President Mahmoud Abbas in his recent United Nations speech clearly enunciated what he and what the Palestinian leadership mean by “occupation” (“New Pressures Seen In Bid To Re-launch Peace Talks,” Sept. 30).
He stated, “What I will take to the UN will be the suffering and concerns of our people that have taken place over 63 years living under the occupation.”
Sixty-three years subtracted from 2011 equals 1948, which is when Israel was created by the UN.
When Abbas used the words 63 years of occupation, he was actually defining the Palestinian mindset that “occupation” meant Israel’s “occupation” of Israel from 1948 through 1967 plus Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza from 1967 through 2011.
This new concept of Israel’s “occupation” is now referred to by Palestinian leaders as Israel’s occupation of the area which Israel took control of in the 1967 war; however, the Palestinian leadership by every act and every word in Arabic intends to use this “return to 1967 borders” as their “peaceful” stepping stone to the elimination of Israel.
Palm Beach, Fla.
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