Palestine and Israel: Images of Struggle

	Palestine and Israel: IMAGES OF STRUGGLE ©David B. Fankhauser, Ph.D. Professor of Biology and Chemistry University of Cincinnati Clermont College, Batavia OH 45103
Jerusalem at night from the Mount of Olives	This page has been accessed times since 10 July 2006. Created 11 July 2006	On the way to Bethlehem, The Wall with heavily fortified towers.

These pictures were taken during a tour of Palestine and Israel organized by Earhlam College's Department of Peace and Global Studies. What a RICH and, because of the omnipresent subjugation of the Palestinians, often depressing tour. But we did find glimmers of optimism, most notably
1) in the positive spirit of the Palestinians who, almost incomprehensibly, retain a generous and loving spirit and potent family and community values, and
2) activist Israelis who are working for human rights and justice in occupied Palestine.

May the world help find a solution to this problem in which these feuding semetic brothers can live together in peace, harmony, and justice.

We keep hearing, especially from the US, that international intervention should be carried out when nations refuse to adhere to UN resolutions. (Think Iran, Syria, etc.)
In 1967, the UN passed Resolution 242 calling for "[w]ithdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict." Why is not the world insisting on adherance to this resolution? I firmly believe that the way to peace would open up if this resolution were followed. Instead, Israeli settlers continue to grab occupied Palestinian land and claim it as their own. The full resolution in its entirety may be found at the bottom of this page.

	1) First impressions of Jerusalem.			7) Bethlehem: strangled by the encircling wall.
	2) Images of the Wall being constructed by Israel which slices ancient neighborhoods into fragments.			8) Al Tuwani: Primative village under seige from neighboring settlers
	3) Ramallah, a Palestinian town a few kilometers north of Jerusalem			9) Hebron: Tomb of Abraham, scene of struggles between infiltrating settlers and Palestinians
	4) The Wall encircling Jerusalem, etc, andcordoning off water and "unoccupied" (agricultureal) lands.			10) Tel Aviv and Haifa
	5) Jerusalem II: Dome of the Rock, Garden Tomb, etc			11) Bil'im: Heroes of non-violent resistance against Israeli appropriation of Palestinian agricultural land.
	6) Funeral of settler			12) Jericho and the Dead Sea

Here is the full text of the 1967 UN Resolution 242 which should have resolved the problem of Israeli occupation of Palestine almost 40 years ago:

The Security Council,

Expressing its continuing concern with the grave situation in the Middle East,

Emphasizing the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in which every State in the area can live in security,

Emphasizing further that all Member States in their acceptance of the Charter of the United Nations have undertaken a commitment to act in accordance with Article 2 of the Charter,

Affirms that the fulfillment of Charter principles requires the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East which should include the application of both the following principles:

Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict;

Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force;

Affirms further the necessity

For guaranteeing freedom of navigation through international waterways in the area;

For achieving a just settlement of the refugee problem;

For guaranteeing the territorial inviolability and political independence of every State in the area, through measures including the establishment of demilitarized zones;

Requests the Secretary General to designate a Special Representative to proceed to the Middle East to establish and maintain contacts with the States concerned in order to promote agreement and assist efforts to achieve a peaceful and accepted settlement in accordance with the provisions and principles in this resolution;

Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council on the progress of the efforts of the Special Representative as soon as possible.

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Palestine and Israel: IMAGES OF STRUGGLE

Palestine and Israel:
IMAGES OF STRUGGLE