The international community should actively support the creation of a Palestinian state

I would like to thank ConservativePolitico for accepting this debate which happens to coincide with the latest Israeli military offensive on Palestinian-Arabs which the Israeli government has disingenuously titled "Operation Pillar of Defense". At the time of writing, Israeli news agency Haaretz is reporting "Since the begging {sic} of Operation Pillar of Defense, 35 Palestinians were killed, some of them civilians. On the Israeli side three civilians were killed on Friday in a rocket attack." Meanwhile the BBC reported a Hamas source which stated "Militants and civilians, including at least seven children, have been among the Palestinians killed during Israeli strikes in recent days." (1,2) In the light of this obscene bloodshed, I invite my opponent to join me in unreservedly condemning all acts of violence which are deliberately targeted at civilian populations in Israel and Palestine, whether they be rockets launched by Palestinian militants into Israel or air strikes launched by the Israeli armed forces on Gaza. Now I would like to expand this debate by firstly looking at the recent history of Israel / Palestine. The following is reproduced from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs website (3): "Foreign Office November 2nd, 1917 Dear Lord Rothschild, I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet. 'His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.' I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation. Yours sincerely, Arthur James Balfour" This declaration eventually led to the creation of the state of Israel within Palestine's borders in 1948, which prior to that time, was a British Mandate However, the Zionists were given an inch but took a mile. "Before the end of the mandate and, therefore before any possible intervention by Arab states, the Jews, taking advantage of their superior military preparation and organization, had occupied...most of the Arab cities in Palestine before May 15, 1948....In contrast, the Palestine Arabs did not seize any of the territories reserved for the Jewish state under the partition resolution." (4) Thus the Israelis embarked on a programme of ethnic cleansing. Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Guiron, said "With compulsory transfer we (would) have a vast area (for settlement)...I support compulsory transfer. I don"t see anything immoral in it" (5) The Israelis forced Palestinians out of their homes and off their land on a wholesale basis and, in the process, created six million refugees. (6). But even this wasn't enough for the Israelis. Even Zionism on the Web admits: "the Israeli Cabinet decided on June 4th to proceed with a preemptive strike. Israel attached on June 5th 1967 by destroying Egypts {sic} airforce as it sat on the tarmac." (7) This offensive was the beginning of the Six Day War, by the end of which Israel had grabbed land not just from Egypt but also Jordan and Syria. The United Nations position on this issue is clear. Referring specifically to Jerusalem it states: "The 1967 war, which resulted in the occupation by Israel of East Jerusalem (and Israel has) invested vast resources into changing the physical and demographic characteristics of the City. The Israeli claim has not been recognized by the international community which rejects the acquisition of territory by war and considers any changes on the ground illegal and invalid." (8) Regarding the plight of refugees, the UN states that: "The refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible." (8) With reference to the continued Israeli land-grabs the UN states: "The building of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory began soon after the 1967 War. That policy has accelerated since the beginning of 1990. The Israeli Government encourages settlers to make their homes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. The establishment of Israeli settlements has been the subject of various resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly." (8) Palestine does not control its own borders, air space or ports and the movement of civilians within the West Bank and Gaza is controlled by the Israelis, who also collect tax on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. The UN has this to say about the situation regarding customs and borders; "The General Assembly, for its part, has reaffirmed its commitment, in accordance with international law, to the two-State solution of Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security within recognized borders, based on the pre-1967 borders." And life for those Palestinians still remaining in Israel is not much better. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel states: "The Arab citizens of Israel are discriminated in almost every aspect of their lives " employment, allocation of educational resources, housing, land distribution and planning rights " and they do not have equal representation in most state bodies and institutions. In recent years, there has also been an upsurge of racism in Israel against Arab citizens. ACRI struggles against the discrimination of Arab citizens, through legal, educational, and public advocacy efforts." Despite all this, the Israelis are determined to strengthen their stranglehold on the the illegally-occupied Palestinian Territories. "MK Yariv Levin (Likud), chairman of the Knesset"s House Committee, told Arutz Sheva on Wednesday that he has a bill that calls to apply Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) that is ready to be submitted for Knesset approval." (10). But the Israeli government have the support of the Jewish public. A recent poll published in the Israeli newspaper Haeretz showed: "Most of the Jewish public in Israel supports the establishment of an apartheid regime in Israel if it formally annexes the West Bank. The majority of the Jewish public, 59 percent, wants preference for Jews over Arabs in admission to jobs in government ministries." (11) In conclusion, the international community has a moral and legal duty to act to protect persecuted Arabs in Israel / Palestine and the time to act is now. Thank you. (1) http://www.haaretz.com... (2) http://www.bbc.co.uk... (3) http://www.mfa.gov.il... (4) Henry Cattan, "Palestine, The Arabs and Israel." (5) Israel historian, Benny Morris, "Righteous Victims." (6) http://www.globalexchange.org... (7) http://www.zionismontheweb.org... (8) http://unispal.un.org... (9) http://www.acri.org.il... (10) http://www.israelnationalnews.com... (11) http://www.haaretz.com...