Israel's Expansion Policy

A recent decision made by the Israeli government to build 900 housing units in Gelo - East Jerusalem was expected by those who are familiar with Israeli-Zionist strategy. Since its creation in 1948, Israel has been following a strategy of expansion disregarding the rules of law. Ben Gurion, on the eve of the U.N. partitioning of Palestine, addressed his follwers by telling them that whatever the U.N. designates as the state of Israel should be accepted, and that it would be a stepping stone to the implementation of "Eretz Israel", greater Israel. The Israeli Zionists began to implement that ideology from day one of Israel's official creation in 1948. The tragedy of that is the majority of people living in the U.N. designated portion to become the state of Israel were Palestinians. The majority fled, however, to escape the war and other acts of terror. More than 500 Palestinian villages were demolished completely, so those who had fled their homes had nothing to go back to. Israeli action was nothing but a policy of ethnic cleansing. For more facts on this, read Professor Ilan Pappe's book, "Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine".
Israel began to annex more Palestinian land on a regular basis. On the eve of the 1967 war, Israel was in control of 76% of what used to be Palestine. This is reflective of the fact that they took, by force, 25% more land than the U.N. alloted for them. Since its occupation of the West Bank in 1967, the Israeli government began a land grab policy, annexing Palestinian land to build Jewish settlements. Nearly 300 Jewish settlements have been built where 400,000 Jewish settlers are living.
President Barack Obama has said, Israel's approval of 900 extra housing units at a settlement in East Jerusalem could lead to "dangerous situations" (BBC News, Nov.22, 2009). In the occupied West Bank, violations by Israel are a continuous process. The BBC News reported (Nov.18, 2009) that the Israeli Human Rights group B.T. Selam states that Israel Authorities have demolished more than 400 Palestinian-owned homes in East Jerusalem since 2004. U.N. officials have been warning Israel that such demolitions violate international law. Condemnation from high ranking politicians and organizations in many parts of the world is nothing but an international act of hypocrisy. Israeli politiicans have gotten used to verbal condemnation since no penalty has been imposed on Israel for its violation of international law and its aggression against the Palestinians since 1948. The U.S. government has been a paralyzing force, preventing any meaningful action to be adopted by the U.N. Security Council against Israel. This policy has been followed by the U.S. government since 1948. The U.S. government has used its veto power more than any other security council members, most of it to shield Israel from resolutions submitted by other members with the intention of putting an end to Israeli aggression against Palestinians.
The expansion of Jewish settlements continues, and what is left of the West Bank is not viable to the creation of a Palestinian state. The Palestinians should wake up and follow the late Professor Edward Said's proposal and call for a binational state where Jews, Christians, and Muslims can live in a secular state as they have in the past, prior to the creation of Israel. The Israeli goverment relies on its military strength and is under the illusion that it can resist world pressure. Israel is the fifth military power in the world, backed all the way by the United States. Whatever Israel demands from the U.S., they receive with no questions asked. The Israeli author David Grossman writes, "We have dozens of atomic bombs, tanks and planes. We confront people possessing none of these arms. And yet, in our minds, we remain victims. This inability to perceive ourselves in relation to others is our principle weakness." (R.Cohen, NYT, Nov.16, 2009).