h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

There is plenty to object to in fact and tone in this piece.
Unfortunately given the level of popular misinformation and the hysterical misdirection we are subjected to when attempting a genuine critical analysis shouldn't we just not have any information about Israel or Palestine* on this site.

Yes I know referring to the remaining land occupied by Palestinians as a country could mark me out as an anti-semitic leftie - thats why there's no room for this mother of all wormcans to be opened here.

There are no "Palestinians". There never have been. The concept of a "Palestine" is a political ploy, admitted by one of the members of the PLO executive committee.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview with Palestine Liberation Organization executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

Hafez Assad agreed. He claimed Palestine was part of Greater Syria.

The land of Palestine comprised about 1% of the land of the Ottoman Emprire relinquished by the Ottomans to the victorious Allies after WWI. The other 99% was transferred to Arabs and Muslims out of which was carved some 21 states. The Ottomans had made the mistake of entering the war on the side of the Germans. In the San Remo conference in 1920, the Allies adopted the Balfour Declaration and it was entered in Article 95 of the Treaty of Sevres. It transferred the Ottomans' sovereignty over Palestine to the British Mandate in trust for a national homeland for the Jews. Not long thereafter the British gave all the land east of the Jordan River to the Hashemite tribe of Arabs which ultimately became Jordan, about 76% of it. After WWII, jurisdiction of the British Mandate passed from the League of Nations to the UN. It authorized the division of the remaining 24% between the Jews and the local arabs. The Arabs objected. They wanted all the remaining land. They entered into a war against the Jews and lost. Then all the surrounding Arab states invaded the area, and by and large they lost, although the armistice in 1949 found the Jordanians in possession of Judeah, Samaria (now referred to by the Arabs as the West Bank), in possession of the "Old City" of Jerusalem, and the Egyptians in possession of Gaza.

So, now the Jews have about 0.1% of the Ottoman land in the Middle East and the Mahgreb (North Africa), the Arabs and Muslims have 99.76% of that land, the so called "Palestinians have the Gaza Strip as the Israelis have given up their claim to it, and both the Israelis and the so called "Palestinians" have competing claims for the West Bank which comprises likely another 0.1%. Hamas also claims all of Israel's 0.12%.

In 1967 after their shipping was blockaded, they were shelled by Jordan, and they were threatened with invasion by Egypt and other surrounding Arab states. They won the 1967 war in six days. So they have sovereignty over not only Israel but also the West Bank not only by virtue of Article 95 of the Treaty of Sevres, but by right conquest in a
defensive war, at least until a peace treaty is entered into. They have been trying to enter into such treaties but so far have only been successful with Egypt and Jordan.