Israel, Palestine and Land

I must admit to a rising level of confusion about what is going on between Israel and Palestine. On one hand you have cease fires followed by attacks followed by cease fires. On the other, you have Israel returning land to Palestinian control, while you also have "land grabs" and Jewish settlements in an uproar. Which is it - cease fire or attack, return land or take it away? I don't know if I can make any sense of the land situation, but I feel it is important to lay out what is happening. The reason? while most of the world may be focussed on what is happening in Iraq and its effects of regional and global politics, the Israel - Palestine situation is still front and center for many.

This map is the most recent I could find. It is from the CIA World Factbook updated 1/27/2005.

On the one hand, there is the Sharon government's decision to pull back from some of the Gaza settlements. This has generated tremendous protest from Jewish settlers and others. It has gone so far that many are calling for a referendum on the entire pull out plan.

On the other hand, you have that same government using the barrier as cover to enact a 55 year old law about abandonment of property to confiscate Palestinian land in East Jerusalem. Palestinians have been denied access to property in East Jerusalem (and elsewhere) and now there is an attempt to take the land because the owners haven't been able to access it.

Israel has quietly seized large tracts of Jerusalem land owned by Palestinian residents of the West Bank after they were cut off from their property by Israel's separation barrier, attorneys for the landowners said.

The land was taken after the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided several months ago to enforce a long-dormant law that allows Israel to seize lands of Palestinians who fled or were driven out during the 1948-49 war that followed the establishment of the Jewish state. (Israel Seizes Palestinian Land in Jerusalem Cut Off by Barrier, AP, 1/24/05)

Now we have Attorney General Menachem Mazuz arguing that this tactic was used without his knowledge or agreement. The Israeli government is promising the US that they will re-examine the policy.

It seems to me that if there is a true commitment to peace between Israel and Palestine that it needs to be based in some element of trust. Given the history, achieving even the barest shred of trust seems tenuous at best. It does nothing for the credibility of Israel to purportedly engage in a plan to return occupied areas to the Palestinians and task them with controlling those areas on one hand, and to engage in overt theft of land on the other. Nor does it appear that Sharon is doing too good a job of convincing some Jewish settlers of the importance of the arrangements (purportedly) being made.

What is happening between Israel and Palestine should be of keen interest to anyone concerned about the stability of the Middle East and the "war on terrorism." It should be of vital concern to anyone concerned about humanitarian issues. It should be of concern for anyone who is concerned about US policy and the "security" issues we hear about on a daily basis.

I am alarmed that I feel like I am watching an endless replay of a very bad movie. Israel claimed that Arafat was the problem and that once he was "gone" there could be a new start. Many felt that Sharon was also the problem and that there could be no peace with him in power. Regardless, what we see happening in the current situation looks very much like what has been happening again and again for decades. It also looks very much like US policy in Iraq. That is not surprising as the US has been consulting with Israel on Iraq.

I keep waiting for some sanity to arise in Israel. I keep waiting for something on which to build the foundation of trust. I am not seeing it. Yes, I do believe that the initiative must come from Israel's side. Regardless of the horror of suicide bombers and random attacks by some Palestinians, Israel has the big guns and the backing of the United States. Israel is the occupying Palestinian territory. The burden of building the trust lies with Israel in my opinion. Likewise, Palestine (regardless of who has nominal leadership) has no ability to totally control those who would strike back - no nation can. I sense that for the new government of Palestine, as for the interim government in Iraq, there is a delicate balance between credibility with the people and acceding to demands of occupiers.

The actions and reversing actions of the Israeli government would seem to undermine rather than build a peace process. Somebody is going to step up to the plate - whether that be Sharon or someone else. Or the US (which obviously has significant leverage with Israel) needs to step up to the plate.