Tuesday, August 5, 2003
The Palestinians Have a State By Sidney Zion
You can`t pick a fight on that anywhere in the world, including Tel Aviv. The fact that four wars have been fought for the ostensible purpose of resolving the plight of the Palestinians has solidified this consensus. Everyone believes it.
The Oslo peace process lies in ruin, and the road map plan is off to a shaky start, due to the inability of the parties involved to agree on a formulation of principles concerning the right, or lack thereof, of the Palestinians to determine their own future on the West Bank of the river Jordan -- the area universally regarded as the historic, political, geographic, and demographic landmass of Palestine.
But even as the arguments rage over whether or how this should or can be accomplished - a state, a homeland, an entity? - a lot of well-intentioned people will tell you that there is not now and never has been a Palestinian nation.
The problem with this notion is that it is not true. There is and has been a Palestinian nation since May 14, 1946 - only two years to the day before there was an Israeli nation...
Impression: This is an important and concise history lesson, no doubt, as the "Jordan is Palestine"...slogan...is an important and not often mentioned portion of the whole picture. On the other hand, the fact that Jordan was Palestine, and the West Bank was Jordan is ultimately somewhat unsatisfying to the individuals who lived and live in those specific areas that don't or didn't want to move or have the government they got. It's still an important piece, it's just that that's what I think of when I read stuff that seems to imply the "well they can just move" idea.
