s folly, the UN Office of Humanitarian Rights published this news this morning:
ISRAEL-OPT: West Bank farmers face ruin after trees uprooted
JEET, WEST BANK. 27 April 2008 (IRIN) – It was difficult for 87-year-old Jamil Khader to discover that nearly all of the 1,400 olive trees his extended family planted in February had suddenly gone missing, having been uprooted and stolen.
“He became very ill when I told him. He was hospitalised and was in bed for a week,” his son Khalil, from the small town of Jeet in the northern West Bank, told IRIN.
The family reckon that the trees were uprooted in March but they did not find out about it until 16 April, when they got to the land, which they do not do regularly because of its proximity to the nearby Israeli settlement of Kedumim.
And the Israeli response to this outrage: more Orwellian logic:
….the Israeli military said it fell under the jurisdiction of the Civil Administration which in turn asked IRIN to contact the Israeli police. A police spokesman could only say that as the Palestinians had filed a complaint the case would be investigated, and suggested contacting the military.
Will this man,
Will Jamil Khader, 87, who became very will when he discovered that nearly all of the 1,400 olive trees his extended family planted in February had suddenly gone missing, be Israel’s latest victim of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank?
Of course, actually endorsing the words of President twentysomething approval rating holds a risk in and of itself. But yes, they might have come up with something of their own thoughts on this issue.
They “might” have? Well, if you know where those words can be found, I would happily update this diary. In fact, I have seen the words “occupation” or “two states” quoted by any of them, in any context.
No, it seems my meaning was not taken. Might have meaning as an alternative to, as an alternative to actually endorsing Bush’s statements. Actually endorsing Bush’s words would pose a potential political risk to those attempting to distance themselves from the president.
And yes, they should state their respective positions, via endorsement or otherwise.
It’s the same old thing: American politicians are scared to death (okay, well at least prohibitively intimidated) by the AIPAC crowd that has a stranglehold on US Middle East policy. A common-sense approach to peace in the region (pre-’67 borders for a start, Palestine as an internationally-recognized nation in its own right, etc.) is seen as anti-semitism. Look at the shit Carter continues to get from the Right (and more than a few on the Left). Maybe J Street Pac can counter this somewhat, but they’ve got an uphill climb to put it mildly. Obama would come closer than Clinton to doing the right thing I think, but at the end of the day, he’s just as susceptible to the Jewish-American Right as anybody else.
I think you have it correctly. Hillary’s Neocon threats toward Iran, and her agenda re. the Middle East and Israel are right out of the AIPAC playbook, the right wing Likud perspective.
Obviously, Bush would not have made that statement if he thought there was any possibility of that happening on his watch.
The Israeli Model Surges Toward Iraq
One reason an end to the US occupation of Iraq is unthinkable to American elites is that that would make an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank thinkable.
No question that the “greater Israel” dream pervades Israel’s history and present actions. Why Cheney-Bush took on this last minute effort is more difficult to interpret, especially since they probably know that they will not succeed. Maybe it will all be turned into another “generous offer” by Israel, more PR against the Palestinians using the Hamas terrorist card.
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GAZA CITY (IHT) – A Palestinian mother and her four small children died in a blast in their tiny house during a clash between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants in the northern Gaza Strip.
Miyasar Abu Meatak was preparing breakfast for her children in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun when the shell struck, her stepson Ibrahim said. Her children, aged 15 months to 6 years, were killed instantly, and she died shortly afterward in a local hospital.
“What a black day. They killed my family,” wailed the grief-stricken father, Ahmad Abu Meatak, outside the hospital where the bodies were taken. Abu Meatak said he was on his way to a nearby market to shop when the tank shell hit.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Barak immediately claimed “terrorists” were hiding in the neighborhood, using civilians as human shields. And the media goes along with it. The Palestinian occupation is the fault of the Palestinians.