The occupation at 50: No end in sight for Palestinians
The Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories will not end until world powers convince Israel that their is an economic and political price to pay for sustaining it.
The 50 years since Israel defeated three Arab armies in the 1967 war and seized control of Palestinian, Syrian and Egyptian lands can be characterized in two words: occupation and settlements. Both are illegal, and both have been denounced by the international community, but it seems nonetheless clear that they will be around for years to come.
Rev. Naim Ateek, founder of Sabeel, an ecumenical grassroots liberation theology movement among Palestinian Christians, recently published “Naksa” (Setback), a scathing rebuke of Israel on the 50th anniversary of its occupation. The June 5 column was critical of both secular and religious Zionism, which Ateek blamed for perpetuating the occupation. Ateek linked Israel’s aggression and refusal to make peace to its lust for land.
“Israel can be likened to a bulldozer plowing through Palestine and taking it bit by bit,” Ateek wrote. “In fact, one of the main reasons for failing to arrive at a possible resolution of the conflict is that Israel has never been satisfied with what it had of Palestine and was always craving for more.”
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, the Palestinian Task Force on Public Diplomacy, an independent group with strong support from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), launched #Occupationis and الاحتلال_هو#, a grassroots social media campaign on Twitter, in English and Arabic. A quick review of the comments from the campaign shines a light on the width and depth of the Israeli occupation and how it filters into every aspect of Palestinian life.
