SPIN
by Ari Packer
http://www.studentorg.vcu.edu/fpn

     When it comes to the United States, the supporters of the Israeli government have been successful in what is known by political junkies as “spin.” The supporters of Zionism and the Israeli government have been successful in spinning the reality of what has been and is going on in Palestine. Zionists and the Multi-National Corporations have been successful in fooling much of the American populace in to believing that the Israeli government are the good guys that “are occupying the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem for security reasons.” The supporters of the Israeli government push the idea that the Israeli government has been doing every thing in her power to achieve the goal of peace between Palestinians and Israelis with a Palestinian state right beside Israel.
     The facts however bear out that the goal and agenda of the Israeli regime is an apartheidic Israeli Zionist domination over all of historic Palestine. The current Prime Minister’s own Likud Party’s current political platform states, “The Government of Israel flatly rejects the establishment of a Palestinian Arab state west of the Jordan river.” Now some of the supporters of the Israeli government agenda would say that Ariel Sharon himself has repeatedly publicly stated his support for a Palestinian state. However it is important to consider what Sharon means when he calls for a Palestinian state.  One needs only to turn on the right-wing pro-Israeli Fox News Channel to find out that this Palestinian state under Sharon’s proposal would have “limited sovereignty” and would not have control over its own borders. In addition, Sharon continues to hold on to the idea that Jerusalem should be the eternal and undivided capital of Israel. When speaking of former Prime Minister Barak’s action in the Oslo Peace talks Sharon stated, “''Barak does not have the right to give up Jerusalem, which the people received as a legacy.''
     Some would say that Sharon represents the right-wing, and the Palestinians had an opportunity to gain their freedom when, “Barak turned every stone at Camp David in the year 2000 to give Arafat what he wanted.” The typical Zionist line goes as follows “during the Oslo talks Israelis only experience an increase in terrorist attacks for years.” After all that Barak offered Arafat 98% of what he wanted at Camp David in the summer in the year 2000. In fact according to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) or more accurately known as the Israeli Occupation Forces's (IOF) own studies Israel experienced a significant decrease in terrorist attacks in the late 1990’s. According to the IOF in 1999 there was a significant decrease in terrorist attacks carried out by Palestinians. In the IOF’s report titled “A Summary of Security Events For 1999” the Israeli Occupation Forces states, “The security situation within the Green Line also improved significantly. There were only three serious terror incidents in 1999 with casualties.” Arafat, called upon Barak at Camp David to allow the Palestinian people to have a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, which consists of only 22% of historic Palestine. But Barak and the Labour Party government could not even give the Palestinian people that much. He offered the Palestinian people 93% of the occupied territories in exchange for about 3% of Israeli proper. The remaining land that would be annexed by Israel included important roads and fertile land, which would in turn make it impossible for this would be Palestinian state to be viable under this
offer. Robert Malley a US participant in the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks noted that, 

“there never was an Israeli offer" -- to give the Palestinians
Israeli land equivalent to 1% of the West Bank (unspecified, but to be
chosen by Israel) in return for 9% of the West Bank which housed
settlements, highways, and military bases effectively dividing the
West Bank into separate regions. Thus, there would have been no
meaningfully independent Palestinian state, but a series of
Bantustans, while all the best land and water aquifers would be in
Israeli hands.”

In addition, the facts of what Israel is and has been doing on the ground in the occupied territories in no way prove the claim by Israel that it is holding on to the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem for security reasons to be correct. If Israel is occupying the Palestinian territories for security reasons then why then has Israel for the past 30 years been financing, supporting and encouraging the building of colonies i.e. the settlements for its Jewish- Israeli citizens in areas that she claims to be occupying for security purposes? Why has Israel been building Jewish-Israeli only roads in these territories that Israel has been occupying for security reasons. Even during the Oslo Process under the so called “dovish” Labour-Meretz coalition government there was a significant expansion of the settlements. Just recently the Israeli government has given the order for the theft Palestinian land in Hebron to make room for the building an expansion of the Jewish-Israeli only settlement in Hebron. May I note that a number of Palestinian homes that are in the way in this area of Hebron will be demolished. Some of these homes are currently inhabitated by Palestinians. A number of the others are homes that were abandoned by Palestinians after experiencing frequent terrorist attacks by Israeli Settler thugs. If you doubt this point about Israeli settlers carrying out terror on Palestinians living in this region you need only to read the reports by International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activists or read articles by the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem on Israeli settler attacks.  I would also ask how is Israeli control of the Palestinian water supply a part of security necessity? The long and the short of it is that Palestinian have never been able to control their own water. All new water infrastructure projects requires the permission of Israel in the Joint Water Commission this includes Area A (land in the occupied territories which is supposedly under Palestinian control). In Area C (land in the occupied territories under full Israeli control) the water is under full Israeli control. All new water projects in Area C require the permission of the Israeli Civil Administration. (see “Not Even A Drop The Water Crisis of Palestinian Villages in the Occupied Territories” at www.btselem.org) This Israeli control of water of course results in an outlandishly disproportionate amount of water going to Israelis with in and outside of Israeli proper. In fact in the occupied territories you have Israeli settlers watering their lawns and filling their swimming pools while Palestinian mothers don’t have enough water for their kid's dietary needs.
     In conclusion, considering the facts logically one can come to the conclusion that Israel is indeed not occupying Palestinian lands for security reasons but for exploitative purposes. The reality of the situation is that the Israeli government wants to establish Israeli Zionist domination over all of historic Palestine. I think the situation is best expressed by one of the many brave Israelis who is refusing to serve in the Israeli Occupation Forces in the occupied territories, “Refusenik,” Tamir Sorek when he said, “It is a war that
aims to maintain a racist, undemocratic, and apartheid regime.”