With reference to “Real meaning of Palestine for Muslims” (Cape Argus, August 21).
Turkey was Germany’s ally in World War I. When they lost the war, they lost the Ottoman Empire. This led to The San Remo Accords and the various Middle East mandates, set up to manage the region until the states could function independently.
The question is, what is Palestine and who are the Palestinians? They are a recent Russian/ Egyptian innovation that were non-existent in 1947, when Arabs launched the Nakba against the Jews.
In 1952, Gamel Abdel Nasser overthrew King Faruq, to become president of Egypt. The US and the UK were funding the New Aswan Dam project, but pulled out in 1956 when Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal.
The Soviet Union stepped in. To diminish American influence, the KGB created the Palestine Liberation Organisation in 1964. They simply called Israel “Palestine” and all the Arabs living there “Palestinians”. The West Bank and Gaza were not considered part of Palestine as they were under Arab occupation.
There were Arabs living in the British Mandate for Palestine (192048). Their numbers doubled due to employment opportunities the Zionists created, and at the urging of their leader, Haj Amin al-Husseini, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. Husseini was Hitler’s ally.
During the mandate, only Jews were called Palestinians. All their institutions reflected this. Arabs identified as members of their families or clans or from where they had emigrated.
* Len Bennett, Author of Unfinished Work - Ottawa, Canada.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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