Is it humane to deny Israeli settlers the right to have children and build houses on Palestinian-claimed land?

No

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by Robert Freeman

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The situation in the Middle East and particularly Israel is a delicate one that requires extensive research and submergence into the culture to fully understand. Living in a western society riddled with biased television stations, newspapers, and magazines, it is hard to get a clear picture of what is actually happening in Israel, as well as the rest of the Middle East. All one can really do is take a look at all the information available, from all sides and political stances, weigh them for accuracy, and then set the conclusion up against their own personal standards to see who is truly right or wrong.

The western world values the rights of the individual to such an extent that it will infringe the rights of one individual to ensure the rights of another aren't violated. It is a delicate dance of politics, money, and timing that can often find one side winning an argument one day to being brushed aside the next. This view on the rights of the individual and the fact that most western countries view themselves as better than those in the Middle East has skewed most westerners opinions on what should and shouldn't be done in Israel in regards to Palestine.

The current issue on hand is that westerners are debating if it is "humane to deny Israeli settlers the right to have children and build houses on Palestinian-claimed land." At first glance you can quickly see that this is an extremely loaded statement with many layers and side-paths that one can use to argue either side of the argument pretty effectively. When you dig down deep you find so many different questions that pop-up that cause even more questions, but if you take the statement at face value you still have a lot of background information that you need to know in order to correctly put your opinion down.

The conflict between the Israeli's and the Palestinians has lasted for a good deal of time and the nation of Israel (in multiple forms) has been at war with at least one of its neighbors for over 3500 years by some people's calculations and for others it is more like 4500 years.

It all really depends on what you base your history on, the Bible, word-of-mouth history, or physical evidence from archaeological studies. No matter which way you look at it, the battle between Israel and its neighbors has been raging on for at least 3 millenia and will continue for the foreseeable future.

If you take the Bible stance to history you will notice that the Bible states that the other peoples were in what is known as the Gaza Strip in Israel today way before the Israelis (who at the time were called the Israelites) even knew the land existed. Some western thinkers; myself included; often think that the Palestinians trace their roots back to these people in general. Well that is not entirely accurate. Some choose to while others trace their roots to other ancient peoples in the area.

No matter how you look at the lineage of the Palestinian people, the Israelis are historically outsiders in the region as most Bible experts will show that the Israeli people came out of Egypt (something Egyptian historians support as well) and into the area east of the Mediteranean Sea.

Now the Israelis entered the picture after Moses led them out of Egypt and Joshua led them into the promised land given to them by God. It just so happens to be that this chosen land for the chosen people of God happened to be the very land the Philastines (often confused with Palestinians) lived in. Preventing from going into an even longer explanation of the history of the conflict, the Israelis pushed the Philistines out with force and the animosity between the Israelis and the descendents of these people has grown ever since.

Israel's claim to the territory in the region has been disputed since the earliest of days and continues today with the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict that blankets the new agencies across the globe from time to time.

In the present day Israel has begun a colinization of the Gaza Strip and other predominantly Palestinian neighborhoods in order to build a foothold in those regions in hopes to one day return to its former Biblical glory. With that said, the Israeli government; in comprimise with the United Nations and other various political entities; has put two restrictions on the settelers: they can't build houses and they can't have children. Well as most people can expect, this has caused an uproar in many corners of the world, especially those who back Israel. They say it is inhumane to expect these settlers from now building new homes and starting families.

What is the point of the settlers being there in the first place then? Isn't the goal of settlers to have children and create a strong community in the area? That is what happened everywhere else in the history of the colonization of the world, so why should it be different in Israel?

The real answers lie in the deeply complicated political situation that is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Israelis want complete control of the territory where its settlers are, but they don't want to push too hard or the Palestinians will strike back with a vengeance; something Israelis don't want.

The nature of the Middle East also adds to the equation because if Israel pushes Palestine too hard then nations like Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and others will push back on Israel, using the excuse that the "Zionists are trying to wipe out their Arab brothers and sisters."

With all that said Israel made a compromise on its own principals by still sending settlers into the disputed areas but forbidding them from procreating and establishing homes. In the western sense of things this is unethical and perhaps bordering on the inhumane but is definitely a violation of the settler's individual rights.

One must take in mind that this isn't happening in western society and try as we might, we can't impose our culture and values onto the Israeli people. They must do what is best for their people and their nation within the confines of their society's understanding of humanity and equality.

The simple explanation for my choosing of the "no" side of the argument is strictly based on my western ideals of individual rights and that I believe that it is a couples inherent right to bear children if they choose so and no government should be able to tell them otherwise. I mean why send them over there in the first place? It's like the Israeli's are just putting them there like a flag claiming the land instead of sending them there as colonizers. All I can say is it is a deep issue and everyone is entitled to their opinion.

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