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The Forum > Article Comments > UN and EU semantic war in Judea and Samaria backfires > Comments

UN and EU semantic war in Judea and Samaria backfires : Comments

By David Singer, published 10/11/2021

Many travel agents, tour operators and airlines seem to have been unwittingly caught up in the Arab-Jewish conflict including Qantas.

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Indeed, the territories in question should not be labeled "occupied Palestinian territories", because that would imply that "Palestinian" people even existed at the time of occupation (1967), which is historically unsound.

Better use the neutral term "[Israel's] occupied territories", which only refers to the undisputed fact of Israel's 1967 occupation without ascribing ownership. In fact, no statement of ownership is required anyway for the purpose of locating the place (for tourism, etc.).

I am not concerned whether these cursed territories have/had an owner at all or who that might be: if they belong to the Martians then let Israel return them to the Martians and if, as the author claims, they belong to the "Jewish People" (a flimsy term which the author consistently avoids defining), then let Israel return them to these "Jewish People". I couldn't care less who Israel hands or "returns" them to, so long as Israel is finally out of there.

If the owner wishes to claim "Jewish" ownership over these territories, then to be able to discuss it intelligibly I first challenge him to define what exactly he means by that ambiguous term!

One general word about ownership:
If X truly owns Y, then X also has the freedom to dispose of Y.
If you cannot (or are not allowed to) dispose of something, then you do not really own it.
Suppose for example, you have worms in your gut, you may call them "my worms" but if you are unable to rid yourself of them, then you cannot claim to own these worms (in fact, they own you)!
Posted by Yuyutsu, Monday, 15 November 2021 12:28:08 AM
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Haaretz editorial yesterday morning:

"The helplessness of the forces of law and order in the face of this settler violence and the culture of the outposts proves that this is not just a case of bureaucratic failure. If the political and legal establishment wanted to, it could find ways to put an end to this Jewish terror. The reason for this official helplessness is simple. The B’Tselem report explains: The government and the settlers share a common goal of wresting control of as much Palestinian territory in the West Bank as possible and pushing the Palestinians into densely populated, non-contiguous enclaves."

http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/editorial/.premium-israel-must-deal-with-settler-violence-sooner-rather-than-later-1.10384628
Posted by SteeleRedux, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 5:58:39 AM
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"Israel has built more than 280 settlements in the West Bank, which are home to more than 440,000 settlers. Of these settlements, 138 were officially established and recognized by the state (not including the 12 neighborhoods Israel built in the areas it annexed to Jerusalem), and some 150 are outposts not officially recognized by the state. About a third of the outposts have been built over the past decade, most of them referred to as “farms”.

West Bank settlements dominate hundreds of thousands of dunams [1 dunam = 1,000 square meters] to which Palestinians have limited access or none at all. Israel has taken over some of these areas using official means: issuing military orders, declaring the area “state land,” a “firing zone” or a “nature reserve”, and expropriating land. Other areas have been effectively taken over by settlers through daily acts of violence, including attacks on Palestinians and their property.

The two tracks appear unrelated: The state takes over land openly, using official methods sanctioned by legal advisors and judges, while the settlers, who are also interested in taking over land to further their agenda, initiate violence against Palestinians for their own reasons. Yet in truth, there is only one track: Settler violence against Palestinians serves as a major informal tool at the hands of the state to take over more and more West Bank land. The state fully supports and assists these acts of violence, and its agents sometimes participate in them directly. As such, settler violence is a form of government policy, aided and abetted by official state authorities with their active participation."
http://www.btselem.org/publications/202111_state_business
Posted by SteeleRedux, Wednesday, 17 November 2021 1:27:13 PM
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Dear SteeleRedux,

«Settler violence against Palestinians serves as a major informal tool at the hands of the state to take over more and more West Bank land.»

Or is it vice-versa?

I think that the state stands helpless and couldn't handle the settlers even if it wanted. Even the big Israeli army is scared of the violent settlers because they threatened military officers who tried to evacuate their illegal settlements, saying "we know your family and where your son's kindergarten is...".

These settlers are well trained and armed, they have been in the Israeli army themselves, they know too many military secrets. Already under the threat of Iran and its minions, Israel is incapable of also starting a civil front against the settlers.

But what Israel could and should do, is withdraw its army to its pre-1967 borders, leaving the settlers where they are, to fend for themselves if they can.
Posted by Yuyutsu, Thursday, 18 November 2021 5:28:26 AM
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