History of the promised land [Archives:2006/971/Community]

Paul Kokoski
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The Israeli-Arab conflict has a storied history that cannot be reduced to a single incident initiated by Hezbollah. There are, in fact, many who criticize Israel for the manner it incorporated the West Bank and Gaza into the Israeli security system after defeating the Arab armies in 1967. After the war, Israel decided to establish new Jewish settlements in these areas. Many of the 2 million Palestinians who lived in these areas were either intimidated into moving or forced to flee their ancestral homes. These bullying tactics persist today as many Palestinians continue to be treated as citizens without rights.

The root of the present crisis in the Middle East lies in Israel's existence as an independent state with indefinite borders. Only when Israel is given definite and final borders by the international community and by all the Arabic states will there be real hope for peace.

It should also be noted that Israel's original claim to the “promised land”” is biblical. They were not the first settlers of this land