I see this motto a lot on social media. It's used to express support for Palestinian self-determination and opposition to Israeli occupation or control over Palestinian territories, but it ignores history. There's been a very long history of rejecting Palestinian self-determination, and not by Israel. Since the Peel Commission's partition plan of 1937, there have been at least a dozen offers to create a state for the Palestinians on part of Israel and alongside Israel. Every offer has been accepted by Israel but rejected by the Arab world, including Palestinian leaders.
In 2000, at Camp David, Israel offered to withdraw from 97% of the West Bank and all of the Gaza Strip, dismantle most of the settlements, and create a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. The only concessions Arafat had to make were to acknowledge Israeli sovereignty over parts of the Western Wall and agree to three early warning stations in the Jordan Valley, which Israel would withdraw from in six years. Arafat rejected this offer and instead started an Intifada.
Israel did unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza Strip in 2005, even forcibly removing Israeli settlers in the process. At that point, they were already semi-autonomous. That was the first step in creating a two-state solution, but it was quickly derailed. The first thing they did was elect Hamas and launch thousands of rockets into Israel over the next three years. Eventually, that led to Operation Cast Lead in 2008.
Despite this, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert extended a peace proposal to Abbas that would create two nation-states. Under the plan Israel would have withdrawn from almost the entire West Bank and partitioned Jerusalem on a demographic basis. Abbas rejected the offer of the two-state solution, as they would have had to recognize Israel as a state.
From 2008 to 2022 there have been five wars/operations due to attacks by Hamas. That ultimately culminated in the October 7th, 2023 massacre by Hamas that pretty much ended any chances of a two-state solution. There was an internal poll conducted that showed three in four Palestinians (a whopping 72%) supported the Oct. 7th attack. These are the same people too, by the way, who celebrated the 9/11 attack on the U.S. A basic premise of independence is being able to coexist with your neighbor, and they have shown zero willingness to do so.
Just aside from all that, the people in Gaza are heavily dependent on other countries to survive, especially Israel. Just about all their power comes from Israel. They do have one power plant, but the fuel it runs on is also imported by Israel. About 90% of their water is undrinkable due to high salinity and nitrate pollution. Israel supplies some of their drinking water through pipelines. Most of their food is imported from Israel. All that is to say, they have no infrastructure, especially since the war, to be self-sufficient and independent. And that is the problem with "Free Palestine."
In 2000, at Camp David, Israel offered to withdraw from 97% of the West Bank and all of the Gaza Strip, dismantle most of the settlements, and create a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. The only concessions Arafat had to make were to acknowledge Israeli sovereignty over parts of the Western Wall and agree to three early warning stations in the Jordan Valley, which Israel would withdraw from in six years. Arafat rejected this offer and instead started an Intifada.
Israel did unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza Strip in 2005, even forcibly removing Israeli settlers in the process. At that point, they were already semi-autonomous. That was the first step in creating a two-state solution, but it was quickly derailed. The first thing they did was elect Hamas and launch thousands of rockets into Israel over the next three years. Eventually, that led to Operation Cast Lead in 2008.
Despite this, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert extended a peace proposal to Abbas that would create two nation-states. Under the plan Israel would have withdrawn from almost the entire West Bank and partitioned Jerusalem on a demographic basis. Abbas rejected the offer of the two-state solution, as they would have had to recognize Israel as a state.
From 2008 to 2022 there have been five wars/operations due to attacks by Hamas. That ultimately culminated in the October 7th, 2023 massacre by Hamas that pretty much ended any chances of a two-state solution. There was an internal poll conducted that showed three in four Palestinians (a whopping 72%) supported the Oct. 7th attack. These are the same people too, by the way, who celebrated the 9/11 attack on the U.S. A basic premise of independence is being able to coexist with your neighbor, and they have shown zero willingness to do so.
Just aside from all that, the people in Gaza are heavily dependent on other countries to survive, especially Israel. Just about all their power comes from Israel. They do have one power plant, but the fuel it runs on is also imported by Israel. About 90% of their water is undrinkable due to high salinity and nitrate pollution. Israel supplies some of their drinking water through pipelines. Most of their food is imported from Israel. All that is to say, they have no infrastructure, especially since the war, to be self-sufficient and independent. And that is the problem with "Free Palestine."
