#palestinians

I went to interview some of these early Jewish colonial zealots—written off in those days as mere 'fringe' elements—and found that they called themselves Gush Emunim or—it sounded just as bad in English—'The Bloc of the Faithful.' Why not just say 'Party of God' and have done with it? At least they didn't have the nerve to say that they stole other people's land because their own home in Poland or Belarus had been taken from them. They said they took the land because god had given it to them from time immemorial. In the noisome town of Hebron, where all of life is focused on a supposedly sacred boneyard in a dank local cave, one of the world's less pretty sights is that of supposed yeshivah students toting submachine guns and humbling the Arab inhabitants. When I asked one of these charmers where he got his legal authority to be a squatter, he flung his hand, index finger outstretched, toward the sky. ↗

— Christopher Hitchens

#belarus #colonialism #god #guns #gush-emunim

The burden of proof is now on the Palestinians... They must fight terrorism and dismantle its infrastructures in order to make possible progress on the roadmap. ↗

— Kjell Magne Bondevik

#dismantle #fight #infrastructures #make #must

It's necessary for Israelis and Palestinians to make the compromises that are required to get the direct talks back on track. ↗

— William Hague

#compromises #direct #get #israelis #make

Doesn't the world see the suffering of millions of Palestinians who have been living in exile around the world or in refugee camps for the past 60 years? No state, no home, no identity, no right to work. Doesn't the world see this injustice? ↗

— Ismail Haniyeh

#been #camps #exile #home #identity

I ask the American administration not to participate in any resolution that will double the suffering of the Palestinian people. I am convinced that the American people would not want to see the Palestinians suffer the way they do. ↗

— Ismail Haniyeh

#am #american #american administration #american people #any

I know that many in Europe are unhappy with their governments' policies toward the Palestinians. ↗

— Ismail Haniyeh

#governments #i #know #many #palestinians

Arafat's whole life has been governed by struggle and a cause. Everything he has done as leader of the Palestinians is to always leave his options open, never close a door. ↗

— Dennis Ross

#arafat #been #cause #close #done

Israelis and Palestinians are suspicious of each other and of promises from outside. But the need for a negotiated solution between the parties should not stymie international clarity and consensus about the endgame in terms of borders and other issues. ↗

— David Miliband

#between #borders #clarity #consensus #each

I don't want to govern the Palestinians. I don't want them as subjects of Israel or as citizens of Israel. I want them to have their own independent state but a demilitarized state. ↗

— Benjamin Netanyahu

#govern #i #independent #israel #own

Most of the approaches to peace between Israel and the Palestinians, have been directed at trying to resolve the most complex problems, like refugees and Jerusalem, which is akin to building the pyramid from the top down. ↗

— Benjamin Netanyahu

#approaches #been #between #building #complex