A key factor in preventing the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the steadfast support of the USA government for the Israelis. The pretext of course is that the Palestinians support ‘terrorism’. This policy was very pronounced during the years of the two Bush presidents but also during the Clinton/Obama years. In spite of the best efforts to find a resolution it would seem that the Israeli lobby in the US which is very wealthy and controls the media has always determined US foreign policy. There is no difference between the Republican and the Democratic policy in practice. Neither was prepared to concede the right of the Palestinians to their own state. George W Bush made it quite clear that he did not recognise the Hamas victory in the elections of 2006 when Hamas won 74 of the 132 seats. The ruling Fatah party won 45 seats. Bush supported them. The US fear that if Palestinians had their own state it would upset the balance of power in the Middle -east.
In contrast to Ireland, the US President, Bill Clinton, was persuaded to engage with Sinn Fein and to allow Joe Cahill and Gerry Adams US Visas to visit the USA to sell the peace process to Sinn Fein supporters there. This change of policy brought Clinton much criticism in Britainand in Washington. No US president had ever shown that kind of openness before. It is to Clinton’s credit that he had the courage to do this and ignore the criticism. Apparently, he had always taken a great interest in Ireland ever since he spent a year in Oxford University. When will there be a US President who has the courage to challenge the propaganda and support the cause of the Palestinian people?
The long history of oppression of the Palestinians has continued since the state was founded in 1945 and especially since the Arab-Israeli 6 day War in June 1967. The US backed settlement at the end of that short war has resulted in the Israeli dominance and the ongoing conflict.
The influence of the Zionists in the US is crucial in understanding why the Israelis cannot reach a settlement in which Palestine would be recognised as an independent state alongside Israel. It is compounded when you discover that the right -wing Christian lobby in the US is pro-Zionist as well. Trump, being a right wing Christian continues to follow this policy.
The result of the occupation of Palestine and their isolation by the Israeli forces has been the slaughter of Palestinians. Israel has killed ten times more Palestinians that Palestinians have killed. In the six years after the elections in 2006, the Israelis killed 4000 Palestinians and injured 30,000. In that same period the Palestinians killed 950 Israelis. More than 5000 Palestinian homes have been wrecked.
Palestinian homes have been wrecked. Their economy has been destroyed and in the Israeli controlled media the insurgent Palestinians are always referred to as ‘terrorists’. The US government buys into this propaganda.
There are almost 100 Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank and 32 in Gaza which divide the territories into 220 separate Bantustans. This arrangement prevents the free movement of Palestinians to work, schools and hospitals.
Most Palestinians live in poverty because they are not allowed to build their own economy. That will not be done until they have their own state recognised by the nations of the world. The Israelis are not willing to allow this and they feel confident with the backing of the USAgovernment. The British government also supports this position.
The Palestinians resistance takes many forms, some non-violent some using violence. The latter see no other ay of bringing about justice.
The Israeli government shows no signs of ending their attacks on the Palestinian people. They continue to build settlements in Palestinian territory and implement a strict surveillance policy with restrictions on Palestinians to travel freely. The Israeli government continues to confiscate land and to build houses for Israeli settlers in the West Bank. This is against the Geneva Convention and the decrees of the United Nations. They seem to think they can do what they like. The Palestinian people need our support.
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