Opinion
Israeli colonialism in West Bank
Oren Yiftachel
Published: 30.08.12, 01:07
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31. #25 Go back and read 4th Geneva convention, Article 49
Jake   (08.30.12)
Where's the mention of voluntary settlement? It's all about forcible transfer and deportation. The twisting of international law to misrepresent the so-called settlements, that's what I would call myth and hearsay and the stuff of comic books.
32. The land in question is part of Israel
Chaim Ben Kahan ,   Efrat, Israel   (08.30.12)
I cannot believe this debate still exists in 2012. The land from East Bank to the sea is all Israel. In truth the East Bank is also legitamtely part of Israel,but for the sake of peace and the two state solution we are willing to forgo the East Bank of Israel. This is very generous of Israel and the Jewish people. We must not allow revisionist to dominate the narrative and to claim that Israel is part of Arabia. This is counterproductive to making peace. The Arab settlement enterprise must end for peace to have a chance.
33. To be jew is dangerous.
Istvan ,   BUDAPEST HUNGARY   (08.30.12)
Colonialism is an uncertain fact, the reall problem for the author is the permanently growing jewish population in the so called WB.He is unable to tolerate it, just like his arab friends. I can suggest various solutions for the problem. Forbid jewish man to marry ( as Maria Theresia did in Austria ) expell the jews from that territory ( as II. Nicholas russian czar did ) or there are some more radical method to decline the jewish population. If the number of jews will drop, the author's sick soul will be certainly happy.
34. International Law
israel israeli ,   tel aviv   (08.30.12)
Israel can't change the interpretation of International Law, and neither can Alan Smith. Are you aware that since January 2008 (including Cast Lead) UK forces have butchered more civilians in either Libya or Afghanistan, than Israel killed Arab combatants and civilians, a fact indicating a war crime? Are you aware that 2/3 of UK drone attacks kill only civilians, a war crime? Are you aware that bombing civilian infrastructure is not enforcing a "No Fly Zone" but IS a war crime? And if you are going to comment on an Israeli site, could you please tell us your take on UK hero Daniel Crook?
35. Oren Yiftachel is far more dangerous than iran
trump   (08.30.12)
since he is attacking Israel from within ....
36. with friends like this who needs enemies ?
Mark ,   Jerusalem, Israel   (08.30.12)
37. What's wrong with Colonisation so it goes against the 4th
ben   (08.30.12)
Geneva Convention. Hey Henry the 8th sent Protistans into Northern Ireland and didn't that work out really great
38. #25
Sam M ,   UK   (08.30.12)
You say 'but there's no real evidence of provenance other than in myth, hearsay and religious comic books'. This sounds just like your kind of reading material in fact straight out of the pages of the guardian and other publications with a biased agenda. You're an ignoramus which is why you're posts avoid any historical facts such as the abundant evidence confirming the Jewish presence in the Land of Israel which goes back thousands of years. That's provenance for you! You refer to the united nations one of the most corrupt of international organizations where resolutions against Isreal are automatically passed by the muslim block and other states whose national interests are reliant on a plentiful supply of oil as if this fact alone validates the crap you come out with!
39. #26 I will explain
israel israeli ,   tel aviv   (08.30.12)
The author does not concern himself with hatred or Judaism. Look at his CV. Like most professional Leftists, he is paid by foreign organizations for having anti-Israeli views. If he wasn't paid for attacking Israel, he would be unemployed. Like most Leftists, it's about money.
40. Your facts are wrong, Serbs did not colonize Kosovo
Yossi   (08.30.12)
41. Yiftachel's claim of "centrists" just plain a lie!
Paqid Yirmeyahu ,   Ra'anana, Israel   (08.30.12)
Only the liberal Left makes such scurrilous misrepresentations to deliberately mislead the public. Shameful!
42. Curious oblivion
Raphael ,   Netanya   (08.30.12)
Yiftachel tells the international law evolved since 1917. This didn't prevent Russia from annexing Prussia in the midst of Europe, expelling the natives and replacing them by settlers. He asserts colonization is materialized by the settlement of civilian population: Is the unsollicited presence of 20 million muslim bullies in Europe occupation or colonization?
43. #27 Are you kidding me?
Barry ,   Boston   (08.30.12)
In what universe do you want to incorporate 2.5 million Palestinians into Israel? How would Israel continue to be a Jewish state? An Israel that rules over a huge Arab population is not going to survive as a Jewish state. Look at South Africa.
44. to #4 Crooksmeister in australia
Bluegrass Picker ,   Afula   (08.30.12)
exactly which Aboriginal family lived where your home now sits?
45. to #6 Mark in San Francisco
Bluegrass Picker ,   Afula   (08.30.12)
I appreciate your good intentions. Do you mind if I get ahold of your home's deed, so I can search and discover, exactly which Indian Tribe's land it's sitting on? Or are you like "peace activist" son of General Matti Peled, who refuses to believe that his home in San Diego was not empty before the Europeans arrived?
46. 90% of East Prussians agree
Guy ,   KC, USA   (08.30.12)
Yasser Arafat (representing the PLO, in turn recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people") signed an international legal document, the Oslo Accords, recognizing Israeli jurisdiction over Area C. Neither DOP and Oslo 2 contain any provisions for restricting the expansion of Jewish residence in Judea and Samaria, in spite of what journalists often seem to claim. It was never meant to be judenrein, and it couldn't matter less under Oslo if Martians begin residing in Area C, so long as the boundaries of the three areas are not unilaterally changed. Maybe BGU needs funding for a larger library that the "political geography" professor-author can avail himself of. The author also appears to rehash 2007 PCBS forecasts, not actual census numbers, for his population figures. 350,000 Jews and 1.5 million Arabs = 1.85 million, so 81% of the population of Judea and Samaria is Arab. However, the population statistics are irrelevant, when the Arabs and Jews live under separate and well-defined political jurisdictions, for well-known reasons. No plebescite vote is coming.
47. Funny
israel israeli ,   tel aviv   (08.30.12)
Yiftachel grew up on Kibbutz Mezuba that Yiftachel's paymasters say were built on the ruins of an Arab village whose residents were allegedly ethnically cleansed. Maybe Yiftachel should come clean about his own sordid past before bleating about "colonialism" when Jews live on land that has never been populated.
48. Real change begins with calling things by their 'proper name
tiki ,   belgium   (08.30.12)
Question is who decides what's a 'proper name. The proper name is what individual(s) give to a certain object or situation, which may differ in the eyes of different peoƧple. Why is a chair a chair and not a sitting plank with four legs? For the professor Tel Aviv might be a Jewish town, Jerusalem the capital of Israel, but for Palestinians it's 'occupied territory, which brings us to the word 'Palestinian and the question who decided that this group of people are 'Palestinian and not W-Bankians or Jordanians? As for the 'Palestinians suffering under a 'violent regime', ask those , living in Libanon or in the Jordanian refugee camps if they want to trade places with those living in Judea & Samaria, the 'proper name for the W-Bank, which is nothing more than the W-Bank of a river, which brings us to the name of the country Jordan, another questionable 'proper name. Palestine would be more 'proper.
49. Oneness: SECURE BIG ISRAEL only practical option left.
Jerry ,   The Netherlands   (08.30.12)
50. To No. 48
Bertram ,   London, UK   (08.30.12)
You said: "The proper name is what individual(s) give to a certain object or situation, which may differ in the eyes of different people". Quite. Thus, for argument's sake, an object might be named 'chair' in one linguistic culture but could well be 'a sitting plank with four legs' in another. So, there are those who refer to 'Judea and Samaria' and another set of people refer to 'Palestine'. Similarly with the 'Malvinas' and 'Falkland Islands'. Is there another point which I am missing here?
51. corrosive effect is on colonizing arabs. not liberating jews
ralph   (08.30.12)
52. @37 your denial that Israel existed
Miron ,   USA   (08.30.12)
is no different from denial of Genocide of Armenian nation. It's not based on Geneva convention though. It's based on nazi Nuremberg laws. Democratically elected by 3rd Rome. It's time you relocate to reality.
53. I WILL NEVER GUVE A PENNY TO BGU
ARON ,   Teaneck, USA   (08.30.12)
He is receiving a professor's salary for such ravings?
54. Israel colonialism
Yonaton Ottenstein ,   Brooklyn, NY   (08.30.12)
The original green line was simply a cease fire line in 1948 between the arabs and the jews. there were no palestinians them. Nobody but Britain and Pakistan recognized JOrdan soveignity over the west bank 19 years later, the arabs again tried to wipe out the jews. This time the cease fire line was the Jordan rive The only diffirence between Israle control of the west bank and the rest of Israel is 19 years. If we dont recognize israel soveirnity over the west bank, we cant recognize its soveirnity over the rest of Israel
55. (50) Bertram
tiki ,   belgium   (08.30.12)
You didn't miss anything. The proper 'name can be the point of dispute, not the 'fact. The chair/sitting plank on four legs continues to be an object used for sitting on (or standing if you wish) and the piece of land west of the river Jordan continues to be nothing more than the W-bank of a river, which thousands of years ago was called Judea/Samaria (changed into Pealestina by the Romans) , occupied by the Turks and later by the Brits who changed the name again in British Mandate of Palestine. These were all 'name changes, not 'fact changes. It doesn' matter what you call the place, fact is that it always was inhabited by Jews, only when the Trans-Jordanian Arabs threw out and/or killed the Jews from their birthplace, it was Jew free! 'Palestinians' as they are called today, were never in the picture, they were Arabs. That was their 'proper name but the 'proper original Palestinians (Judeans), were the Jews. Same thing might be the case with Malvinas/Falklands, but I don't know enough about the subject, so I won't give my opinion, in contrast to the millions who don't have a clue about the facts in the ME, but don't stop ventilating theirs.
56. Playing with words.
Ian ,   Newcastle upon Tyne   (08.30.12)
Colonization is a pejorative way of referring to people's homes when your agenda demands those people's removal. I take issue with this..."Meanwhile, the Palestinians, who according to international law are entitled to sovereignty in the West Bank,.....".As usual 'international law' is appealed to without actually stating what that law is.The League of Nations,United Nations Mandate for Israel is also International law and does NOT support this statement,encourages Jewish settlement throughout Mandate Palestine and what's more it is in effect and cannot be overruled. THREE CHEERS FOR ISRAEL!!!
57. Another example of default in Israeli education
Avram Goldsmith ,   Toronto, Canada   (08.30.12)
Classic example of lack of Jewish values in erudition of Mr. Oren , another wasted Jewish soul which think that by cutting the tree branch under his feet he will fly and ignore the gravitation law.
58. Israeli heroes
michael Pielet ,   israel   (08.31.12)
G-d bless the giborai israel living in Judea and Samaria, without whom Israel could not exist.
59. Typical drivel from Ben Gurion University
Robert Haymond ,   Israel/Gush Etzion   (08.31.12)
professor.
60. Students & parents should be able to sue BGU.
Chaim ,   Israel   (08.31.12)
It would be a good idea for parents, students and fed up Israelis to come up with the legal means to sue Ben Gurion University for foisting the likes of this author on them. No one should have to put up with this destructive lunatic treachery while seeking an education.
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