Oh dear, @IrishTimes. You've bought Abbas's lie, hook line and sinker. These maps do NOT show the diminishing size of Palestinian territory, despite Abbas's misleading claims.
As @GettyImages' original caption notes, this is a mixture of maps - some real, some only ever plans.
As @GettyImages' original caption notes, this is a mixture of maps - some real, some only ever plans.
Let's look at the maps one at a time:
The first makes out as if all the land was under "Palestinian" control before 1917. In reality, the land was under Ottoman control. Inhabitants - Jews, Muslims and Christians alike - were called Palestinian.
The first makes out as if all the land was under "Palestinian" control before 1917. In reality, the land was under Ottoman control. Inhabitants - Jews, Muslims and Christians alike - were called Palestinian.
The second map is of the Peel Commission’s 1937 partition plan. It called for a Jewish state, an Arab state, and an international protectorate enveloping Jerusalem.
The plan was accepted by the Jewish leadership, but violently rejected by the Arab leadership.
Some 'compromise.'
The plan was accepted by the Jewish leadership, but violently rejected by the Arab leadership.
Some 'compromise.'
The inclusion of this second map is highly misleading as it was only a plan, and never the reality on the ground.
The same goes for map no. 3, which is of the 1947 UN Partition Plan, a plan rejected by the Arabs and accepted by the Jews. It, too, never became reality.
Had the Palestinian Arabs actually *compromised* there could have been a two-state solution that looked like this.
Had the Palestinian Arabs actually *compromised* there could have been a two-state solution that looked like this.
Instead, Arab rioting against Jewish businesses led to attacks against Jewish civilians, and a war soon followed, with Jewish areas coming under siege, cut off from food and water.
Again, some 'compromise.'
Again, some 'compromise.'
Despite the Arabs' best efforts, the Jews were not defeated. As a result of being forced to fight, the frontiers of the State of Israel were significantly larger than those in the 1947 and 1937 plans the Arabs rejected. This crucial detail is not clear from the map series.
In map no. 4, the status quo between 1949 and 1967 is depicted. These were never "borders" as Israel's enemies refused to acknowledge Israel's existence. These were mere ceasefire lines, with the understanding that the Arab countries would eventually move to erase Israel.
It's interesting to note what ISN'T included in this series of maps: Israel managed to preempt the 1967 attack by its enemies and gained control of the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza - only to later return them to Arab control.
But this doesn't fit the narrative of 'Israel steadily taking more and more land while the Palestinians are ready to compromise' so these stages simply don't appear.
This isn't the first time these maps have surfaced in the media. Learn more about them in this HonestReporting piece from earlier in the year.
honestreporting.com/misleading-pal…
honestreporting.com/misleading-pal…
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