In response to constant, never ending Israeli propaganda that states that the problems in the Middle East consist of 'Israeli self defense' against 'Arab terrorists' I reprint bits of a speech given by Jimmy Carter in 2000, where he reminds the Israelis of their constant broken promises, and their arrogant disregard both the principles of international law and the agreements that they themselves signed. This is important to keep in mind as the official Jewish government propaganda continues on with the line that 'Palestinians broke the peace agreements'. The primary issue here is the constant expropriations of land by Israel and the importation of some extremely right wing religious elements with extremist views into the occupied terroritories, a lack of recognition on the part of Israelis that the land they are living on was the property of others for over two thousand years, and a recognition of the fact the military power in this conflict is Israel. Israeli military forces in the occupied territories are not there as 'defense forces' as state propaganda continues to insist but as an occupying force on the ground to protect the constantly expanding religious Jewish settlements (these settlements are in place for purely religious reasons as certain extremist elements imagine themselves to be erasing two thousand years of exile and history and restoring the 'rights and unique priveleges' granted to them by 'Moses', and while the number of these settlers has increased to almost two hundred thousand (doubling since agreements were signed by Israel promising to end the practice at the peace conferences) at the same time the occupying military force required to protect these religous settlers has correspondingly increased, and will continue to increase as the number of settlers increases. The Israeli army is an oppressive and occupying force, and not a defensive force, and after sowing the wind, the whole country is now reaping the whirlwind, finding that while tanks and helicopter gunships and missiles fired from F-16s can devestate Palestinian cities and infrastructure unopposed, there is no stopping a suicide bomber, suicide bombers being those willing to commit suicide after all, by definition. As Carter described the situation in 2000 ...

"An underlying reason that years of U.S. diplomacy have failed and violence in the Middle East persists is that some Israeli leaders continue to "create facts" by building settlements in occupied territory. Their deliberate placement as islands or fortresses within Palestinian areas makes the settlers vulnerable to attack without massive military protection, frustrates Israelis who seek peace and at the same time prevents any Palestinian government from enjoying effective territorial integrity ... (Promises made a peace conferences) concerning the status of the West Bank and Gaza have not been honored, and have led to continuing confrontation and violence ... The text (of the Camp David accord) emphasizes "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in which every State in the area can live in security." It requires the "withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent [1967] conflict" and the right of every state in the area "to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." (Note that building settlements in terroritories seized during war fare is a violation of the Geneva convention) ... It was clear that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories were a direct violation of this agreement and were, according to the long-stated American position, both "illegal and an obstacle to peace." Accordingly, Prime Minister Begin pledged that there would be no establishment of new settlements ... There were some notable provisions in the Camp David Accords that related to Palestinian autonomy and the occupation of land. A key element was that "the Israeli military government and its civilian administration will be withdrawn as soon as a self-governing authority has been freely elected by the inhabitants of these areas to replace the existing military government." This transition period was triggered by an election in the occupied territories in January 1996 ... our government commemorated the Oslo Accords in a ceremony at the White House, and built subsequent peace talks on its terms and those of the Camp David Accords. So far, these efforts have not succeeded, and this year there has been a resurgence of violence and animosity between Israelis and Arabs unequaled in more than a quarter of a century. The major issues still to be resolved remain unchanged: the final boundaries of the state of Israel, the return of, or compensation for, Palestinians dislodged from their previous homes ... Jimmy Carter on Sunday, November 26, 2000.

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