Why does Israel torment Palestinian people although they experienced the same thing in World War 2?

Answer 1

The assumption in the question is incorrect, namely that Israeli treatment of the Palestinians is anywhere in the league of the genocide committed by the Nazis in World War II. The reason people make this comparison is because the hyperbole is good, even though the facts do not match. Probably a better comparison for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the Northern Ireland Conflict.

On the Differences Between Israelis and Nazis

The Nazis premeditatedly killed six million Jewish non-combatants and five million non-Jewish non-combatants. In the last century of the conflict between the Yishuv/Israel and the Fellahin/Palestinians roughly 19,000 Palestinians have died and roughly half of those people were suicide bombers. If we do this as a percentage of population, the difference between the numbers are even more staggering. In the Holocaust, the Jews suffered between a roughly 60-70% population loss in Europe, the Romani suffered a 60-70% population loss worldwide, and numerous other groups were also strongly hit. The Palestinian people have grown numerically in population in every year since 1949. There are currently 4.42 million Palestinians in the Palestinian Territories, 3 million living in Jordan, 1.65 million in Israel, and 1.1 million between Syria and Lebanon. This means that the Palestinians had casualties of less than 1% even if the Jordanian, Lebanese, Syrian, and expatriate Palestinians are excluded.

Concerning the Occupation

In terms of the rationale for the Occupation of the Palestinian Territories, it is set out clearly in UNSC Resolution 242. Israel will withdraw from the territories upon the conclusion of a peace treaty. So far, there is no peace treaty, so there is no withdrawal. From 1967 to 1987, there was no serious Palestinian resistance to the Occupation, and as a result, it was relatively benign. There was an occupation and there was the construction of settlements, but there was no Security Fence, checkpoints, or other measures. With the beginning of the first Intifada, this changed and Israel had to begin patrolling the Occupied Territories more militantly to prevent suicide bombings in Israel. Each increase in security or decrease in security has been a response to Palestinian violence. For example, Israel blockades and bars access to Gaza because Gaza has presented an actual militant threat whereas the West Bank is not similarly sealed off because the West Bank is not causing a security threat of anywhere near the same magnitude.

Arab-Palestinian Conflict

One of the things that is also worth considering is why the question to stop tormenting the Palestinians is asked only of Israel and not of Syria, Lebanon, or Jordan, who combined have killed even more Palestinians than the Israelis. In Lebanon, refugee camps like Sabra, Shatila, Nahr el-Bared, Ain el-Helwa, and several others have been invaded and their members shot up. In both Lebanon and Syria, refugees are not permitted to work or live outside of the refugee camps, making them live literally in the camp as if it were a prison. In Jordan, the War of Black September 1970-1971 may have killed as many as 20,000 Palestinians.

On Genocide

Additionally, see the Related Question below discussing whether or not the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict is a genocide.