The Yitzhar settlement looks down on Shchem (Nablus) from a 820 m hilltop. To reach the place one has to drive through the Palestinian village of Hawara. I drove through many times - children and animals wander on the road, cars suddenly cross the road and in general it looks like a Mexican village. Except the new large mosque, which is quite impressive. Probably it was financed by the Saudis. The people of Yitzhar are forced to cross daily twice or more Hawara as they go to work (mostly in Jerusalem) and sometimes their cars get stoned. To receive a 5 kg stone in the window of a moving car is not a small thing.
Last week they decided to respond and descended on Hawara and broke into a school and caused some damage. The (Israeli) police invaded the settlement last midnight and arrested eleven youngsters.
The pic is from Yitzhar's website. They are religious people and children are everywhere. The place is rather windy and cold.
Update (From "Palestine" Post):
The violent confrontation between settlers and police in Yitzhar continued to deteriorate Thursday as settlers broke nearby Palestinian windows, tried to burn a field, and poured oil on the road as to prevent jeeps from driving on it.
Police and civil administration inspectors visiting the central Samaria settlement found violations of the West Bank settlement freeze, and attempted to confiscate a bulldozer used in the illegal construction.
Settlers in the area then rioted, throwing rocks at the policemen. Four rioters were arrested for obstructing an officer's work.
7 comments:
Aside from the line that the Jews deserve all of Judea and Samaria, how is what the settlers are doing helpful to the realistic long term future of Israel? Wouldn't it be better if the Jews and the Arabs no longer had to mingle on a daily basis, as in Gaza or Lebanon? Each group living in more or less peace on its side of the border. Two totally different cultures like this cannot remain mingled indefinitely - it has to end in tears, especially in the modern world of "pure" nation states.
K
The problem is that this country is very small. Metropolitan Buenos Aires is larger!
I understand but "lebensraum" is still not a good idea. It may be that the Arabs will never be reconciled so might as well take as much territory as you can, but I think that there is potentially a solution involving withdrawal to roughly the '67 borders (with some adjustments). I just don't see Nablus as being part of a future Jewish state - the Arabs are not going to magically disappear. The alternative then is some kind of permanent occupation/apartheid which is corrosive to democracy.
K
I remember a Zionist stating that if Israel withdrew to its 1967 borders that Israel's army would not be able to defend against an Arab attack. Considering the amount of American and European defense equipment that has been sold to the Arabs I realize that that Zionist may be right.
In the absence of a land buffer around the Jerusalem metropolitan area Israel would be forced to use its nuclear arsenal to stop an Arab attack.
Second, withdrawal to the 1967 borders would on;y be possible if Israel could expel its Israeli Arab population to the areas being ceded by the Jewish state. Otherwise Israel would just be ceding more land to the Arabs while still having a large, rapidly growing Arab population inside.
Finally if Israel really is abandoned by the West, then Israel will see no need to abide by Western standards and may simply expel the Arabs from Nablus.
There is also a non-territorial but romantic, ideological aspect. Shomron (Samaria) is the traditional heartland of Israel, with its old capital Shilo in the center. Under the Arabs, it looks like Third World Soweto. 2000 years old terraces and irrigations canals are still on the ground yet abandoned.
Isn't half a loaf better than none? Must modern Israel exactly coincide with the ancient borders and if so, which borders - 200 BC, 500 BC , etc? Romanticism and ideology can get you killed, especially in the Middle East.
K
Without dreams, life is unbearable.
Post a Comment