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Answer
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Name
Mary
- Australia
Profession
Question
Many argue that the wall ended any possibility for a two-state solution. Do you agree with that? Do you see there any hope for a Palestinian state or any hope for bringing the building of the wall to a halt?
Answer
I read several articles in the last few weeks about the same idea, I think that many people have got to believe that the two state solution is no longer viable. However, many inside Israel and Palestine, along with the international community, argue that we are headed towards to a one-state solution. An apartheid state. Although last July in Geneva a new international organization was established called "One Democratic State for Both Nations," in which I subscribe to be a member.
I think that the Israelis will not halt building the wall, despite the UN General Assembley resolution of October 21st, which was taken almost unanimously with only Israel and the US and two islands in the Pacific standing against it. The dilema is coming from the US, because openly it opposes the wall, yet this proved to be merely lip-service, since the US vetoed a Security Council draft resolution calling upon Israel to stop building the wall.
I think that the only body which has leverage on Israel in this regard is the US, which cannot practice any pressure at this specific pre-election time.
Name
JJ
- United States
Profession
Question
What is the Israeli vision in the Wall? How does it practically, from an Israeli perspective, prevent Palestinians from going in and out?
Answer
The Israelis called it "the security fence." Had it been so, why do they build it deep on Arab land, isolating more than 150,000 Palestinian villagers from the very sources of their lives, the land from which they live and their relatives and loved ones? This wall is a new method for grabbing land and annexing about 20-25% of the West Bank. It also aims at preventing any possibility of establishing a viable Palestinian state.
Moreover, the extreme right-wing ruling circles in Israel aim at pushing tens of thousands of Palestinians to leave their homeland eastwards, and to leave in a slow-cunning systematic way, trying to conceal their real aims, with the security reason as a pretext for that.
Name
Abdullah
- Egypt
Profession
Question
Have you ever been to Qalqilya? Is it really as “choked” as they describe it?
Answer
I know Qalqilya, but I have not been there for the last three years. It takes me several days to arrive there and come back, though I live less than 65 kms far from it. But I saw the maps and plans the Israelis are working on to implement in Qalqilya and its surroundings. It will be a real ghetto, worse than any other ghetto I have ever read about or seen.
Qalqilya will lose more than 70% of its land and its surroundings, and it will be encircled by the wall, and its population will be allowed to get out by one gate only.
This is an example of what is waiting for many other Palestinian cities and towns in the near future. So Israel will be the leading Apartheid state at the beggining of the 21st centurey.
Name
Mansoor
- South Africa
Profession
designer
Question
How on earth does one find security through apartheid....if anything was learnt from APARTHEID in south africa, it would be VIOLENCE and MORE VIOLENCE, and insecurity. How does Israel propose to bring about SECURITY through SEGREGATION?
Answer
I fully agree with you Mr. Mansoor, because security as I mentioned in my above answers, could only be achieved through just policies, not through curbing and usurping not only the land of another nation, but also its destiny and livelihood. Segregation has existed in Israel since its early days. It confiscated more than 90% of the land of the Arabs who stayed in their homes after 1948 and sieged their towns and villages, enforcing upon them very cruel laws, depriving them almost of everything, just because they were Arabs. It issued all necessary laws to establish a Jewish state, not for its population, but only for the Jewish part of the population. This was the root of the segregation in Israel.
Name
Mike
- United Kingdom
Profession
Question
Why is the wall described as an "apartheid" wall? I think there is a big difference between South Africa's apartheid and this current situation. At least the Zulus were not blowing themselves up on a monthly basis!
Answer
You will probably find most of what I have to say about apartheid in Israel in my previous answers. In fact, as you see, there were hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living peacefully in Palestine for numerous centuries. Influx of tens of thousands of Jewish immigrants, inspired and organized by a strong Zionist movement, turned the whole situation, and the climax of that unrest was the expulsion and dispossession of the majority of the Palestinians. 70% of the Palestinian population were expelled from their homeland to the neighboring countries after several massacres. This resulted in the great dilemma of the Palestinian people and the beginning of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Furthermore, Israel occupied the remaining part of Palestine in 1967 and annexed East Jerusalem formally, while curbing all viable land and building tens of settlements on them, bringing to them hundreds of thousands of Jewish immigrants from all over the world, while forcing Palestinian civilians into a very difficult life, which they wanted to lead to their emigration to the diaspora.
All Israeli policies right from that time were aiming at the dispossession of Palestinian civilians, confiscating their land, building settlements for Jewish population they collected from countries which had troubles, and which forced these people to be under the influece of these Zionist organiztions.
As you see, Britain held a great responsibility for this catastrophic situation. Israeli governments depend on lobbies countries like the US and the UK, controlling the mass media, twisting facts, and portraying Palestinians as "terrorists."
I personally disagree to any act of violence, especially against civilians. But had you been living in one of the ghettos mentioned above; deprived of all your rights, dispossessed of all your property with two brothers in jail, one shot by a sniper, and a fourth deported into Lebanon, what would you do? And what would be your reaction?
Name
Jamal
- Palestine
Profession
Question
I read in an article on this website that "usually states acquire defensive postures as a prelude to offensive action."
Do you see Israel's seemingly defensive action, the building of the wall, is likely to help it into future offensive actions against the Palestinians in the future? And how?
Answer
I think that nobody can consider Israel's actions as defensive. Historically, Israel is well known for applying very aggressive offensive tactics, called "pre-emptive attacks" such as those practiced in June 1967, in Lebanon in 1978 and 1982, and in Iraq in 1981 (the Tammooz reactive destuciton). Israel masterminded those tactics, which are taught in Western military academies. Nevertheless, in the long run, none of such tactics are fruitful, they are futile and counter-productive. History proved that racist and aggressive regimes never felt secure, even with their gigantic arsenals.
Name
Ahmed
- South Africa
Profession
Student
Question
Asalaamu alaykum...I grew up in an Apartheid society, fortunately/unfortunately we were not physically caged like animals...The world watched for many years how the Apartheid regime destroyed and instituitionalised millions of people under their inhumane racist, prejudiced "LAWS", Yes some may say its different in the case of the "WALL", but its not...its far worse. Its not fair of the world to watch the same type of injustice and prejudice being initiated under the clear bright sunlight all in the name of "PEACE"... What can South Africans from an Apartheid era do to change things.....?
Answer
Mr. Ahmad, it seems to me that you think of the wall as the only symptom or symbol of apartheid. It is not. The wall is a crystallization of acts of Israeli massacres, discrimination, usurption of land, destruction of tens of thousands of houses, seige of millions of civilians, closure and seige of complete areas and converting them into ghettos, exposing their civilian population to captivity, murder in cold blood and being used as human shields, and tens of other attrocities.
Name
Jawed
- United States
Profession
System Analyst
Question
AOK
What do you think is the
reason for the silence
of the Arab masses over
the building of the this illegal wall.
Answer
In fact, this silence induces pain on every Palestinian, but we understand the reason. The lack or non-existence of democracy in Arab states.
We hope that these masses will be out of their silence, but this needs organiztion, and by some vangaurd with good knowledge and education of these masses. Extreme ideologies can only be counter productive and benefit our enemies. Unfortunately, there is a blackout in Arab politics and the Arab masses are being kept ignorant of foreign policies, information on the real problems and the best way to treat them is being withheld from them.
Name
Abu Hurairah
- South Africa
Profession
Student
Question
The "WALL" has been a plan of the Israeli gov. for a long time...and has been funded by the USA for some years...why is it that only now (after part of it has been constructed) that the world wakes up? Are we waiting for another Berlin wall ?
Answer
It is a pity that the situation is as such as described by you. The real reason is that for the last three years Palestinians of all walks of life living under occupation, including their leadership, were beseiged, isolated, and many atrocities were committed against them. This partly paralyzed their will and led them to devote most of their struggle to the needs of everyday life.
The wall was just a theoretical plan, and now it is being established, and is shocking hundreds of thousands whose land is confiscated and houses destroyed. Therefore, it became a bitter reality which needs the unity of all Palestinians to stop it, but they need also all efforts of their brothers in the Arab countries.
Name
Hoda
-
Profession
Question
How is the wall likely to ensure the security of Israel, if at all?
Answer
Read other replies and you will find everything concerning your question.
