Letter: West Bank Violence

Dear editor:

Indeed, there is a lot of violence in Judea and Samaria, areas of historical and religious importance to Jews, called “The West Bank” by people who claim that the Zionist enterprise is “colonialist.” (“Sustainable Israeli-Palestinian Projects (SIPP) Awards $10,000 in Emergency Relief Grants to Address West Bank Violence,” BJN 7/28/2026)
The Palestinians of the areas in question are suffering because Arab and Palestinian leaders have taught them to hate Jews, honoring and rewarding Palestinians who answer the leaders’ calls to resist the “Occupation” by attacking and killing Jews, and subsequently labeling Israel’s response to Palestinian attacks “aggression.”

It bears repeating that no Arabs called themselves “Palestinians” prior to the founding of the Palestine (emphasis added) Liberation Organization in 1964. Unfortunately, the PLO’s work was directed at “liberating” the Jews’ ancient homeland from Jewish control and not at building a state in which the Palestinians could become productive citizens. The first people to call themselves “Palestinians” were Zionists who had moved to a poorly developed, sparsely populated area in the Ottoman Empire seeking to repopulate and redevelop the site of ancient Israel. It is ironic that the first ever-to-exist Arab State of Palestine could have been built long ago, had Arab leaders accepted the 1947 UN Partition Plan for Palestine or if Palestinian leaders had accepted any of the Israeli offers of “land for peace.” And, while I appreciate SIPP’s efforts to help the Palestinians, I fear that Palestinians who accept the aid may run afoul of Palestinian leaders who will accuse aid recipients of “normalizing the ‘Occupation’.”

https://www.thetower.org/4064-four-palestinians-arrested-after-attending-jewish-holiday-event

For further discussion, I suggest the following:

https://www.jns.org/analysis/new-report-debunks-settler-violence-narrative

Toby F. Block
Atlanta, GA