The Peace on The Horizon - 75 Years after The World War 2 in the Middle East (56)

 

(Japanese Version)

(Arabic Version)

 

(contents)

Chapter 2 Global wave – The end of colonial era and the emerging two super powers (18)

056 Launching of PLO (3/3)

Ultimately many Arabs in Palestine left their homeland and moved to neighboring Arab countries as refugees. The first Middle East war, so-called Israel Independence War, accelerated the movement. About 700,000 Arabic Palestinians were kicked out of their homeland. Both Arabs who remained in Palestine or left their homeland were called "Palestinian people" since then. There was no consciousness to themselves as "Palestinians". They had to think themselves as Arabs in Palestine because they had been living in Palestine over several generations. After World War II, the nation state became common and people were categorized where they lived. The Arabs who had been living in Palestine were defined as Palestinians.

 

The Palestinians believe that their Arab fellows would regain their homeland someday. They endured under the Israel Independence War in 1948 and the Suez war in 1956. However, they were betrayed by the politicians of the Arab countries who boasted to crush Israel in the Israel Independence War. And in the Suez War, Palestinians fully realized the difference of armament between the Egyptian army and the Israeli army in addition to their fighting ability. After all, in the Israeli Independence War, the Arab Allied Forces were only the incapable crowd, and in the Suez War, only Nasser who won the nationalization of the Suez Canal became a hero. In the hearts of the Palestinians there was only a helpless feeling that even if the Arab allies were into one bundle, Arabs could not defeat Israel. It was exactly "Thousands must die to make one hero". The Palestinian people were disappointed in their Arab fellows.

 

The only way left to the Palestinians was to stand up on their own. In 1964 they formed the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) aimed at self-determination of the people of the Palestinians and the return of the discrete Palestinians.

 

(To be continued ----)

 

 

Areha Kazuya

(From an ordinary citizen in the cloud)