PALESTINE: THE LAND WE DESERVE Created by: Emilie Ikeda Brandon Koehler Jess Kopp Matt Matyszczak Rajvi Sarvaiya Danny Ziegler Yasser Arafat, the late leader of the Palestinian Authority, Palestinian Liberation Organization, and Fatah, said in a May 10, 1996 speech in Stockholm, Sweden: "We plan to eliminate the State of Israel and establish a purely Palestinian state. We will make life unbearable for Jews by psychological warfare and population explosion... We Palestinians will take over everything, including all of Jerusalem.”

What Values Do We Find Important?  Self-determination – We feel that we should be able to  Have our own state  Control our own destiny  Have our own troops and police and government to rid ourselves of the radical control of the Israelis.  Human Rights – By creating a new state, it would allow the citizens of our new state to be able to walk the streets free (without having to go through check points and security stops) to go to work or visit family members.  Security – Because we know that Israel does not agree with us and there are many discrepancies within our own state, we feel that security for ourselves and our neighbors is of upmost importance.

Self-determination  The Palestine Liberation Organization, headed by Yasir Arafat, said the Palestinians have had “the right to declare an independent democratic Palestine on the territories that were occupied” since the 1967 Arab- Israeli war.  Palestinians feel their land has been given to the Jews because of European guilt for WWII.  Arabs lost 1/5 of their original land.  If agreement does not occur, Palestinians may want to be citizens of a Jewish-Arab state.  Palestinians also want Israeli occupation to cease on Palestinian territories.

Human Rights – The Moderate  Palestinians view themselves as living in an occupied nation, where invaders (Israelis) have placed them under military rule.  Israeli soldiers stop the Palestinians at checkpoints when traveling between cities.  Palestinians must get Israeli approval each day to go to work, return home, go to the hospital, get groceries, or visit their own families.  Israelis control much of the Palestinian water supply and give Palestinians less access to water than they need.  Israelis have continued to build settlements in Palestinian territory, illegally converting even more of their territory into Israeli territory.  In March and April of 2002, the Israeli soldiers destroyed much of the Palestinian government, including records, equipment, buildings, electricity supplies, water supplies, roads, and more.

Human Rights – The Extremists  Disliked the Oslo Accords and the Road Map that created a Palestinian National Authority (PNA) by Palestinian extremist groups  Used terrorism in Israel, such as suicide bombings, to kill citizens and government officials  Started riots in the disputed area of the Gaza strip  Used violence and rigged elections to get spots in the Palestinian Parliament  Worked towards their goal: the destruction of the state of Israel and its replacement with a Palestinian Islamic state  Palestinian Extremist Groups:  Al-Aqsa  Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement)  Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)  Palestine Liberation Front (PLF)  Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)  Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC)  Opposition will occur if the extremists do not get their way

Security  Water access  Israelis control much of the Palestinian water supply and give Palestinians less access to water than they need.  Palestinians feel embarrassed and mistreated.  Palestinian land is not secure  Israelis have easy access to Palestinian settlements and are illegally converting land from Palestinian into Israeli.  March and April in Israeli soldiers tried destroying Palestinian terrorist networks and attacked multiple large Palestinian cities.  Israeli soldiers destroyed parts of Palestinian government - records, tools, buildings, roads, etc.  Palestinians see these attacks as an attempt by Israel to prevent Palestine from ever gaining a free, independent state.

Security – Continued  Palestinians want  The return of their land that was taken by Israel. Over 726,000 Palestinians fled or were taken by Israelis.  To redefine borders to prevent future invasion of Israelis into Palestinian territory.  Palestinians would not accept Barak’s “fake” and “insincere” offer for return of Palestinian territory because they  Think that Barak did not really offer real freedom.  Thought the Israelis purposely insulted their religion and killed Palestinian protesters during negotiations.

Borders and Settlements  Israelis have continued to build settlements in Palestinian territory, illegally converting even more Palestinian territory into Israeli territory.  Palestinians want:  A separate Palestinian state (with the same borders as were in 1967).  Palestinian control of East Jerusalem.  The end of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.  However, Israelis are only willing to end the appearance of occupation if they can continue their control over the Palestinians.  The Palestinian territories are composed of two noncontiguous regions:  The West Bank  The Gaza Strip  The United Nations Security Council Resolution 478  Declared the Israeli annexation of the Palestinian East Jerusalem null and void.  Required that it be rescinded, claiming that it was a violation of international law.

Refugees  After WWII, Jewish immigration increased and pressure was created for a separate Jewish state.  Palestinian refugees had lost their homes and could not return back to them.  Therefore, we want our citizens to be able to come home.

Jerusalem – The Moderate  Moderate Palestinians are OK with considering the opposition’s opinion.  Ehud Barack, former leader of Israel, attempted to negotiate a peace treaty to allow us control of East Jerusalem. However, he was removed from power because he did not agree with the rest of his country.  We want no Israeli control or army resistance in this area.  The land could then be connected with our West Bank territory.

Jerusalem – The Radical  We want complete control of Israel, including ALL of Jerusalem because Hamas feels that Israel is part of Palestine.  Radicals vow to continue terroristic attacks and threats until their demands are met.  No serious effort has been made by Israel to even make peace or prevent these threats from occurring.  Therefore, Israel  Does not respect the opinion or power of Palestine.  Deserves to be met with power if they do not change their minds.

In Conclusion, Moderate Palestinians  Want their own official Palestinian state without Israeli control.  Want Palestinian refugees to be able to travel back to their homes.  Want Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory to end.  Want East Jerusalem to be under Palestinian control.

In Conclusion, Radical Palestinians  Want their own official Palestinian state without Israeli control.  Want Palestinian refugees to be able to travel back to their homes.  Want Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory to end.  Want control of all of Israel.

Our Compromised Position  We feel that we are entitled to  A free, non Israeli-controlled territory.  At least control of East Jerusalem and other parts of Israeli land.  Allow our friends and family to return to Palestinian- controlled land (if we receive land, we will be able to accommodate them).  A fairly drawn boarder plan that allows security for both a new Palestinian state and Israel.  We are entitled because of the suffering of our ancestors and our current citizens.