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Show J3 Israel should allow I homeless Palestinians to return to their land ! i ) - r gV BRUCE PINGREE i staff Writer summer, (June 15) Golda ;the Prime Minister of Israel J mowing in an interview the London Sunday Times: m was no sucli thing as "There as " tinians It was not as ,;h there was a Palestinian e in Palestine considering it'll it-'ll as a Palestinian people and came and threw them out and their country away from ,m They did not exist. How 'a we return the occupied terries? ter-ries? There is nobody to re-1 re-1 : them to." ' Mrs. Meir, either you are twist-:.g twist-:.g the acts or you are blind. While students are vigorously protesting American "Imperial-;rm" "Imperial-;rm" in Vietnam, one of the most fj.''rJ Vi s feV-VC equipment. For example, the tanks that smashed the Egyptian Suez troops in 1967 were British Centurion Cen-turion Tanks. The aircraft whicli destroyed the Egyptian airforce in 1967 were French Mirage Fighters, and the aircraft which has been recently bombing Jordan are American Skyhawks. The United States recently agreed to sell Israel fifty of the powerful Phanton F4C fighters which so easily overcame the MIG21 opposition opposi-tion over North Vietnam. Little wonder that the Arab nations feel that Russia is their only ally. The supply of weapons essential to the survival of Israel is the tool which the Western nations could utilize in insuring, peace, or at least making a great stride in that direction. If the government of Israel were Photo by Jennifer Sh'in blatant cases of a people being denied their rights exists in the Middle East. I am not an anti-Zionist. anti-Zionist. I do not believe that the state of Israel must cease to exist, bit I do believe that a group of people entering an area have no right to deprive the people already Here of equal civil and political rights, and to throw out millions . rare. At present there are about five hundred thousand Palestinians living liv-ing in United Nations Relief and Works Agency camps. Another lour hundred thousand live outside the camps and are partially self-supporting. self-supporting. Three hundred thousand thou-sand more depend on the UNRWA lor educational and health services only, and another one hundred and thirty thousand are listed as refugees re-fugees but receive no aid. This Photo by Jennifer Stein A homeless Palestinian refugee child stands shivering in (he rain. generally of emotional temperament tempera-ment when compared with European Eu-ropean and American peoples, and they often say more than they really re-ally mean. The first step remains to be made by Israel, however. The State of Israel must demonstrate demon-strate those commitments to demoncracy and equality which characterize western government, rather than seeking further military mili-tary aggrandizement. It is not possible to destroy the will of a people merely by conquering them. The fact is that the Israel Army is very dependent upon three nations na-tions for the bulk of its military to grant equal rights to the Christian Christ-ian and Moslem Arabs who reside there, and grant them representa-tion representa-tion in Parliament, an important step would be accomplished. If the Palestinians were re-imbursed for their land occupied in the series cf acts since 1948 which resulted re-sulted in the nation of Israel, another an-other great good would be accomplished. ac-complished. Programs aimed at the building of new Arab agricultural agricul-tural .and business facilities would help. Finally, if Israel would surrender surrend-er the land siezed in the 1967 war to a special U.N. provisional administration, ad-ministration, or return these lands to the Arab nations provided no troops or equivalent were placed there (the U.N. to assure that the area stays disarmed) the most Arab refugees cross from the wesl following Middle East hostilities. single evidence of Israel's willingness willing-ness to co-exist with the Arab nations na-tions would be revealed. If the Arab nations were to still maintain main-tain a belligerent stand, then any responsibility for future hostilites would rest on their shoulders. Rather then pretend the Palestinians Pales-tinians do not exist, the government govern-ment of Israel ought to provide for them and realize that they must contribute to the nation of Israel if it be anything more than a militaristic state. Steps such as these would be a great achievement for the people t to east bank of the Jordan River of Israel ,and until these steps are taken, not one tank, airplane, bomb, or bullet ought to be sold to Israel. Ideally, not one weapon should be given to either the Arabs or Israel, but the Soviet Union seems intent on preserving the vis-cious vis-cious cycle. If it be the responsibility of the American people to work for peace in the world, the first item on our agenda should be that of prevent, ing the possibility of a war breaking break-ing out in the vail of Armageddon, which happens to be very near to the camps of the Palestinian refugees. -J w KX ox: X " - : s I and thirty thousand human beings at Mrs. Meir says do not exist, adds to one billion three hundred There are also hundreds of thou-, thou-, sands more who have elected to ; remain in their homeland, but aw not the same privileges as do to Jewish citizenry. Some have estimated (based on the 1951 re-W re-W of the Palestine Conciliation Committee o fthe U.N.) that near-r. near-r. ly two-thirds of Israel's cultiviated !al belonged to Arab refugees have been prevented from reluming home. Nearly all the "live groves, half the citrus ov, and ten thousand shops, ; Besses and stores in Israel ffi3) belonged to absentee Arab refugees. " 1S these people provide the ; i movationfor the El Fatah Mia movement. No matter : "any times Israel may in- :ctdats on Jordan, Egypt and , ! the Palestinian refugees r f C0I1nue the fight. The fact - ,:atIsrael has had to bomb what : "I assert are El Fatah camps ; dan icates that the gueril-sare gueril-sare tog some damage. .I J Middle East dilemma is the Jt The Arabs themselves are I t 1'holo by Jeiiniftir ht:m unffl it collapsed during a sform in February, 1969. Their mother ami grandmother look on, aware that it may happen agam and again. 40,000 Arab reguees J Two small refugees look at the i.um |