Dear Editor,
From the 1920s to the 1940s, the British Mandate for Palestine was one of the collection of mandates created by the allies who defeated the Germans and their WWI partners, including the Ottoman Empire. The Mandate for Palestine was designated as the reconstituted Jewish homeland, just as Lebanon was to be a Christian haven, among the vast expanse of Islamic entities.
Israel’s borders were defined by the San Remo Accords in1920. It was ratified by the League of Nations and the United Nations. Article 80 of the UN charter specifies that Israel includes Gaza, Judea and Samaria.
During the years of the Mandate, only Jews were referred to as ‘Palestinians.’ To call an Arab a Palestinian was akin to calling him a ‘Jew’. By 1948, half the Arabs in the mandate were recent immigrants. Shortly after, half the Jews of Israel were refugees from Arab lands. To quote Khaled Al-Azm, Syria’s prime minister after the 1948 war, in his 1972 memoirs: “Since 1948, it is we who demanded the return of refugees. … while it is we who made them leave”.
In 1964, the Soviet KGB and Egypt created the Palestine Liberation Organization to drive out the Jews and diminish American influence in the region. They recruited terrorists from throughout the Middle East and North Africa, calling them “Palestinians”. They renamed Israel ‘Palestine’ and called any Arabs with an attachment to the mandate, ‘Palestinians’ for the first time.
The Oslo Accords, 1993-95 allowed the PLO to enter Israel with 100,000 followers and temporarily govern Areas A & B of Judea and Samaria until such time as the PLO and Israel could settle on two states. Area C, which is 61% of the territory, was left in Israel’s hands. Area A (18%) is under full PA control. Area B (21%) Is under Palestinian administrative and internal security control. Israel controls external security.
400,000 Israelis in Area C are governed by Israeli law. 300,000 Arabs, including 27,500 Bedouin who do not consider themselves to be Palestinians, are under Israeli military law. They live in legal and illegal settlements. There are approximately 81,000 Arab and 4,000 Israeli illegal structures in Area C. No Israelis live in Areas A & B.
In 2005, Israel gave Gaza, free of Jews, to the PA. Two years later Hamas revolted, drove out the PA and Bedouin, and set up their terror network.
Islamists are demanding a 2-state solution, meaning that a state of Palestine be created in Gaza and Judea and Samaria. Aside from the fact that the savagery of Oct. 7, 2023, precludes Israel giving away any of its sovereign territory, how can anyone suggest stealing Area C, which has had no Arab administration, except for Jordan’s illegal occupation from 1949 to 1967.
Israelis building new towns in their homeland is legal under international law, whether anyone likes it or not. We are faced with aggressive Islamization. I suggest we focus our attention on preserving our own cultures and values.
Sincerely,
Jacques Fortier
Montreal, Qc., Canada
