EFL
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is considering redrawing Israel’s border to place parts of Israel’s Arab population under Palestinian control in a final peace deal. The official stressed that any such move would have to be accepted by Israeli Arabs and come only as part of a final treaty with the Palestinians. However, the idea threatened to arouse the deepest fears of Israel’s Arab minority and drew immediate criticism from an Israeli Arab leader. Roughly 20 percent of Israel’s 6.6 million citizens are Arabs. Unlike their Palestinian counterparts in the West Bank and Gaza, which Israel captured in 1967, Israelis Arabs have the right to vote, receive Israeli social services and can work inside Israel.
| They might not want to trade that for the blessings of Hamas administration or the tender mercies of al-Aqsa Martyrs shaking them down for protection money... |
Relations with the Jewish majority, however, are often tense. Israeli Arabs have higher unemployment rates and lower incomes than Jews, and complain of frequent discrimination. In October 2000, Israeli police killed 13 Israeli-Arabs during riots that followed the outbreak of Israel-Palestinian violence, which some Israeli-Arabs supported.
| I think it's the religion, rather than something congenital... |
Sharon has recently floated a series of ideas aimed at reducing "friction" with the Palestinians. The possibility of placing some Israeli Arabs under Palestinian control is part of that goal, Israeli officials said.
| Y'mean, like scaring them into better behavior? I dunno. They're not real good on cause and effect... |
In return, Israel would seek parts of the West Bank, where more than 200,000 Israeli settlers live among some 2 million Palestinians.
| They'd like al-Aqsa Martyrs for neighbors even less than the Israeli Arabs would... |
On Tuesday, Sharon was quoted in the Maariv daily as saying he is examining a possible population exchange with the help of drawing a border between Israel and a future Palestinian state. "I asked that it be examined legally. It is a complicated problem. I don’t have an answer on the matter yet, but I am certainly checking it," he told the newspaper. The senior Israeli official said exchanging populations is "an old method that has been used elsewhere."
| The Assyrians used to do it all the time... |
"It’s not a plan for now," the official stressed. "It will only be on the agenda when there is an agreement between the two sides ... If we come to an agreement with the Palestinians, then it will be raised." Ahmed Tibi, an Israeli Arab lawmaker, said he opposes the idea. "We are talking about a dangerous, anti-democratic suggestion, which will bring about a schism between the state and its Arab citizens," Tibi said.
He couldn’t comment further as he indicated he had a sudden need to change his underpants
He said residents of Israel’s Arab towns "are not pawns that Sharon can play with."
Wouldn’t this be just ducky! Arabs clamoring to live in Israel instead of under Arab rule; Israel affirming it’s Jewish identity; paleos scratching their head over whether this is a good or a bad thing. yummy. |