That was an interesting read, though I didn't read it word for word.
I do believe that the Jews held the land during biblical times; however, I don't feel that this gives them the right to come back and lay claim to it thousands of years later when the Palestinian people have already settled there and made it their home.
The Israelis were forced out of the land by Christains, not arabs or Muslims. The land was fought over during the time of the Crusades. Eventually Salah al Din's Muslim army laid a firm claim on the land that was not disrupted until the early 20th century, as stated in the article. Under Muslim rule, Jews and Christians were free to live in or visit Jerusalem.
Yaser Arafat, while quite an extreme individual, did not have the mind of a terrorist in my opinion. He did what any leader would do in this kind of situation. Try to earn back the land that was taken from you. You must understand that the Palestinians were living peacefully in their land for over a millennium. Image that all of a sudden these foreign people take roughly half of that land without Palestinian consent? It's only natural that there would be aggressive actions taken to win back their rightful land.
To this day, Palestinians are denied access to hospitals, humanitarian aid, food, etc. Israel holds thousands of Palestinian prisoners illegally. They are now constructing a wall to further bar the Palestinians from receiving any humanitarian aid. Not to mention the checkpoints that Palestinians must pass through to get into Jerusalem. Palestinian citizens are often denied access to Jerusalem for absolutely no reason. They are unable to get to their jobs and ultimately feed their families, or even go to a hostpital. Is this not terrorism?
Civilian casualties are a part of war, yes. But not when practically every death IS a civilian casualty. Also, what are they protecting themselves from? Israel is doing what some people call bringing an assault rifle to a fist fight; Hamas does not have the strength to even put a dent in Israel's forces, nor have they attempted to do so in the last 20 years. The rockets are harmless, and they are only fired out of retaliation for the wrong doings Israel has committed to the people of Palestine.
