Danielle
A friend of mine is an expect linguist and he has analysed that notorious tape where OBL is said to have taken credit for 9/11.

In his opinion it is difficult to understand exactly what is said but it went something like this: bush XXXx read xxxx goat xxxx building xxxx plan xxxx boom xxxx guilty xxxx i kill hem.

Now given OBL had poor english this confession, according to my friend could just as readily be intrepreted as OBL accusing Bushing of doing it. Clearly, OBL didn't like Bush listening to the reading of my favourite goat herder. Which is really quite ironic, I thought.

Osama bin Laden made a confession in Arabic, which was considerably clearer and translated into English. I do not speak Arabic so cannot give any opinion as to whether the translation is correct or not.

Can I take it that you support Arjay's conspiracy theories?

Personally, I do not care what the Palestinians call themselves. But let us be accurate as to the origins of the vast majority.

Evidence is provided by the following references:

The Palestinian Royal Commission Report (the Peel Report, London, 1937)
The Hope Simpson Report: John Hope Simpson, “Palestine: Report on Immigration, Land Settlement and Development (London, 1930)
Report on Agricultural Development and Land Settlement in Palestine by Lewis French (December 1931) and supplementary report, 1932.
Land Ownership in Palestine 1880-1948 (Jerusalem: Academic Committee on the Middle East, 1976)
and not the least,
King Abdallah, “My Memoirs Completed” (London, 1978) pp.88-89

These references would be held in your closest university.

The British Mandatory period witnessed unrestricted illegal Arab immigration from Egypt, Transjordan and Syria.

So bad was this wholesale Arab immigration, that the 1930, Hope Simpson Commission condemned this practice. (John Hope Simpson, Palestine: Report on Immigration, Land Settlement and Development (London, 1930)

This Arab immigration saw the Arab population increase 120% between 1922 and 1947.

Imagine Australia’s current population going from 22 million (rounded down) to 46 million in twenty-five years? It took from the end of WWII (and our massive immigration policy) until now, just to double our population; a period of over sixty years.

The following reports, meticulously referenced, provide the situation in Palestinian refugee camps and the role of the UNRWA.

Why a Special Issue on UNRWA? by Steven J. Rosen
Middle East Quarterly Fall 2012, pp. 3-10
http://www.meforum.org/3344/unrwa-special

UNRWA Resists Resettlement by Alexander H. Joffe
Middle East Quarterly Fall 2012, pp. 11-25
http://www.meforum.org/3350/unrwa-resettlement

UNRWA Betrays Its Mission by Nitza Nachmias
Middle East Quarterly Fall 2012, pp. 27-35
http://www.meforum.org/3354/unrwa-missio

I don't understand your point Danielle. Even if Palestinians are a construct, clearly there were other people living in the space today known as Israel. If they were not Palestinians, who were they and where are they? The answers to this would open up a whole new can of worms.

Unless your claiming as Captain Cook did about Australia that it this land was Terra Nullis? Seems a stretch to suggest any part of the Mediterranean was uninhabited at any time in the last 5,000 years. let alone at the turn of the 20th century.

For mine, "why can't you people all just get along?"

This partisan finger pointing which has long ago descended to a grotesque violent tit for tat, rendering all sides ridiculous, embarrassing and sad.

This is the 21 st century and you guys, both of you, are conducting some kind of medieval nightmare. Both parties are defined by religious beliefs - it really is shameful.

Can't you all go away somewhere.

YEBIGA.

Regarding your last comment, perhaps you should re-read what I wrote, and indeed the previous comments.

Every fair-minded person would like to see a two state solution with both sides living in peace. This means that Israel be recognised. Have you an argument with Abdulateef Al-Mulhim's article? If so, what?

Recent news: “Gaza militants have fired more than 505 rockets or mortar rounds at southern Israel since the beginning of the year, including upwards of 45 this month alone.” The fact that Israel has built shelters does not lessen this attack; also bearing in mind that Hamas' rockets do not differentiate between Israeli Arabs nor Israeli Jews. Do you think that Israel should ignore these? Would you?