US announces closure of Palestinian mission in Washington

[Duke_Leto]

Why would they launch war after war? I mean, I'm trying to be fair to both sides here, but let's face it: The land in question has had many occupiers over the centuries. The British managed to acquire it after WW1 because the Ottoman Empire was among the losers in that war. It didn't really belong to the British except by force of arms; they're not indigenous to that territory. Did the British or the French or the UN have any right to declare who should get what land? Or was it just a case of might makes right?

Of course, I guess one could make the case that the Arabs were terribly outmatched and had no chance at winning. If they were smart, they would have made a deal, but maybe they're stupid. But that doesn't mean they're wrong for fighting over land they genuinely believed was theirs. One might make the case that Geronimo and his followers were equally stupid to wage a war they had no chance of winning.

What, so since Israel was once ruled by Turks, it belongs to the Arabs now? To use your analogy, this would be as if Geronimo ruled an independent state in the southwest U.S. before deciding to invade Alabama. Oh, and as if the U.S. never began any war with Native Americans.

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

Nope, it hardly relevant to the abuse of humanity being systematically being metered out.

It's completely relevant. By closing the border and restricting the flow of people & materials the Egyptian Government is enforcing the blockade just like Israel.

But literally nobody complains when the Egyptians do it.

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

Why would they launch war after war? I mean, I'm trying to be fair to both sides here, but let's face it: The land in question has had many occupiers over the centuries.

Last time I checked, the Arabs were among those occupiers.

 

[Lyndon]

The arabs weren't the occupiers of Palestine, they were the native inhabitants

 

[Stevicus]

What, so since Israel was once ruled by Turks, it belongs to the Arabs now? To use your analogy, this would be as if Geronimo ruled an independent state in the southwest U.S. before deciding to invade Alabama. Oh, and as if the U.S. never began any war with Native Americans.

No, I think you missed the point. The native inhabitants of any region would become understandably resentful of any foreign occupiers, no matter who it might be.

Another analogy might be the Philippines. It was once ruled by Spain, but we took it in war. Yet, the Filipinos still fought against US rule in that country (but they also lost). They somehow thought the land was theirs.

I didn't say that we never began any wars with Native Americans.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

That's your perception.

That's true.

Then perhaps it might be better if you asked for clarification rather than cavalierly pronouncing judgment. Your posts seem to carry more melodrama and condescension than any apparent "scholarship."

That's your perception.

Of course, you're free to put me on ignore, since that seems to be your M.O. around here, but it would be your loss, not mine.

The ignore-list is always a cherished possibility.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

I am reminded of Avoidance and the struggle for a common narrative ...

 

[Stevicus]

Last time I checked, the Arabs were among those occupiers.

Were they occupiers? Or were they indigenous to the territory in question?

 

[ChristineM]

It's completely relevant. By closing the border and restricting the flow of people & materials the Egyptian Government is enforcing the blockade just like Israel.

But literally nobody complains when the Egyptians do it.

I do not condone the action but if Israel were not forcing people out then Egypt would not have had to act so.

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

Were they occupiers? Or were they indigenous to the territory in question?

Occupiers because the Arabs are native to Arabia.

I do not condone the action but if Israel were not forcing people out then Egypt would not have had to act so.

And if Hamas were not still intent on wiping out Israel then Israel would not have to put up a blockade to limit the amount of harm to Israeli civilians.

Is anybody being forced by Israel to leave the Gaza Strip? I thought the whole point of it was they weren't being allowed to leave. The reason the Egyptians have closed the border is because the likes of Islamic Jihad and Hamas continue to destabilise an area along their border.

 

[Lyndon]

Arabs originated in Palestine, read your Bible, Abrahams son, first Arab

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

Arabs originated in Palestine, read your Bible, Abrahams son, first Arab

The Bible

1. Is not an accredited history book;
2. Holds about as much truth-value as the Chronicles of Narnia to a non-Abrahamic like myself.

Try harder.

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

The arabs weren't the occupiers of Palestine, they were the native inhabitants

Tell that to the Jews and Romans who were living there when armies of Arabs swept out of Arabia and annexed the region from the Byzantine Empire.

 

[ChristineM]

And if Hamas were not still intent on wiping out Israel then Israel would not have to put up a blockade to limit the amount of harm to Israeli civilians.

Is anybody being forced by Israel to leave the Gaza Strip? I thought the whole point of it was they weren't being allowed to leave. The reason the Egyptians have closed the border is because the likes of Islamic Jihad and Hamas continue to destabilise an area along their border.

Swings and roundabouts with the wiping out. Steal land, treat like animals, people react.

 

[Stevicus]

Occupiers because the Arabs are native to Arabia.

All the territories around there are/were Arabic-speaking - Syria, Egypt, Jordan. The names, boundaries, and political status might have changed over the centuries, but the people have been there all along.

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

Swings and roundabouts with the wiping out. Steal land, treat like animals, people react.

And when Arabs reject a two-state solution out of hand, invade Israel right after it's founded, fail to destroy it multiple times, expel Jews from several countries while stealing their stuff and try to kill Israelis every day then people will react. As you say; swings and roundabouts.

Frankly, I think the Arabs are just salty they didn't find the Jews as easy of a target as the Germans did. I support Israel out of pragmatism - it may not be pretty but Israel is better than the alternative.

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

All the territories around there are/were Arabic-speaking - Syria, Egypt, Jordan. The names, boundaries, and political status might have changed over the centuries, but the people have been there all along.

But not for most of human history. The Arab invasions were quite recent - only in the last 1400 years or so.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica entry on Arabs

"Arab, Arabic singular masculine ʿArabī, singular feminine ʿArabiyyah, plural ʿArab, one whose native language is Arabic. (See also Arabic language.) Before the spread of Islam and, with it, the Arabic language, Arab referred to any of the largely nomadic Semitic inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula. In modern usage, it embraces any of the Arabic-speaking peoples living in the vast region from Mauritania, on the Atlantic coast of Africa, to southwestern Iran, including the entire Maghrib of North Africa, Egypt and Sudan, the Arabian Peninsula, and Syria and Iraq."

The Arabs are not native to Israel and their culture & ethnicity moved into that region over time. They moved into the land we now call Israel due to the military expansionism of the early Islamic caliphates.

 

[Lyndon]

but they originated in Palestine, at least thats what their records claim.

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

but they originated in Palestine, at least thats what their records claim.

Which records would these be?

 

[Stevicus]

But not for most of human history. The Arab invasions were quite recent - only in the last 1400 years or so.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica entry on Arabs

"Arab, Arabic singular masculine ʿArabī, singular feminine ʿArabiyyah, plural ʿArab, one whose native language is Arabic. (See also Arabic language.) Before the spread of Islam and, with it, the Arabic language, Arab referred to any of the largely nomadic Semitic inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula. In modern usage, it embraces any of the Arabic-speaking peoples living in the vast region from Mauritania, on the Atlantic coast of Africa, to southwestern Iran, including the entire Maghrib of North Africa, Egypt and Sudan, the Arabian Peninsula, and Syria and Iraq."

The Arabs are not native to Israel and their culture & ethnicity moved into that region over time. They moved into the land we now call Israel due to the military expansionism of the early Islamic caliphates.

1400 years is a long time, and the Arabian Peninsula is still relatively close to the territory. Nomads move around.