Fuck yes............ We have a realist among us.Quote:
Originally Posted by FeastonThisSHITT
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Fuck yes............ We have a realist among us.Quote:
Originally Posted by FeastonThisSHITT
Syrian land:Quote:
Originally Posted by graymatter
1948: The Golan Heights becomes strategically important, as it is used as a base for artillery attacks on Israel, mostly during wars.
1967: The Golan Heights are occupied by Israel early in the Six-Day War.
1973: For a couple of days during the Yom Kippur War, the Golan Heights are recaptured by Syria.
1975: Syria gets an area around the town of Qunaytirah, as a result of US-led talks after the Yom Kippur War.
1981: The Golan Heights is officially annexed by Menachim Begin's government. The area is placed under Israeli law, and settlements are established. The annexation is not recognized by the international community.
http://i-cias.com/e.o/golan_h.htm
Maybe if the day come where they would work WITH their neighbor instead of denying its existance........they may get that land back. I personally would'nt want my enemy to be the king of the hill overlooking me.
Have a good one!:thumbsup:
Most people would tend to get fed up with these attacks.
Apr 6, 1994 - Eight people were killed in a car-bomb attack on a bus in the center of Afula. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Apr 13, 1994 - Five people were killed in a suicide bombing attack on a bus in the central bus station of Hadera. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Oct 19, 1994 - In a suicide bombing attack on the No. 5 bus on Dizengoff Street in Tel-Aviv, 21 Israelis and one Dutch national were killed.
Nov 11, 1994 - Three soldiers were killed at the Netzarim junction in the Gaza Strip when a Palestinian riding a bicycle detonated explosives strapped to his body. Islamic Jihad said it carried out the attack to avenge the car bomb killing of Islamic Jihad leader Hani Abed on Nov 2.
Jan 22, 1995 - Two consecutive bombs exploded at the Beit Lid junction near Netanya, killing 20 soldiers and one civilian. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Apr 9, 1995 - Seven Israelis and one American were killed when a bus was hit by an explosives-laden van near Kfar Darom in the Gaza Strip. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Jul 24, 1995 - Six civilians were killed in a suicide bomb attack on a bus in Ramat Gan.
Aug 21, 1995 - Three Israelis and one American were killed in a suicide bombing of a Jerusalem bus.
Feb 25, 1996 - In a suicide bombing of bus No. 18 near the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem, 26 were killed (17 civilians and 9 soldiers). Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Feb 25, 1996 - One Israeli was killed in an explosion set off by a suicide bomber at a hitchhiking post oustide Ashkelon. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mar 3, 1996 - In a suicide bombing of bus No. 18 on Jaffa Road in Jerusalem, 19 were killed (16 civilians and 3 soldiers).
Mar 4, 1996 - Outside Dizengoff Center in Tel-Aviv, a suicide bomber detonated a 20-kilogram nail bomb, killing 13 (12 civilians and one soldier).
Mar 21, 1997 - Three people were killed when a suicide bomber detonated a bomb on the terrace of a Tel Aviv cafe. 48 people were wounded.
Jul 30, 1997 - 16 people were killed and 178 wounded in two consecutive suicide bombings in the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem.
Sep 4, 1997 - Five people were killed and 181 wounded in three suicide bombings on the Ben-Yehuda pedestrian mall in Jerusalem.
Oct 29, 1998 - One Israeli soldier was killed when a terrorist drove an explosives-laden car into an Israeli army jeep escorting a bus with 40 elementary school students from the settlement of Kfar Darom in the Gaza Strip.
Nov 2, 2000 - Ayelet Shahar Levy, 28, and Hanan Levy, 33, were killed in a car bomb explosion near the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem. 10 people were injured. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Nov 20, 2000 - A roadside bomb exploded at 7:30 in the morning alongside a bus carrying children from Kfar Darom to school in Gush Katif. Miriam Amitai, 35, and Gavriel Biton, 34, were killed and 9 others, including 5 children, were injured, 5 of them seriously.
Nov 22, 2000 - Shoshanna Reis, 21, of Hadera, and Meir Bahrame, 35, of Givat Olga, were killed, and 60 wounded when a powerful car bomb was denotated alongside a passing bus on Hadera's main street, when the area was packed with shoppers and people driving home from work.
Dec 22, 2000 - Three soldiers were injured in a suicide bomb attack at the Mehola Junction roadside cafe in the northern Jordan Valley. The terrorist, who detonated a belt of explosives strapped to him, was killed in the blast.
Jan 1, 2001 - A car bomb exploded near a bus stop in the shopping district in the center of Netanya. About 60 people were injured, most lightly. One unidentified person, apparently one of the terrorists involved in the bombing, died of severe burns. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Feb 8, 2001 - A powerful car bomb exploded at 4:40 PM in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Beit Yisrael in Jerusalem, causing mild injuries to four people.
Feb 14, 2001 - Eight people were killed and 25 injured when a bus driven by a Palestinian terrorist plowed into a group of soldiers and civilians waiting at a bus stop near Holon, south of Tel-Aviv.
Mar 1, 2001 - One person was killed and 9 injured when a terrorist detonated a bomb in a Tel Aviv to Tiberias service taxi at the Mei Ami junction in Wadi Ara.
Mar 4, 2001 - Three people were killed and at least 60 injured in a suicide bombing in downtown Netanya.
Mar 27, 2001 - A car bomb exploded at 7:40 in the morning in the Talpiot industrial/commercial zone in Jerusalem. Seven people were injured, one moderately. The Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mar 27, 2001 - 28 people were injured, two seriously, in a suicide bombing directed against a northbound No. 6 bus at the French Hill junction in Jerusalem. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mar 28, 2001 - Two teenagers were killed and four injured, one critically, in a suicide bombing at the Mifgash Hashalom ("peace stop") gas station several hundred meters from an IDF roadblock near the entrance to Kalkilya, east of Kfar Saba. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Apr 22, 2001 - A terrorist detonated a powerful bomb he was carrying near a group of people waiting at a bus stop on the corner of Weizman and Tchernichovsky streets in Kfar Sava. One person was killed and about 60 injured in the blast, two severely. The terrorist was also killed in the explosion, for which Hamas claimed responsibility.
Apr 23, 2001 - Eight people were lightly hurt in a car bombing in Or Yehuda, a few kilometers north of Ben-Gurion Airport, which senior police officers said could only be described as a "miracle" in an area packed with pre-Independence Day shoppers.
Apr 29, 2001 - A car bomb blew up close to a school bus travelling near the West Bank city of Nablus. There were no injuries in the attack. The body of the suicide bomber was found in the car. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
May 18, 2001 - A Palestinian suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest detonated himself outside the Hasharon Shopping Mall in the seaside city of Netanya. Five civilians were killed and over 100 wounded in the attack. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
May 25, 2001 - 65 people were injured in a car bombing in the Hadera central bus station. The two terrorists were apparently killed in the explosion. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
May 27, 2001 - A car bomb exploded in the center of Jerusalem shortly after midnight. There were no injuries. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility.
A bomb exploded at 9:00 in the morning near the intersection of the capital's main Jaffa Road and Heshin Street. The bomb included several mortar shells, some of which were propelled hundreds of meters from the site of the explosion. 30 people were injured, most suffering from shock. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
May 30, 2001 - A car bomb exploded shortly before 16:00 outside a school in Netanya while a number of students were still in the building studying for matriculation exams. Eight people were injured, suffering from shock and hearing impairment. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
June 1, 2001 - 21 people were killed and 120 wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a disco near Tel Aviv's Dolphinarium along the seafront promenade just before midnight on Friday, June 1, while standing in a large group of teenagers waiting to enter the disco.
June 22, 2001 - Sgt. Aviv Iszak, 19, of Kfar Saba, and Sgt. Ofir Kit, 19, of Jerusalem, were killed near Dugit in the Gaza Strip as a jeep with yellow Israeli license plates, supposedly stuck in the sand, blew up as they approached. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
July 2, 2001 - Two separate bombs exploded at about 8:20 Monday morning in cars in the Tel-Aviv suburb of Yehud. Six pedestrians were lightly injured. Police sources say the bombs were probably set by terrorists. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a radical PLO faction, claimed responsibility.
July 9, 2001 - A Palestinian suicide bomber was killed in a car-bombing attack near the Kissufim crossing point in the southern Gaza Strip, causing no other casualties. Disaster was averted as the bomb exploded without hitting any other vehicles. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
July 16, 2001 - Cpl. Hanit Arami, 19, and St.Sgt. Avi Ben Harush, 20, both of Zichron Yaakov, were killed and 11 wounded - 3 seriously - when a bomb exploded in a suicide terrorist attack at a bus stop near the train station in Binyamina, halfway between Netanya and Haifa, at about 19:30 Monday evening. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Aug 8, 2001 - A suicide bomber was killed when he detonated his car bomb, lightly wounding one soldier, at a roadblock near the B'kaot moshav in the northern Jordan Valley shortly after 9:00. One soldier was lightly wounded.
Aug 9, 2001 - 15 people were killed, including 7 children, and about 130 injured in a suicide bombing at the Sbarro pizzeria on the corner of King George Street and Jaffa Road in the center of Jerusalem. Hamas and the Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Aug 12, 2001 - 21 people were injured in a suicide bombing in the Wall Street Cafe in the center of Kiryat Motzkin at 17:30. The terrorist was killed. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Aug 21, 2001 - A bomb placed under a car exploded at 14:15 near the Russian Compound in downtown Jerusalem; one woman was treated for shock. A second, very large unexploded bomb was discovered inside the car and dismantled.
Sept 4, 2001 - 20 people were injured when a suicide terrorist exploded a powerful charge on Hanevi'im Street near Bikur Holim hospital in central Jerusalem shortly before 8:00 AM. The terrorist, disguised as a Jew in ultra-orthodox clothing, aroused the suspicion of passersby due to the large backpack he was wearing. As two Border Police officers approached the man, he detonated his shrapnel-packed bomb. Both officers were wounded - one critically. The terrorist was killed in the blast. Hamas claimed responsibility.
Sept 9, 2001 - Three people were killed and some 90 injured, most lightly, in a suicide bombing near the Nahariya train station in northern Israel. The terrorist, killed in the blast, waited nearby until the train arrived from Tel-Aviv and people were exiting the station, and then exploded the bomb he was carrying. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Sept 9, 2001 - A car bomb exploded at the Beit Lid junction near Netanya, injuring 17 people. One person killed in the explosion is believed to be the terrorist bomber.
Oct 1, 2001 - A large car bomb exploded in the Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem. Several people were lightly injured.
Oct 7, 2001 - Yair Mordechai, 43, of Kibbutz Sheluhot was killed when a Palestinian suicide terrorist affiliated with the Islamic Jihad detonated a large bomb strapped to his body near the entrance of the kibbutz in the Beit She'an Valley.
Nov 26, 2001 - A Palestinian suicide bomber killed himself and lightly wounded two Border Policemen at the Erez crossing point in the Gaza Strip. The bomber joined workers waiting to be cleared for entry into Israel. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Nov 29, 2001 - Three people were killed and nine others were wounded in a suicide bombing on an Egged 823 bus en route from Nazereth to Tel Aviv near the city of Hadera. The Islamic Jihad and Fatah claimed responsibility for the attack.
Dec 1, 2001 - 11 people were killed and about 180 injured when explosive devices were detonated by two suicide bombers close to 11:30 P.M. Saturday night on Ben Yehuda Street, the pedestrian mall in the center of Jerusalem. A car bomb exploded nearby 20 minutes later. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Dec 2, 2001 - 15 people were killed and 40 injured, several critically, in a suicide bombing on an Egged bus No. 16 in Haifa shortly after 12:00. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Dec 5, 2001 - A suicide bomber exploded a powerful bomb shortly after 7:30 AM on King David Street in Jerusalem. A number of people waiting at a nearby bus stop were lightly injured. The terrorist was killed in the blast. Police are investigating whether the bomb, packed with nails and shrapnel, went off prematurely. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
Dec 9, 2001 - A suicide bomber exploded a powerful bomb near a bus stop at the Checkpost Junction in Haifa shortly after 7:30 AM. About 30 people were injured, most lightly and suffering from shock. A second explosive device was found and detonated nearby. The terrorist was killed.
Dec 12, 2001 - Four people traveling in two cars were lightly wounded in an attack at 18:00 PM by two suicide bombers near the Gaza Strip community of Neve Dekalim.
Jan 25, 2002 - 25 people were wounded when a Palestinian suicide bomber detonated explosives outside a cafe on a pedestrian mall near Tel Aviv's old central bus station at 11:15 AM on Friday.
Jan 27, 2002 - Pinhas Tokatli, 81, of Jerusalem was killed and over 150 people were wounded, four seriously, in a suicide bombing on Jaffa Road, in the center of Jerusalem, shortly before 12:30. The female terrorist, identified as a Fatah member, was armed with more than 10 kilos of explosives.
Feb 16, 2002 - Two teenagers were killed and about 30 people were wounded, six seriously, when a suicide bomber blew himself up on Saturday night at a pizzeria in the shopping mall in Karnei Shomron in Samaria. A third person subsequently died of his injuries. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the attack.
Feb 18, 2002 - Policeman Ahmed Mazarib, 32, of the Bedouin village Beit Zarzir in the Galilee, was killed by a suicide bomber whom he had stopped for questioning on the Ma'ale Adumim-Jerusalem road. The terrorist succeeded in detonating the bomb in his car. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
Feb 27, 2002 - A Palestinian suicide bomber blew herself up at the Maccabim roadblock on the Jerusalem-Modi'in highway Wednesday night, injuring three policemen.
Mar 2, 2002 - Eleven people were killed and over 50 were injured, 4 critically, in a suicide bombing at 19:15 on Saturday evening near a yeshiva in the ultra-Orthodox Beit Yisrael neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem where people had gathered for a bar-mitzva celebration. The terrorist detonated the bomb next to a group of women waiting with their baby carriages for their husbands to leave the nearby synagogue. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade took responsibility for the attack.
Mar 5, 2002 - Maharatu Tagana, 85, of Upper Nazareth was killed and a large number of people injured, most lightly, when a suicide bomber exploded in an Egged No. 823 bus as it entered the Afula central bus station. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mar 7, 2002 - A suicide bomber blew himself up in the lobby of a hotel in the commericial center on the outskirts of Ariel in Samaria. 15 people were injured, one seriously. The PFLP claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mar 9, 2002 - 11 people were killed and 54 injured, 10 of them seriously, when a suicide bomber exploded at 22:30 PM Saturday night in the crowded Moment cafe at the corner of Aza and Ben-Maimon streets in the Rehavia neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mar 17, 2002 - A suicide bomber exploded himself near an Egged bus no. 22 at the French Hill junction in northern Jerusalem. 25 people were lightly injured.
Mar 20, 2002 - Seven people, four of them soldiers, were killed and about 30 wounded, several seriously, in a suicide bombing of an Egged bus No. 823 traveling from Tel Aviv to Nazareth at the Musmus junction on Highway 65 (Wadi Ara) near Afula. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mar 21, 2002 - Three people were killed and 86 injured, 3 of them seriously, in a suicide bombing on King George Street in the center of Jerusalem. The terrorist detonated the bomb, packed with metal spikes and nails, in the center of a crowd of shoppers. The Fatah al-Aqsa Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mar 27, 2002 - 30 people were killed and 140 injured - 20 seriously - in a suicide bombing in the Park Hotel in the coastal city of Netanya, in the midst of the Passover holiday seder with 250 guests. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. The terrorist was a member of Hamas from Tulkarem, on the list of wanted terrorists Israel had requested be arrested.
Mar 29, 2002 - Two people were killed and 28 injured, two seriously when a female suicide bomber blew herself up in the Kiryat Yovel supermarket in Jerusalem. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mar 30, 2002 - One person was killed and about 30 people were injured in a suicide bombing in a cafe on the corner of Allenby and Bialik streets in Tel-Aviv. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mar 31, 2002 - 15 people were killed and over 40 injured in a suicide bombing in Haifa, in the Matza restaurant of the gas station near the Grand Canyon shopping mall. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mar 31, 2002 - An MDA paramedic was very seriously injured along with three other people at 17:00 Sunday afternoon in a suicide bombing at the emergency medical center in Efrat, in the Gush Etzion bloc south of Jerusalem.
Apr 1, 2002 - A police officer was killed in Jerusalem when a Palestinian suicide bomber heading toward the city center blew himself up in his car after being stopped at a roadblock. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
Apr 10, 2002 - Eight people were killed and 22 injured in a suicide bombing on Egged bus #960, en route from Haifa to Jerusalem, which exploded near Kibbutz Yagur, east of Haifa. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Apr 12, 2002 - Six people were killed and 104 wounded when a woman suicide bomber detonated a powerful charge at a bus stop on Jaffa road at the entrance to Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda open-air market. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
May 7, 2002 - 16 people were killed and 55 wounded in a crowded game club in Rishon Lezion, southeast of Tel-Aviv, when a suicide bomber detonated a powerful charge in the 3rd floor club, causing part of the building to collapse. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
May 19, 2002 - Three people were killed and 59 injured - 10 seriously - when a suicide bomber, disguised as a soldier, blew himself up in the market in Netanya. Both Hamas and the PFLP took responsibility for the attack.
May 20, 2002 - A suicide bomber, apparently bound for Afula, killed himself after Border Policemen approached him for questioning at a bus stop. There were no other injuries.
May 22, 2002 - Two people were killed and about 40 wounded when a suicide bomber detonated himself in the Rothschild Street downtown pedestrian mall of Rishon Lezion.
May 23, 2002 - A bomb planted by terrorists exploded underneath a fuel truck at the Pi Glilot fuel depot north of Tel Aviv. The truck burst into flames, but the blaze was quickly contained.
May 24, 2002 - A security guard opened fire on a terrorist attempting to ram a car bomb into the Studio 49 Disco in Tel Aviv. The terrorist was killed and five Israelis slightly injured when the bomb exploded prematurely.
May 27, 2002 - A grandmother and her infant granddaughter were killed and 37 people were injured, some seriously, when a suicide bomber detonated himself near an ice cream parlor outside a shopping mall in Petah Tikva. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
June 5, 2002 - 17 people were killed and 38 injured when a car packed with a large quantity of explosives struck Egged bus No. 830 traveling from Tel-Aviv to Tiberias at the Megiddo junction near Afula. The bus, which burst into flames, was completely destroyed. The terrorist was killed in the blast. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
June 11, 2002 - A 14-year-old girl was killed and 15 others were wounded when a Palestinian suicide bomber set off a relatively small pipe bomb at a shwarma restaurant in Herzliya.
June 18, 2002 - 19 people were killed and 74 injured - six seriously - in a suicide bombing at the Patt junction in Egged bus no. 32A traveling from Gilo to the center of Jerusalem. The bus, which was completely destroyed, was carrying many students on their way to school. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
June 19, 2002 - Seven people were killed and 50 injured - three of them in critical condition - when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a crowded bus stop and hitchhiking post at the French Hill intersection in northern Jerusalem shortly after 7:00 P.M., as people were returning home from work. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
July 16, 2002 - Nine people were killed and 20 injured in a terrorist attack on Dan bus no. 189 traveling from Bnei Brak to Emmanuel in Samaria. An explosive charge was detonated next to the bullet-resistant bus. The terrorists waited in ambush, reportedly wearing IDF uniforms, and opened fire on the bus. While four terror organizations claimed responsibility for the attack, it was apparently carried out by the same Hamas cell which carried out the attack in Emmanuel on Dec 12, 2001.
July 17, 2002 - Five people were killed - two Israeli and three foreign workers - and about 40 were injured, four seriously, in a double suicide bombing on Neve Shaanan Street near the old central bus station in Tel Aviv. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
July 30, 2002 - Five people suffered light to moderate injuries in a suicide bombing at a felafel stand on Hanevi'im Street in the center of Jerusalem. The bomber, who was killed, apparently exploded prematurely.
July 31, 2002 - Nine people were killed and 85 wounded, 14 of them seriously, when a bomb exploded in the Frank Sinatra student center cafeteria on the Hebrew University's Mt. Scopus campus. The explosive device was planted inside the cafeteria, which was gutted by the explosion. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Aug 4, 2002 - Nine people were killed and some 50 wounded in a suicide bombing of Egged bus No. 361 traveling from Haifa to Safed at the Meron junction in northern Israel. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Aug 5, 2002 - A bomb exploded in a car at the Umm al-Fahm junction in northern Israel, killing the terrorist and wounding the driver, an Arab Israeli resident of Nazareth.
Sept 18, 2002 - Police Sgt. Moshe Hezkiyah, 21, of Elyachin was killed and three people were wounded in a suicide bombing at a bus stop at the Umm al Fahm junction. The terrorist, who was apparently planning to detonate the bomb after boarding a bus, set the charge off early when approached by the police for questioning. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Sept 19, 2002 - Six people were killed and about 70 wounded when a terrorist detonated a bomb in Dan bus No. 4 on Allenby Street, opposite the Great Synagogue in Tel-Aviv. Hamas claimed responsbility for the attack.
Oct 10, 2002 - Sa'ada Aharon, 71, of Ramat Gan was killed and about 30 people were wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up while trying to board Dan bus No. 87 across from Bar-Ilan University on the Geha highway (Route 4). Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Oct 21, 2002 - 14 people were killed and some 50 wounded when a car bomb containing about 100 kilograms of explosives was detonated next to a No. 841 Egged bus from Kiryat Shmona to Tel-Aviv, while traveling along Wadi Ara on Route No. 65 toward Hadera. The bus had pulled over at a bus stop when the suicide bomber, from Jenin, driving a jeep, approached from behind and exploded. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Oct 27, 2002 - Two IDF officers and a non-commissioned officer were killed and about 20 people were wounded in a suicide bombing at the Sonol gas station at the entrance to Ariel in Samaria. The victims were killed while trying to prevent the terrorist from detonating the bomb. The terrorist was identified as a member of Hamas.
Nov 4, 2002 - Two people - a security guard and a teenage boy, both recent immigrants from Argentina - were killed and about 70 were wounded in a suicide bombing at a shopping mall in Kfar Sava. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Nov 21, 2002 - Eleven people were killed and some 50 wounded by a suicide bomber on a No. 20 Egged bus on Mexico Street in the Kiryat Menahem neighborhood of Jerusalem. The bus was filled with passengers, including schoolchildren, traveling toward the center of the city during rush hour. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Jan 5, 2003 - Twenty-two people were killed and about 120 wounded in a double suicide bombing near the old Central Bus Station in Tel-Aviv. The attack was apparently carried out by two members of the Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, with the help of the Islamic Jihad.
Mar 5, 2003 - Seventeen people were killed and 53 wounded in a suicide bombing of an Egged bus #37 on Moriah Blvd. in the Carmel section of Haifa, en route to Haifa University. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mar 30, 2003 - Over 40 people were wounded in a suicide bombing on the pedestrian mall at the entrance to the London Cafe in the center of Netanya. The bomber was killed. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Apr 24, 2003 - Alexander Kostyuk, a 23-year-old security guard from Bat Yam, was killed and 13 were wounded, two seriously, in a suicide bombing outside the train station in Kfar Sava. Groups related to the Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and the PFLP clamied joint responsibility for the attack.
Apr 30, 2003 - Three people were killed and about 60 peoople were wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a beachfront pub "Mike's Place" in Tel Aviv. The Fatah Tanzim and Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, carried out as a joint operation. Investigation revealed that the two British Muslims involved in the suicide bombing were dispatched to perpetrate the attack by the Hamas military command in the Gaza Strip.
May 17, 2003 - Gadi Levy and his wife Dina, aged 31 and 37, of Kiryat Arba were killed by a suicide bomber in Hebron. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
May 18, 2003 - Seven people were killed and 20 wounded in a suicide bombing on Egged bus no. 6 near French Hill in Jerusalem. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
A second suicide bomber detonated his bomb when intercepted by police in northern Jerusalem. The terrorist was killed; no one else was injured.
May 19, 2003 - Three IDF soldiers were lightly injured when a Palestinian on a bicycle detonated explosives next to a military jeep near Kfar Darom in the southern Gaza Strip. The bomber was killed. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
May 19, 2003 - Three people were killed and about 70 wounded in a suicide bombing at the entrance to the Amakim Mall in Afula. The Islamic Jihad and the Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades both claimed responsibility for the attack.
May 22, 2003 - Nine Israelis were injured when a roadside bomb was detonated next to a bus near Netzarim in the Gaza Strip.
June 11, 2003 - Seventeen people were killed and over 100 wounded in a suicide bombing on Egged bus #14A outside the Clal building on Jaffa Road in the center of Jerusalem. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
June 19, 2003 - Avner Mordechai, 58, of Moshav Sde Trumot, was killed when a suicide bomber blew up in his grocery on Sde Trumot, south of Beit Shean. The suicide bomber was killed. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
July 7, 2003 - Mazal Afari, 65, of Moshav Kfar Yavetz was killed in her home on Monday evening and three of her grandchildren lightly wounded in a terrorist suicide bombing. The remains of the bomber were also found in the wreckage of the house. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Aug 12, 2003 - Erez Hershkovitz, 18, of Eilon Moreh, was killed and three people wounded when a teenaged Palestinian suicide bomber detonated himself at a bus stop outside Ariel. Amatzia Nisanevitch, 22, of Nofim, died of his wounds on August 28.
Aug 19, 2003 - Twenty-three people were killed and over 130 wounded when a Palestinian suicide bomber detonated himself on a No. 2 Egged bus in Jerusalem's Shmuel Hanavi neighborhood. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Sept 9, 2003 - Nine IDF soldiers were killed and 30 people were wounded in a suicide bombing at a hitchhiking post for soldier outside a main entrance to the Tzrifin army base and Assaf Harofeh Hospital. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Sept 9, 2003 - Seven people were killed and over 50 wounded in a suicide bombing at Cafe Hillel on Emek Refaim St., the main thoroughfare of the German Colony neighborhood in Jerusalem. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Oct 4, 2003 - Twenty-one people were killed, including four children, and 60 wounded in a suicide bombing carried out by a female terrorist from Jenin in the Maxim restaurant in Haifa. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Oct 9, 2003 - A Palestinian suicide bomber exploded himself at the DCO located at the entrance to Tulkarm. The bomber approached the reception window and exploded himself, injuring two IDF soldiers and a Palestinian.
Oct 15, 2003 - Three Americans were killed and one wounded at the Beit Hanoun junction in the Gaza Strip when a massive bomb demolished an armor-plated jeep in a convoy carrying U.S. diplomats.
Nov 3, 2003 - A suicide bomber blew himself up in the West Bank village of Azun, near Kafr Qasem, when he saw Israeli security officials searching for him. One IDF soldier was lightly wounded. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade claimed responsibility for the failed attack.
Dec 25, 2003 - Four Israelis were killed and over 20 wounded in a suicide bombing at a bus stop at the Geha Junction, east of Tel Aviv, near Petah Tikva. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the attack.
Jan 14, 2004 - Four Israelis - three soldiers and one civilian - were killed and 10 wounded when a female suicide bomber detonated a bomb at the Erez Crossing in the Gaza Strip. Hamas and the Fatah Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed joint responsibility for the attack.
Jan 29, 2004 - Eleven people were killed and over 50 wounded, 13 of them seriously, in a suicide bombing of an Egged bus no. 19 at the corner of Gaza and Arlozorov streets in Jerusalem. The Fatah-related Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack, naming the bomber as Ali Yusuf Jaara, a 24-year-old Palestinian policeman from Bethlehem.
Feb 22, 2004 - Eight people were killed and over 60 wounded, 11 of them school pupils, in a suicide bombing on Jerusalem bus no. 14A near the Liberty Bell Park. The Fatah Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack, which was carried out by Mohammed Za'ul, from the Bethlehem area.
Mar 6, 2004 - Two Palestinian policemen were killed in a terror attack on the Erez crossing in northern Gaza involving rifle fire and suicide car bombs, including jeeps camouflaged as IDF vehicles. Two of the vehicles exploded on the Palestinian side of the crossing, and four terrorists were killed. There were no IDF casualties. Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the military wing of Fatah all claimed responsibility.
Mar 14, 2004 - Ten people were killed and 16 wounded in a double suicide bombing at Ashdod Port. Hamas and Fatah claimed responsibility for the attack.
Apr 17, 2004 - Border Policeman Sgt. Kfir Ohayon, 20, of Eilat was killed, three others wounded when a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up at the Erez Crossing. Hamas and Fatah claimed joint responsibility for the attack.
May 22, 2004 - A suicide bomber was killed when he detonated an explosive device at the Bekaot checkpoint in the northern Jordan Valley. The commander of the IDF checkpoint was lightly injured, as well as several Palestinians. The PFLP claimed responsibility for the attack.
July 11, 2004 - Sgt. Ma'ayan Na'im, 19, of Bat Yam, was killed and 33 wounded when a bomb exploded at a bus stop in downtown Tel Aviv at about 7 a.m. One person was critically wounded, four were moderately wounded, and the rest were lightly hurt.
Aug 11, 2004 - Two Palestinian bystanders were killed and 18 people were wounded, including six Border Policemen, when a bomb was detonated south of the Qalandiyah checkpoint at the northern entrance to Jerusalem.
Aug 31, 2004 - Sixteen people were killed and 100 wounded in two suicide bombings within minutes of each other on two Beersheba city buses, on route nos. 6 and 12. The buses were traveling along Beersheba's main street, Rager Blvd, near the city hall. Hamas in Hebron claimed responsibility for the attack.
Sept 8, 2004 - A booby-trapped car exploded next to Israeli security personnel at the Baka al-Sharkiyeh checkpoint, near the Green Line border with the West Bank. The Palestinian driver of the car was killed in the blast. The Fatah-related Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
Sept 14, 2004 - A suicide bomber riding on a bicycle blew himself up near an armored IDF jeep at an agricultural gate, south of Qalqilyah, injuring two IDF soldiers.
Sept 22, 2004 - Two Border Policemen were killed and 17 Israelis wounded in a suicide bombing carried out by a female terrorist at the French Hill junction hitchhiking post in northern Jerusalem. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
Oct 7, 2004 - A total of 32 people were killed in terror bombings at two Sinai holiday resorts frequented by Israelis: 29 at the Taba Hilton and three at Ras a-Satan. Among the dead were 12 Israelis; over 120 were wounded.
Nov 1, 2004 - Three people were killed and over 30 wounded in a suicide bombing at the Carmel Market in central Tel Aviv. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in Nablus claimed responsibility for the attack, carried out by Amar Alfar, 18, from Askar refugee camp in Nablus.
Dec 7, 2004 - St.-Sgt. Nadav Kudinsky, 20, of Kiryat Gat of the Oketz canine unit was killed by a bomb, along with his dog, when a booby-trapped chicken coup exploded northwest of the Karni Corssing in the Gaza Strip. Four soldiers were wounded in the exchange of fire while evacuating him. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Jan 5, 2005 - A terrorist infiltrated the Erez crossing terminal in the Gaza Strip, activated an explosive device, hurled grenades and opened fire. An IDF force shot and killed the terrorist. The Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
Jan 12, 2005 - One Israeli civilian was killed and three IDF soldiers wounded when a bomb was detonated as a military vehicle patroled the route near Morag in the southern Gaza Strip. Two terrorists were killed by IDF forces. The area was booby-trapped with explosive devices, in addition to the bomb that exploded. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Jan 13, 2005 - On Thursday night, shortly before the closing of the Karni Crossing, terrorists activated an explosive device on the Palestinian side of the crossing, blowing a hole in the door through which Palestinian terrorists infiltrated the Israeli side of the crossing and opened fire at Israeli civilians. As a result of the explosion and during exchanges of fire, six Israeli civilians and three Palestinian terrorists were killed, and five Israeli civilians were wounded. Hamas and the Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed joint responsiblity for the attack.
Jan 18, 2005 - An ISA officer was killed, an IDF officer seriously wounded, and 4 IDF soldiers and 3 members of the ISA were lightly wounded in a suicide bombing attack at the Gush Katif junction in the central Gaza Strip. While search procedures were being carried out, the suicide bomber with explosives strapped to his body detonated himself. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Feb 25, 2005 - Five people were killed and 50 wounded Friday night, when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the Stage club on the Tel Aviv promenade at around 11:20 P.M., on the corner of Herbert Samuel and Yonah Hanavi streets. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
July 12, 2005 - Five people were killed and about 90 wounded when a suicide bomber detonated himself outside Hasharon Mall in Netanya. The bomber was identified as Ahmed Abu Khalil, 18, from the West Bank village of Atil. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Aug 28, 2005 - A suicide bomber detonated himself outside the Beersheba Central Bus Station. Two security guards who stopped the bomber were severely wounded and about 50 people were lightly wounded or treated for shock. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Oct 26, 2005 - Six people were killed and 55 wounded, six seriously, in a suicide bombing at the Hadera open-air market. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Dec 5, 2005 - Five people were killed and over 50 wounded in a suicide bombing at the entrance to the Sharon shopping mall in Netanya. The terrorist detonated the bomb when he was stopped by security guards, one of whom was killed. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Dec 29, 2005 - Lt. Ori Binamo, 21, of Nesher was killed when a terrorist en route to carry out an attack in Israel detonated himself at roadblock set up near Tulkarm following an intelligence tip. A second intended suicide terrorist was also killed in the blast as well as the taxi driver and a third passenger. Three soldiers and seven Palestinians were wounded.
Jan 19, 2006 - Thirty-one people were wounded in a suicide bombing in a shawarma restaurant near the old central bus station in Tel Aviv. The Jerusalem Battalions of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mar 30, 2006 - Four people were killed when a suicide bomber hitchhiker disguised as an ultra-Orthodox yeshiva student detonated his explosive device in a private vehicle near the entrance to Kedumim.
Apr 17, 2006 - Eleven people were killed and over 60 wounded in a suicide bombing during the Passover holiday near the old central bus station in Tel Aviv, at the Rosh Ha'ir shawarma restaurant, site of the Jan 19 bombing. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
You Da Man...................:D
Yep.. BA... its hard to argue with the truth! Thanks for the post!
Since we're in awe of statistics:
- Since September 29, 2000, 121 Israeli children have been killed by Palestinians and 754 Palestinian children have been killed by Israelis
- Since September 29, 2000, 1,084 Israelis and 4,091 Palestinians have been killed
- Since September 29, 2000, 1,084 Israelis and 4,091 Palestinians have been killed
- Since September 29, 2000, 7,633 Israelis and 30,511 Palestinians have been injured
- The U.S. gives $15,139,178 per day to the Israeli government and military and $232,290 per day to Palestinian NGOâ??s
- The Israeli unemployment rate is 8.9%, while the Palestinian unemployment is estimated at 25-31%
These figures are from http://www.ifamericansknew.org/. My hunch is many of you will dismiss them, but their charter is to help resolve the conflict between the Jews and Palistinians, for which Americans have a HUGE vested interest (since we're deficit spending on it).
Guess I'll play caboose on this neo-con train.........nice find BA....I was looking for something like that but couldn't find it!
Have a good one!:thumbsup:
Since were going back in time this happen "Apr 6, 1994 - Eight people were killed in a car-bomb attack on a bus in the center of Afula. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack."
maybe it was caused by this act
"February 25, 1994 Jewish gunman kills 29 Palestinian worshippers in Hebron" Ohhh wait i think we need to go back to the beginning............this is NPR dont know its political agenda, but its the closes thing i can find to truthfullness...very good read, you can even listen to it........It really seem the Arabs were only defending themselves from the Zionist takeover of the Palestinan land or the arabs land......7parts
The Mideast: A Century of Conflict
Part 1: Theodor Herzl and the first Zionist Congress
Morning Edition: September 30, 2002
Listen to Part 1 of Mike Shuster's series.
BOB EDWARDS: Today Morning Edition begins "The Mideast: A Century of Conflict," a seven-part series on the history of the struggle between Israelis and Palestinians.
The recent violence is just the latest in a long series of turning points in the conflict between these two peoples. Each side has its own interpretation of these crucial, historical episodes. And too often, the march of daily news obscures a broader review of the past to understand the roots of the conflict.
The reports begin with the emergence of the Zionist movement more than a century ago. Here's NPR's Mike Shuster.
MIKE SHUSTER: Modern Zionism was a product of its age and its place: the late 19th century in a Europe where anti-Semitism was rampant and Jews in many nations experienced persecution and at times murderous pogroms which left hundreds dead.
For centuries some Jews longed to return to Zion, the biblical Israel. But until the 1890s, they failed to formulate a concrete plan of how to do that, says Howard Sachar, author of A History of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time.
HOWARD SACHAR: The notion of Zionism is actually a cultural conception which had been nurtured in the latter decades of the 19th century, particularly among the Jews of Eastern Europe. But they really did not impose upon this paradigm any conception of a political state.
SHUSTER: The idea of a modern state for the Jews emerged from the mind of Theodor Herzl, for whom Zionism was political and had nothing to do with Judaism, the religion, says Avi Shlaim, author of The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World.
AVI SHLAIM: Herzl was an assimilated Viennese Jew, a journalist and a playwright. He was completely secular and he had no particular attachment to the Jewish religion. As he conceived it, the idea of a Jewish state was a secular idea.
SHUSTER: In 1894, Herzl was the correspondent in Paris for a Vienna newspaper, and he reported on the case of Alfred Dreyfus, an officer in the French army, falsely accused of treason because he was Jewish. It was an experience that proved the catalyst for Herzl's embrace of political Zionism.
Herzl set out his ideas about what was then called the Jewish question in detail in an 1896 pamphlet, entitled Der Judenstaat, or "The Jewish State."
THEODOR HERZL (ACTOR'S VOICE-OVER): The Jewish question exists wherever Jews live in perceptible numbers. Where it does not exist, it is carried by Jews in the course of their migrations. We naturally move to those places where we are not persecuted, and there, our presence produces persecution. This is the case in every country, and will remain so, even in those highly civilized -- for instance France -- until the Jewish question finds a solution on a political basis.
SHUSTER: Originally Herzl did not restrict his musing on the location of a Jewish state to the Middle East, according to Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi, author of Original Sins: Reflections on the History of Zionism and Israel.
BENJAMIN BEIT-HALLAHMI: Herzl wasn't interested in Palestine. He just wanted a place for the Jews to settle, and at first he was interested in Argentina and East Africa and other places....
SACHAR: Although later on in later years after he organized the Zionist movement...
SHUSTER: Again Howard Sachar.
SACHAR: ...he began to realize that there was a deep-rooted wellspring of religio-cultural identification with Palestine among most Jews. And so he by and large fixed his attention essentially on a diplomatic solution to the Jewish issue in Ottoman Palestine.
SHUSTER: Herzl understood that his political goal needed an organization. So in 1897 he gathered about 250 followers at the first Zionist Congress. It opened in Basel, Switzerland on August 29, 1897, and launched the World Zionist Organization. The goal, expressed in a formally adopted program, would be the creation of a home in Palestine for the Jewish people.
Herzl judged the first Zionist Congress a success, as evidenced in his diary entry the day the Congress closed, September 3rd, 1897.
THEODOR HERZL (ACTOR'S VOICE-OVER): Were I to sum up the Basel Congress in a word, it would be this: At Basel I founded the Jewish State. If I said this out loud today, I would be answered by universal laughter. Perhaps in five years and certainly in 50, everyone will know it.
SHUSTER: Herzl's words were prophetic. The state of Israel would be founded just over 50 years later.
In 1897, though, Palestine was a sleepy Arab backwater of the Ottoman Empire. It had been ruled from Constantinople by the Turkish sultans for nearly 500 years and was populated by largely Arab peasant farmers, most of whom had never heard the word Zionism.
Herzl realized early on that the Jews as a small, weak, dispersed people would have no chance to create a state of their own without the backing of a world power.
Herzl first approached the Germans, meeting Kaiser Wilhelm in Palestine in 1898, according to Howard Sachar.
SACHAR: The way Herzl tried to maneuver his negotiations -- he was a very shrewd student of international diplomacy -- was to point out to the Kaiser and to the foreign minister Von Bulow that it would be very useful indeed if Germany had a kind of enclave of loyal German-oriented inhabitants living in this corner of the Ottoman Empire and most Jews that Herzl had in mind were people like himself who spoke German and were great admirers of German civilization.
SHUSTER: The German Kaiser was not interested, having his eye on an eventual alliance with the Ottomans.
Herzl would lobby many of the kings and ministers of Europe before his death in 1904 as well as the Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II. Howard Sachar says his secular concept of Jewish statehood and his idea of how to bring it into existence were for their time dazzling in their originality.
SACHAR: And he worked these conceptions very shrewdly. He projected the notion of a Jewish state into the very centers of European statescraft. And for the first time thereby he gave the Jewish people a kind of address, a central address in Europe.
SHUSTER: Some early communities of Jewish immigrants had been established in Palestine. Estimates of their population in the 1890s range from 20,000 to 50,000, living among half a million Arabs. Herzl and his followers paid little attention to them, says Benny Morris, author of Righteous Victims, A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict.
BENNY MORRIS: They knew there were Arabs there. They preferred not to look at them, but they weren't Palestinian Arabs in the sense that these Arabs who lived in the area of Palestine at the time of Herzl didn't see themselves as Palestinians. They were just Arabs who saw themselves if anything as southern Syrians. But generally they regarded themselves as just Arabs. The movement, the national movement of Palestinian Arabs come into existence decades later.
SHUSTER: The Arabs of Palestine knew little of the plans of Theodor Herzl and the first Zionists. A general awareness of the Zionist goal would not take hold in Palestine for some time, says Rashid Khalidi, author of Palestinian Identity, the Construction of Modern National Consciousness.
RASHID KHALIDI: The first Basel congress of 1897 was well reported in the German and Austrian press. And a number of Palestinians found out about it as the news was published. So from the 1890s when political Zionism first started up in its formal form, there were Palestinians who were aware of it. And that knowledge spread relatively rapidly in the next decade or two.
SHUSTER: Although relations between Jews and Arabs in Palestine at that time were generally cordial, there were hints of what was to come.
In 1905, Najib Azouri, published what is considered the first public appeal to Arab nationalism, a book called The Awakening of the Arab Nation.
This came just at the moment that thousands of additional Jewish immigrants were arriving in Palestine, fleeing a new wave of anti-Semitic pogroms in Russia, Ukraine, and Poland.
Two things were happening in the Ottoman Middle East, Azouri wrote: "the awakening of the Arab nation, and the effort of the Jews to reconstitute the ancient kingdom of Israel."
His conclusion was also prophetic: "These movements are destined to fight each other continually until one of them wins."
Mike Shuster, NPR News, Los Angeles.
EDWARDS: Tomorrow, in Part Two of our series, Britain issues the Balfour Declaration supporting a Jewish homeland in Palestine. But Palestinians oppose it, and Britain's rule ends in violence and failure.
There's a timeline, historical maps and background on leaders in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the Web site npr.org.
Copyright ©2002 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript may not be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission. For further information, please contact NPR's Permissions Coordinator at (202) 513-2000.
Whoops forgot the link but heres part 2 if you care
http://www.npr.org/news/specials/mideast/history/
The Mideast: A Century of Conflict
Part 2: The Balfour Declaration and the British Mandate
Morning Edition: October 1, 2002
Listen to Part 2 of Mike Shuster's series.
BOB EDWARDS: Today, the second part of a series, "The Mideast: A Century of Conflict between Palestine and Israel," picks up two decades after Theodor Herzl and the early Zionists, in 1897, launched the movement to establish a Jewish homeland.
It took that long -- 20 years -- for the first, great diplomatic breakthrough -- the Balfour Declaration in which Great Britain declared itself in favor of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
Britain then sought to govern Palestine during a period that is known as the British Mandate, a time of growing hostility and violence between Jews and Arabs.
NPR's Mike Shuster reports.
MIKE SHUSTER: World War I would prove decisive for the early Zionists, and it would set in motion a cycle of violence that has not ended to this day.
The Balfour Declaration was the product of British strategic thinking and the lobbying of modern Zionism's second great personality, Chaim Weizmann.
Weizmann, a Russian Jew, settled in Great Britain before the war, and became the local representative of the World Zionist Organization. With few contacts and even fewer resources, Weizmann managed to make his way into the offices of Great Britain's highest officials, including David Lloyd George, who became prime minister in 1916.
The British quickly warmed to the strategic value of a Zionist enterprise in Palestine, says Howard Sachar, one of the pre-eminent American historians of Zionism and Israel.
HOWARD SACHAR: People like Lloyd George, people like Arthur James Balfour, the British foreign secretary, in the latter phase of the war began to see a number of very important advantages to cultivating a Jewish presence in Palestine with the unspoken understanding that this Jewish presence would be under a British protectorate.
SHUSTER: Lloyd George and other British officials were the product of a strict Protestant upbringing, which considered the Jews the chosen people of God with their rightful place in Zion.
But Lloyd George also believed support for the Zionists would cement Jewish support in the U.S. for entering the war as a British ally and in Russia convulsed by revolution for remaining in the war on the British side.
The result was the Balfour Declaration, issued on November 2, 1917, named for Balfour, the British foreign secretary.
BALFOUR DECLARATION (ACTOR'S VOICE-OVER): His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.
SHUSTER: The Zionists were euphoric. They understood the words national home to mean Jewish state.
The Arabs of Palestine did not learn of the declaration for several months; the war for the Middle East was bigger news then. Rashid Khalidi, a Palestinian-American historian at the University of Chicago, calls the declaration a monumental injustice.
RASHID KHALIDI: The Balfour Declaration involved a promise by an imperial power to establish a national home for a minority in a country that had a population which was not recognized in that declaration. The Balfour Declaration talks about the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish populations. The existing non-Jewish populations were the 92 percent majority of the country. Their national and political rights were ignored in a declaration which promised national and political rights to the Jewish people.
SHUSTER: What the borders of Palestine would be was not immediately clear. In 1916, Britain and France delineated the future borders of the Middle Eastern states in what came to be known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement, named for the diplomats who negotiated it.
Palestine was considered part of Greater Syria, to be divided between the two allies.
As it turned out, by the end of the war the British army seized all of Palestine, aided by an Arab army organized by the legendary T.E. Lawrence and loyal to the Sharif of Mecca. The British had also made promises regarding Palestine to Feisal, the sharif's son, to enlist their support fighting the Ottomans. Not surprisingly, those commitments were never fulfilled, says Rashid Khalidi.
KHALIDI: The point is that the British had not promised anything directly to the Palestinians themselves, and this is a constant problem in Palestinian history. Various actors -- the British, the United States, Israel -- preferred to deal with others rather than dealing directly with the Palestinians. And that was, in fact, a motif of the entire 30 years that followed, right up to the end of the mandate in 1948.
SHUSTER: In 1922 the League of Nations made Palestine a mandate of Britain, whose task it would be to bring the territory to independence.
Although initially committed to the Zionist enterprise, British officials believed they could rule Palestine for the mutual benefit of Arabs and Jews, says Howard Sachar.
HOWARD SACHAR: Even during the course of the war and in the immediate aftermath of the war at the time of the Paris peace conference, there seemed to be very little serious danger that the aspirations of Jews or Arabs in the Near East were necessarily on a point of collision.
SHUSTER: But unrest broke out quickly, first in 1920, then in 1921, and it continued to escalate, says Philip Mattar, editor of The Encyclopedia of the Palestinians.
PHILIP MATTAR: After Jews began to immigrate and purchase land, Palestinians began to realize that this will lead eventually to either their domination or their expulsion. So spontaneous riots broke out in Jerusalem and Jaffa. And then again in 1929, in much larger explosion throughout Palestine.
SHUSTER: The Zionists built schools and factories and farms, and a bureaucratic organization that would eventually become the state apparatus of Israel.
The Arabs resisted, says Tom Segev, author of One Palestine, Complete: Jews and Arabs Under the British Mandate.
TOM SEGEV: When you look back to the '20s, you find that almost everything that has been said since the '20s, and everything that has been done since the '20s was there already. The Arabs said we don't accept you here. They were very, very consistent in their view, and it inevitably led to violence and to acts of terrorism.
SHUSTER: The 1930s, and the rise of Hitler in Germany, would spark a crisis in Palestine that went far beyond what had taken place before, says Rashid Khalidi.
KHALIDI: It was only in the '30s when suddenly in one year as many Jewish immigrants arrived in Palestine 1935 as had lived in the country in 1918 that the Palestinians realized: a. they were going to be outnumbered in their country and b. the Zionist movement was clearly developing at a pace which would enable it to conquer the country whether they had a majority or not. This terrified the Palestinians, and it led to a mass uprising which took the Palestinian leadership completely by surprise as much as it was a shock to the British.
SHUSTER: Known as the Arab Rebellion, it resembles nothing if not the violence of the past two years. The Arabs were seeking an independent state of their own in Palestine. Arab guerrillas attacked Jewish settlers and British soldiers with guns and bombs. Jews mounted equally bloody reprisals. The British army pursued an anti-terrorism campaign that included the demolition of homes of the families of Arab bombers.
Each side had its own growing list of martyrs, one of whom was a Muslim activist named Iz-al-din al-Qassam, namesake for the military wing of the present day Hamas, which has carried out many suicide bombings over the past two years.
The British could not suppress the violence, so in 1937 they proposed for the first time to partition Palestine. Neither side was enthusiastic, says Philip Mattar.
MATTAR: The Palestinians totally rejected it, because at that time Jews had owned only 5.6 percent of Palestine whereas they were being offered 40 percent of the country. And the Jews were not entirely pleased with it either. Basically I think the idea died for lack of support.
SHUSTER: The British eventually broke the back of the Arab Rebellion, after more than a thousand Arabs and several hundred Jews lost their lives. Tom Segev says that on the eve of World War II, the British realized they could not solve the conflict in Palestine.
SEGEV: By 1939 I think the British had realized that their role in Palestine is over. There is nothing for them to do. The animosity, the violence between Jews and Arabs is too hostile. And I think that by 1939 they were in fact ready to leave.
SHUSTER: That year the British published a white paper on Palestine, which traditional historians of Israel see as a repudiation of Zionism and the Balfour Declaration.
After that, the Zionists gradually concluded that they would have to fight not only the Arabs but also the British if they were to establish a Jewish state in Palestine. World War II would postpone that stage of the conflict.
But once the World War was won, the simmering conflict in Palestine would turn into a war of its own.
Mike Shuster, NPR News, Los Angeles.
EDWARDS: Tomorrow, in the third part of the series, the newly born United Nations votes to partition Palestine, and war erupts. The new Israeli state is born, and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians become refugees.
Copyright ©2002 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript may not be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission. For further information, please contact NPR's Permissions Coordinator at (202) 513-2000.
heres part 3 i guess if you care you can goto the website
The Mideast: A Century of Conflict
Part 3: Partition, War and Independence
Morning Edition: October 2, 2002
Listen to Part 3 of Mike Shuster's series.
BOB EDWARDS: As World War II ended, the struggle for Palestine intensified. The Zionists, who wanted a Jewish homeland, and who had supported the British during the World War, prepared for a new conflict.
Leaders of both Arabs and Jews could see they would soon have to fight each other for the territory. The British turned the whole problem over to the newly created United Nations.
In the third part of the series, "The Mideast: A Century of Conflict," NPR's Mike Shuster reports.
MIKE SHUSTER: In 1939, Great Britain had become disillusioned with its support for a Jewish state in Palestine. It was unable to fashion a political solution that would satisfy both Jews and Arabs, and it could not stop the growing strife between the two communities.
The British placed a strict ceiling on Jewish immigration to Palestine. At the end of World War II, hundreds of thousands of desperate Jews populated Europe's concentration camps, but the British were still unwilling to allow them to leave for Palestine.
Once it was certain that Hitler's Germany was defeated, the Zionists turned on their erstwhile allies, says historian Howard Sachar.
HOWARD SACHAR: There seemed therefore no alternative to the Jews but to launch a full-fledged campaign against the British, and it took several forms. One was diplomatic. And secondly there would be an appeal to the compassion of the world by launching a kind of illegal immigration effort, bringing over tens and tens of thousands of refugees from Europe in these leaking little refugee boats.
SHUSTER: The campaign against the British also used violence, with the first shots fired on British military and government facilities by underground Jewish armed groups: the Stern Gang and the Irgun. Zionist leaders like David Ben-Gurion called them misguided terrorists and at times even helped the British fight them.
But their operations intensified. In 1946, the Irgun blew up a wing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem housing the British administration. Ninety were killed: roughly 30 Jews, 30 Arabs and 30 British.
NEWSREEL: As the toll of dead mounts daily in the bitter war of reprisals, tight security measures are imposed by the British. Scores of Jewish leaders are jailed and rigid searches are conducted for terrorists' weapons. These measures follow the hanging of two British sergeants by extremists. Palestine becomes an armed camp... .
SHUSTER: The armed Jewish gangs were commanded by men who would lead the Israeli state many years later.
SACHAR: Menachem Begin of course, ultimately to become a long-governing prime minister, was a member of the Irgun Z'vai Leumi, which was the largest element among the right-wing underground forces. But there were others who were even more extreme than he. One of them was a later prime minister, Yitzhak Shamir.
SHUSTER: Eventually the larger Zionist military organization, the Haganah, led by Ben-Gurion, joined the fight against the British.
By the end of 1946, an exhausted Britain decided to withdraw from Palestine, and turned the whole problem over to the United Nations, which had just been born that same year.
The U.N. immediately resurrected the idea of partitioning the territory, first proposed by the British in 1937.
In the U.S., President Truman favored it for political reasons, but also according to William Quandt, author of Peace Process: American Diplomacy and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, because of the terrible toll of the Holocaust.
WILLIAM QUANDT: We did understand there was a tremendous human need after World War II for some kind of a political solution for the survivors of the Holocaust, who could not rebuild their lives in Germany and who were in need of some sort of restitution.
SHUSTER: The Arab majority in Palestine was poorly organized to respond to the U.N. Palestinian leaders refused to discuss partition, says Philip Mattar, editor of The Encyclopedia of the Palestinians.
PHILIP MATTAR: The Jews were being offered 55 percent of Palestine when in fact they had owned only seven percent of the country. Four-hundred-fifty thousand Palestinians were going to end up within the Jewish state, and they did not see any reason why they should go along with that kind of inequality, that kind of injustice.
SHUSTER: The vote on partition in the General Assembly occurred on November 29, 1947 -- one of the critical dates of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Thirty-three states said yes, including the United States and the Soviet Union; 13 no, mostly Arab and Muslim states; 10 abstained, among them Britain.
The Zionists rejoiced. The Arabs rejected the vote, and skirmishing broke out in Palestine the next day.
Then on May 14th, 1948, Ben-Gurion, on the basis of the U.N.'s support for partition, announced the establishment of the independent state of Israel, the day after Britain formally ended its rule.
In response, the Arab states surrounding Israel -- Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq -- attacked.
NEWSREEL: The city of Haifa and its harbor become the center of bitter conflict as the new Jewish state is born in the tense atmosphere of civil war. Arab strong points are taken after being blasted to rubble. During the mopping-up operations, Haganah forces seek out every Arab, and barricades are set up to screen those who had not already fled the city. Everyone is searched. With the relinquishing of the British Mandate, Palestine is rocked by full scale war, and both sides mobilize... .
SHUSTER: The new Israeli state fought for its very existence on four fronts, but the Arab armies were disorganized and weak. By November it was clear they could not defeat Israel; in fact, Israel had occupied more of Palestine than had been given to it in the partition plan, says Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi, of Haifa University.
BENJAMIN BEIT-HALLAHMI: Israel ended up with 78 percent of Palestine. The Palestinian community in Palestine just disintegrated. The majority of Palestinians became refugees, and Palestine -- the geographical term Palestine -- disappeared from the map.
SHUSTER: Three-quarters of a million Palestinians fled their homes during the war, initiating one of the most contentious debates between Jews and Palestinians. The Zionists and their supporters claimed -- and some still claim -- that the Arab governments ordered the Palestinians to leave.
Historian Howard Sachar says that is not true.
SACHAR: No Arab government was ordering these people to flee. On the contrary, they were ordering them to stay put, under no circumstances to give over their territory to the Jews. It is a myth to assume that these people left voluntarily.
SHUSTER: Over the past two decades younger historians in Israel have argued, using declassified government papers, that in fact Zionist military operations caused the Palestinians to flee. There is now some agreement on this greatest of controversies, between traditional Zionist historians and the so-called revisionists.
SACHAR: There was a good deal of intimidation and even terrorization here and there, particularly along the coastal plain area that was coveted by the Jews. They were terrified by the shooting, by the bombardment.
BENNY MORRIS: In addition to that, Israeli troops in various areas carried out expulsions.
SHUSTER: Benny Morris did the groundbreaking original research on the roots of the Palestinian refugee exodus. He teaches at Ben-Gurion University in Israel.
MORRIS: For good military reasons they wanted clear lines of communication behind the lines. They didn't want snipers. They didn't want guerrillas operating behind the lines. So they wanted to get rid of Arab communities. So there were expulsions in various areas.
SHUSTER: The Palestinians call the war An Naqba, the catastrophe, and point to massacres at villages such as Deir Yassin as evidence that the Jews forced them to leave.
University of Chicago historian Rashid Khalidi argues that the Jews did not want nearly half the population of their new state to be Arab, which would have been the result had both sides accepted the U.N. partition plan.
RASHID KHALIDI: To establish a Jewish state in such circumstances required one of these three options. You either had to boot them out, or they had to become Jews, or you had to accept the possibility that you would one day have an Arab majority in the so-called Jewish state. I'm not suggesting that that in and of itself explains what happened. In each village, locality, city, town, a different outcome obtained for different reasons. In some cases there were massacres. In some cases people were put on trucks and sent away. In some cases they fled on their own. That most Palestinians fled, either because they were driven out or were afraid, I don't think is really disputable.
SHUSTER: The Palestinians fled to refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Gaza, and what is now called the West Bank. Thousands with their children and grandchildren live in those camps until now. And from those camps would spring the Palestinian movement -- the guerrilla fighters and bombmakers and political leaders -- who would continue to fight Israel and challenge its right to exist, down to this day.
Mike Shuster, NPR News, Los Angeles.
EDWARDS: Tomorrow, the 1967 Six Day War. It begins with Israel striking its Arab neighbors to defend its very existence, and ends with Israeli occupation of territories, including the West Bank and East Jerusalem, that are disputed to this day.
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