While those in the West seem to be convinced that the Israeli-Arab dispute is about land, the Arab press weekly provides evidence that the issue of contention between Arabs and Jews is the very existence of the Jewish state. This week, a few examples of this attitude were to be found in the Egyptian press.
In a reply to recent comments by Republican congressman Richard Armey, in support of the Jewish right to Judea, Samaria and Gaza and in favor of population transfer to settle the matter, Egyptian columnist Samir Ragab ?explained? Israel?s failure to attain a peaceful existence in the Middle East. ?Apparently, those people tried to gather in a place not their own,? Ragab writes in his al-Gomhoureya article, ?Hence, for 54 years now, they never enjoyed secure settled living. It?s a natural thing that happens to any thief or housebreaker!?
Another Egyptian paper, the mainstream and government-controlled al-Ahram Weekly published an article marking the anniversary of Israel?s declaration of independence. The article was entitled ?Catastrophe Without End?. The author of the piece, the president of the London-based Palestine Land Society, wrote, ?Whatever the final outcome to the 50-year tragedy of the Palestinian Nakbah [?catastrophe? ? the Arab reference to the creation of the Jewish state ? A7] might be, we may be sure that, though Palestinian suffering may continue, the Palestinians will not give up their rights, and the racist Zionist enterprise will not last for ever.?
The al-Ahram Weekly of the week ending with May 15 ? a-Nakba Day ? contained an article purporting to detail Israeli destruction of ?Palestinian antiquities.? The piece contains a total denial of Jewish historical roots in Jerusalem, claiming that Israel had a need to fabricate through destruction. According to the article, ?Hemdan Taha, Head of the Palestinian antiquities office in Jerusalem, said that since it seized East Jerusalem in 1967 Israel had realised that stating its patrimony would only be possible through the sanction of its identity and sovereignty. This led to a series of destructive moves. Four days after the June 1967 war began, the Israelis demolished the Moroccan zone (Hay Al-Magharba) in East Jerusalem? They closed the Moors' Gate and converted the Boraq Wall into the Wailing Wall. They looted the Palestinian National Museum and turned the building into the Israel antiquities bureau.?
In a reply to recent comments by Republican congressman Richard Armey, in support of the Jewish right to Judea, Samaria and Gaza and in favor of population transfer to settle the matter, Egyptian columnist Samir Ragab ?explained? Israel?s failure to attain a peaceful existence in the Middle East. ?Apparently, those people tried to gather in a place not their own,? Ragab writes in his al-Gomhoureya article, ?Hence, for 54 years now, they never enjoyed secure settled living. It?s a natural thing that happens to any thief or housebreaker!?
Another Egyptian paper, the mainstream and government-controlled al-Ahram Weekly published an article marking the anniversary of Israel?s declaration of independence. The article was entitled ?Catastrophe Without End?. The author of the piece, the president of the London-based Palestine Land Society, wrote, ?Whatever the final outcome to the 50-year tragedy of the Palestinian Nakbah [?catastrophe? ? the Arab reference to the creation of the Jewish state ? A7] might be, we may be sure that, though Palestinian suffering may continue, the Palestinians will not give up their rights, and the racist Zionist enterprise will not last for ever.?
The al-Ahram Weekly of the week ending with May 15 ? a-Nakba Day ? contained an article purporting to detail Israeli destruction of ?Palestinian antiquities.? The piece contains a total denial of Jewish historical roots in Jerusalem, claiming that Israel had a need to fabricate through destruction. According to the article, ?Hemdan Taha, Head of the Palestinian antiquities office in Jerusalem, said that since it seized East Jerusalem in 1967 Israel had realised that stating its patrimony would only be possible through the sanction of its identity and sovereignty. This led to a series of destructive moves. Four days after the June 1967 war began, the Israelis demolished the Moroccan zone (Hay Al-Magharba) in East Jerusalem? They closed the Moors' Gate and converted the Boraq Wall into the Wailing Wall. They looted the Palestinian National Museum and turned the building into the Israel antiquities bureau.?