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<big><big><b><span class="article_title">FACT SHEET: Palestinian
Culture: 64 Years Under Israeli Assault</span></b></big></big>
<br>
<span class="index_subtitle"><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://imeu.net/news/article0022828.shtml">http://imeu.net/news/article0022828.shtml</a><br>
IMEU, Aug 2, 2012</span>
<br clear="all">
<br>
In late July, while on a trip to Israel and occupied East Jerusalem,
presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney sparked outrage
amongst Palestinians by telling a group of supporters at a fundraiser
that the glaring disparity between the strength of Israel's economy and
that of the Palestinian territories is a result of differences in the
respective cultures of Israelis and Palestinians.<br>
<br>
In response, many critics pointed out that the Palestinian West Bank,
East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip, have been under Israeli military
occupation for more than 45 years, with Israel tightly controlling and
systematically stifling Palestinian economic activity. Moreover, some
pointed out that the destructive effects that Israeli policies have had
on Palestinian economic development in the occupied territories is just
one part of a wider, systematic, decades-old Israeli assault against
Palestinian culture and historical memory.<br>
<br>
To put this controversy into context, the IMEU offers the following
fact sheet detailing Israel's more than six-decade-old assault on
Palestinian society and culture.<br>
<br>
<p align="center"><strong>MASS EXPULSIONS OF PALESTINIANS</strong><br>
<strong>& THEFT OF PALESTINIAN LAND</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>During Israel's creation (1947-49) some 750,000 Palestinians, or
2/3 of the Arab population in what would become Israel, were expelled
from their homes and land by Zionist and then Israeli forces to make
way for a Jewish majority state in a region that had previously been
populated overwhelmingly by Muslim and Christian Palestinian Arabs.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Some 400 Palestinian towns and villages, including vibrant urban
centers, were systematically destroyed by Zionist and Israeli forces
during and after the creation of the state.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The total monetary loss of Palestinians dispossessed during
Israel's creation has <a
href="http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/www.thejerusalemfund.org/carryover/pubs/20010803ib.html"
target="_blank">been estimated</a> at upwards of $100 billion (US) in
today's dollars.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>At the end of 1947, just prior to Israel's establishment, Zionist
Jews and organizations owned less than 7% of the land of British
Mandate Palestine. Despite this, the United Nations Partition Plan
passed in November 1947 allotted 55% of Mandate Palestine to a new
Jewish state, disregarding the property rights and wishes of
Palestinian Arabs, who comprised some 67% of the population.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>During the subsequent military campaign that accompanied Israel's
creation, Zionist and Israeli forces expanded far beyond the borders of
the Jewish state called for in the UN Partition Plan, conquering 78% of
Mandate Palestine and incorporating it into what became Israel's
internationally recognized, pre-1967 War borders.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Most Palestinian refugees fled or were forced from their homes on
short notice. Almost 65 years later, those refugees and their
descendants continue to be denied their legal right to return to their
land and homes, as called for in <a
href="http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/C758572B78D1CD0085256BCF0077E51A"
target="_blank">UN Resolution 194</a>, and have been denied any kind
of compensation from Israel for their economic and other losses.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>In 1967, during the June, or Six-Day War, Israel conquered the
West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, the 22% of historic Palestine that
remained outside its borders in 1948. In addition to creating tens of
thousands of new Palestinian refugees, some for the second time over,
almost immediately Israeli authorities began to colonize the occupied
territories, in violation of international law, with Jewish-only
settlements built on expropriated Palestinian land. Today more than
half a million Israeli Jews live on occupied Palestinian land in the
West Bank and East Jerusalem.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>In 1988, the Palestine Liberation Organization made what was
considered a major historic compromise, renouncing claim to 78% of
Mandate Palestine and agreeing to a Palestinian state on just the
remaining 22%, comprising the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza.
Despite this, Israel has continued to relentlessly colonize the
occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem with a network of Jewish-only
settlements and attendant infrastructure, Israeli-only roads, military
bases, and the West Bank wall, surrounding, dissecting, and isolating
Palestinian population centers from one another and the outside world.<br>
</li>
</ul>
<p align="center"><strong>THEFT, DESTRUCTION & APPROPRIATION OF
PALESTINIAN CULTURE</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>During Israel's creation in 1948, tens of thousands of
Palestinian books were <a
href="http://972mag.com/documenting-scores-of-palestinian-books-nakbas-lesser-known-victims/34169/"
target="_blank">systematically "collected"</a> by the Israeli army and
its precursor, the Hagannah, in cooperation with the Israeli National
Library. The books included priceless volumes of Palestinian Arab and
Muslim literature, including poetry, works of history and fiction.
Thousands of the books were destroyed and recycled for paper, while
others were added to the library's collection. Today, many remain in
the Israeli National Library, designated abandoned property.<br>
<br>
</li>
<li>Since prior to Israel's founding in 1948, British and then
Israeli authorities engaged in a systematic campaign targeting
Palestinian political leaders, artists, and intellectuals for
imprisonment, exile, and assassination, starting in the 1930s with the
exiling by British authorities of the Palestinian political leadership
of the Arab Higher Committee. Amongst the artists and intellectuals
subsequently murdered by Israel were writer Ghassan Kanafani, and poet
and intellectual <a
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/arts/design/01wise.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all"
target="_blank">Wael Zuaiter</a>. <br>
<br>
</li>
<li>During Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982, Israeli forces
systematically looted and confiscated the accumulated national archives
of the Palestine Liberation Organization, including invaluable
collections of films and other cultural artifacts.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The 2009 <a
href="http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2009/127349.htm"
target="_blank">US State Department International Religious Freedom
Report</a> noted the Israeli government does not recognize non-Jewish
holy sites and that as a result, "many Muslim and Christian sites are
neglected, inaccessible, or threatened by property developers and
municipalities."</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>In a move that prompted international criticism and typifies
Israeli policy towards Palestinian sites that are of cultural and
historical importance, Israel is allowing the Los Angeles-based Simon
Wiesenthal Center to build a <a
href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/04/10/tolerance-of-whom.html"
target="_blank">"Museum of Tolerance"</a> over one of the oldest and
most culturally significant Palestinian Muslim sites in the Holy Land,
the ancient Mamilla cemetery in Jerusalem. Press reports have revealed
evidence of widespread desecrations of tombs and their remains by
construction workers.<br>
</li>
</ul>
<p align="center"><strong>DENIAL OF ACCESS TO EDUCATION</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Israeli restrictions on the movement of Palestinians living in
the occupied territories, including its network of hundreds of
checkpoints and roadblocks in the West Bank, travel permit system, and
siege of Gaza, prevent many Palestinian students from reaching their
schools and accessing their right to education.<br>
<br>
</li>
<li>There is a de facto embargo against Palestinian students from the
occupied territories wishing to study abroad. Students from Gaza in
particular, including <a
href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=4964329&page=1"
target="_blank">Fulbright Scholars,</a> are often prevented by
Israel's siege from traveling to universities in the West Bank and
abroad to study in their chosen fields. <br>
<br>
</li>
<li>In the late 1980s and early 1990s, during the First Intifada, or
uprising against Israel's occupation, Israeli authorities shut down
many Palestinian schools, forcing Palestinians teachers and students to
improvise classes in secret to avoid being shut down by the Israeli
army.<br>
</li>
</ul>
<p align="center"><strong>STIFLING OF PALESTINIAN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>In July 2012, the World Bank released a report <a
href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/world-bank-palestinian-economy-unsustainable-16851626"
target="_blank">that concluded</a> Palestinian economic growth in the
West Bank was unsustainable citing Israeli restrictions as the biggest
impediment. The International Monetary Fund <a
href="http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=375942"
target="_blank">has stated</a> the same thing.<br>
<br>
</li>
<li>At any given time, there are upwards of 500 Israeli checkpoints,
roadblocks, and other barriers to movement within the occupied West
Bank, -- an area smaller than Delaware -- hindering Palestinians and
their goods from moving between their own towns and cities and the
outside world. (Click <a
href="http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ochaopt_atlas_westbank_december2011.pdf"
target="_blank">here</a> for December 2011 UN map of barriers to
movement in the West Bank)<br>
<br>
</li>
<li>Historically, Jerusalem has been the economic and cultural center
of Palestinian life in the surrounding West Bank. However, as a result
of Israeli policies and actions taken in and around occupied East
Jerusalem (the borders of which were greatly expanded by Israel
unilaterally following the start of its occupation in 1967), including
settlement construction and the implementation of a permit system for
non-Israeli citizens, today Palestinians living in the West Bank are
largely cut off from the city, unable to visit for worship, to see
family, or to do business.<br>
<br>
</li>
<li>Almost 80% of the Jordan Valley, once the breadbasket of
Palestine, is off-limits to Palestinians, designated for Israeli
settlements, military 'firing zones,' and 'nature reserves.' (Click <a
href="http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_jordan_valley_factSheet_february_2012_map_english.pdf"
target="_blank">here</a> for 2012 UN map)<br>
<br>
</li>
<li>According to a December 2010 Human Rights Watch <a
href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2010/12/18/israelwest-bank-separate-and-unequal"
target="_blank">report</a> entitled "Separate and Unequal: Israel's
Discriminatory Treatment of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories":<br>
<blockquote>'Palestinians face systematic discrimination merely
because of their race, ethnicity, and national origin, depriving them
of electricity, water, schools, and access to roads, while nearby
Jewish settlers enjoy all of these state-provided benefits... While
Israeli settlements flourish, Palestinians under Israeli control live
in a time warp -- not just separate, not just unequal, but sometimes
even pushed off their lands and out of their homes.'<br>
</blockquote>
</li>
</ul>
<p align="center"><strong>GAZA SIEGE & BLOCKADE</strong><strong></strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Although Israel withdrew its soldiers and 8000 settlers from the
Gaza Strip in 2005, Gaza remains under Israeli occupation according to
international law as Israel continues to maintain effective control
over the area, controlling most entry in and out of the territory, as
well as its coastline and airspace.<strong> </strong><br>
<br>
</li>
<li>Since the early 1990s, Israel has restricted passage to and from
Gaza, but in 2006, following Hamas' victory in Palestinian elections,
Israel tightened its restrictions severely and imposed a naval blockade
on the tiny coastal enclave of 1.6 million people. (Click <a
href="http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ochaopt_atlas_gaza_strip_december2011.pdf"
target="_blank">here</a> for December 2011 Gaza access and closure map)<br>
<br>
</li>
<li>A 2009 Amnesty International <a
href="http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE15/007/2009/en/4c407b40-e64c-11dd-9917-ed717fa5078d/mde150072009en.html"
target="_blank">report</a> following Operation Cast Lead, Israel's
devastating military assault on Gaza in the winter of 2008-9, stated:<br>
<blockquote>'The prolonged blockade of Gaza, which had already been
in place for some 18 months before the current fighting began, amounts
to collective punishment of its entire population.'</blockquote>
</li>
<li>Israeli officials have admitted that the siege is not motivated
primarily by security concerns, but is part of a strategy of "economic
warfare" against the people of Gaza. In 2006, senior advisor to
then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Dov Weisglass, <a
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/apr/16/israel"
target="_blank">said</a> the goal of the Gaza siege was to put the
people of Gaza "on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger."<br>
<br>
</li>
<li>Although Israel loosened restrictions somewhat under
international pressure following its deadly assault on the Gaza Freedom
Flotilla in 2010, the siege and blockade continue to smother Gaza
economically. According to a 2012 Human Rights Watch <a
href="http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-territories"
target="_blank">report</a>:<br>
<blockquote>'Israel's punitive closure of the Gaza Strip, tightened
after Hamas's takeover of Gaza in June 2007, continued to have severe
humanitarian and economic consequences for the civilian population.<br>
<br>
'Gaza's economy grew rapidly, but the World Bank said the growth
depended on international assistance. The economy had not returned to
pre-closure levels; daily wages, for instance, had declined 23 percent
since 2007. Israel's near-total restrictions on exports from Gaza
hindered economic recovery. Due to low per capita income, 51 percent of
the population was unable to buy sufficient food, according to UN aid
agencies.<br>
<br>
'Israel allowed imports to Gaza that amounted to around 40 percent of
pre-closure levels, the UN reported. Israel continued to bar
construction materials, like cement, which it said had "dual use"
civilian and military applications. Israel allowed shipments of
construction materials for projects operated by international
organizations, but as of September Gaza still had an estimated shortage
of some 250 schools and 100,000 homes.'</blockquote>
</li>
</ul>
<p align="center"><strong>THEFT & DESTRUCTION OF PALESTINAN NATURAL
RESOURCES</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>After taking control of the occupied territories in 1967, Israel
began to exploit their natural resources. Most critically in the
semi-arid region, Israel began to exploit aquifers and other water
sources.<strong><br>
<br>
</strong></li>
<li>A 2009 Amnesty International <a
href="http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/israel-rations-palestinians-trickle-water-20091027"
target="_blank">report</a> entitled "Israel rations Palestinians to
trickle of water" found:<br>
<blockquote>'In the Gaza Strip, 90 to 95 per cent of the water from
its only water resource, the Coastal Aquifer, is contaminated and unfit
for human consumption. Yet, Israel does not allow the transfer of water
from the Mountain Aquifer in the West Bank to Gaza.<br>
<br>
'Stringent restrictions imposed in recent years by Israel on the entry
into Gaza of material and equipment necessary for the development and
repair of infrastructure have caused further deterioration of the water
and sanitation situation in Gaza, which has reached [a] crisis point.'</blockquote>
</li>
<li>According to a 2010 Human Rights Watch <a
href="http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/iopt1210webwcover_0.pdf"
target="_blank">report</a>, 60,000 Palestinians living in Area C of
the West Bank, which is under full Israeli control, lack access to
running water, and must pay high prices (up to one-sixth of their
income) to bring in water tankers, which require special permits from
Israel.<br>
<br>
</li>
<li>According to the <a
href="http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/190656.pdf"
target="_blank">2011 US State Department Country Report</a> on Human
Rights Practices for Israel and the occupied territories:<br>
<blockquote>'Between January and July, according to the UN, the
Israeli military destroyed 20 water cisterns, some of which were funded
by donor countries for humanitarian purposes.<br>
<br>
'Palestinian residents reported that water supplies were intermittent,
and settlers and their security guards denied Palestinians, including
shepherds and farmers, access to the springs.'</blockquote>
</li>
<li>In the West Bank, Israeli settlers consume on average 4.3 times
the amount of <a
href="http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/iopt1210webwcover_0.pdf"
target="_blank">water</a> as Palestinians. In the Jordan Valley alone,
some 9000 settlers in Israeli agricultural settlements use one-quarter
the total amount of water consumed by the entire Palestinian population
of the West Bank, some 2.5 million people.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>In addition to water and arable land, Israel also exploits
Palestinian resources such as minerals, including from <a
href="http://www.alternet.org/story/155873/campaign_and_new_law_challenge_chic_israeli_company_ahava_cosmetics%2C_whose_%22dead_sea_mud%22_illegally_exploits_palestinians"
target="_blank">the Dead Sea region</a>.<br>
</li>
</ul>
<p align="center"><strong>DESTRUCTION OF AGRICULTURE</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Since the start of the occupation in 1967, Israel has destroyed
vast amounts of Palestinian agricultural land in order to construct
settlements and attendant infrastructure such as roads and military
bases, and for the West Bank wall, deemed illegal by the International
Court of Justice. In addition, vast amounts of farmland have been
destroyed in Israeli military operations and by rampaging Jewish
settlers, who set fire to Palestinian fields and crops, uproot olive
trees, and even kill livestock.<br>
<br>
</li>
<li>According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories, in 2011 alone some
10,000 Palestinian-owned trees, mostly olive trees, were damaged or
destroyed by Israeli settlers, significantly undermining the
livelihoods of hundreds of West Bank families.<br>
<br>
</li>
<li>Between 2000 and 2007, more than half a million Palestinian olive
trees were destroyed by settlers or by Israel for the construction of
the West Bank wall.</li>
</ul>
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