A series where I look at old news articles and use history to debunk common misconceptions about the Middle East conflict.
In the February 01, 1968 edition of The Sentinel, Israeli Arab Rustum Bastuni – a former member of the Knesset and very accomplished man – spoke out in strongly in favor of Israel holding on to Judea and Samaria, which we had recaptured less than a year earlier in the Six Day War.
Note in particular:
- Rustum acknowledging how Israel had “created a major social, cultural and economic revolution among its Arab citizens” in the 20 years since its establishment.
- The Arabs of the “West Bank” and “Gaza” had not been happy under Jordanian and Egyptian rule respectively
- Rustum mentioning how some Gazans had previously wanted to cooperate with Israel, but after we withdrew, they were punished by the Egyptians
