What difference will it make to the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank when the world meets their demands for freedom and self-determination?
One difference it will make: like other peoples of the world, the Palestinians will get to decide who they can invite to visit them.
Right now, if you, as a citizen of the United States, Canada, or Europe, decide that you want to visit Bethlehem, a Palestinian city in the West Bank -- the same Bethlehem that Christians believe to be the birthplace of Jesus -- you have two ways to begin your journey. You can fly to Israel, and cross the 1967 border to the West Bank. Or you can fly to Jordan, and cross to the West Bank over one of the bridges. But whichever way you go, you cannot pass to Bethlehem without the permission of the Netanyahu government, which controls all the paths you can take to Bethlehem.
If you are a Likud supporter, flying into the Israeli airport should present no problem. But if you are a supporter of Palestinian rights, the Netanyahu government could stop you from going to Bethlehem on purely political grounds, even if you have never committed any crime and have no intention of ever committing one, even if you have never attended a Palestinian protest in the West Bank and have no intention of attending one. You could be barred by the Netanyahu government from going to Bethlehem simply for the thought crime of supporting Palestinian human rights.
Indeed, even American Jews can be barred by the Netanyahu government from traveling to Bethlehem for the thought crime of supporting Palestinian rights.
Given the economic, political, and diplomatic support given to the Netanyahu government by North America and Europe, this is a spectacular state of affairs. You might think that governments and media in North America and Europe would express forceful concern if their citizens' right to travel were obstructed by a government they were doing so much to support.
This weekend, this question will be put to the test by the "Welcome to Palestine" campaign.
AP reports:
Activists with the "Welcome to Palestine" campaign are set to land in Israel on dozens of flights Sunday. They say they wish to travel to nearby Bethlehem in the West Bank to participate in a week of activities, like the dedication of a school and homestays with Palestinian families.Mazin Qumsiyeh, a Palestinian campaign organizer, said the activists were coming to exercise their right to visit the Palestinian territories.
"The object is not to fly in to make a protest at the airport. The object is for foreigners to visit us," Qumsiyeh said. "Even prisoners are allowed visits."
The Netanyahu government says that it will "round up activists who land in the country and deport them," which is again a spectacular fact. Apparently you can be deported by the Netanyahu government not because of what you do, but because of who you are. If you are an "activist," then Palestinians welcome you to Bethlehem, but you may not be able to get there, because the Netanyahu government may deport you for being an "activist."
So far, there has been scant press coverage in the U.S. of "Welcome to Palestine," and this again is a spectacular fact. But the good news is that thanks to the wonders of the Internet, we don't need to wait on the New York Times and the Washington Post. We can follow and spread the news on Welcome to Palestine on Twitter at #fly2palestine.
Follow Robert Naiman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/naiman
Palestinians are discriminated against all over the Middle East, de facto and de jure. Yet, I never read about any protests about their treatment by their fellow Arabs. I remember Palestinians were expelled from Kuwait after Iraq was forced out of that country and Jordan driving the Palestinians out during Black September. Recently, Jordan stripped Palestinians of Jordanian citizenship. I remember Lebanese massacring Palestinians. And Palestinians are still prohibited from owning property and holding certain occupations in Lebanon. But no protests about these injustices. Therefore, I wonder it the Palestinian cause is just a club used against Israel by those whose hatred of Jews and/or Israel rather than any real concern for Palestinians is their true agenda.
Gilad Shalit wasn't...
That's because no one has a "right to travel"
"Article 13
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his
country."
"restricting them food and hydro, tearing down their houses,"
Mathilde Redmatn of the international red cross stated that there was no humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
"killing women and children, yes, we certainly shouldn't feel for any of the atrocities done on the Arabs non agressive folks.....lol!"
Colonel Richard Kemp testified before the UN human rights counsel and stated;
"Mr. President, based on my knowledge and experience, I can say this: During Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli Defence Forces did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare.
Israel did so while facing an enemy that deliberately positioned its military capability behind the human shield of the civilian population."
ANY people would struggle against this anywhere else in the world, and now the Palestinians are increasingly adopting non violent struggle against it, and it will be the ultimate undoing settlements once and for all.
Only when the settlements are finally removed will there be a chance for real peace, as they are now the core of the conflict, and have been for decades. They are debased, and morally indefensible.
The Palestinians want self-determination? I thought they wanted a one state solution and the destruction of Israel.
Travellers should be aware that the Gaza Strip borders are controlled by the Israeli and Egyptian governments. Long delays of days, or even weeks, are routinely experienced when travellers request entry/exit permits for Gaza.
As with all areas where a number of people may congregate, maintain a high level of vigilance at border crossing points into and out of Israel and the OPTs.
Maintain a high level of vigilance for your personal and vehicle safety, and you should avoid any political gatherings and/or demonstrations.
http://articles.cnn.com/2008-01-28/world/gaza.border_1_border-breach-egypt-and-gaza-gaza-border?_s=PM:WORLD
According to this it was before 2008 I wonder how old that information is?
http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2012/04/15/i-kid-you-not-french-woman-banned-for-failing-to-be-a-jew-includes-report-airflotilla2/
It could only happen in the only democracy in the middle east, folks!
I don't know why you're bothering, nothing you have said has any validity whatsoever.
If I can strain your brain with a metaphor,
If someone came round and shot your mum, and you said, "that's not right, somebody should arrest that man".
In response, the police say "no, absolutely not". Instead, they argue "well what about the woman up the road who got shot? I'm going allowed to deal with your shooting until I've deal with all of the shootings of all of the women in the neighbourhood. Until then, you're just going to have to sit in silence. No! I said sit in silence. You have NOTHING to complain about".
"but, my mom, it's not fair"
"No, your mum is irrelevant, SHUT up".
"ok".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_diplomacy_(Israel)
That includes people PAID to post on message boards by Israel.
"In 2009, Israel's foreign ministry organized volunteers to add pro-Israeli commentary on news websites.[26][27][28] In July 2009, it was announced that the Israeli Foreign Ministry would assemble an "internet warfare" squad to spread a pro-Israel message on various websites, with funding of 600,000 shekels (c $150,000).[29][30]"
that and wining and dining politicians and paying for their visits to Israel, and bombarding media outlets to complain about media coverage of Israel.
A country that has nothing to hide and nothing to fear does not engage in propaganda. Totalitarian and fascist states do attempt to control public and international opinion, but not democracies.
Today Israel apparently needs a propaganda body to counter the the well-oiled Arab-Islamic propaganda machine.
Unfortunately, Israel has become the New Czechoslovakia (Here's almost 20 reasons why Israel is the New Czechoslovakia - http://www.geopolitics.us/?p=806)
Why not just say the truth. You don't really care about human rights, and you don't really care about the rights of Palestinians. You simply chose to be on the Arab side of the Arab-Israeli conflict. You only care about delegitimizing Israel in the eyes of the world, and that is why you're staging yet another campaign of provocation and propaganda against the state of Israel.
To put it in another way: if you were alive in Europe in the 1930s you'd be protesting against the treatment of Sudeten Germans by Czechoslovakia, rather than protesting the treatment of Jews and minorities by the Nazi regime. Unfortunately, Israel has become the New Czechoslovakia.