The subterfuge of oppression

There is dismay in the Middle East. From behind a facade of victimization, Palestinians justify their frustration as the end result of decades of Israeli abuse. As stated by the Palestinian National Authority, the breakout of the recent violence was precipitated by "34 long years, (during which) the Palestinians endured arbitrary oppressive Israeli policies and practices such as deportation, displacement, house demolition, killing, confiscation of land and appropriation of private property."

Is that a credible claim? Was it only in the last 34 years that the Palestinian liberation movement was born?

Let us wade through the propaganda to see. If Israeli dominion was the catalyst to Palestinian frustration, then there should have been little resentment toward the Jews prior to 1967.

History tells a decidedly different tale. As early as the 1920s, the first major outbursts of Palestinian aggression against Jews came during British, not Israeli, rule. Far overshadowing any of today's tragic violence, 67 Jews were killed in the Hebron massacre of 1929, an Arab-staged pogrom that destroyed the local Jewish community. During 1936-9, anti-Semitic riots grew to a national scale as Arabs vociferously demanded their autonomy.

On Nov. 29, 1947, the Palestinians received their chance. United Nations Resolution 181, which partitioned Israel into a Jewish and Arab state, promised the Palestinians all of the West Bank, the entire Gaza strip and a substantial territory in the Galilee. While today Jerusalem lies on the fringes of the Palestinian state, this resolution would have placed Jerusalem in the center of its territory. Although their historic capital was to be embedded in enemy territory, the Jews accepted. The Arabs, on the other hand, refused.

Backed by the adjacent Arab states of Egypt, Jordan and Syria, the Palestinians were promised the entire state via a military victory against Israel. As articulated in the Palestinian Liberation Organization's charter, Article 19, "The partition of Palestine in 1947 and the establishment of the state of Israel are entirely illegal, regardless of the passage of time, because they were contrary to the will of the Palestinian people." With the intension of pushing the Jews to the sea, the Palestinian people allied with their Arab neighbors.

The plan, however, did not pan out. Israel repulsed the Arab military invasion, pushing back the Arab boundaries. Even then, the West Bank remained a uniquely Palestinian territory, while Jerusalem was divided between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Unfazed, the Palestinians willingly colluded with their Arab neighbors to stage yet another attack on Israel, intent on reclaiming the entirety of Israel from the Jews. This was the Six Day War of 1967. Again, the invading Arab armies were repelled. It was only at this point that Israel took command of the West Bank and Gaza strip, bringing the Palestinian territories under their domain. Still, the Palestinians were given the opportunity to liberate themselves from ensuing Israeli "oppression." In return for a guarantee of peace, Israel offered back all of the conquered territory, naturally restoring Palestinian autonomy.

What was the Palestinian response to this offer? It was the infamous "Three N's"-- no negotiations, no recognition, no peace.

Battered by war, Israel time and again offered the Palestinians a chance to escape their "oppression." As recently as last year, Israel offered to go beyond the return of the West Bank, extending Palestinian sovereignty even over sections of Jerusalem. Palestinians refused, insisting upon the fulfillment of two impossible demands -- Jerusalem as a Palestinian capital and the "right of return" of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Both demands, essentially, called for Israel's destruction -- either by tearing apart the heart of the nation, or by washing it away in a flood of hostile refugees.

The Palestinian motive is so transparent that people often see right through it. Disguised under Western terminologies of "liberation" and "oppression," the Palestinian goal is none other than the destruction of the Jewish state.

If history's testimony does not sufficiently show this, let the Palestinian Liberation Organization speak for itself. "Israel," claims Article 22 of its charter, "is the instrument of the Zionist movement, and geographical base for world imperialism placed strategically in the midst of the Arab homeland to combat the hopes of the Arab nation for liberation, unity and progress. Israel is a constant threat vis-a-vis peace in the Middle East and the entire world."

In the past, the Palestinians relied on the military support of their Arab neighbors. Now, when such support has waned, the Palestinian authority looks to draw international sympathy through its practice of national masochism. Sending young boys with rocks and bombs to provoke Israeli retaliation, it sheds the blood of its own people to smear Israel with its guilt.

Don't be fooled. Palestinian resentment didn't brew under the pressure of Israeli "oppression." It existed long beforehand. Sadly, it will continue to exist as long Israel remains a Jewish state.