Quote:
Originally Posted by iamnotawerewolf
It is a non-starter to view Israel as an "occupation" (there were plenty of jews already living there), just as it is to comment that Palestine "doesn't really exist".
Israel proper, within its legally recognised pre-1967 borders, conforms largely to the 1947 UN Partition Plan for Palestine and is a legitimate state like any other. You might compare it with the Republic of Ireland or Pakistan, other ethnostates created around the same time. The creation of Pakistan was far bloodier and more terrible than the creation of Israel, with about 2,000,000 lives lost, but nobody says Pakistan just shouldn't be there. Some people -- a fringe minority -- say Israel shouldn't be there, but it's an established fact. Egypt and Jordan are allies of Israel by treaty, even Saudi Arabia is an informal ally against Iran, and basically Israel isn't going anywhere.
Israel's occupation and settlement of East Jerusalem and the West Bank since 1967 is, however, illegal and is sustained and advanced by measures that amount to ethnic cleansing (forced property seizures) and apartheid (marriage laws, pass laws, residency laws and the threat of deadly force if, for instance, an Arab is seen using a Jews-only footpath). This bit is the problem.
Last edited by 57 On Red; 02-12-2019 at 03:01 PM.