Watching the current crisis in Palestine, many Arab News readers feel helpless. But there is one positive action which everyone can take — become more informed.
The Internet is a wondrous source of information on Palestine and the issues surrounding it. Daily, Arab News will present web links to information on Palestine. Take a little time to explore them and learn. Soon you will be able to help defend the rights of the Palestinians.
Ever since the start of the second intifada, American and Israeli media and officials have repeatedly been saying that the Palestinians had wasted ‘another generous offer’, during Bill Clinton’s presidency. The Palestinians walked away from the proposals — presented by the Clinton administration at Camp David in the mid 2001 — during a last-ditch effort by Clinton to go down in history as the person who brought peace to the Middle East. The offer also failed to fulfill Palestinian aspiration for freedom.
One of the most contentious issues surrounding the formation of a Palestinian state is the fate of Zionist settlements created on Palestinian land. Israel has a history of constantly founding settlements in order to consolidate its control over the occupied territories and prevent the emergence of a Palestinian state.
As an Israeli politician explained, Jewish settlements in the occupied territories are essential “not because they can ensure security better than the army, but because without them we cannot keep the army in those territories.”
Two websites that clearly explain the settlement issue are http://www.gush-shalom.org/generous/generous.html and http://www.fmep.org/.
At these sites information can be found about Ehud Barak’s “Generous Offers,” maps showing settlement locations, international law regarding the settlements and other resources which allow the reader to clearly form an independent opinion about the legitimacy of Zionist settlements in Palestinian land.
