1998 - Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat reach a "land for peace" agreement.
Today, October 23, we conmemorate 10 years of the signature of a peace agreement between the Israeli and the Palestinians. Such consensus constitutes a proposal under which the Isreali commit to relinquish control of part of the territories conquered in 1967 after the "Six day war" as an effort to gain recognition as sovereign, a token of trust, bring peace by ending conflicts with the Arab World.
Let's remember that the "Six day war" was fought between the Arabs (Egypt, Siria, Jordan and Iraq) and the Israeli. The Israeli captured the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, West Bank (including East Jerusalem) from Jordan and the Golan Heights from Syria by taking the life of 21000, leaving 45000 wounded, and taking 6000 prisoners.
The reason for such an expansive invasion mainly involves border tentions as well as Egyptian and Syrian support to terrorist raids in several Israeli cities. Israeli armed forces retaliated by shooting down 6 Russian built Syrian MiG in the Golan Heights. International diplomacy and intelligence played a main role as Moscow falsely communicated the Syrians that Israel had mobilized forces to Northern territories, aiming a large scale military attack. Overwhelmed by Israeli military power, the Syrians evoked Arab union and summoned the Egyptians to join the cause. So they did, by mobilizing Egyptian forces towards Southern Israel, occupying the Sinai Peninsula, displacing the peace keeping troops (U.N.E.F.) that had been installed by the U.N. since the Sinai campaign in 1956. Jordan answered the call by singing a defense pact with the Egyptians, claiming that co-existance with Israel was out of question.
The Egyptians preasured by closing the Straits of Tiran to Israeli outgoing merchandize and all foreign ships bound for Israel's Red Sea port of Eilat, an act of war, cutting the route from Israel's main oil supplier, Iran. War was inevitable. Three weeks of siege resulted in a fierce and effective attack against the Egyptian Air Force, giving the Israeli their first victory in a conflict that has yet to show and ending. The everchanging conflict still scars the lifes of millions of innocent souls (Jewish, Muslim and Christian) and feeds an already unstable geo-political scenario.
Years later, Salah al-Hadidi, the Egyptian judge presiding over trials of army officers held accountable for the his country's defeat, admitted Egypt's responsibility for causing the war: "I can state that Egypt's political leadership called Israel to war. It clearly provoked Israel and forced it into a confrontation" (Michael Oren, Six Days of War, 310-11).
In ten years, however, many things have changed and such "goodwill" of the Israeli governors has had to face an opaque context. Past conflicts root profoundly in Gaza Strip's and West Bank's dwellers. Palestinian hearts are filled with shame and hatred which has taken them to go vendetta on the Israeli. Israeli have taken meassures by building a wall to inprison the Palestinians and block their attempts to fulfill Shahada. Extremist government, political inefficiencies and unwillingness have rendered peace talks very dificult. Palestine's limited resources and siege situation has pushed them to utilize very questionable warfare techniques against the Israeli population.
Life in either side of the wall has become a very unsafe endeavour. There is no freedom and certainly there is no peace of mind. So much less since Israeli middle-upper class oriented real estate has been established in territories re-occupied by force as a strategy geared towards ensuring international recognition and ownership over the land. Fear reigns over the city and although it's mandatory for every Israeli to serve two years in the army, Palestinians continue to force their way inside Israel by fooling military's skillful eye.
The following video was posted as extra content linked to a National Geographic article published in January 2008. The article exposes how Israeli and Palestinians get by their day by day. It also shows the unjust treatment that Palestinians endure. Men stand hours in line in order to clear a security checkpoint, only to endure long hours of construction work. They build the wall. Palestinian men, imprison themselves as their only source of income. What feeds their families is that which impoverishes their people.
No long term solutions are at sight and passing down a message is a top priority. Follow the link bellow and see how the next generation is being educated.
Warning: This is raw!
http://www.vbs.tv/video.php?id=1203030779
I've searched far and wide for musical acts, worthy and representative as well as appropriate for this occasion. However I ended up deciding for a movie that encapsulates a great deal of the elements that constitute the social problem that Palestinians face and also gives the both the perpetrator and the victim, a human face. It's an independent movie called Paradise Now. The Film is directed by Hany Abu-Assad. The story places two Palestinian friends, Said and Khaled recruited by extremist groups to perpetrate a terrorist attack in Tel-Aviv. Written by Alejandro Frias, this story deals with moral issues that rise due to delays in the operation, loyalty, bravery and reason.
Here's the trailer.
Don't pull the string!
Please post comments or suggestions. Rock hard!
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