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Conflict in the Middle East

Why did Israeli settlers move into the Palestinian Territories?

293 replies

MaggieFS · 19/10/2023 17:38

Firstly, please excuse my naivety and note that I don't support either side in the current conflict. I am appalled but the atrocities inflicted by both sides.

The media attention has caused me to read up on the complicated history.

One thing I can't understand. After 1967 Israeli settlers moved into what had been proposed as Palestinian Territories after 1947. Why? At an individual level, were people incentivised?

OP posts:
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LondonMummer · 20/10/2023 17:30

squidnames · 20/10/2023 17:02

My point was in reference to a poster who said that the Jews are discriminated against wherever they go, hence the need for Israel. If you had to walk in my shoes a statement like that hits really hard. A Jewish person is not clearly an other, a dark skinned person like me - it’s very obvious. So I do have a right to a voice and does not make my opinion anti semitic.

As my post made crystal clear I have no right to tell you about your experience as a non white person.

Equally you have no idea what it is like to be Jewish. We are not as you seem to think 'hidden in plain sight'. We are not immune to racism despite our skin colour.

Jewish people are an ethnicity as well as a religion. We weren't just given some random spot of land. It might have been atrociously handled by the British but Jews have lived in Israel which is considered our homeland since biblical times.

The most offensive part of your post was when you stated that racism wasn't exclusive to Jews (who said it was?) and that it 'shouldn't be used to wage a war'. 'Jews' did not start a war. Prior to that you also said "they [Jews] can't keep using the Holocaust .."

Your post was deeply offensive to me for a number of reasons and if you search a previous thread that explained the international definition of Antisemitism you might understand why.

To give you the benefit of the doubt I'm going to assume you don't know what it's like to walk in my shoes as Jewish person (why would you, as I say I don't profess to speak to your lived experience of racism) so please can I urge you to read David Baddiel's Jewish Don't Count as it explains my response with enormous clarity.

squidnames · 20/10/2023 17:29

Meshigenus · 20/10/2023 17:25

6 million Jews slaughtered in the holocaust may beg to differ.

@Meshigenus Oh ok so slavery of blacks and colonization of Indians was ok then? Lots of people have suffered for generations, but using the holocaust to justify Israel’s actions is not ok. I’m not anti semitic, holding Israel accountable for its actions does not make a person an anti semite. The holocaust does not give Israel the right to invade another country.

squidnames · 20/10/2023 17:26

That is definitely wrong, it was an isolated incident in Aus I believe? Similar to the Muslim boy who was stabbed in US. I’m not saying anti semitism does not exist, it is as real as anti Muslim sentiments and racism that other groups face. What I do believe is wrong is calling someone an anti semite if they hold Israel accountable for its actions. And to say that its actions are justified because Jews are persecuted. I am not an anti semite, I am against this war. I am anti war. If we do not hold both Hamas and the actions of the Israeli govt accountable then this will continue to prolong and lots more children will die.

Meshigenus · 20/10/2023 17:25

squidnames · 20/10/2023 17:02

My point was in reference to a poster who said that the Jews are discriminated against wherever they go, hence the need for Israel. If you had to walk in my shoes a statement like that hits really hard. A Jewish person is not clearly an other, a dark skinned person like me - it’s very obvious. So I do have a right to a voice and does not make my opinion anti semitic.

6 million Jews slaughtered in the holocaust may beg to differ.

MountainLion · 20/10/2023 17:24

Many ordinary Israelis do not believe settlers should be on this land either and resent that the IDF are often put in harms way to guard them.

The government is that of proportional representation so Netanyahu has (I think) allied his already fairly right wing party with the ultra hard right who believe in the right to settlement.

molotovcupcakes · 20/10/2023 17:18

squidnames · 20/10/2023 17:02

My point was in reference to a poster who said that the Jews are discriminated against wherever they go, hence the need for Israel. If you had to walk in my shoes a statement like that hits really hard. A Jewish person is not clearly an other, a dark skinned person like me - it’s very obvious. So I do have a right to a voice and does not make my opinion anti semitic.

Everyone has been horrified to hear the chants of 'Gas the Jews' in Australia and the outpouring of jew hatred across the country and around the world. It has woken people up to the fact that anti-sematism is real and deep rooted.
I think that it is a turning point in understanding in the West.

Meshigenus · 20/10/2023 17:08

That's now, not then.
First of all, Gaza and Wb had been previously occupied by Egypt and Jordan respectively from 1948.
Why they never established a Palestinian state in those years is a good question.
After winning the 6 day war (when israel was attacked by Egypt, Syria and jordan), Israel won all of the sinai, gaza, wb and Golant heights.
There were settlements established in sinai but they were dismantled when israel gave back all of sinai for peace.

Previously, there was no fence or it was easily crossed. Palestinians used to work freely in israel, you used to see Palestinian cars everywhere.

It's crazy how much it's changed. The restrictions really started with the hamas bombings in the 90s and got super strict during the 2nd intifada when the separation fence was built

piddocktrumperiness · 20/10/2023 17:03

also @MaggieFS Netanyahu believes that encroaching on occupied territories 'wins back' land.
You see, if you encroach and build settlements- this requires police and military presence to protect the settlers therefore indirectly keeping a very close eye on the Palestinians

squidnames · 20/10/2023 17:02

@LondonMummer

piddocktrumperiness · 20/10/2023 17:02

This is why most Palestinians are pissed off.

Netanyahu is a zealot. A supremacist. He does not believe that the Palestinian territories are Palestinian- he believes they should belong to the Jews. He also panders to the far right ultra groups who believe all the land is their right

squidnames · 20/10/2023 17:02

My point was in reference to a poster who said that the Jews are discriminated against wherever they go, hence the need for Israel. If you had to walk in my shoes a statement like that hits really hard. A Jewish person is not clearly an other, a dark skinned person like me - it’s very obvious. So I do have a right to a voice and does not make my opinion anti semitic.

piddocktrumperiness · 20/10/2023 17:01

@MaggieFS They should not have- That is why it is illegal.

sprigatito · 20/10/2023 16:55

Indeed. And most of us take a dim view of anyone who still thinks that's acceptable behaviour in 2023.

MaggieFS · 20/10/2023 16:55

Another question, again, pardon my ignorance I am seeking to understand facts.

If the West Bank and Gaza were designated as Palestinian Territories. And given they have such robust fortified borders with Israel, how was it possible for the Israeli government to giver/determine land within them for settlements?

OP posts:
overtaxedoverworked · 20/10/2023 16:54

sprigatito · 20/10/2023 16:36

This is so poorly thought out it's staggering. Immigrants to the US don't have the right to choose a property with a family living in it and have the US army remove the inhabitants at gun point so they can move in. Which is what happens when Palestinian land is forcibly "settled".

It's not so long ago that the US did behave like this. Both forcing native Americans onto reservations and then re-allocating land if minerals/oil were discovered.

Meshigenus · 20/10/2023 16:39

You should read this book: https://www.amazon.com/Lords-Land-Settlements-Territories-1967-2007/dp/B003STCPSK

It explains how the settlement movement managed to gain traction and become government policy. In the early days, it absolutely was not government policy.

https://www.amazon.com/Lords-Land-Settlements-Territories-1967-2007/dp/B003STCPSK?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-conflict-in-the-middle-east-4923755-why-did-israeli-settlers-move-into-the-palestinian-territories

sprigatito · 20/10/2023 16:36

EsmaCannonball · 20/10/2023 15:56

Millions of people have emigrated to the US over the years, virtually none of them with any indigenous connection to that country, and they do not get labelled as settlers. Same goes for lots of countries. Jewish people are at least indigenous to Palestine and those from the diaspora were only a diaspora because of slavery, expulsion and refugeeing from persecution and pogroms.

This is so poorly thought out it's staggering. Immigrants to the US don't have the right to choose a property with a family living in it and have the US army remove the inhabitants at gun point so they can move in. Which is what happens when Palestinian land is forcibly "settled".

feralunderclass · 20/10/2023 16:33

Kendodd · 20/10/2023 16:22

This is my family, married out Jews, not religious at all, now culturally Christian. I look on our Jewish heritage in the same way I would if we were 1/4 or 1/2 French or something. We do have some (not many) relatives who are 'proper' Jews though. We also have a tiny bit of black African slave heritage even though I have blond hair and blue eyes.

A city near me used to have a thriving Jewish Community in the early 1900s-1970ish. There are two synagogues that aren't synagogues any more, and a Jewish section in the cemetery. I visited the current synagogue not so long ago, and the man giving us the talk about the history was a "Christian of Jewish descent". The community has virtually disappeared due to people marrying out and/or moving elsewhere. I was shocked to discover in my 40s quite a few people I know have local Jewish ancestry, but don't consider themselves Jewish.

feralunderclass · 20/10/2023 16:24

squidnames · 20/10/2023 15:26

I raised the same question but have received an email from MN threatening to suspend my account. I am from an ethnic minority group.

I'm really sorry to hear this. It's really sad that discussion is closed down in this way.

Kendodd · 20/10/2023 16:22

feralunderclass · 20/10/2023 13:08

@TheWayTheLightFalls I think that is my main problem with the notion of a 'homeland' for anyone built upon the oppression and erasure of the people whose home it actually is. I've been to settlements and met settlers. What struck me as particularly painful (if that's the right word) is that many of them were from wealthy Jewish communities in US, they were happy and very much flourishing by their own admission. They weren't living in fear of their lives, they want to move to Israel as they believe it's their right. Many don't settle permanently either, they go between US and Israel.
From a statistical perspective I don't believe the notion of a home land for Jewish people's survival is strictly necessary. I completely understand why they would want it though. Jonathan Faith was part of a BBC4 docuseries on the history of Jewish people in UK, and he said the biggest threat to the religion is that they are marrying out. Can't remember exact figures but every year in the UK the % of people identifying as Jews is decreasing. Not because they are literally being wiped out, but because they marry out and don't pass religion on, so their dc don't identify as Jews. It's the same for Christians. He spends huge amounts of his wealth every year in trying to revive the religiosity of people who are born Jewish.

This is my family, married out Jews, not religious at all, now culturally Christian. I look on our Jewish heritage in the same way I would if we were 1/4 or 1/2 French or something. We do have some (not many) relatives who are 'proper' Jews though. We also have a tiny bit of black African slave heritage even though I have blond hair and blue eyes.

feralunderclass · 20/10/2023 16:10

EsmaCannonball · 20/10/2023 15:56

Millions of people have emigrated to the US over the years, virtually none of them with any indigenous connection to that country, and they do not get labelled as settlers. Same goes for lots of countries. Jewish people are at least indigenous to Palestine and those from the diaspora were only a diaspora because of slavery, expulsion and refugeeing from persecution and pogroms.

Emigrating to a land is legal. The settlements are illegal, contravening international law.

EsmaCannonball · 20/10/2023 15:56

Millions of people have emigrated to the US over the years, virtually none of them with any indigenous connection to that country, and they do not get labelled as settlers. Same goes for lots of countries. Jewish people are at least indigenous to Palestine and those from the diaspora were only a diaspora because of slavery, expulsion and refugeeing from persecution and pogroms.

squidnames · 20/10/2023 15:26

feralunderclass · 20/10/2023 14:55

Genuine question: why are Jewish people the only legitimate target? In the UK the most persecuted religious group (by far) is Muslims. They have no 'homeland' where they can turn up to, get paid and get citizenship. There are so many persecuted groups in the UK alone. On a racial issue, the Travellers are the most discriminated against. Why does no one speak about them getting a homeland?

I raised the same question but have received an email from MN threatening to suspend my account. I am from an ethnic minority group.

ThinkWise · 20/10/2023 15:24

molotovcupcakes · 20/10/2023 14:24

Islam is the second-largest religion in Israel, constituting 1.707 million and around 18.1% of the country's population as of 2022. The ethnic Arab citizens of Israel make up the majority of its Muslim population, making them the largest minority group in Israel.

If it was recognised as Palestine and some Jews lived there in the West Bank would that be so bad- lots of British people live in Spain, etc, 250000 British people live in France.
The problem is it is more like Cashmeer, disputed land that needs a settlement solution but the Palestinians have been unwilling to recognise the Jews as having any claim over Israel at all.

Please don't mix up. Cashmeer is not disputed land. It belong to Cashmeer people. India is moving settlers into Cashmeer for the same wrong intentions , to steal the precious resources it has . like Israel probably to grab land and power , thats why PP thought so. ( I am Indian and responded only in that context)

JustAMinutePleass · 20/10/2023 15:04

garlicandsapphires · 20/10/2023 09:13

Following as also confused.
On a very simple level my understanding is that the conflict over land goes back to Abraham who had two sons, Isaac (with his wife Sarah - this is the Jewish line) and Ishmael (with Sarah's servant Hagar - this is the Arab line) Abraham was given the Promised land - modern day Israel.

I know that doesn't answer the question but it's helpful to remember (I think)

Palestinians and the Palestine region was mostly Jewish back then. So this didn’t apply. It started off as a racist war - white Jews vs Arab Jews. The mass conversions of Palestinian Jews to Islam (and the mass migration of Arab Muslims into the area happened after Israel).