USA

Borders

The United States has very strong feelings about the borders for the new Palestinian states and when they should start making the state. In an article written in the New York Times they talked about what Bush said about the borderlines for the new countries and who should get what. In the article is says that the “nonmilitrized Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza should return for peace with Israel”. It then says that the Palestine should receive the Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem and sovereignty (with full Jewish access). “The Israelis would then keep the settlements for about three quarters of the Jews in the West Bank, including virtually all the new Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem built in the Arab part of the city.” “Palestinian refugee would receive compensation” but not many would be able to return to their homes in Israel. President Bush states in the Annapolis conference that we should start working on making there own states now. He has about three reasons as to why now is the right time. The first reason is because right now both the Israeli and Palestinian leaders are determined to achieve peace. Second is because a battle is under way in the Middle East and we do not want cede victory to the extremists. The third reason is because the world understands what is going on and the urgency of supporting these states. We hope to accomplish this by the end of 2008 and to help there is going to be a committee led by the head of delegation of each party and will meet consistently.

2. Right of Return

Unlike what most people would think, the United states does not base their set policy on the right of return off of written documents that state; “Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and return to his country” (http://www.gp.org/position/palestinian_rally.shtml.) Bush bases his argument of of the general consensus of the Israeli’s; “Both the Bush administration and a broad bipartisan majority of Congress have gone on record demanding that the Palestinians unilaterally renounce their right of return. During his recent visit, Bush only called for ” Israel with the Jews, and the Palestinians, who have no power what so ever, are still weakly pushing for an independent state; “Israel will never allow the emergence of a Palestinian state which denies it effective military and economic control of the West Bank. Israel’s interest in a peace process – other than for the purpose of obtaining Palestinian and international acceptance of the status quo – has been a fiction that has served primarily to provide cover for its systematic confiscation of Palestinian land….” (http://www.speroforum.com/site/print.asp?idarticle=13704.) The United States Bush Administration is pushing for a two- state solution; ““optimistic that we can have the outlines of a state defined. In other words, negotiations on borders and right of return and these different issues can be settled” (http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=169F6BF8-FCE6-44A9-A7B1-E93E5A8AEB1A.) Yet, the cooperation of the Israeli’s and Palestinians has been weak, the only signs we are getting are leading towards no peace unless Israel is made Jewish or Israeli territory. The Israeli’s have refused to extract themselves form any Palestinian territory and they also refuse to allow any Palestinian refugees to return to Israel after being thrown out in the 1948 war. The Bush Administration is biased towards the Israeli side because they want Israel to be a “Jewish State; “he is seen by Israelis as the best friend the Jewish state has had in the White House” (http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=169F6BF8-FCE6-44A9-A7B1-E93E5A8AEB1A.)

Overall, the Right of Return is a very hard battle for the United States to win because of both the Palestinian and Israeli’s extremists. All in all, the Bush Administration’s announced at the Annapolis conference that their peace proposal is supporting a two-state solution, where the Israeli’s and the Palestinians are living side-by-side, peaceful and safe.

3. the Green Wall

The Israeli’s put the Green wall up to create a form of protection from Palestinian terrorists attacks. When this wall went up and as it continues to expand, the Palestinians harshly claim that it is apartheid, a system of segregation based on culture, raise or religion. It cuts people of from going to work and from any medical resources available. The extreme hate of the Palestinians comes form the fact that the Israeli’s placed Palestinian territory within the wall on the Israeli side, officially making it their territory. The United States position on the Green wall is that we want the wall too keep expanding. The Bush Administration states that they are for the continuous building of this massive border. Israeli’s deserve a way to protect themselves from Palestinians. As we already know, the Americans are bias towards the Israeli’s in this Palestinian- Israeli crisis. Yet, the Bush Administration still believes in a two states solution of peace. That state can be divided based upon the Green Wall borders. The Palestinians should not be allowed back into Israel to settle once a gain but they should be able to live in a state they call their own, next to Israel, ally’s with the Israeli’s.

4. Settlements

Bush says that we need to redraw the boarders of the Israel and Palestinian people. He also thinks that there should be a Palestinian state to resolve the refugee issues. In the Annapolis conference Bush says that they need to resolve the crisis. As much as Bush pushes the two leaders one of Palestinians and the other of Israelis the more the resolving is going to happen. “The Israelis must do their part.” Says George Bush. “Israel must demonstrate its support for the creation of a prosperous and successful Palestinian state by removing unauthorized outposts, ending settlement expansion, and finding other ways for the Palestinian Authority to exercise its responsibilities without comprising Israel’s security.” This is saying that there needs to some how be peace between the Israeli’s and Palestinian’s. An idea for this is to create a negotiated settlement and the Israeli people need to support the Palestinians in doing this. By having settlements both Palestinians and Israelis will be happy. The United States wants to get some people out of the West bank but not all. This will give the Palestinians a better life and there own land. Once the Palestinian’s and Israeli’s have peace the rest of the Middle East will be inspired.

5. Jerusalem

As it is said above in the article in the New York Times it was stated that Bush thought that the Palestine should receive the Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem with full Jewish access. So it is in the Palestinian state but there is access for the Jews as well because it has the Temple Mount, which is very holy to the Jews. The Jews would then control three quarters of the West Bank, which is majority of the West Bank. This is another important spot to the Jews. They would also receive all the new Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem that is built in the Arab part of the city. This is how the United States think that the land should be split up. This way the Paletians get East Jerusalem which has a very holy mosque and the Jews are allowed to use the holy temple that is located there. All of the older neighborhoods in Jerusalem are given to the Palestinians. This is because it was originally declared the capitol for Israel which is a Jewish state. To make it equal the Palestiains get to have majority of East Jerusalem and the land around it. This gives both states a chance to have different holy sites consisting in there land.

6. Gaza

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funds programs that help people living in the West Bank and Gaza lead healthier and more productive lives. Since 1993, Palestinians had received more than $1.7 billion in U.S. economic assistance via USAID projects- more than from any other donor country.” This quote is saying that the United States is really trying to help other countries including Gaza. The Rule of Law program was created trying to make peace. “Committees were established to deal with Criminal Procedure, computerization and training needs, including legal training. An Ethics Committee was established.” This quote is relevant by showing that all different committees were established to hopefully create peace in Gaza.

There have been a lot of terrorist attacks lately in Gaza. There is a G8 statement meaning Gaza withdrawal and the Road Ahead to Middle East Peace. The United States says how deeply sad they are. “The United States is deeply saddened by the injuries and loss of life in Gaza today. We send our condolences to the families of all those affected. We have seen the Israeli Government's apology and understand an investigation has begun. We hope it will be completed quickly and that appropriate steps will be taken to avoid a repetition of this tragic incident. We call on all parties to act with care and restraint so as to avoid any harm to innocent civilians.” If people are removed from the Gaza settlements from the parts or the West Bank hopefully there can be peace. The security issues in Gaza also need to be resolved immediately because a lot of people are getting killed everyday. The United States urges the rebuilding of the security.