Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid

I'm such a bookworm for the past 2 weeks. 

I just finished this part memoir, part history and part roadmap book by Jimmy Carter (the 39th President of USA). Its a good start for anyone who wants to equip themselves with a brief history of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Jimmy Carter presented it in the most neutral way imaginable, providing facts, describing personal accounts in his capacity as a prominent American politician for the past 40 years. I personally think he's too nice with his words, although I give him credit for the minimal sugar-coating of the issue, knowing how the US and Israel are "best friends". 

The atrocities of Israel's actions towards the Palestinians in the occupied territories cannot be denied. Stories can be found on many independent media, can't rely on mainstream media. Its incredible that there are hundreds, if not thousands of NGOs and groups and also governments in this world that explicitly condemns the Zionists. But its also as unbelievable that with US support primarily through billions of dollars in military aid, and using its veto power in the UN to block any resolutions that directly impedes Israel's activities, they can do whatever the hell they want. If it were other states the ones to break international laws or not comply with the UN's Security Council resolutions, they would've been slapped with the consequences and subjected to trials already. I admit I don't know much about the conflict to say much about it, I still have much to learn, especially the history of how and why it happened, which is important in understanding the conflict more deeply and thoroughly. However I think its never too late to open our eyes to the realities and horrors of the occupation that is happening right now and do whatever we can to help, even if its only in the form of doa and prayers. Two important things to note is that 1) Its imperative to distinguish between the Jews and the Zionists, and 2) its not just Palestinian Muslims that are suffering, but also Palestinian Christians. This occupation and conflict is not a religious agenda, but a moral, human rights issue.

I would like to quote two parts from the book. 

First is a quote by Dr. Hanan Ashrawi (a Palestinian Christian), primarily known as the chief spokesperson for the Palestinians. She said:

"So far, they [Israel] have succeeded in holding the peace process hostage to this mentality on the one hand. And on the other hand they have provoked tremendous violence by acts of incitement like shelling, bombing, house demolition, uprooting trees, destroying crops, assassinating political leaders, placing all Palestinians under closure in a state of total immobility-a prison. And then they wonder why some Palestinians are acting violently! And then they want to have the right to exercise violence against the captive population. Then they like to make non-violence on the part of the Palestinians a precondition for the Palestinians to qualify for talks, let alone for statehood".

Secondly, Jimmy Carter said:

"Today the growth of Islamic extremism and the unprecedented hostility toward America in the Islamic world is directly related to the continuing bloodshed between Israelis and Palestinians. To think otherwise is foolish and dangerous".