Sorry for publishing some maps with Israel written on them instead of Palestine..
those are foreign maps from a foreign site and I've put them as they reached me.

I know this post is long, but don't miss a letter of it.

Illegal occupation



The land between the River Jordan and the
Mediterranean Sea - called Palestine since the age of Herodotus - has been home
for a diverse ethnic mix over its long history. The Jews of the Torah had
dispersed by the time of the Arab conquest in the 7th century; in 1887 all but
5% of the population of Palestine was Muslim and Christian Arabs. Assisted by
the infamous 'Balfour declaration' http://morgan.ucs.mun.ca/~ijones/declaration.html

in which the British
colonial power occupying Palestine unilaterally declared support for its use as
a Jewish homeland, and spurred by vicious anti-semitism in Europe and Russia, a
wave of
Zionist immigration increased the European population of
Palestine sevenfold by 1947. That year, fearing a further colonial siezure of
their land by Europeans, the Arabs rejected a U.N. partition plan leading to a
Zionist war that left newly created Israel in possession of most of Palestine.
By 1949, more than 700,000 Arabs had been driven from their homes and lands (418
villages ethnically cleansed), their holdings declared "absentee property" and
confiscated by Israel, which refuses to re-admit them. The remainder of
Palestine - 'West Bank' and 'Gaza Strip' remained free of occupation until the
Israeli invasion in 1967. In contradiction of U.N. Security Council resolutions
242 and
338 calling for immediate withdrawal from these illegally
occupied territories, Israel maintains the remainder of Palestine under military
control and is constructing militarized Jewish 'settlements' and connecting roads, a step condemned by the U.N. as a
breach of the
4th Geneva
Convention. Meanwhile, the Palestinians
endure brutal repression while Israel receives unwavering political support for
its illegal actions, and massive military and economic aid, from the United
States of America.




More
maps tracing the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
(BBC)



Israel invaded the remainder of Palestine in 1967 and has
maintained an illegal and brutal occupation ever since. Israeli 'Settlements' -
in contravention of U.N. Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, and the
Fourth Geneva Convention - Section III - Article 49 which states
'The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer
parts of its own civilian population into the territory it
occupies.' - are a component of Israeli policy
designed to permanently take over the occupied territories of Palestine and
drive out the indigenous population (an extension of the ethnic cleansing that has been
going on since 1947). Note the strategic placement of settements throughout the
West Bank.



Closing the net (July 2003).


Map showing progress of ethnic cleansing of
Israeli-occupied West Bank. Note how illegal Israeli occupation, settlements and
the wall have partitioned West Bank Palestinians into fragments of their lands.
Israeli construction of 'separation barriers' or 'security fences' (shown above)
aims to separate Palestinians from their jobs and land. Note that the latest
partitions exclude Palestinians from approximately 53% of occupied West Bank.
Note also how the wall, which Israel says is designed to keep Arab attackers out
of Israel, is in fact constructed almost entirely within West Bank and bears
little relation to the Green Line, the only recognized legal border between
Palestine and Israel. By partitioning off large sections of West Bank from
Palestinians and enclosing some Arab towns into virtual concentration camps, the
wall complements the strategic placement of illegal settlements and aids in
taking over West bank for incorporation into a 'Greater Israel'. Israeli forces
and paramilitary settlers currently control all of West Bank and use deadly
force to eliminate any sign of resistance to their occupation.



Ronald De Hommel photo


MORE MAPS AND
SATELLITE IMAGERY OF THE WALL



Israeli wall
illegal - International Court of Justice (July 9,
2004)


The International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel's West Bank barrier
is illegal and construction of it should be stopped immediately. The ruling said
the barrier's construction was "tantamount to annexation" and impeded the
Palestinian right to self-determination.



Israeli wall
illegal (Amnesty International, February 19,
2004)


Amnesty International believes that the construction by Israel of the
fence/wall inside the Occupied Territories violates international law and is
contributing to grave human rights violations.



Israel
redraws the roadmap, building quietly and quickly
(Guardian, October 18, 2005)


"Jewish settlements during the first quarter of this year rose by 83% on the
same period in 2004. About 4,000 homes are under construction in Israel's West
Bank colonies, with thousands more homes approved in the Ariel and Maale Adumim
blocks that penetrate deep into the occupied territories. The total number of
settlers has risen again this year with an estimated 14,000 moving to the West
Bank"





The Gaza strip - part of Palestine where Israeli
forces routinely and indiscriminantly kill Arab civilians,
demolish their
homes, and brutally eliminate any sign of
resistance to occupation.
Illegal Israeli 'settlements' in Gaza strip shown
in orange.

More links of interest:



Full text of letter
from 50 retired US diplomats urging President Bush to reverse his Middle East
policy (BBC, May 4, 2004)


"We are deeply concerned by your April 14 endorsement of
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral plan to reject the rights of
three million Palestinians, to deny the right of refugees to return to their
homeland, and to retain five large illegal settlement blocs in the occupied West
Bank. You have placed US diplomats, civilians and military doing their jobs
overseas in an untenable and even dangerous position. It ignores international
laws declaring Israeli settlements illegal. It flouts UN Resolution 194, passed
in 1948, which affirms the right of refugees to return to their homes or receive
compensation for the loss of their property and assistance in resettling in a
host country should they choose to do so. Your unqualified support of Sharon's
extra-judicial assassinations, Israel's Berlin Wall-like barrier, its harsh
military measures in occupied territories, and now your endorsement of Sharon's
unilateral plan are costing our country its credibility, prestige and
friends."



Full text of letter
sent by 50 former British ambassadors to Tony Blair, urging him either to
influence US policy in the Middle East or to stop backing it. (BBC, May 4, 2004)


"We the undersigned former British ambassadors, high
commissioners, governors and senior international officials, including some who
have long experience of the Middle East and others whose experience is
elsewhere, have watched with deepening concern the policies which you have
followed on the Arab-Israel problem and Iraq, in close co-operation with the
United States. The international community has now been confronted with the
announcement by Ariel Sharon and President Bush of new policies which are
one-sided and illegal and which will cost yet more Israeli and Palestinian
blood. Our dismay at this backward step is heightened by the fact that you
yourself seem to have endorsed it, abandoning the principles which for nearly
four decades have guided international efforts to restore peace in the Holy Land
and which have been the basis for such successes as those efforts have produced.
This abandonment of principle comes at a time when rightly or wrongly we are
portrayed throughout the Arab and Muslim world as partners in an illegal and
brutal occupation in Iraq."



Edward
Said's writings


"Every major West Bank and Gaza area is occupied by
Israeli troops who routinely kill and/or detain Palestinians on the grounds that
they are "suspected" terrorists and militants; similarly, houses and shops are
often demolished with the excuse that they shelter bomb factories, terrorist
cells, and militant meeting places. No proof is given, none asked for by
reporters who accept the unilateral Israeli designation without a murmur."



Palestinian-American academic Edward Said died September
25,2003 in New York after a long battle with cancer. He was 67.



Noam Chomsky on the
United States and Israel


"Palestinians have been trying to survive under Israeli
military occupation, now in its 35th year. It has been harsh and brutal
throughout, thanks to decisive US military and economic support, and diplomatic
protection, including the barring of the long-standing international consensus
on a peaceful political settlement. "


Desmond Tutu on apartheid in the holy
land


"Israel will never get true security and safety through
oppressing another people. A true peace can ultimately be built only on
justice."



International
Committee of the Red Cross slams Israeli wall (BBC, February 18, 2004)


"The International Committee of the Red Cross has
condemned Israel's building of a barrier in the West Bank as "contrary" to
international law. The aid agency said the barrier, whose proposed route cuts
into Palestinian areas, went "far beyond what is permissible for an occupying
power""



Israeli cabinet
approves next phase of 'security barrier' it is building in the West
Bank (BBC, October 2, 2003)


"The new fence will not be immediately connected to the
barrier built so far, as a concession to Israel's main ally, the US. However,
sections will be built around several Jewish settlements in the heart of the
West Bank. The Israeli cabinet decision comes a day after a United Nations
report condemned the barrier as illegal and tantamount to "an unlawful act of
annexation"."




Revenge



"Hanadi Tayseer Jaradat, who killed 19 people in an
attack on a Haifa restaurant on Saturday, was the fifth woman to carry out such
an attack since the current intifada began. Jaradat's younger brother Fadi, a
25-year-old Islamic Jihad militant, and their similarly militant older cousin,
34-year-old Salah - were killed by Israeli forces in a raid on Jenin in
June."



Intifada toll
Sept 2000 - Sept 2005


"The five years of the Palestinian intifada have cost
more than 4,000 lives.
Btselem, an Israeli human rights group, has been tracking casualty
figures on both sides: 3,218 Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces in the West Bank
and Gaza including 657 aged under 18, 187 killed in extrajudicial executions and
296 (including at least 29 aged under 18) killed in the course of assassination
operations; 444
Israeli civilians killed by Palestinians in Israel including 80 aged under
18."



What is anti-semitism? by
Michael Neumann, Trent University Professor (Counterpunch, June 4,
2002)


"Inflating the meaning of 'antisemitism' to include
anything politically damaging to Israel is a double-edged sword. It may be handy
for smiting your enemies, but the problem is that definitional inflation, like
any inflation, cheapens the currency. The more things get to count as
antisemitic, the less awful antisemitism is going to sound."



EU poll: "Israel poses
biggest threat to world peace"


"A Flash Eurobarometer survey carried out in October 2003
for the European Commission in the fifteen member states of the EU found that
nearly 60 percent of European citizens believe Israel poses the biggest threat
to world peace. Iran is considered the second biggest threat, North Korea the
third and the United States the fourth. Taking a look at the results, the one
socio-demographic characteristic that stands out is education -- the more highly
educated respondents (66%) are more likely to perceive Israel as a threat to
world peace than those who ceased their studies at an earlier stage (16-20: 59%
and 15 and younger: 50%). "



Viewpoints:
Anti-Semitism and Europe


"Is anti-Semitism really increasing? Is hostility towards
Israeli policy in the Middle East becoming anti-Jewish? BBC News Online asked 12
experts on Jewish affairs from Europe and Israel to reflect on the
charge."



Amnesty
International on Palestine


Their report, Israel and
the Occupied Territories: Shielded from Scrutiny - IDF violations in Jenin and
Nablus, documents serious human rights violations
by Israeli forces -- "unlawful killings; torture and ill-treatment of prisoners;
wanton destruction of hundreds of homes sometimes with the residents still
inside; the blocking of ambulances and denial of humanitarian assistance; and
the use of Palestinian civilians as 'human shields'".



Human Rights Watch on
Palestine


"The (IDF) abuses we documented in Jenin are extremely
serious, and in some cases appear to be war crimes. Criminal investigations are
needed to ascertain individual responsibility for the most serious
violations..."



Hebron, Palestine - October 3, 2002






Rachel
Corrie


American peace activist murdered by Israeli forces in
Gaza strip



U.S Financial Aid To
Israel: Figures, Facts, and Impact Summary


Total U.S. aid to Israel is approximately one-third of
the American foreign-aid budget, even though Israel comprises just .001 percent
of the world's population and already has one of the world's higher per capita
incomes.


more neglected information on the occupation can
be found at (click to go there):http://www.palestineremembered.com/




http://electronicintifada.net/



a negative Canadian connection?


The site of the Palestinian town of 'Imwas, bulldozed and
dynamited soon after its inhabitants were driven off at gunpoint or
killed by invading
Israeli soldiers in 1967, is now called the 'Canada Recreation Park' (click on
photo below to link)





Sources:


1. The Globe and Mail


2. Harper's Magazine


3. The Christian Science
Monitor


4. Peace Now


5. Palestine Remembered


Last updated: September 30, 2005 This page is maintained by Ian Jones (ijones 'at sign'www.mun.ca )http://groups.google.com/group/ZIONI...gal-occupation