What’s so big about The Avalon Project?
Sometimes you gotta go to the source. The Avalon Project gets you all the documents you read about but don’t know where to find.
My personal favorites are:
#8. U.N. Resolution 242 (1967) which was passed immediately after the six day war, and U.N. Resolution & 338 (1973). These Resolutions demand that Israel withdraw from the now Israeli occupied territories known as the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. As a member of the U.N., we voted for and supported these resolutions. But as Israel’s greatest ally, the United States has blocked most efforts to enforce these peace giving resolutions.
The rationale for Israel keeping these lands is that 1) Israel felt they needed the land as a security buffer, and 2) Israel and the United States will never negotiate with Terrorists. And so long as the PLO violently resisted the occupation, Israel felt justified in their refusal to leave. The official reason stated on the Israeli National Web Site states that Resolution 242 does not apply because “...the West Bank and Gaza Strip were not under the legitimate and recognized sovereignty of any state prior to the Six Day War, [and therefor] they should not be considered occupied territories.” In other words, Israel claims the right to settle their people in the West Bank and Gaza because at the time of the Israeli occupation, the Arab people living in the West Bank and Gaza had not formed a recognized national government. Not good for the Arab people living there at the time. Very good for industrious, hard working, Israeli Settlers from around the globe who are looking for a home.
And so over the last 40 years, Israel has strategically refused to “cave” to terrorist pressure, but has instead built illegal settlements for over 225,000 settlers who are now living throughout the occupied territories promised to the Palestinian people. Click here to see maps showing the location of the illegal settlements.
As these maps attest, there is as yet no justice for the Palestinian People, and no true security for the people of Israel. This does not excuse acts of Terrorism. No way. Those who blow up Israeli buses in retaliation for the occupation are flat out wrong. But how can anyone expect peace without Justice? Why do we demand that the Palestinians be peaceful while we permit our ally to build and defend illegal settlements in the West Bank? This does not promote peace.
With the United States as their strongest supporter, Israel is the most powerful nation in the Middle East. Shouldn’t they be the first to take the high road? Shouldn’t the powerful lead by initiating peace and promoting Justice?
Please Write your Congressperson and your Senator and ask for Justice so that the land promised the Palestinian people is given them. Can there be Peace without Justice? Isn’t it time to end the occupation?
I list below some of the documents we found interesting regarding the Israeli Palestinian conflict and that are available at the The Avalon Project at Yale.
Now, the Avalon Project Documents about the Middle East.
3. “The Alexandria Protocol of 1944”: Here, Arab States unite supporting the cessation of immigration of Jews who were, quite understandably, seeking a state of their own after the Holocaust and the devastation of WWII.
4. The U.N. Resolution 181 in 1947 established a vision of a single nation in Palestine, with two states; one Jewish and one Arab.
(The U.S. immediately recognized Israel)
“Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict”.
Israel may not impose its law on Golan Heights.
Hamas is an organization born in Hatred for Israel. But it is important to note that the source of their hatred is very much about the land promised to them in U.N Resolution 181 above in 1947. From the Arab point of view, Israel received their land, but the Palestinians did not receive their land. Sadly, the members of Hamas have lost all hope for justice and have turned from peace.
In 1988, Hamas states, “Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement.”
Both Parties agreed that: “It is understood that the interim arrangements are an integral part of the whole peace process and that the negotiations on the permanent status will lead to implementation of Security Council Resolution 242 and 338.” With tacit United States approval, Israel is building a barrier wall to keep terrorists out of their illegal settlements. This is still a war about land, and as the primary financial supporters of Israel, Americans are paying the price.
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Other Sources: Maps showing the settlement areas can be found in several places, but not as part of the Avalon Project. In all cases, the maps show location of some 225,000 Israeli settlers inside the Israeli Occupied Palestinian Territories.
“The Avalon Project will mount digital documents relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government. We do not intend to mount only static text but rather to add value to the text by linking to supporting documents expressly referred to in the body of the text.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Get the Facts, Read the Originals
