Growing up, the only Palestinian I was aware of was Yasser Arafat. But a thoughtful museum at the tomb of the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish introduced me to the author and poet who wrote the Palestinian Declaration of Independence. Darwish, who died in 2008, worked with Arafat but used a pen rather than a gun as his weapon.
If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.
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Darwish was not just a writer. He was the de facto poet laureate of the Palestine. He is internationally recognized, translated into many languages.
The West Bank is located over the main water sources of historic Palestine, particularly the northern aquifer. The Palestinians cannot access the water, however, because 94% of it is controlled by Israel. Palestinians must either collect rain water or buy water from Israel — actually buy back the water (at a higher rate than paid by Israelis) which runs under their land. This is a result of Oslo. Common sense and justice would allow the Palestinians to control and even sell the water from their land.
Before the 6 day war, Jordan (the name of the West Bank Area at that time) was in the process of diverting water from the Jordan River North of the Sea of Galilee, which would remove the water from Israel. War is not nice. If the Muslim Arabs would accept the existence of Israel as a Jewish state, instead of supporting a military whose goal is to create a Islamic State of Palestine from the “Jordan to the sea,” there could be peace and the money used to support their fight could be used to make the Muslim area as prosperous as the West.
Muslim Arab nations have come to Israel three times with the Arab Peace Initiative, and each time Israel has put the brakes on it. The wall the Israelis are construction veers to the east of the Green Line in order to encompass the most productive aquifers inside Israel.
Annie,
I think Pres Clinton would not agree with you. The major obstruction is a rejection of the right of the Jewish state Israel to exist. Can you think of another country whose right to exist in any boarders is questioned. Ever wonder why?