Myths/Facts: Israel & the Middle East Jul/Aug 2005
Myth: Israel’s presence in the West Bank is the cause of terrorism.
Fact: If Israel were to withdraw completely from the West Bank tomorrow it would not end terrorism. Radical Islamic groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad are opposed to the existence of a Jewish state anywhere in what they consider the Islamic heartland. These and other terrorist groups have never said they were prepared to live in peace with Israel if it were to withdraw anywhere short of the border of the Mediterranean Sea.
Long before 1967, when Israel captured the West Bank, Arabs used violence to try to first prevent the establishment of a Jewish state and then to destroy Israel. Anti-Jewish riots began in 1920 and were instigated repeatedly over the years of the British mandate in an effort to either drive out the Jews or convince the British to renege on the promise to create a Jewish homeland. These were the first “intifadas” and were characterized by the cold-blooded murder of innocents.
After Israel fended off the invading Arab nations in 1948, Egyptian president Gamal Nasser turned Palestinian terrorists against Israel and provoked the Six-Day War. In 1964, while Jordan controlled the West Bank, the Arab League created the palestine Liberation Organization as a terrorist tool to fight against Israel. History has shown that Arab radicals are prepared to use terror to destroy Israel regardless of its borders.
From Myths & Facts Online—A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Mitchell G. Bard www.JewishVirtualLibrary.org.
Used by permission.
