1840-1850 The British Empire employed the services of Lieutenant Colonel
George Gawler (1796?1869). Gawler was a colonization expert who founded a
penal colony in Australia and after whom a major city and state in Australia
are named. In 1845, Gawler published his vision of how this might be
accomplished in "Tranquilization of Syria and the East: Observations and
Practical Suggestions, in Furtherance of the Establishment of Jewish
Colonies in Palestine, the Most Sober and Sensible Remedy for the Miseries
of Asiatic Turkey." In 1852, the Association for Promoting Jewish
Settlement in Palestine was founded by Gawler and other British officials
and later evolved it into the Palestine Fund.
1880 First Zionist colony in Palestine Established funded by British
Zionists.
1897 First Zionist Congress held in Switzerland issued the Basle programme
on the colonization of Palestine and the establishment of the World Zionist
Organization (WZO).
1916 Sykes-Pico Agreement between the British and French governments signed
to divide the Middle East between them contrary to public promises to allow
Arab people to have independence (self determination)
1917 France and Britain issue declarations in support of establishment of a
Jewish homeland in Palestine: June by the French Jules Cambionb Declaration
and in November the British Balfour Declaration. The two letters Zionist
leaders in the France and England (Rothschild and Sokolow respectively).
1919-1948 British occupation of Palestine. British government pushed to get
the newly established League of Nations to give it a “mandate” over
Palestine (instituted in1922). Jordan was set up as a British puppet regime
under the Hashemite clan. Appointed Zionist British commissioner Herbert
Samuels in 1922 who worked to encourage settlement and colonization of
Palestinian land by the Jewish agency. This included supporting colonial
activity (Jewish Yishuv movement) with new laws on land acquisition and
arming Zionist militias resulting in outbreak of communal violence.
Early 1930s The Bund and other socialist/humanist Jews start a boycott of
Nazi Germany because of its newly established discriminatory laws. The
boycott was challenged and eventually broken by the World Zionist
Organization with the help of corporate elites (including the grandfather of
President Bush). Eichman was invited to Palestine as a guest of the
Hagannah (precursor of the Israeli army). Leaders of Irgun and (e.g. Begin)
adopt fascist program
1936-1939 First major Palestinian uprising against British and Zionist
colonial projects. Put down brutally by the British occupation. But also
led to British “White Paper” recognizing that unlimited Zionist
cxolonization despite native Palestinain objections is a cause of major
problems, Britain attempts to limit immigration but fails because of world
war and strength of now established Jewish Zionist militias and
International Zionist organizations. Zionist terrorism focuses against
British as well as Palestinian people. Future prime ministers/leaders of
Israel among British wanted terrorists (e.g. Begin, Shamir).
November 29, 1947 Under extensive lobbying from the Truman administration,
the General Assembly of the United Nations issues Resolution 181 (voted on
33:13) that recommends partition of Palestine. 55% of the land to make-up a
Jewish state and 44% for a Palestinian state with Jerusalem area being
International and including economic union. Part of the Zionist movement
(Labor Zionists led by Ben Gurion) accepted the idea of a Jewish state while
explaining clearly that they did not accept the idea of economic unions or
other parts of the recommendation.
November 1947-April 1949 and beyond: Large scale ethnic cleansing of the
Palestinians. 530 villages and towns depopulated and removed off the face
of (Israeli) maps. Two thirds of the native Palestinian Christian and
Muslims are displaced. Half of these refugees were created before May 14
1948 when the state of Israel was unilaterally declared on 78% of Palestine.
Israel and adjoining states sign armistice agreements in 1949 with Israel
ending up with 50% more territory than was originally proposed by the UN
Partition Plan. Egypt rules impoverished Gaza strip. As fulfillment of
earlier Zionist-Hashemite agreements, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
controled the West Bank 1949-1967 (see Avi Shlaim, Collusion across the
Jordan).
October 1951 Israel rejects UN peace plan accepted by Egypt, Syria, Lebanon,
and Jordan.
Oct. 29, 1956 Israel invades and occupies the Gaza Strip and the Sinai
peninsula with French and British collaboration. Backs down and withdraws
after pressure from the US Administration. The Zionist movement intensifies
its efforts to establish effective lobbying in the US.
1956-1957: Palestinians in West Bank uprising against the Jordanian rule.
Many imprisoned/tortured.
May, 1964: The Palestine Liberation Organization is founded with the aim of
establishing a secular state in Palestine with Jews, Christians, and
Muslims. It aims to challenge the Zionist conception of preventing
Palestinian refugees from returning to their homes and lands (the concept of
exclusion of non-Jews and for a “Jewish state”). Palestinian armed
resistance initiated January 1965 by Palestinian refugees.
June 5-10,1967: Six-day war. Israel launches an attack which devastates
armies of Egypt and Syria and ends up woith Israel occupying the Egyptian
Sinai, the Syrian Golan and the 22% of Palestine not conquered earlier (the
so-called West Bank and Gaza strip). UN resolution 242 called for Israeli
withdrawal (“recognizing the inadmissibility of acquisition of territory by
war” and a just resolution to the Palestinian refugees. In some instances,
this resistance resorted to extreme acts including terrorism to attract
world attention to the plight of the refugees. Israel does not comply but
proceeds to build illegal colonies on newly occupied land.
March 21, 1968: Israel attacks Karameh in Jordan, PLO and Jordanian Forces
repel attacks with heavy Israeli losses
1970: Jordanian Government clashes with Palestinian factions in Jordan.
Oct. 6, 1973. Egypt and Syria initiate a war to reclaim the land illegally
occupied by Israel. Through massive US interference (under Henry
Kissinger’s machinations) including massive arms airlift from the US, Egypt
and Syrioa are not successful in reclaiming their lands. However, the
International shock (especially due to the oil embargo) forces the beginning
of a “peace process” between Egypt and Israel.
March 30, 1976 Palestinian inside Israel protest continued land confiscation
declaring annual land day which becomes a unifying call among all
Palestinians to stop the land confiscation and colonial Zionist activity on
Palestinian lands.
March 26, 1979 Peace treaty signed between Egypt and Israel. Israel left
the illegally occupied Sinai but now to be demilitarized. Israel received
billions in unconditional aid from the US (Egypt had conditional and much
less US Aid). The Israeli lobby and Henry Kissinger also developed
legislation and othet programs that ensure Israel receive oil (even if there
is shortage for the US) and have military edge over any potential
combination of regional powers.
June 7, 1981 Israel destroys Iraqi civilian nuclear reactor even though the
International Atomic Energy Agency has been visiting regularly and
certifying Iraq had no nuclear weapon program.
June 6, 1982 Massive Israeli invasion of Lebanon results in tens of
thousands of civilian deaths due to carpet bombings of civilian areas and
refugee camps. The PLO is removed from Lebanon with promises by the US
administration to protect Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Yet, Israeli
backed and financed militias massacre hundreds of refugees in the camps of
Sabra and Shatila in September 1982 (Ariel Sharon in command of Israeli
forces that surrounded the camps, armed the militias, and gave them the
green light, and lit the skies for them to continue massacring civilians at
night).
1987-1990: Palestinian uprising in the occupied areas. Largely non-violent,
this uprising was put down with massive force (thew Iron fist policy).
Rabin instructs his troops to literally break the bones of any Palestinian
caught throwing stones at Israeli occupation forces. Hundreds of
Palestinians thus literally had their limbs broken.
15 November 1988: Palestinian National Council declares Palestinian
statehood in compliance with UN resolutions (including recognition of
partition resolution 181 recognizing the state of Israel).
Sept. 13, 1993: Oslo based Declaration of Principles signed. Amnesty
International explained these and other “peace processes” failed because
they ignored human rights.
1994-2000 Israel reaps huge rewards for signing Oslo including a peace
treaty with Jordan, normalization with a number of other states and increase
in trade and commerce. Meanwhile Palestinians are subjected to new
restrictions on movement, checkpoints, isolation from Jerusalem and
increased colonial settlement activity (including land confiscation). While
other interim agreements were signed (e.g. the Why River Oct 98 calling for
Israeli redeployment and release of political prisoners), Israel did not
implement and land confiscations continued. Israel doubles its settlement
and colonial activity in the occupied West Bank (including East Jerusalem)
in the 7 years following the agreement (the agreement specifically called
for not altering the status of the West Bank or taking unilateral actions).
Thus, the number of settlers from 1967-1993 reached about 220,000 while by
2000, it was 450,000. As expected, Palestinian resistance is reignited.
Sept. 28, 2000: Ariel Sharon gets government agreement to visit the
Al-Aqdsa/Dome of the Rock area to assert Israeli authority on the Temple
Mount. This was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back after the
systematic colonization and ghettoization of the Palestinian areas, A new
uprising against the Israeli occupation ensues. Israeli forces having
anticipated this and planned massive responses to kill civilians manage to
kill hundreds of Palestinian civilians in the first few months of the
uprising. Israeli authorities and their Zionist extensions in the US spread
misinformation and hide the extent of the atrocities. Claims that the
atrocities were in response to terror attacks are belied by the fact that no
Israeli civilians were killed in the first month of the uprising when
dozensd of Palestinian civilians were murdered.
March 19, 2003 US forces invade Iraq. This has direct links to neocon
support for Israel as articulated earlier by architects like Richard Perle
and Paul Wolfowitz (April 9 Fall of Baghdad, first Arab Capital in direct
occupation by US Forces).
July 9, 2004 International court of Justice (ICJ) rules that the Israeli
barrier built on Palestinian land violates international law and must be
torn down.
Nov 11, 2004 Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat dies under
mysterious circumstances (many Palestinian leaders believe he was poisoned).
Israel had to invent other excuses for not negotiating and not implementing
International law.
July 2005 Palestinian Civil Society call for boycotts, divestments and
sanctions analogous to what transpired with Apartheid South Africa until
Israel respects human rights and International law (including full
withdrawal from all areas occupied in 1967 and implementing the rights of
refugees to return to their homes and lands). November 6 is day of action
against the wall (see stopthewall.org).
By Aug. 2005 Israel removes 2% of settlers (Gaza and four colonies in the
West Bank) but had already added 4% more in the settlement blocks in the
West Bank. Dov Weissglass (right hand man for Ariel Sharon) explains that
this move helps freeze the peace process and the idea of a Palestinian
state.
Today, 2/3rds of the nbearly 9 million Palestinians live as refugees or
displaced people. Others live under apartheid and/or surrounded by walls
and fences in shrinking reservations. The US government continues to give
Israel billions of our tax money.
1 comment:
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