George W. Bush and the U.S. official position on Israel vs. Palestine

Israel-Palestine Conflict

The position of President George W Bush and the USA

I: BACKGROUND

In 1947 Britain handed over the Palestine problem to the newly born United Nations. The UN agreed to partition Palestine into a Jewish state, an Arab state, and a neutral UN zone containing Jerusalem, a city sacred to three religions. The Jews were thrilled, the Arabs adamantly opposed.

In late 1947 the UN ratified the plan, and proclaimed the State of Israel on May 14, 1948. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled the country or were evicted, the British pulled out completely, and most of the Arab world--Egypt, Transjordan (now Jordan), Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon, as well as Palestinians--immediately attacked in an attempt to destroy Israel. By the time of armistice in 1949, Israel held three quarters of Palestine--twice as much land as the UN had proposed: Jordan had taken the land on the West Bank of the Jordan River, and Egypt had taken the Gaza Strip.

Israelis killed by Palestinians in Israel ( blue )...

Map of Israel, the Palestinian territories (West B...

Map showing the West Bank and Gaza Strip in relati...

The Palestinians had nothing. The Statehood of Israel left over 700,000 Palestinians as refugees. In anger the Palestinians have led repeated attacks into Israel in an attempt to win back control of what they consider to be their land. The Israelis, whose advanced military is backed by $3 billion in American aid, have fended off these attacks. Thus, the Palestinians have resorted largely to terrorist and guerilla warfare in the name of their religion and homeland.

II: OVERVIEW OF BUSH'S VIEW

Since September 11, I have delivered this message: everyone must choose. You're either with the civilized world or you're with the terrorists. We believe that Israel has the right to occupy the land in which they are currently residing. However, we also believe that the Palestinians have the right to a state of their own as well.