No end in sight for trouble in Gaza

What’s behind the mess in Israel and Gaza? The last was due to Hamas and the ill-thought-out plan to capture a few hundred hostages. That cost them 29,000 innocent lives of people who were just trying to get through the day living in Gaza.

But it goes back over a hundred years ago in 1916. During the First World War, Palestine was occupied by the Germans and the Ottoman Empire Turks. England didn’t have the troops to fight on that front, so an alternate plan was devised. Arthur Balfour, the Foreign Secretary of England called upon Thomas Edward Lawrence to go to Palestine and convince the Arabs living there to fight against the Ottoman Turks. In exchange, Palestine was promised to them as their own homeland. The representative became known as Lawrence of Arabia and was successful in his efforts.

But, back in England, two leading Zionists, Chaim Weizmann and Moses Gaster, convinced Balfour to make Palestine a Jewish homeland. When the British troops left, they gave all the weapons to the Jews and not the Palestinians. This led to the statement by the Jews that God gave Palestine to them. You could say the same of the Palestinians.

Over the years, Israel has treated the Palestinians badly. Only recently have settlers stole personal property for “settlements,” property that belonged to generations-old ownership by a Palestinian.

Many Palestinians work for Jews in Israel and periodically the borders are closed preventing people from working. This age-old situation leads to frustration and fighting back. There is no end in sight with this situation the way it is.

Raleigh Sutton

Elgin