We are discussing the Jewish people who remained in Israel, Judea and Samaria and in the general vicinity.
Didn't the ones still there around 300 AD convert to Christianity, and didn't many of those become Muslims?
And does what you derail this thread with make Gaza any less of a concentration camp?
Many did. Not all. Many fled or were forced out because they would not become "other". Do those people who stayed not deserve restitution and restoration? Do those people who fled or were forced out not deserve restitution and restoration?
The reason we are discussing this is because we are trying to find a SOLUTION to the suffering of the Gazan people.
There can be no peace and no solution in a zero-sum game. There can be no peace and no solution as long as EITHER people are not given restitution and restored to self-determination and sovereignty.
For the pro-Israelis the Gaza solution could not be more simple. Stop the hostilities. Develop peaceful relations between Gaza and Israel. Economic partnerships, trade agreements, shared infrastructure for water and sewage treatment, tourism. Provide financial restitution and even property ownership to those who lost it. Let each people flourish in their own territory, under their own sovereignty with mutual co-operation.
But every time I suggest such a thing the anti-Israelis argue.
Because you put the cart before the horse in Gaza. The first thing that has to happen is that normalization must take place. The current occupation, as the ICJ has confirmed, has to end. Gaza cannot negotiate while under occupation. Israel must lift the blockade, relinquish control of the air space, relinquish control of the territorial sea and stop pressuring Egypt, through U.S. threats, to keep the land border closed and move troops away from the demarcation fence at a safe stand-off distance e.g., 10 Kms.
There must be a period of time for the Gazans to build their economy, rebuild their infrastructure, build an airport and seaport, with international help. Then there can be negotiations if there are outstanding issues But, the Israelis will not do that, though it is in their best interest as then, the demographic problem they have gets kicked 30-40 years down the road with only the WB and East Jerusalem non-Jews to worry about.