Israel not only victim

Three hundred fourteen Israeli army reservists have refused to serve in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The signatories state that they "were issued commands and directives that had nothing to do with the security of our country, and had the sole purpose of perpetuating our control over the Palestinian people," according to the Arabic Media Internet Network.\nThe distribution of power in the occupied territories has been portrayed wildly out of context in mainstream media. Israel is the stronger occupying power. In sum Israel receives 30 percent of all foreign U.S. aid per year, which is more than the United States gives the entire continent of Africa, according to the Palestine Right to Return Coalition.\nTo conclude that Israel does not inflict terror in Palestinians is a blatantly false statement. While it is true that Israelis also experience attacks, the continuous influx of falsely reported information in mainstream media ignores the bombings, shootings and dehumanization of daily Palestinian existence. There are various myths associated with the Palestinian struggle. To achieve peace the historical roots of the conflict must be addressed.\nTo assert that Palestinians "left" their homes in 1948 and 1967 is a ridiculous assumption. It is true that some actually did flee their homes out of fear. Does it honestly seem plausible that massive groups of people would choose to leave the homes they and their ancestors inhabited for thousands of years to live in a tent in a refugee camp? The initial expulsion came in 1948, when nearly 800,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes and property by the State of Israel. In 1967, 350,000 Palestinians were kicked out of their homes, many for the second time, according to the Coalition.\nPalestinians living in refugee camps throughout the occupied territories. Inhabiting some of the poorest regions in the Middle East, they make up the largest refugee population in the world. Israeli admittance into the U.N. is based on the acceptance of Resolution 194, which affirms Palestinian refugee right of return.\nIsraeli checkpoints have been set up between Palestinian villages, virtually cutting people off from vital resources such as medical aid. Since September 2001, 35 people have died while being prevented from receiving medical treatment beyond these checkpoints. Pregnant women are not allowed access to hospitals, and often give birth to children at the checkpoints. In one case, a Palestinian man was shot and killed while his father and pregnant wife were injured when trying to pass through a roadblock and get to a hospital for the delivery of their child.\nFurther repercussions felt throughout the Palestinian community have placed serious economic strains on Palestinian life. Water, food and electricity shortages are only a few of these hardships.\nThe vehemence with which Israel denies Palestinians their basic human rights is absurd. Palestinians deserve an explanation for the human suffering and indignities they have endured as an ongoing part of Israeli occupation and settlement construction.\nIt is important to understand that the resistance is a symptom of frustration felt throughout the territories in the failure of previous negotiations. The Palestinians are making a statement in that they will not accept being enslaved in an apartheid system. They are simply asking for peace with justice through the implementation of U.N. resolutions and compliance with international law.