Is it any wonder why Palestinians are upset with Israel?

[wnylib]

38. The next best choice would be a

Palestinian state. But Israel will never allow that and never had any intention of allowing it. Israel wants all of the land that was known as Israel over 2000 years ago.

The modern era of Jewish settlement in Palestine began before WWII as the Zionist movement. Understandably, they wanted a land of their own. They had remainned an ethnic group throughout the centuries of exile after Roman domination. They had been persecuted and never fully accepted wherever they settled.

During WWII, Jews in Palestine smuggled Jews out of Europe to escape the Nazi genocide. After the war, they smuggled in survivors while Britain refused them entry.

Just as Jews wanted a land of their own, Palestinians wanted to retain their own homeland and not give it up for the development of a new nation. That is understandable, too. So they resisted the establishment of Israel and were bitter over the loss of their homes. They fought back.

Regarding terrorism, Palestinian Jews used terrorism against Britain to force them to give in to demands for an Israeli state. Palestinians used terrorism to strike back at Palestinian Jews and then later at the state of Israel. They were encouraged to do this by Arabic nations in the region, who cosidered the entire region a remnant of the Muslim Empire.

In effect, Israel and Palestine are fighting the same war as they did 3000 years ago when the land was called Canaan.

I remember learning the Biblical stories of the Jewish conquest of Canaan in Sunday School, before I could read well enough to even notice newspapers. Then one day when I was about 8 I saw a headline about battles between Israel and surrounding lands. I was genuinely confused. It seemed that the Bible stories had come to life. I told my parents, "I thought that happened a long time ago, in ancient times."

I can understand Israel's self defense in the 1967 war. Almost everything since then has been provoked by Israel's determination to have all of the land for themselves in order to recreate the boundaries of ancient Israel. If you agree with Israel's goal on that, should we also give the Midwest back to the Lakotas and NY back to the Iroquois, etc.?