From: eng10511@nusunix1.nus.sg (RAM VIKASH TIWARY)
Subject: The question of Palestine
Organization: National University of Singapore
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 12:44:38 GMT


	The present conflict in the Middle-east over the strip of land
between the Red Sea and river Jordon has its origins dating back to the
turn of the century.  The region was then part of the Ottomman Empire and
was called Palestine.  Palestine was not a nation state.  It was just an
autonomous region settled with people who call themselves Arabs.  As
such Palestinian nationalism is a very recent invention (after WW2).

	To understand the conflict, one has to go back some two thousand
years in history to a time when the Roman Empire flourished in Europe
and parts of Asia.  Palestine was then known as the land of Israel.  We
has the word of the New Testment on this.  The jews who inhabited the
land were antagonistic to their Roman masters.  Nothing new but unlike
the rest, the Jews decided to rise up in revolt.  The full might of the
Roman Empire fell on the unwitting populace.  After quelling the revolt,
the Romans decided to banish the entire population.  This was done in
order to prevent further unrest and was intended to serve as a strong
deterrent to other peoples harbouring hopes of secession.  This
dispersion of Jews from the Holy lands came to be known as the Diaspora.
The Israelites was dispersed to the four corners of the globe.
Whereever they went, they faced persecution.  This was partly due to
their differing culture and religion.  The tale continued much as other
tales had before and yet other would after.  Vanished nations and
banished peoples are not a novelty.  

	What was new was a movewment started some hundred years ago by a
small group of Jewish intellectuals.  This was the start of Zionism.
Its founders had a dream of recreating a homeland for all the Jews of
the world where they could live and prosper without fear of persecution.
Naturally, these men looked to the scriptures for guidance.  The myth of
the promised land was born.  Support for the movement came from Jews
from across the world.  The dream however remained just that.  The
Ottoman Empire collapsed with the end of WW1.  This left Britain in
control of Palestine which was for the first time defined within
national boundaries.  The British government under pressure from its
jewish lobby passed the so called Balfour declaration that accepted the
right of jews to return to their homeland -Palestine.  This infuriated
the Arabs.  Britain seeking to placate them never converted its words to
actions and infact reneged by reducing the quota for the number of
immigrants allowed entry into Palestine.  The next few decades saw 
anti-semitic violence and persecution reach new levels with the advent 
of Fascism in Europe.  The ascent of the Nazi party in Germany spelt
disaster for the Jews of Germany.  Many migrated to escape harrasment
and real danger to their lives.  Few countries would however accept them
including the United States, Great Britain and other western
democracies.  What followed is a well known part of history.  The horror
and outrage that the world felt when news of the Holocaust spread
created a strong wave of sympathy for survivors.  This eventually led
the newly formed United Nations to pass a resolution dividing British
mandated Palestine into two states one for the Arabs and the other for
the Jews.  This action no doubt relieved some of the guilt feelings the
world had over its earlier indifference with the plight of the Jews.
Emotions were running high and their tide swept away the legitimate
rights of the Palestinian Arabs.  The Arabs refused to recognise the 
UN decision and a war ensued in which the jews emerged victors.  The
Arabs fled in fear of Jewish retribution and hence begun the Palestinian
Diaspora.

	Refusal by each side to recognise the other's  legitimate rights is
the main cause of the insolubility of the current conflict.  Both sides
make maximalist demands and neither side has the courage or foresight to
make the concessions necessary for peace.  The peace process as it
stands has little chance of succeeding.  The extremists on both sides
are waiting for the first opportunity to derail the peace process.
Groups like Hamas by executing random acts of violence against Israel
force the latter to take draconian action to placate its own population.
This in turn further aggravates the problem and places new obstacles in
the path of peace.

	Any comments or analysis of the above article is welcome by the
author.