Early today the state of Israel stole approximately 1,000 acres of land from Palestinians in Gvaot near Bethlehem. The official media language is “seized” which is typically a term used when an aggressor forcibly takes over something that isn’t theirs. The state of Israel has long been in violation of international law with the illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
It’s part of the reason that there is so much turmoil in the state and what sparks the majority of the conflicts between Palestinians and Israelis. This latest land grab is one of the largest in the past 30 years and would effectively create a chain of illegal Israeli settlements that could have the potential to grow into another city. Currently Gvaot is occupied by 16 Israeli families. Israel’s recent actions are in direct response to the murder of three Israeli teenagers earlier this summer and the fuse for this latest war. Actions like these fly directly in the face of the Israeli stated intent of peace. How can you make peace with someone when you consistently act in an non-peaceful manner. The same can also be said for Hammas.
The land grabbed today belongs to the Palestinians and for many people it is their sole source of livelihood. Any homes that are on the land will be bulldozed and walls will be erected to keep the Palestinian people out of their land. Israelis will live in nice communities with all the modern conveniences while their neighbors look at the land that once belonged to them from behind the wall. It’s heart breaking and I don’t understand that type of cruelty; especially from a group of people who had the exact same thing done to them more than 70 years ago.
The people of Israel are split on this issue of occupation and find themselves divided between more Zionist, Orthodox Jews with hardline rhetoric and more moderate, secular Jews who see the occupation as the main reason that peace can not be achieved by the two sides. I’ve stated before that I believe in both sides right to self determination, but that right should not involve violence or force.
In most of the Western world children have started another school year. In Gaza their first day of school has been pushed back to the middle of September because the schools have been turned into shelters and most of them have been badly damaged by bombs. So imagine those kids, and countless kids around the world, who are going back to school and they look around their classroom and half their class isn’t there – they didn’t over sleep, they’re not stuck in traffic, they’re not home sick with the flu – they’re gone, wiped off the face of the earth because two groups adults are so busy throwing stones and protecting their own agendas that they are willing to do whatever it takes to win. Even if that means by stealing and killing.