There Is Enough Guilt on Both Sides: Reflections on the Israel-Palestine Conflict

We should not argue who is to blame (in Israel-Palestine) There is enough guilt on both sides. / Uri AvneriThe Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a never-ending story. Starting in the late 1920s, it reached its climax with the foundation of Israel on May 15, 1948. European saw his plan as the 'perfect solution' for displaced Jews who were not welcomed in their countries of origin. Many questions are left to be asked, we can offer satisfactory answers to only a few of them. Around 750,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from the country after 1948. About 470,000 went into refugee camps in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt. The rest was dispersed all over the world. Their status of refugees, remain in most Arab countries until today; they never got citizenship or human rights there. Why?More than 150 settlements and cities containing more than half a million Jews had populated the West Bank by 2013; settlements are often built on land confiscated from its Palestinian owners. Even moderate Palestinian leaders feel provoked by that. Israel is becoming more and more a place of apartheid and its political standing is constantly deteriorating. The Israeli elite always raised their voice against the occupation and the settlements; they warned that human rights and equality-which were pillars of Zionism-were being violated,Time has come for the voice of reason, which calls for a "two states" solution.