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Israel | Arab Conflict Myths and Facts
Dr. Mitchell G. Bard

Click any myth below to read the facts...


"Peace with Syria has been prevented only by Israel’s obstinate refusal to withdraw from the Golan Heights."

"Saudi Arabia has proposed a new formula for a comprehensive peace."

"A unity Palestinian government will reinvigorate the peace process."

"America's support of Israel is the reason that terrorists hijacked four airplanes and attacked the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11, 2001."

"The media is fairly and accurately covering the war in Lebanon."

"Israel should exchange Arab prisoners for soldiers kidnaped by Hamas and Hizballah."

"Israel still has not satisfied the UN’s demand to withdraw completely from Lebanon because of its illegal occupation of Shebaa Farms."

"There is a distinction between the political and terror wings of Hamas."

"According to Security Council Resolution 242, Israel’s acquisition of territory through the 1967 war is ‘inadmissible.'"

"The Palestinians were willing to negotiate a settlement after the Six-Day War."

"If Israel ends the occupation, there will be peace."

"Arab leaders never encouraged the Palestinians to flee."

"American Jews goaded the United States to go to war against Iraq in 2003 to help Israel."

"Israel has no justification for withholding tax monies due to the Palestinian Authority."

"Israel's border demands are unrealistic in an era of ballistic missiles and long-range bombers capable of crossing vast amounts of territory in minutes."

"Palestinians have the right to sell land to Jews"

"Hamas is a threat only to Israel"

"Zionism is Racism"

"Israel is Knowingly Desecrating a Muslim Holy Place in Jerusalem by Building a Museum on Top of a Cemetery"

"The Jews Have No Claim to the Land They Call Israel"

"Saudi Arabia Has Ended its Boycott of Israel"

"America's Arab Allies Routinely Support U.S. Positions at the UN"

"The Palestinians have been denied a voice at the UN"

"Hamas should be permitted to participate in Palestinian Authority elections.”

“The Palestinian Authority protects Jewish holy sites.”

“Israel evacuated Gaza, but turned it into a prison by preventing the movement of people or goods.”

“Israel has moved the border so it will not withdraw completely from the Gaza Strip.”

“The creation of Israel in 1948 changed political and border arrangements between independent states that had existed for centuries.”

“Israel has been an expansionist state since its creation.”

“Israeli checkpoints are unnecessarily preventing Palestinians from receiving medical attention.”

“Palestinians do not encourage children to engage in terror.”

“Palestinians living under ‘occupation’ have the lowest standard of living in the Middle East.”

“Palestinians no longer object to the creation of Israel.”

“Israel is persecuting Christians.”

“Israel is building the security fence as part of a land grab to control the West Bank and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

"Arms control in the Middle East is impossible so long as Israel refuses to give up its nuclear weapons."

“Palestinian terrorist groups agreed to a cease-fire to advance the peace process envisioned by the road map for peace.”

"Israel still has not satisfied the UN's requirements to withdraw completely from Lebanon because of its illegal occupation of Shebaa Farms."

"Advocates for Israel try to silence critics by labeling them anti-Semitic."

"Most Americans oppose a close U.S. relationship with Israel."

"The United States must be 'engaged' to advance the peace process."

"Iran has no ambition to become a nuclear power and poses no threat to Israel or the United States."

"Yasser Arafat rejected Ehud Barak's sproposals at Camp David and the White House in 2000 because they did not offer the Palestinians a viable state."

"The Palestinians have never been offered a state of their own."

"Israel denies Muslims and Christians free access to their holy sites."

"UNRWA is purely a humanitarian organization that bears no responsibility for the terror and incitement that originates in the refugee camps."

"Israel was responsible for the 1973 war."

"The Jews have no claim to the land they call Israel."

"Israel's treatment of Palestinians is similar to the treatment of blacks in apartheid South Africa."

"The Arab states have had to keep pace with an Israeli-led arms race."

"Israel's failure to implement UN resolutions is a violation of international law.""Israel's Supreme Court ruled that the security fence is illegal and a land grab by the Sharon government."

 "Israel viewed the territories it captured in 1967 as conquered lands that were now part of Israel and had no intention of negotiating over their return."

"Israel's military strike in 1967 was unprovoked."

"Israeli textbooks are just as bad as those in the Palestinian Authority, filled with stereotypes, historical inaccuracies, and a failure to acknowledge alternative political views."

"Israel is illegally, and without justification, destroying Palestinian homes in the Gaza Strip."

"Resolution 242 requires Israel to return to its pre-1967 boundaries."

"The Arab world's commitment to peace is reflected by its abandonment of the boycott against Israel."

"Israel created Hamas."

"Israel's conflict with the Palestinians is blocking reform in the Middle East."

"Palestinians do not encourage children to engage in terror."

"Egypt is no longer a military threat since signing a peace treaty with Israel."

"There is a distinction between the political and terror wings of Hamas."

"The International Court of Justice should decide whether Israel is justified in building a security fence."

"Israel has refused to offer any compromises on the Golan Heights while Syria has been willing to trade peace for land."

"Israeli policies cause anti-Semitism."

"Israel is a theocracy and should not be a Jewish State."

"The United Nations has demonstrated equal concern for the lives of Israelis and Palestinians."

"Israel prevents Palestinian ambulances from taking sick and injured Palestinians to hospitals."

"Israel should be replaced by a binational state where Jews and Palestinians live together."

"The media treats terrorist attacks against Israel the same way as it does attacks on other nations."

"The employment of Jonathan Pollard to spy on the United States is proof that Israel works against American interests."

"Periods of quiet are results of the Palestinian Authority's crackdown on terrorists and would continue if not for Israeli military actions."

"Yasser Arafat is directing the Palestinian Authority's resources to the health and welfare of the Palestinian people."

"The Jews made clear from the outset they had no intention of living peacefully with their Arab neighbors."

"Israel's policy of assassinating terrorists is illegal and rejected even by Israelis, as evidenced by the refusal of Air Force pilots to carry out the policy."

"Releasing Palestinian prisoners is a good way to build confidence for the peace process without endangering Israeli security."

"The Palestinian Authority is helpless to dismantle Hamas and Islamic Jihad because the terrorist groups are too powerful and popular."

"Israel demolishes homes in the Rafah refugee camp as part of its campaign to oppress the Palestinians."

"Israel is pursuing a policy of genocide toward the Palestinians that is comparable to the Nazis' treatment of the Jews."

"Israel's so-called security fence is just like the Berlin Wall."

"The Arab states have always welcomed the Palestinians and done their best to resettle them."

"Palestinians interested in peace and preventing terror are respected and allowed freedom of speech."

"Palestinian terrorist groups agreed to a cease-fire to advance the peace process envisioned by the road map for peace."

"Israel is required to release Palestinians in Israeli prisons as a condition of the road map."

"The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) is a non-violent human rights organization that opposes terrorism and supports a two-state solution."

"During the 1967 War, Israel deliberately attacked the USS Liberty."

"Israel's policy of assassinating Palestinian terrorists is immoral and counterproductive."

"U.S. policy has always been hostile toward the Arabs."

"Israeli complaints about Palestinian terrorists hiding among civilians are just an effort to justify their murder of innocent people."

"Ariel Sharon has made clear that he does not want peace and no deal is possible as long as he is Prime Minister."

"The shooting of a child being protected by his father shown on TV proves Israel does not hesitate to kill innocent Palestinian children."

"Israel and the Palestinians were on the verge of reaching a peace deal during negotiations at Taba in 2001, but Ariel Sharon's election torpedoed the agreement."

"The 'traditional position' of the Arabs in Palestine was jeopardized by Jewish settlement."

"Israel indiscriminately murders terrorists and Palestinian civilians."

"Palestinian terrorist groups agreed to a cease-fire until Israel launched attacks against them."

"The Palestinian Authority is bankrupt and the people are starving because the world does not care about the plight of the Palestinians."

"Israel benefitted from the Gulf War without paying any price."

"Most Palestinians do not support terror, but are helpless to stop the militants."

"Israel uses checkpoints to deny Palestinians their rights and humiliate them."

"Israel closed three colleges in the Palestinian Authority in January 2003 to punish and humiliate the Palestinians."

"Israel's low profile in the Gulf War proves it has no strategic value to the United States."

"The Gulf War Was Fought For Israel."

"Saddam Hussein was never interested in acquiring nuclear weapons."

"The Arab states have provided most of the funds for helping the Palestinian refugees."

"U.S. loan guarantees provided Israel with billions of dollars from American taxpayers that was used to build settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to house Soviet Jews."

"Press coverage of Israel is proportional to its importance in world affairs."

"The West Bank is part of Jordan."

"The demolition of Palestinian homes is an example of the barbaric policies of Israeli oppression."

"Israel denies Muslims and Christians free access to their holy sites."

"The PLO was neutral in the Gulf War."

"The creation of the state of Israel in 1948 changed political and border arrangements between independent states that had existed for centuries."

"Jerusalem need not be the capital of Israel."

"The United States does not believe Jerusalem should be the united capital of Israel."

"The 1991 repeal of the resolution libeling Zionism proves that the UN is no longer biased against Israel."

"Arms control in the Middle East is impossible so long as Israel refuses to give up its nuclear weapons."

"Israel's presence in the West Bank is the cause of terrorism."

"If Israel had nothing to hide in Jenin, why did it oppose an investigation by the United Nations?"

"Israel "occupies" the West Bank."

"Israel enjoys the same rights as any other member of the United Nations."

"Israel viewed the territories it captured in 1967 as conquered lands that were now part of Israel and had no intention of negotiating over their return."

"Muslim schools in the United States teach tolerance of Judaism and other faiths, and promote coexistence with Israel."

"Israel is making specious comparisons between Palestinian resistance and the September 11, attacks on the United States in the hope of generating sympathy for its policies."

"Palestinians are driven to terror by desperation."

"Groups like Hizballah, Islamic Jihad, Hamas and the PFLP should be excluded from the U.S. war on terrorism because they are freedom fighters and not terrorists."

"The West's support of Israel allowed the Jews to conquer Palestine."

"Hundreds of Israeli soldiers are refusing to serve in the territories. This proves that Israel's policies are unjust."

"Al-Jazeera is the 'Arabic CNN' providing the Arab world with an objective source of news."

"The United Nations has long played a constructive role in Middle East affairs. Its record of fairness and balance makes it an ideal forum for settling the Arab-Israeli dispute."

"The press makes no apologies for terrorists."

"The Palestinian Authority is abiding by its commitments and preventing illegal arms from being smuggled into areas under its control."

"Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaida network sympathize with the Palestinians and attacked the United States because of its support of Israel."

"Palestinians who wanted to return to their homes after 1948 posed no danger to Israeli security."

"Israel opposes the creation of a Palestinian state, and the frustration of Palestinian national ambitions, and their right to self-determination, is the cause of the present conflict."

"Israel can withdraw from the West Bank with little more difficulty than was the case in Sinai."

"Israel is militarily superior to its Arab neighbors in every area and has the means to maintain its qualitative edge without outside help."

"The Balfour Declaration did not give Jews a right to a homeland in Palestine."

"Women's rights are now protected in the Arab world."

"Prime Minister Sharon and Settlement Construction."

"Bombing of the King David Hotel."

"Status of Palestinian Property Upon Israel's Creation."

"The United Nations unjustly partitioned Palestine."

"Palestinian terrorists have only targeted Israelis and never attacked Americans."

"The Palestinians joined the rest of the world in condemning the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States."

"The Palestinian Authority has seized illegal weapons and otherwise fulfilled its obligations under the Oslo agreements to restrict the possession of arms to the authorized police force."

'People of the Book,' Jews and Christians are protected under Islamic law."

"The Palestinian Arabs were never offered a state and therefore have been
denied the right to self-determination."

"The Palestinians have observed the cease-fire negotiated by CIA Director George Tenet."

"Israel has consistently refused to take any steps to calm the situation and
its unrelenting attacks provoked Palestinian violence despite Yasser Arafat's
appeals for restraint.

"One million Palestinians were expelled by Israel from 1947-49."

"Jerusalem is an Arab City."

"Herzl himself proposed Uganda as the Jewish state as an alternative to
Palestine."

"Arab officials tell Western journalists the same thing they tell their own people."

The Mitchell Report made clear that Israeli settlement policy is as much to
blame for the breakdown of the peace process as Palestinian violence and that
a settlement freeze is necessary to end the violence.

"The Zionists were colonialist tools of Western imperialism."

"Arabs cannot possibly be anti-Semitic as they are themselves Semites."

"The Arab economic boycott of Israel was imposed after the 1948 war."