Twenty Facts About Israel and the Middle East Conflict

Written by Gary Gilley

The world's attention has been focused on the Middle East. We are confronted daily with scenes of carnage and destruction. Can we understand such violence? Yes, but only if we come to the situation with a solid grounding in the facts of the matter -- facts that too often are forgotten, if ever they were learned. Below are twenty facts that we think are useful in understanding the current situation, how we arrived here, and how we might eventually arrive at a solution.

Roots of the Conflict

1. When the United Nations proposed the establishment of two states in the region -- one Jewish, one Arab -- the Jews accepted the proposal and declared their independence in 1948. The Jewish state constituted only 1/6 of one percent of what was known as "the Arab world." The Arab states, however, rejected the UN plan and since then have waged war against Israel repeatedly, both all-out wars and wars of terrorism and attrition. In 1948, five Arab armies invaded Israel in an effort to eradicate it. Jamal Husseini of the Arab Higher Committee spoke for many in vowing to soak "the spoil of our beloved country with the last drop of our blood."

2. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was founded in 1964 -- three years before Israel controlled the West Bank and Gaza. The PLO's declared purpose was to eliminate the State of Israel by means of armed struggle. To this day, the Web site of Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority (PA) claims that the entirety of Israel is "occupied" territory. It is impossible to square this with the PLO and PA assertions to Western audiences that the root of the conflict is Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

3. The West Bank and Gaza (controlled by Jordan and Egypt from 1948 to 1967) came under Israeli control during the Six Day War of 1967 that started when Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran and Arab armies amassed on Israel's borders to invade and liquidate the state. It is important to note that during their 19-year rule, neither Jordan nor Egypt had made any effort to establish a Palestinian state on those lands. Just before the Arab nations launched their war of aggression against the State of Israel in 1967, Syrian Defense Minister (later President) Hafez Assad stated, "Our forces are now entirely ready . . . to initiate the act of liberation itself, and to explode the Zionist presence in the Arab homeland . . . the time has come to enter into a battle of annihilation." On the brink of the 1967 war, Egyptian President Gamal Nassar declared, "Our basic objective will be the destruction of Israel.

4. Because of their animus against Jews, many leaders of the Palestinian cause have long supported our enemies. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem allied himself with Adolf Hitler during WWII. Yasser Arafat, chairman of the PLO and president of the PA, has repeatedly targeted and killed Americans. In 1973, Arafat ordered the execution of Cleo Noel, the American ambassador to the Sudan. Arafat was very closely aligned with the Soviet Union and other enemies of the United States throughout the Cold War. In 1991, during the Gulf War, Arafat aligned himself with Saddam Hussein, whom he praised as "the defender of the Arab nation, of Muslims, and of free men everywhere."

5. Israel has, in fact, returned most of the land that it captured during the 1967 war and right after that war offered to return all of it in exchange for peace and normal relations; the offer was rejected. As a result of the 1978 Camp David accords -- in which Egypt recognized the right of Israel to exist and normal relations were established between the two countries -- Israel returned the Sinai desert, a territory three times the size of Israel and 91 percent of the territory Israel took control of in the 1967 war.

6. In 2000, as part of negotiations for a comprehensive and durable peace, Israel offered to turn over all but the smallest portion of the remaining territories to Yasser Arafat. But Israel was rebuffed when Arafat walked out of Camp David and launched the current intifada.

7. Yasser Arafat has never been less than clear about his goals -- at least not in Arabic. On the very day that he signed the Oslo accords in 1993 -- in which he promised to renounce terrorism and recognize Israel -- he addressed the Palestinian people on Jordanian television and declared that he had taken the first step "in the 1974 plan." This was a thinly-veiled reference to the "phased plan," according to which any territorial gain was acceptable as a means toward the ultimate goal of Israel's destruction.

8. The recently deceased Faisal al-Husseini, a leading Palestinian spokesman, made the same point in 2001 when he declared that the West Bank and Gaza represented only "22 percent of Palestine" and that the Oslo process was a "Trojan horse." He explained, "When we are asking all the Palestinian forces and factions to look at the Oslo Agreement and at other agreements as 'temporary' procedures, or phased goals, this means that we are ambushing the Israelis and cheating them." The goal, he continued, was "the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea," i.e., the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea -- all of Israel.

9. To this day, the Fatah wing of the PLO (the "moderate" wing that was founded and is controlled by Arafat himself) has as its official emblem the entire state of Israel covered by two rifles and a hand grenade -- another fact that belies the claim that Arafat desires nothing more than the West Bank and Gaza.

10. While criticism of Israel is not necessarily the same as "anti-Semitism," it must be remembered that the Middle East press is, in fact, rife with anti-Semitism. More than fifteen years ago the eminent scholar Bernard Lewis could point out that "The demonization of Jews [ in Arabic literature] goes further than it had ever done in Western literature, with the exception of Germany during the period of Nazi rule." Since then, and through all the years of the "peace process," things have become much worse. Depictions of Jews in Arab and Muslim media are akin to those of Nazi Germany, and medieval blood libels -- including claims that Jews use Christian and Muslim blood in preparing their holiday foods -- have become prominent and routine. One example is a sermon broadcast on PA television where Sheik Ahmad Halabaya stated, "They [ the Jews] must be butchered and killed, as Allah the Almighty said: 'Fight them: Allah will torture them at your hands.' Have no mercy on the Jews, no matter where they are, in any country. Fight them, wherever you are. Wherever you meet them, kill them."

11. Over three-quarters of Palestinians approve of suicide bombings -- an appalling statistic but, in light of the above facts, an unsurprising one.

The State of Israel

12. There are 21 Arab countries in the Middle East and only one Jewish state: Israel, which is also the only democracy in the region.

13. Israel is the only country in the region that permits citizens of all faiths to worship freely and openly. Twenty percent of Israeli citizens are not Jewish.

14. While Jews are not permitted to live in many Arab countries, Arabs are granted full citizenship and have the right to vote in Israel. Arabs are also free to become members of the Israeli parliament (the Knesset). In fact, several Arabs have been democratically elected to the Knesset and have been serving there for years. Arabs living in Israel have more rights and are freer than most Arabs living in Arab countries.

15. Israel is smaller than the state of New Hampshire and is surrounded by nations hostile to her existence. Some peace proposals -- including the recent Saudi proposal -- demand withdrawal from the entire West Bank, which would leave Israel 9 miles wide at its most vulnerable point.

16. The oft-cited UN Resolution 242 (passed in the wake of the 1967 war) does not, in fact, require a complete withdrawal from the West Bank. As legal scholar Eugene Rostow put it, "Resolution 242, which as under-secretary of state for political affairs between 1966 and 1969 I helped produce, calls on the parties to make peace and allows Israel to administer the territories it occupied in 1967 until 'a just and lasting peace in the Middle East' is achieved. When such a peace is made, Israel is required to withdraw its armed forces 'from territories' it occupied during the Six-Day War -- not from 'the' territories nor from 'all' the territories, but from some of the territories.

17. Israel has, of course, conceded that the Palestinians have legitimate claims to the disputed territories and is willing to engage in negotiations on the matter. As noted above, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered almost all of the territories to Arafat at Camp David in 2000.

18. Despite claims that the Israeli settlements in the West Bank are the obstacle to peace, Jews lived there for centuries before being massacred or driven out by invading Arab armies in 1948-49. And contrary to common misperceptions, Israeli settlements -- which constitute less than two percent of the territories -- almost never displace Palestinians.

19. The area of the West Bank includes some of the most important sites in Jewish history, among them Hebron, Bethlehem, and Jericho. East Jerusalem, often cited as an "Arab city" or "occupied territory," is the site of Judaism's holiest monument. While under Arab rule (1948-67), this area was entirely closed to Jews. Since Israel took control, it has been open to people of all faiths.

20. Finally, let us consider the demand that certain territories in the Muslim world must be off-limits to Jews. This demand is of a piece with Hitler's proclamation that German land had to be "Judenrein" (empty of Jews). Arabs can live freely throughout Israel, and as full citizens. Why should Jews be forbidden to live or to own land in an area like the West Bank simply because the majority of people is Arab?

In sum, a fair and balanced portrayal of the Middle East will reveal that one nation stands far above the others in its commitment to human rights and democracy as well as in its commitment to peace and mutual security. That nation is Israel.

Status of Jewish Holy Sites

Under Jordanian Occupation (May 28, 1948 -- June 7, 1967), all Jewish holy sites in East Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria were off-limits to Jews.

In East Jerusalem, 58 synagogues were destroyed or desecrated. Jordan built a road through the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives; used thousands of tombstones from the cemetery for building projects, including pathways to army latrines; let the Western Wall deteriorate; and, during the Six-Day War, used the Temple Mount as an ammunition dump.

In Hebron Jews were barred from the cave of Machpelah, containing the Tomb of the Patriarchs, and the Cave of Othniel (Jud. 3:9). Also, Hebron's Jewish cemetery was almost completely destroyed.

Jordan's actions directly violated the Israel-Jordan Armistice Agreement of April 3, 1949, which called for "free access to the Holy Places and cultural institutions and use of the cemetery on the Mount of Olives" (Article VIII, para.2).

After 1967

Following the Six-Day War, Jewish holy sites in all of Israel, including East Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, were under Israeli control. On June 27, 1967, Israel passed the Protection of Holy Places Law, safeguarding free access to the holy sites of all religions.

On June 17, 1967, in a show of goodwill, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan granted custodianship of the Temple Mount to the Muslim Waqf (religious trust). Israel was responsible for Temple Mount security, but the Muslims were to manage the site. Jewish people were to be given permission to visit the Mount, but not to pray there.

The Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area of 1994, the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip of 1995, and the Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron of 1997 placed 21 Jewish holy sites in 13 locations under jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, which is responsible for protecting them and guaranteeing freedom of access. Rachel's Tomb near Bethlehem remained under Israeli protection. No agreement was reached regarding the Tomb of the Partiarchs in Hebron, other than retaining the status quo (Muslims control 80 percent of the complex, with no Jewish access to the Muslim side).

In November 1999, the Muslim Waqf for the Temple Mount began building an egress for an underground mosque at the southeastern corner of the Mount complex. Bulldozers were used, along with heavy stone-cutting machines. Trucks hauled away tons of rubble, some containing ancient Jewish artifacts, and disposed of it in the nearby Kidron Valley. Despite Israeli outcries, work continued. Likud leader Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount on September 28, 2000, to inspect the damage. The Palestinians reacted with the second intifada.

Today's Status

Almost all Jewish holy sites in Palestinian-controlled areas are highly restricted or prohibited to Jews, a clear breach of the Oslo Accords and other agreements. The Temple Mount is closed to Jews, and the southern wall is in danger of collapsing because of the Waqf's construction.

Palestinian police stood by as Arabs ransacked, demolished, and burnt Joseph's Tomb in Nablus. The ancient Shalom al-Israel synagogue in Jericho was damaged by arson. Arabs repeatedly have fired on Jewish worshipers at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and at Rachel's Tomb. Palestinian attackers tried to storm the Tomb of Joshua in Kifel-Hares, but the Israeli Defense Forces repelled them.

Most Muslim clerics and Palestinian leaders claim there is no evidence any Jewish presence existed on the Temple Mount and say no legitimate Jewish claim to the site exists. Further, they assert that all of Israel is Islamic territory, including the Jewish holy sites.



by Southern View Chapel

Judenrein Palestine?

by Rachel Neuwirth

Why is it that people are proposing a Middle East peace plan that will make Judea and Samaria Judenrein (the Nazi term for a place with no Jews)?

It is the historic homeland and birthplace of the Jewish People, yet many world leaders including every American President believe that the removal of Jewish communities from Judea and Samaria is a crucial prerequisite for a peaceful resolution. Unfortunately, every Israeli Prime Minister has been pressured to follow this policy. Jews have lived in Judea and Samaria for thousands of years. In fact, the Jewish religion and people were birthed in Hebron.

We know of the ancient Jewish presence there from both the Hebrew and Christian Bibles and from abundant archaeological and documentary evidence. No one denies that the oldest document showing the historical connection of the Jewish People to the Land of Israel, including Judea and Samaria (A.K.A. the West Bank), is the Bible. Genesis 24:18 says: "And Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the Terebinths of Mamre, which are in Hebron." And the world's oldest documentation of real estate being purchased for a full price is also in the Bible (see Genesis 23:9). And for those who doubt Biblical references, there is substantial evidence in archaeological findings.

Historically, the Jewish homeland included what is today called Judea and Samaria, the Golan Heights, and a considerable part of today's Jordan. The land was inhabited mainly by Jews and was ruled by Jews. Therefore, Lord Robert Cecil, former acting British foreign secretary, was right to use the name "Judea" for the whole land in his famous remark: "Our wish is that Arabian countries shall be for the Arabs, Armenia for the Armenians, and Judea for the Jews." (December 2, 1917)

The Jewish presence there has been continuous, except for 19 years from 1948 to 1967 when the area became Judenrein. And during that 19 years, the Jordanians and Arabs of the remaining portion of "Palestine" desecrated Jewish Holy Sites and cemeteries in an attempt to deny that the Jews ever lived there.

Those who advocate the dismantling of the Jewish communities in this territory are advocating a policy of ethnic cleansing. This may sound extreme, but from the early 1900's, the Arabs carried out a policy of ethnic cleansing that included the massacre and pogroms in 1929 and 1936 in Hebron. Both the spirit and practice of ethnic cleansing are being continued in the current conflict (see Palestine Facts).

So, what did UN Secretary-General Kofi Anan mean in his 2001 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech when he said, "A genocide begins with the killing of one man - not for what he has done, but because of who he is. A campaign of 'ethnic cleansing' begins with one neighbor turning on another." Does this not also apply to the Israeli Jews who have re-established homes in Judea and Samaria? Should they be ethnically cleansed from the heart of their historical homeland? Does the Nobel recipient not know a real victim of ethnic cleansing when he sees one?

The same people and countries that condemn ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, Cyprus, Rwanda and Tibet totally reverse themselves when it comes to the right of Jewish People to live in the lands of their historic patrimony. If Chinese People were forbidden to live in China, Buddhists barred from Tibet, or Irish-Catholics banned from South Boston, there would be a tremendous outcry against such injustices. But where is the outcry against the removal of Jews from Judea - their historical homeland?

Is there any other country on earth that has such a legitimate birth certificate as Israel? And if the Jews have no such document, then the Old and New Testaments are worthless. The war for Israel's independence ended in 1949 with the Jordanians in full control of Judea and Samaria and the Old City of Jerusalem (the "West Bank"), cutting the Jewish People off from their most holy religious sites. (see Jewish Roots to Judea and Samaria)

The official status of these areas, then, was disputed territories, as no one had held sovereignty there since the defeat of the Ottoman Empire. Only two countries, Pakistan and Britain, recognize the 19-year Jordanian "illegal occupation". Even the entire Arab world refused to recognize it and, consequently, it was illegal and illegitimate abinitio.

After the 1967 war, the Jewish People have simply been returning to the land from which they were forcibly expelled during the first Arab - Israeli war of 1948-49. This territory has always been known as Judea and Samaria. Do the names "Jew" (for Judea) and "Samaritan" (as in "good Samaritan") sound familiar? In fact, Shemer, founder of Asher, a clan of one of the twelve tribes of Israel, was the owner and eponym of the hills of Samaria. Is there anything Arab or "Palestinian" about either? Even UN Resolution 181, the Partition Plan of 1947 refers to these territories as Judea and Samaria.

The word "occupiers" does not apply to the Jews. Prior to the illegal Jordanian occupation of 1948-67, Jews had maintained several thousand years of continual residence in the area. However, the term does apply to both Jordanians and the "Palestinian" Arab squatters of today (see Resolved: are the settlements legal? Israeli West Bank policies).

In the early part of the 20th century, the Arab population carried out a war against the Jewish inhabitants of the area. This resulted in a series of massacres in Hebron, the birth place of Judaism, in 1929, as well as numerous other violent acts, such as the 1936-39 pogroms against Jews, ending in the total expulsion of the Jewish population from much of Judea, Samaria and the Old City of Jerusalem.

As a result of the Israeli victory in 1967, Jewish People returned to this area and reunified the historic capital of Jerusalem. Many of the Jews who had been expelled from this territory, or whose parents and grandparents were murdered by rampaging Arabs, have merely returned to their previous homes. And in subsequent years, additional Jewish communities (not "illegal settlements") were built, mainly for security purposes, and others for historical and emotional reasons on mainly state-owned land and historical outposts. Judea and Samaria were liberated, not stolen or occupied, from Jordan. (see Legality of the settlements and History of the Jewish Settlements).

Since 1967, 261 new Arab settlements have been built in Judea and Samaria. According to international law, all of these are illegal, as no sovereignty was ever recognized over these territories: yet no one calls for their removal. Why is it that no one talks about those Arab settlements as obstacles to peace - especially when they are bases for carrying out terrorism and their inhabitants are constantly taught virulent hatred toward the Jewish People and the West?

Dismantling the Jewish communities in these territories will only reward terrorism. The Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, are a litmus test of Arab intentions. Why can't Jews live in their historic homeland if there is really peace? After all, there are 1.2 million Arabs living as citizens of Israel in one Jewish country in the world, while there are only a handful Jews living in any of the 22 Arab countries. In fact, in Jordan and Saudi Arabia, not only is it illegal for Jews to be citizens, they are not even allowed to live there. Therefore, instead of Israel being the "apartheid state" in the region, it is the Arab world that is not only apartheid, but also racist and religiously exclusive.



This article posted on International Wallpaper

Israel Security Fence - The Wall of Shame

Terrorism has been defined throughout the international community as a crime against humanity. As such, the state of Israel not only had the right but also the obligation to do everything in its power to lessen the impact and scope of terrorism on the citizens of Israel.

The security fence in an operational concept conceived by the Israeli Defense Establishment in order to reduce the numbers of terrorist attacks whether in the form of explosive-rigged vehicles or in the form of suicide bombers who enter into Israel with the intention of murdering innocent babies, children, women and men.

Hypocrisy:

Morocco - Sahara:
The great wall of Morocco known as "the security belt" is a defensive wall of 2720 kms (1690 mi) long. It serves to protect Morocco from hostile intentions of Polisario.

Pakistan - Afghanistan:
Pakistan built a 2400 kms (1490 mi)barrier to separate itself from Afghanistan.

India - Pakistan:
As well India built its 3300 kms (2050 mi) wall to separate itself from neighboring Pakistan.

South Korea - North Korea:
South Korea protects itself from North Korea with a barrier of 250 kms (154 mi).

Saudi Arabia - Yemen:
Saudi Arabia built 1770 kms (1100 mi) concrete wall with sophisticated electronic monitoring devices. The wall is intended to prevent Yemenite infiltration into the country. The barrier costs over 700 million dollars. Little matters the anger of local Yemenite tribes denouncing the reduction of Yemenite territory by 7 kms (4 mi).

(and Iraq)
As well Saudi Arabia erects a 900 kms (500 mi) ultra modern barrier on its border with Iraq.

Turkey (Cyprus):
Turkey claims part of the island of Cyprus and delimits that territory by a barrier of 300 kms. (187 mi)

Thailand - Malaysia:
Since 2007, Thailand erected a 75 kms (46 mi) barrier along its most accessible border with Malaysia. According to Bangkok, its purpose is to prevent southern troubled provinces Muslim terrorists from entering the northern part of the country.

Uzbekistan - Tajikistan:
Uzbekistan erected a closure of 1283 kms (797 mi) along its border with Tajikistan.

United Arab Emirates - Oman:
United Arab Emirates are in the process of building 410 kms (255 mi) barrier on their border with Oman.

Kuwait - Iraq:
Kuwait reinforces the exiting 215 kms (134 mi) structure along its border with Iraq.

United States - Mexico:
What about United States?
What about Obama and his speech in Cairo?
What about this land of liberty and the Mexican border?
The 3360 kms (2087 mi) length wall between United states and Mexico is being erected to protect the U.S from Mexicans who try to enter illegally the country in order to escape poverty and misery.

And what about Europe?
Always so ready to condemn certain others?

Spain - Ceuta and Melilla
Spain of Javier Solana and Moratinos erected an electrified barrier of 11 kms (7 mi) guarded continuously by soldiers at Melilla, as well at its border with Ceuta, The fence's long 11 (7 mi) kms and consists of parallel 3-metre (10-foot) fences topped with barbed wire, with regular watchposts and a road running between them to accommodate police patrols or ambulance service in case of need. Underground cables connect spotlights, noise and movement sensors, and video cameras to a central control booth; dozens of Guard ships and patrol boats check the coast, while 621 Guardia Civil’s officers and 548 police officers control the shore.

It serve to protect Spain from illegal Moroccan and sub Saharan workers who try to enter its territory to escape famine.

Ireland (Belfast)
There are also the famous "walls of Ireland", length of 0.5 kms (0.310 mi), where for over thirty years, Catholic and Protestants desire to be separated from each other. For this, roads have been cut in order to end the throwing of stones, Molotov cocktails, hand grenades and various other projectiles. Entire areas of Belfast have been disfigured, homes destroyed and residents ex-pulsed in total general international indifference.

BUT THE ONLY WALL CALLED "THE WALL OF SHAME" IS THE ONE BUILT BY THE STATE OF ISRAEL!!!

For Israel however the benefit of such wall is without question:
Between 2002 and 2008, the number of victims of suicide bomb attacks on its soil has fallen from 451 to 7. This fall of 98.5% (!!!) does not of course apply at Eilat, nor Dimona, nor along the Judean desert as these areas are not yet enclosed in the security barrier.

It is more legitimate to build a wall in order to protect oneself from immigrants living in poverty and misery than to do it in order to prevent the entering of TERRORIST, SUICIDE BOMBERS?

I let you, Mr. Obama, Mr. Solana, Mr. Moratinos and all your colleagues answer this question. It is quite rhetorical, I must admit.

Here is the complete list of all the barrier walls around the world:

Name: Baghdad Wall
Country: Adhamiya, Iraq
Type: Civil pacification
Year: (Under construction)
Length: 5 kms (3 mi)

Name: Belfast Peace Lines
Country: United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)
type: Civil pacification
Year: 1970s -early
Length: 0.500 kms (average) - (0.310 mi)

Name: Botswana/Zimbabwe
Country: Botswana and Zimbabwe
Type: Anti-illegal immigration
Year: 2003
Length: 500 kms (310 mi)

Name: Brunei/Limbang
Country: Brunei and Limbang
Type: Anti-illegal immigration
Year: 2005
Length: 20 kms (12 mi)

Name: Ceuta border fence
Country: Spain
Type: Anti-illegal immigration
Year: 2001
Length: 11 kms

Name: Melilla border fence
Country: Spain
Type: Anti-illegal immigration
Year: 1998
Length: 11 kms

Name: China/Hong Kong
Country: China
Type: Internal barrier
Year: 1960s -early
Length: 32 kms (20 mi)

Name: China/Macau
Country: China
type: Internal barrier
Year: 1870
Length: 0.340 km (0.211 mi)

Name: China/North Korea
Country: China and North Korea
Type: Anti-illegal immigration
Year: (Under construction)
Length: 1,416 kms (879 mi)

Name: Egypt-Gaza barrier
Country: Egypt
Type: Anti-terrorism and anti-illegal immigration
Year: 1979, + subterranean barrier (under construction)
Length: 3.071 kms (2 mi)

Name: Sharm el-Sheikh
Country: Egypt
type: Anti-terrorism
Year: 2005
Length: 20 kms (12 mi)

Name: Malaysia-Thailand border
Country: Thailand and Malaysia
Type: Anti-terrorism
Year: Proposed
Length: 650 kms (403 mi)

Name: Indo-Bangladeshi barrier
Country: India
Type: Anti-illegal immigration and Anti-Terrorism
Year: Under construction
Length: 3,268 kms (2041 mi)

Name: Indo-Burma barrier
Country: India
type: Anti-Drug smuggling and Anti-Terrorism
Year: Under construction
Length: 1,624 kms (1009 mi)

Name: Indian Kashmir barrier
Country: India
Type: Anti-terrorism (disputed territory)
Year: 2004
Length: 550 kms (341 mi)

Name: Iran-Pakistan barrier
Country: Iran and Pakistan
Type: Anti-drug smuggling
Year: Under construction
Length: 700 kms (434 mi)

Name: Israeli West Bank barrier
Country: Israel - West Bank
Type: Anti-terrorism (disputed territory)
Year: Under construction
Length: 650 kms (403 mi)

Name: Kazakh-Uzbekistan barrier
Country: Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
Type: Anti-drug smuggling
Year: 2006
Length: 45 kms (28 mi)

Name: Korean Wall
Country: North Korea and South Korea
Type: Conflict zone
Year: 1953
Length: 248 kms (154 mi)

Name: Kruger National Park
Country: South Africa and Mozambique
Type: Anti-illegal immigration
Year: 1975
Length: 120 kms (74 mi)

Name: Kuwait-Iraq barrier
Country: Kuwait and Iraq
Type: Conflict zone
Year: 1991
Length: 193 kms (120 mi)

Name: Pakistan-Afghanistan barrier
Country: Pakistan
Type: Anti-terrorism
Year: Proposed
Length: 2,400 kms (1491 mi)

Name: Russia - Chechnya barrier
Country: Chechnya (Russia)
Type: Anti-terrorism (disputed territory)
Year: Proposed
Length: 700 (435 mi)

name: Saudi-Yemen barrier
Country: Saudi Arabia and Yemen
type: Anti-illegal immigration
Year: 2004
Length: 1770 kms (1100 mi)

Name: Turkmen - Uzbekistan barrier
Country: Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
Type: Anti-illegal immigration
Year: 2001
Length: 1,700 kms (1056 mi)

Name: United Arab Emirates-Oman barrier
Country: United Arab Emirates and Oman
Type: Anti-illegal immigration
Year: Under construction
Length: 410 kms (254 mi)

name: United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus
Country: Cyprus and Northern Cyprus
Type: Conflict zone
Year: 1974
Length: 300 kms (186 mi)

Name: United States–Mexico barrier
Country: United States
Type: Anti-illegal immigration and drug smuggling
Year: Under construction
Length: 3,360 (2087 mi)

Name: Uzbek-Afghanistan barrier
Country: Uzbekistan and Afghanistan
Type: Anti-illegal immigration
Year: 2001
Length: 209 kms (130 mi)

Name: Uzbek - Kyrgyzstan (Tajikistan) barrier
Country: Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan
Type: Conflict zone
Year: 1999
Length: 1283 kms (797 mi)

Name: Via Anelli Wall
Country: Padua, Italy
Type: Internal barrier
Year: 2006
Length: 0.085 kms (0.05 mi)

Name: Western Sahara, Berm of
Country: Morocco
Type: Conflict zone (disputed territory)
Year: 1987
Length: 2720 kms (1690 mi)





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Israel's Security Fence

Where Does The Word Palestine From?

The name Palestine is derived from the biblical name Peleshet designating the coastal plain in which the Philistines (Peleshtim) settled in the course of their 12th century (BC) expansion. The Philistines were an Aegean people who were driven out of Greece and the Aegean islands around 1300 BC.

The first time the area which is today named Israel was given the name Palestine was in 135 AD after the Roman conquest of Judea. This was immediately after the Romans crushed the revolt led by Simon Bar Kochba in 135 AD. The Romans renamed the land Syria-Palesitina in an attempt to cancel the Jewish claim to the land. They proceeded to destroy Jerusalem and rename it Aelia Capitolina. But we can still find as late as the 4th century, the Christian author, Epiphanius referring to "Palestine, that is, Judea." Previous to 123 AD (a turning point in Jewish history), there is about 2000 years of Jewish presence and history in the area today termed Israel. Here is a brief history, leaving out thousands of names and places. Pick up any history book that covers this period and this region:

2000-1225 BC - The period of Abraham
1120-1180 BC - Moses, the exodus from Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea
1180-1100 BC - The assault on Jericho
1080-1030 BC - Samson, Samuel, Shaul
1030-1013 BC - David, battle of Gilboa
1013-1006 BC - David proclaimed king at Hebron, David captures Jerusalem
1006-980 BC - The wars of David (Arameans, Moab, Edom)
980-933 BC - The death of David, Solomon, the 1st Temple
933-875 BC - War between Israel and Judah, Omri founds the 3rd dynasty of Israel
987-851 BC - The era of Samaria
854-746 BC - Ahab, the Assyrian advance, the end of the Omri dynasty
746-720 BC - Amos at Bet-el, Shallum, Menachem, Pekahiah - kings of Israel, Ahaz king of Judea, deportation of Israelite
population to Assyria
720-692 BC - The fall of Samaria, the capture of Ashdod
692-609 BC - Beginning of decline of Assyrian power, the fall of Ninveh, death of Josiah.
608-586 BC - The end of the kingdom of Judea, the destruction of Jerusalem, the flight to Egypt by Jews
586-538 BC - Babylonian exile
538-432 BC - The restoration of the 1st Temple, Nehemiah builds the walls.
424-187 BC - Greek rule
187-142 BC - Hellenism, rededication of the Temple, Judah the Maccabbee.
142-37 BC - Simon, Syrian invasion repulsed, Samaritan temple razed, rise of the Pharisees, Sadducees, Pompey, Caesar,
Herod named by Romans to be king of Jews
37-4 BC - Herod the Great
4BC-67 AD - Jesus, Pontius Pilate, Agrippa confirmed by Claudius, Josephus in the Galilee
68-135 AD - Titus, destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, the capture of Masada, Hadrian, the Jewish uprising led
by Bar Kochba, the renaming of Judea to Syria-Palestina by Rome

Only in 632 AD did the Moslem Arabs invade Syria-Palestina and by 640 AD the area was part of the Moslem empire. This reign lasted 450 years, with first the Omayyads, then the Abbasid dynasty and finally by the Fatimids.

Israel's Humanitarian Aid in Gaza

From Jerusalem Post.
14,000 tons aid was transferred from Israel to Gaza last week.
Total 637 trucks, of aid, transferred to Gaza Strip via crossings.

Shipments consisted of:
☛Hundreds of thousands of liters of fuel!
☛21 trucks of milk formula/baby food!
☛897 tons of cooking gas!
☛66 trucks of fruits/vegetables!
☛51 trucks wheat!
☛27 trucks meat, poultry/ fish!
☛40 trucks dairy products!
☛117 trucks animal food!
☛37 trucks of hygiene products!
☛22 trucks sugar!
☛38 trucks clothing/shoes.
☛781 medical patients from Gaza crossed to Israel for medical treatment with 4 trucks medicine/medical equipment!
☛191 members of international organizations crossed to Gaza 202 crossed from Gaza to Israel.

Hamas Steals Aid From Palestinians:
The Israeli Defense Forces continue to face a good deal of heat from humanitarian groups such as Human Rights Watch, which say the military's tight cordon around Gaza City is taking a punishing toll on civilians who are in desperate need of humanitarian supplies.

Apparently Hamas, the terrorist "government" in Gaza, doesn't agree. As the Jerusalem Post reports:

Hamas on Monday raided some 100 aid trucks that Israel had allowed into Gaza, stole their contents and sold them to the highest bidders.

... Since the beginning of Operation Cast Lead, the IDF has facilitated the transfer of close to 900 trucks into the Gaza Strip with over 20,000 tons of basic food and medical supplies.

So Hamas loots 1 out of 9 aid trucks, not only stealing food and supplies from the mouths of its own people to fund more rockets but also jeopardizing Israel's inclination to allow future relief deliveries.

What are the chances that HRW, the United Nations, and other humanitarian organizations will now express the same outrage over relief access with Hamas that they showed with Israel? Far less than 1 in 9 is my guess.

Author Note:
The Palestinians have no shame to blame Israel for "genocide" and they couldn't understand this situation will stay as long they refuse to release Gilad shalit. The bleeding heart people of the world are support Palestinian terrorism and helping the terrorists as long it's on Israel's back.

Is Sovereignty Over the Temple Mount Already Established Everything but Fact?

A Jewish bride and her father were arrested on the Temple Mount the day before her wedding, after an Arab policeman claimed he saw the father muttering prayers and the bride nodding her head.

The father and daughter were being taken around the site on Wednesday morning by her brother Eli, a volunteer who conducts regular tours at the Temple Mount, when suddenly they were accosted by the Jerusalem policeman.

“We were in the northern part, and I was showing them the archaeological evidence when suddenly a police officer came over to us, Mahmoud Hativ was his name, and h claimed that my father had muttered prayers. “We tried to argue with him and said it wasn’t true, but he said, ‘You can’t fool me,’ and insisted that my father had prayed,” Eli told Israel National News.

“My sister was just standing there silently, not moving at all. She didn’t say a word. It was her first time at the Mount. Other cops came over, Mahmoud said that she had also been involved, and they decided to arrest them both,” he continued. “He let me go right away, because he couldn’t make any claim against me.” His sister and father were taken to the Kishla police station near the Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem.

‘Lack of Will to Exercise Israeli Sovereignty’

“The fact that a father comes to the holiest place of the Jewish people and can be arrested simply for allegedly moving his lips is an outrage,” Eli said.

“The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that the holy sites of all religions have to be protected and respected – that explicitly includes the rights of Jews on the Temple Mount. Jerusalem police continue to ignore that ruling.”

Asked if he believes U.S. pressure on Israel to make concessions to the Palestinian Authority had anything to do with the incident, Eli said, ‘No. It is a result of the lack of will of the Jerusalem police to exercise Israeli sovereignty over the Jewish holy places in Jerusalem, not U.S. pressure on Israel. It is unheard of to arrest someone just for praying in their own religion. In the U.S. that wouldn’t fly. There is no public place in the U.S. where a Jew could not pray. It is unfortunate, and sad.”

The family, which immigrated to Israel from New York in 1996, lives in Beit Shemesh.

‘Police Misled Them to Sign Confession’

The two were held for several hours. At approximately 11:30 a.m., the two were ordered to sign a declaration which they were told said they would promise not to return to the Temple Mount for 15 days.

However, the father, who spoke with Israel National News from the courtyard of the police station while waiting to be questioned by the police commander, said that further examination of the paper showed they had been misinformed. The declaration actually said that they were confessing to have violated a law about disturbing the public order.

It was also made equally clear that if they did not sign the paper, they might not be freed for hours – perhaps not even in time for the young woman to make it to her own wedding.

Officers at Jaffa Gate Station Mocked the Bride

“The police officers talked very improperly to my daughter. She was very upset – in tears – and they ridiculed her. ‘What’s the matter, are you baby?’ they mocked her.” Her father immediately fired back, “That’s how you talk to someone?”

The father said that the officer in charge threatened to keep them longer in response. “Be careful,” the cop warned. “If you talk to me that way, I can keep you here for a few more hours.”

“So I asked them: ‘How would it be if we arrested a young lady for praying anywhere else in the State of Israel? Or maybe a Muslim woman for praying in Mecca? This is about police enforcement – so enforce the law! And they answered me, ‘It’s a very sensitive issue. This is the law.’ That’s what they answered me,” said the father. “So I shut up, because I wanted to get out of there, and he would have kept us for hours. We signed the paper, and we will deal with it in the court of public opinion.”

The father was not praying although he was, in fact, moving his lips. “They asked me if my daughter was nodding her head. I said I didn’t know – but if she can now be arrested for nodding her head… well, anyway, in the end, that’s what they got her for. Nodding her head. That’s the nature of the public order.”