The Middle East: A Story of Journalistic Failure

by Nils A. Haug

• "The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism." — Zoheir Mohsen, Trouw, March 31, 1977.
• "The founding of the PLO, now known as Fatah had nothing to do with the desire for statehood, throughout the charter it states, again and again, its sole goal is the destruction of Israel, nothing more, thus started the Palestinian Narrative, they needed a story behind their need." — Timothy Benton, February 14, 2019.
• Arabs who fled during the fighting had likely assumed, based on broadcasts they were hearing, that leaving the area would make it easier for the Arab armies to kill the Jews. The plan presumably was to return soon to collect the spoils and take possession of a swiftly-conquered land.
• When the Arab armies were defeated, and some of the people who had fled tried to return, they were told they had not been loyal and were refused admittance. It is the Arabs who fled, and their descendants, who now call themselves Palestinians. They are simply Arabs who fled Israel at the time and were not allowed back.
• Neither the Palestinian Authority in the West bank nor Hamas in the Gaza Strip nor the Palestinians in general are seeking a two-state solution. They are quite openly seeking a one-state solution: displacing Israel.
• Comparisons to England and Ireland fall way wide of the mark: even at the height of Ireland's "Troubles", no one ever claimed that England belonged to Ireland and that everyone who was not a Roman Catholic should leave.
• The land that comprises Jordan, according the Balfour Declaration, was officially pledged as "a national home of the Jewish people." Jordan, therefore, is rightfully Occupied Israel.
• The Wall Street Journal published its July 4, 2024 online edition with a piece titled, "Israel Has Seized More Land This Year Than in Any Year in the Past Three Decades" -- referring to those portions of the West Bank more correctly described as Samaria and Judea, which constitute, as at least one of the names denotes, the "heartland" of Israel. Israel cannot "seize" its own land. There is a historical, legal, and ethical warrant for acknowledging Israel's legitimate rights of ownership to all of its land, including Gaza, the West Bank and Transjordan (Jordan), as originally purposed not only by the Balfour Declaration, but also in the San Remo convention of 1920. This allocation was further partitioned by Winston Churchill in 1921 to accommodate claims by the Hashemite Emir Abdullah.
• It therefore takes a strong dose of purposed cognitive dissonance, religious fanaticism, ignorance, naiveté or even anti-Semitism, to deny Israel's claims. When taking all these considerations into account, it is understandable that renowned international law expert Jacques Gauthier urges the Jewish people of Israel, "Never allow people to tell you that you are trespassers. It's your land; it's been given to you in law."
• Although 145 UN members "currently recognise a Palestinian state, this doesn't make it so." James Sinkinson, jns.org, July 16, 2024.
• What exactly does recognition of such a state entail in practice? Exclusive Islamist ownership of the land? What areas of land are these nations referencing exactly? Do they validate the legitimacy of radical Islamism and a jihadist government with its own military? Who has jurisdiction to make these decisions? What about the Jews and their claims?
• With these questions and more, "recognition" makes no sense. All it does is to expose these countries' historic antisemitism, raise false expectations and create the danger of more deaths far from the countries making these unnecessary, sanctimonious, cost-free claims. Unilateral recognition of "Palestine" will inevitably result in yet another failed state, inhabited by jihadi terrorists, openly eager to repeat the terror of October 7, 2023 on Israel's population.
• On July 17, 2024, Israel doubled-down on its rights to the land. Israel's parliament, the Knesset, passed a resolution rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state, or any part of one, "on any piece of land west of the Jordon river." The situation is now clear: there is no chance of Israel agreeing to a so-called "two-state solution." to the Palestinian question. The Oslo Accords, having died a long time ago, are now officially dead.
• It appears, then, that Islamist strategy is to take ownership of certain words to reverse their intended application. For this reason, Jews are referred to as "occupiers" of Israel, implying that Gaza, Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem comprise the original Palestinian homeland despite voluminous written and archaeological evidence to the contrary.
• Israeli Jews cannot validly be accused of illegally occupying their own land. To the contrary, Palestinians and their allies are in occupation of Israel's land and are therefore subject to Israel's jurisdiction and control. They might resent the fact that the land belongs to Israel and the Jewish people who have the exclusive right of occupation, along with those whom Israel welcomes.
• Accordingly, it is the task of journalists of courage -- from all spheres of the political divide – always to carefully investigate the validity of each party's claim. Should they do so in this instance, the outcome becomes clear: the land belongs to the Jewish people, and those they graciously welcome there -- not to anyone else. As this is not the conclusion that many writers and their editors seek, the propaganda of a Palestinian victimhood theory, coupled to a negation of Israel's land claims, will in all likelihood persist.

It is the task of journalists of courage always to carefully investigate the validity of each party's claim. Should they do so in this instance, the outcome becomes clear: the land belongs to the Jewish people, and those they graciously welcome there -- not to anyone else. As this is not the conclusion that many writers and their editors seek, the propaganda of a Palestinian victimhood theory, coupled to a negation of Israel's land claims, will in all likelihood persist. (Image source: iStock/Getty Images)

On May 15, 1948, five Arabs armies started a war – and lost. From that time on, many Arabs have called this loss a "nakba" ("catastrophe"). Ever since then, they have been seeking sympathy for losing a war which they began. If they are unhappy, perhaps they should not have started a war in the first place.

On that May 15, forces from Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon, and Iraq "swooped in... just hours after British forces withdrew from Palestine and Israel had declared its independence." Until then, anyone born there was a Palestinian. Christians were Palestinians, Jews were Palestinians. The "place of birth" on every passport was stamped "Palestine."

Arabs who fled during the fighting had likely assumed, based on broadcasts they were hearing, that leaving the area would make it easier for the Arab armies to kill the Jews. The plan presumably was to return soon to collect the spoils and take possession of a swiftly-conquered land.

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