Yes, to a large extent. I don’t pretend to speak for them, but from what I’ve read, what many of them want is to in effect turn back the clock and get “their” lands back, the way they were before the disaster hit them (or, in most cases now, their ancestors).
Citizenship in Israel they do not want (many have angrily rejected such a notion) and compensation would be nice but in effect a band-aid. The real problem is that their whole way of life was uprooted, as was their connection to ancestral lands.
There is a whole new population who now lives on those lands, and in some cases the lands in question have disappeared under cities. Whatever happens in the future, it is extremely unlikely that there will ever be any return to Palestinian subsistance-farming there in little villages - or more generally, to replacing the existing population - except of course through a successful war of extermination on the existing population (which the Palestinains are in no position to wage).
The real solution, for good or bad, will require resettlement of these refugees in some new way of life, presumably with some cash from Israel or elsewhere - as happened, for example, with the exactly comparable Jewish refugees. But that solution is also rejected, because to adopt it would be to give up the dream - of “returning” to the way things were.
To give an example - at one point it was rumoured that Canada was willing to take in the Palestinian refugees. No-one could argue that this would not be an improvement (and any sensible refugee languishing in a camp ought to snap at it) - but most reactions from Palestinians were negative: nice offer, they said, but it detracts from the “right of return”.
It might be due to a stiflingly oppressive blockade around Gaza by the Israeli government, resulting in de facto collective punishment for Gaza residents in retaliation for electing rulers who are both hostile to Israel’s right to exist and who show little regard for anti-Israeli attacks launched from their soil.
Just a nitpick: decimate refers to a Roman practice of killing every tenth man in a Roman military unit that has done Something Awful. So if the Romans HAD completely decimated the Jews in the area, ninety percent of them would have survived. Which I suspect is not what you meant. You probably meant “exterminate.”
I could be wrong, of course, but it is my understanding that Israel is more than happy to accept humanitarian aid, as long as it is processed through their facilities. Given the rockets out of Gaza, I can totally see why they would want to keep an eye on things coming in to the area.
And RedFury, please don’t put words in my mouth. At no point did I say living in Gaza was dandy. Unlike yourself, I’m not particularly partisan on the subject of Israel/Palestine. I don’t think anyone is the good guy here.
Sometimes I’ve noticed that people start threads about hot-button topics just to stir things up and cause flamewars, which is why I stated that I am not a troll and just making the thread to ask for factual explanations as opposed to a thread asking questions aimed at baiting.
By mentioning that I am not Jewish (I should have probably also said “or Palestinian,” to be fair), I am trying to establish that I am not biased or looking for an answer to affirm one side over the other. I’m just an outsider looking in trying to get a fair view of things.
Certainly, I’m not denying that. I’m also of the personal opinion that they could probably ease the blockade restrictions a bit. But that’s not likely, as it seems every the Israeli’s give the Palestinians an inch, it goes badly. The clear and obvious solution is for those living in Gaza to kick the ever loving shit out of the idiots who think it’s a good idea to lob rockets into Israel, but since they have the guns and the average citizen doesn’t, that’s not going to happen either.
Palestine was inhabited when the Israelis came in. Many countries were happy to have their Jews repatriate to Israel, but they did not welcome Palestinian Arabs in exchange.
And both ethnic categories have grown in population since, in a land that can barely support them.
But since they can’t, the blockade continues, which collectively punishes all Gazans, which builds resentment, which creates a never-ending stream of volunteers for attacks on Israel.
Ah, OK. Understood, and fair enough. It had sort of sounded like you meant to equate trolls and Jews, perhaps to imply that Jews do not approach the topic honestly. The rest of your post did not sound that way, though. I appreciate your clarifying.
I then gave you a CIA cite that says they are also in piss poor shape…and added a slightly snarky “Yup, they are doing just dandy. At least they don’t live in Gaza, right?.” Which simply agrees with what you wrote in bold though in a way you may not like.
No “words” were put in your mouth.
As for partisan & good and bad guys…well, I certainly dislike Israel’s extreme-right government – which wouldn’t be an issue if it didn’t affect so many people inside their own land. You know, Palestinians.
That said, I bow out. You read a GD thread on this issue, you’ve read them all.