Origin of occupation

New Internationalist, June, 2007 by Stuart Bates

Re: 40 years is enough (Daring to dream, NI 400). I lived in the Middle East for 20 years during the 1960s and 1970s and, while studying Arabic, stayed with a Palestinian family in east Jerusalem. Consequently I developed an understanding and sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians and felt that many wrongs had to be put right.

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There is not space to go back to the origins of the strife but it is important to understand how the occupation of the West Bank came about in 1967. With the backing of the Soviet Union, Egypt and Syria had massed forces with the intention of invading and destroying the state of Israel. Israel acted first to prevent this happening and hence the West Bank, the Golan Heights and Sinai were occupied.

Since then Egypt and Jordan have recognized Israel, but it was many years before Yasser Arafat would do so and this held up negotiations which could lead to the return of occupied land. Yet when the opportunity came to conclude an agreement in the talks arranged by President Clinton, Arafat's courage failed him. As regards financial aid, until the election of Hamas, which wants to turn the clock back, the European Union and the US had given very substantial financial aid to the Palestinian Authority, though sadly much of that has disappeared.

Stuart Bates Broadway, England

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