Israeli and Palestinian Youth Project Stephen Jose Anderson 3 rd Hour

Merav, 13 This is about the Israeli communities that have been built on Palestinian land occupied by the Israeli army after the 1967 Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There are two hundred settlements that have been built up by the government and now look like thriving towns with more than 400,000 Israelis living them. There are roads that only Israelis can drive on. They are in Palestinian territory, so there is much anger among the Palestinians about their construction. Sometimes the settlements are attacked and settlers are killed. Sometimes some of these settlers attack the Palestinians. A new security wall is being built around West Bank. In other places it will be an electric fence. It will have guard towers every 900 feet, a deep trench around it, a security road and motion detectors. Many Israelis believe the wall is necessary, while others believe it makes the situation worse. Merav lives in a settlement near Efrat. Efrat is between Jerusalem and Hebron, and it is a nice town with shopping center, pizza places, playgrounds, and parks. People have come to live there from many places like the United States, Canada, England, Russia and South Africa. Many people from different cities like Jerusalem say the settlers are very brave to live in the settlements. There are a lot of soldiers around her settlement, and you are to not wander around on your own. If you wander on your own, a Palestinian might shoot you. Most cars have windows that protect them from the stones the Palestinians throw at them. The buses have bullet proof glass to prevent the passengers from getting shot. She likes to spend time with her friends and wants to get into the National Voluntary Service instead of the army. They live in a war and it is scary, but they must have hope.

Questions Why did the Israelis want the land in the first place? They said the land was promised to them when God told Abraham it was his and his descendents land. Why would you have people live there, but protect them with soldiers, tax breaks and housing and school fee breaks? – They want to get rid of the Palestinians or take over the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Why would you want to move there even though you face severe injury and even death by the Palestinians? – They live there in an effort to stop the forming of a Palestinian state. Why would people from other countries want to live there? – They think that it is there job as a Jew, or they back it financially.

Reaction My reaction after reading this was vaguely positive. They have it rough in the settlements, but they clearly want to be there otherwise they would leave. In the article it says that her mind is not on the war, because she has other things to think about like school or friends. I think it is crazy that they are always in fear for their lives because of the Palestinians. You never know when they might attack, although there are a lot of soldiers and you are always supposed to travel in groups. It is different that they have to join the army, but she is not going into the army and is rather doing National Involuntary Service.

Agree or Disagree I agree with the fact that says she and her friends and family must have hope. I think that if you are to live in such a hostile environment you must always have hope and think that it will get better.

Solution There are many solutions out there, but the Israelis and Palestinians cannot agree on anything. Israel has terminated all settlements in the Gaza Strip, so they might be willing to slowly let the Palestinians have their own state.