- Other Issues
- August 1, 2011
- 3 minutes read
The State of Israel, State of Turmoil
With revolutions rocking the Middle East and people rising up against tyranny and dictators, Israel is no different as 120,000 Israelis – including Israeli Arabs – have been gathering and protesting across the country, charging the government with giving in to monopolies and cartels. Approximately 50,000 people demonstrated recently in Tel Aviv protesting Prime Minister Netanyahu’s housing reforms.
Israelis have even been boycotting dairy products in their own country after prices have risen and many Israelis cannot afford suitable housing.
The unrest within Israel has been expanding as hundreds of Palestinians and international activists clashed with Israeli forces, marking the 7th anniversary of a 2004 World Court ruling that the security wall that was built by Israel is illegal. Large numbers of foreigners who arrived in Israel to attend the demonstrations were deported by authorities and West Bank soldiers used force to disperse crowds.
During the demonstrations, the security wall has come to represent Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. Despite international rulings that render the wall illegal, Israel, in a show of defiance, has extended the barrier.
In May this year, about 15 people died during protests against the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 which Palestinians call ‘a catastrophe’ because of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have been displaced since the Jewish state was founded.
Protestors near the Golan Heights home to nearly half a million Palestinians – were met with live gunfire by Israeli soldiers that left four people dead and many more injured. Such behavior by Israeli forces has been called criminal acts and is leading the country deeper and deeper into unrest and turmoil.