The Palestinians seem to have no knowledge or understanding of the events that followed the ending of WW1. Palestine, so named by the Romans to destroy the association of the land to Israel, had been a part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire and the land had been down trodden hundreds of years by many invaders.
The land was the historic homeland of the Jews until they were driven out by the Romans in AD70. However a remnant of Jews have continuously lived in the land following the Roman invasion.
Before 1948 following 400 years of Ottoman neglect, Palestine was a downtrodden wasteland, with a poverty stricken population living in dreadful conditions. From 1948, into Israel came Jewish refugees, including many orphans, out of persecution. They were from many countries and languages. Those already living in the new state of Israel included earlier Jewish refugees of the nineteenth century, from persecution in Russia and Europe. Local Arabs were mainly recent immigrants from Syria (eg Abbas’ family), Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt (eg Arafat’s family). Added to these were Arabs, who had not fled in 1948, (almost 40% were Christians), other Christians, Druzes, Bedouins and Muslims, placed there by Turkey from Eastern Europe. There were NO Palestinians . The Arab population had increased under a family reunion scheme and by infiltrators who were allowed to remain.
Desolation as seen by 19th century visitors to Palestine
There are many 19th century first hand accounts of the desolation left by invaders of the Land.
For instance in 1835 Alphonse de Lamartine wrote that “Outside the city of Jerusalem we saw no living object, heard no living sound...a complete eternal silence reigns in the town, in the highways, in the country.” In 1844 William Makepeace Thackeray wrote, “The district is quite deserted...you ride among what seem to be so many petrified waterfalls. We saw no animals...scarcely a dozen little birds in the whole course of the ride”.
In 1867 Mark Twain wrote: “A desolation is here that not even imagination can grace...hardly a tree or shrub anywhere....of all lands there are for dismal scenery, I think Palestine must be the prince...sorrowful and despondent”. Another descibed the land as “denuded, desertified, depopulated, barren, desolate wasteland”
The land was a desolate and down trodden wasteland until the early 20th century when Jews long persecuted in Europe and Russia emigrated there and established some farms and villages.
The Balfour Declaration of 1917 envisaged the Land as a homeland for Palestinian Jews. As a result of the Mandate, and the UK’s failure in its implementation, the Jews managed to acquire a mere 18% of the mandated territory and had suffered wars started by the surrounding Arab nations, which by miracle they won.
The British gave the Arabs Trans-Jordan and in 1948 Trans-Jordan illegally invaded and took Jerusalem and the West Bank, to become Jordan. The Jews were driven out of Jordan. The Palestinians were given Gaza in 2008 which gave the palestinians over 77% 0f the original Mandate and thus had far more territory than the Jews.
Transforming the Land
The Following outlines the information obtained from visitors to the land in 1960, twelve years after the estabishment of the new state of Israel. It was a land transformed and met the requirements laid out in the Balfour declaration.There was a transformed landscape and lifestyle for the new state of Israel. A Democracy, with Arabs having full political rights, was in place. with no discrimination regarding race or religion. Local councils existed and in the Fifth Knesset, elected on the 15th August 1961 there were 7 Arabs out of the 120 members.
For all citizens, including Arabs, Christians and Bedouins, the economic situation was greatly improved with modern farming methods for all communities. 80% of Arabs owned the soil that they tilled and their farms flourished. Arab and Jewish wage scales were being equated at a level unknown anywhere else in the Middle East. A revolution had taken place in the education of Arab children, including girls, at all levels. In 1960 over 100 Arab students were at the University and Haifa Technion. The teaching of Hebrew in the schools, aimed at equality in job opportunity. Arab villages were included in the network of health and social welfare services. Issues of marriage and divorce were dealt with by the religious laws of each faith and administered by their own courts. There were new buildings,better housing, a well run clean air port, drained swamps, trees planted and Jewish and Arab children, now wearing shoes The Bedouins had a good water supply and their children an education. (1959-60 L.F Rushbrook Williams, Fellow of All Saints College, Oxford, and 1962 “Introducing Israel” byJoan Comay) .
The Balfour Declaration made certain provisions regarding the “ Palestinian Jewish State “:
“that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of
existing non Jewish communities in Palestine”.
In 1960 Israel had vindicated this ...
Acknowledge the Facts
It is time that the Palestinians and the nations face the facts. The Arabs have received a state from the British Mandate of Palestine. It became known as Jordan from which all Jews were forcefully expelled. Israel gave the Palestinians Gaza, which they seem to be in the process of destroying and from where they attack Israel. As mentioned above Israel received a small percentage of the Mandate. Consider the map below which shows the total amount of land that was given to the Arabs plus trump’s Peace Plan, and, how little the Jews have received.
