...Palestine isn't a country?

Friday, January 9, 2009

Flashback to Monday –

Geography has never been a strength of mine. I don’t know how, but I seem to have missed that subject in school (maybe I was playing too much Oregon Trail). As a result, whenever something with a particularly regional bent arises (Georgia/Russia, Israel/Lebanon, Darfur, Congo etc.) I turn to my great friend: Google Maps.

I enter “Palestine” into that ol’ minimal google maps UI and…it returns Palestine, TX?

At this point, I am confused, and I try a number of idiotic variations like “Palestine, Middle East” and “Gaza, Palestine.” I get nothing but Texas. Searches for “Gaza” alone bring me to Israel…but I can’t seem to find its border with Palestine.

Now I feel confused and betrayed – either google is messing with me…or this “country” that I had been lead to believe existed by the news media, in fact, did not. Isn’t Gaza a region of Palestine which is ruled by Hamas? I search for Gaza, and I realize that it’s a city in the Gaza strip, a small region google indicates is PART of Israel. Whoa. Forgive me, but I haven’t heard this conflict referred to as civil war, so what the HECK?

No, Palestine is not a country (at least not according to the USA). And Gaza is not a region in Palestine, it is a city in the Gaza Strip. I found that out this week…because of google. I know that for some of you that statement may seem horribly ignorant. But maybe for some of you, like me, it’s a bit of a shock.

With headlines like:

Israel and Hamas Rebuff U.N. Cease-Fire Call, NYT
Israel Resumes Gaza Assault, WSJ
Israel Expands Gaza Offensive, TIME

Doesn’t this war sound like a fight between established nations?

96 countries recognize the State of Palestine, none of whom are major, Western powers – it’s made up of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Here’s a "non google" map (click on it for a bigger version):



In the context of the decisions my country has made historically, I can hardly judge Israel harshly for their offensive. Nevertheless, looking at the Gaza Strip wedged mainly between Israel and the Mediterranean with a comparatively tiny border with Egypt, I cannot begin to comprehend the desperation Palestinian (?) civilians are feeling.