A long time ago in a memory far, far away existed a Mandate called Palestine

A long time ago in a memory far, far away existed a Mandate called Palestine

Original land for Israel per Balfour Declaration.

Palestine, by the western victors of World War 2 and comprised of an area that heretofore was Ottoman Turkey. The Mandate called for the establishment of Palestine as a Jewish homeland. This was hardly “Palestinian” land as the word is today used. The Turks first conquered the land in the 7th Century, It was conquered by Egypt in 1830 and it became a place where many Egyptian soldiers settled. Egypt later gave it back to the Turks in 1838. Along the way many other invaders conquered the land, including the Mongols. Still there were not “Palestinians” claiming that land as theirs.

Following the Balfour Declaration of 1917, wherein Palestine was promised to the Jews, land was “purchased” rather than conquered and farms and communities were built. Throughout the 20’s, 30’s and into the 40’s the Arabs would regularly attack the Jewish settlements, as in the Russian Pogroms in pre Soviet times. Their religion dictated that they could live with the “infidel” but the “infidel” must be subjugated to the Moslem. Seeing the success of the Jewish communities and their well run farms, the Arabs felt that this was “out of place” and that the Jews were not to outdo them and thus they began attacking their settlements. Please note, that nobody hear needed to “cry” that the Jews had taken Arab homeland or that the Jews would not allow them to return to “Palestine”, as they did not need any modern day excuse to “persecute the infidel” for showing them up.

So, the common mistake folks make about “Palestinian” land is not reality. Would someone kindly tell Mr. Obama this, as his starting point for a peace is not historically sound. The second fact here is that the 1967 border, was won by war, with Israel being the victim of the Arabs, who had been attacking them since the 20’s in earnest. Now if it were anyone else on the face of the earth but Jews who won land by war, no one would by crying that they should give it back. In fact, after much “crying by the Pelestina”, (pardon my play on words) the British gave in and “split” the land promised to the Jews, in a less than equal way than King Solomon split the baby, and gave not only three quarters of the land to the Arabs, to form what was to be “their Palestine”, but the arable land as well, leaving the Jews with desert.

The land given the Jews was what is roughly what Israel consists of  today and went up to the Jordan River, and included “West Bank” towns of Nazareth, Nablus, all of Jerusalem and Gaza. Hello, Mr. President??? The large plot of arable land became Trans-Jordan, or Jordan, as it is called today. Here is the Rub, when Israel was declared a state in 1947 and was attacked by Arab nations on all sides, they won the war, but the Arabs kept much of the land. Here it seems to be just fine for the world not to ask the Arabs to return to the 1947 borders, let alone the right of return by the Jews to their lands, homes and wealth, which were lost when kicked out of the Arab countries in 1947. No justice here!

Note: The image above shows the land of Palestine as it was to become Israel at the onset.

The second image below shows the final land grant after the Arab nations vociferously complained and thus all of the quality land was given to the Arabs, with the Jews being given the desert lands.

Further note that the land referred to on the second map as Transjordan, was to be the home for the Palestinians.

     This no longer makes a case as far as the Palestinians and Arabs are concerned.

They are now contending that the WWI/WWII victors had no right to give their lands to the Jews and are petitioning the British to abrogate the Balfour declaration.  Knowing the British it may yet happen with a slovenly apology by the UK government and the knighting of Abbas.