Israel Belongs to Israel

Israel has been the homeland of the Jews for 4000 years. True, at times they have been invaded, conquered and kicked out (eg. 596 BC, 72 AD). But they have always come back. Now they are back again in the land of Joshua, David, Isaiah and Jesus. But they are accused of being an occupying force and Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria are called the "occupied territories." Why?

Here is what I do not understand. The rationale for why much of biblical Israel is supposed to belong to the Muslim Palestinians is what? That they conquered it and it therefore belongs to them by right of conquest. They were not there 4000 years ago. And the Arabs belong in Arabia, not Israel, come to that. Muslims claim the Holy Land because their armies invaded it and conquered it.

Now comes the inconsistency. Israel conquered Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria (as well as Gaza, the Sinai, the Golan Heights) in a defensive war in 1967. So they have as much right to it as the Palestinians if ownership derives from the right of conquest. In fact they have more right because they are currently in control and they got control not by invading, but by simply defending themselves from a genocidal attack by hostile nations.

Almost all modern nations control the territory they control because of wars in the past. If Israel has to give back the "occupied territories" then, in the name of fairness and consistency, the US should give back most of North America to Mexico and the native Americans. (Mexico will then have to give back most of Mexico to the native people too, for that matter.) When it comes to the Muslim, Arab nations, they have a lot of giving back to do. Muslims has no right to conquer Asia Minor and North Africa in the 7-9th centuries. And they should not be in Europe (eg. the Balkans). And they never owned the Holy Land. So the Dome of the Rock will have to go.

Now some would say all this is nonsense. When a war is over and the dust settles, borders are fixed and you can't go re-writing history. And that is true. But what's good for the goose is good for the gander. When Obama gives Texas, Southern California and New Mexico back to Mexico, he can then tell the Israelis to give back the land of David and Solomon.

Or is there one rule for the Jews and a different rule for everyone else?