What right does Israel have to build settlements on occupied land?

Actually, the US did leave tens of thousands of people in Germany and Japan after WWII. Have you ever heard of Rammstein AFB? For a more shocking example of this, how about the US entire existence. This all used to belong to various indigenous tribes until some Europeans felt they should have this land. Then there was the US war against Mexico, I'm pretty sure we took some land out of that. How about the existence of both Israel and Palestine at the whim of the British. Yes, there are plenty of modern examples of this kind of behavior being accepted.

 

Yeah, the US did occupy Japan for a long time. When Japan was ready to govern itself, the US left.

 

I don't agree with the settlements, but look a little farther back in history and you'll see that these lands did not 'belong' to Egypt and Jordan; they were occupied by those countries after the UN partition.

If anyone, they belong to the Palestinians. Egypt and Jordan were apparently among the first to try to screw them over.

 

r35352,
Can you think of any other examples besides the US? I am blanking right now but I think that most of the time a winning nation takes land or other concessions from the losing nation. I don't think there would have been an outcry had the US done the same after WWII.

 

Might makes right. Israel has a standing army; Palenstinians do not.

 

Yeah that's it...except Israel was defending itself...

 

Early on maybe, but now it's becoming obvious (IMO) that it's acquisition, not just a buffer.

 

I said Israel WAS defending itself. Not present tense.

 

The most recent unequivocal example I can think of outside of Israel is the Kurile and Sakhalin Islands which the USSR took from Japan at the end of WW2. They built Russian settlements there and have no intention of giving them back. It is still a source of major bad blood between those two nations.

(USSR also seized the Baltic Republics, but these have since achieved independence).

Since then, the two most outstanding (though disputed) cases are:

1) Kashmir - India and Pakistan each occupied a portion of Kashmir, while the U.N. has mandated the province determine its own fate (whether independence, Indian, or Pakistani) through plebescite.

2) Tibet - Invaded in 1949-1951 and occupied by China. China has no intention of giving this up, and has systematically built Chinese settlements, suppressed Tibetan culture, and displaced the Tibetan population.

It's kind of sad. A cursory glance at these would tell you that these also happen to be the biggest source of conflict and international ill will for these occupying countries. Is it really worth it?

 

You're totally right.

Was just trying to find some examples of occupation/settlement-building like you asked, that's all. I think it is wrong in every case. Some of these countries are worse than others.

Israel really needs to get her act together. As it stands, i think it is causing America more grief to keep her as an ally than to abandon her to reap the retribution for her wicked ways. If you're interested, I think there is another thread on U.S. vetoes in U.N. Security Council which really brings this issue into sharp relief.

 

Israel is in clear violation of the 4th geneva convention. Not that enforcing the rules to rule breakers is important or anything. Or wait... I think I did hear something about it being important to enforce treaties and resolutions from someone not too long ago.

 

After WW2, the "powers that be" from the West decided that the survivors of the concentration camps needed a homeland. Those "geniuses" decided to carve out the state of Isreal, displacing tens of thousands in the process.

THE VERY NANOSECOND the settlers got there, the Palestinians started attacking them, trying to "push them to the sea."

It is NOT a war the Isrealis started, but it is one they have been soundly winning for 50 years.

I am NOT a fan of the Isreali government, but it is awfully hard for me to sit here and say I don't understand the mindset.

 

Don't forget Refman, there were 800,000 Jews that were evicted from their homes in Arab nations when Israel was born. These Jews had their homes, money, and possessions stolen from them.

Should they have a "right of return" too? You don't ever hear the Arabs talk about this fact, do you?

 

That is rarely mentioned.

 

Of course it is never mentioned...nor the fact that Palastinians can not be citizens in most arab countries either.

Of course all the arab countries want Israel to give up land, but none of them are willing to do the same.

DD

 

Stolen lands in THIS thread:

1) Jewish land/property from many Arab countries
2) Egypt and Gaza
3) Jordan and West Bank