Madeleine and Advay as Daniel and Yarko

An Interview with Daniel and Yarko

1. What rights should Palestinian refugees have?

Palestinian refugees should be allowed to return to Israel if they so desire. They should be allowed to come through and reclaim the land the Jews took from them, or at least demand the construction of a new house for themselves, or enough money to do so themselves, if their land is already filled with houses or other buildings. Palestinians might even still have the deed to their land. If this is the case, they should show it to the Israelis as proof they once lived here, and can request permission to have it back or at least ask for a piece of land just as big. If there is unoccupied land that was once owned by a Palestinian, or was Israeli land but is now unclaimed land, Palestinians should have the option of claiming the land to build on. If Israel would also allow Palestinians to return to their homeland and actually interact with the Israelis, that would be a huge step towards making peace.


2. What should be the status of Jerusalem?

I think its unfair that people who were born and raised in Israel can pass checkpoints easily but people that live in Palestine have to wait to be checked in order to come into their own land. The Arabs have to be checked in order to come into their own land and these assumptions are based on their culture and car license plates. Why do they have to be stopped when it's their land?


3. What should be the status of the West Bank and Gaza, currently occupied by Israel?

Since most, if not all, of the West Bank and Gaza was Palestine, Israelis should leave the Palestinian settlers in those areas alone. During the 1967 war, Israel took over the West Bank and Gaza, and also the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights from Syria. The UN Security Council in Resolution 242 said that any land that is "borrowed" or occupied during a war that does not belong to the country occupying it, and it must be returned after the war. Israel acknowledged this, and agreed to withdraw from the Palestinian territories, but even over 40 years after the war, they are still occupying huge portions of the West Bank and Gaza, even though that land rightfully belongs to the Palestinians. Now there are about 500,000 Israelis occupying these areas, most being there just because the government offers a free house or other benefits to the Israeli settlers. Israel did withdraw from Gaza in 2005, but continues to occupy the West Bank and expand settlements there. Israel should give the Palestinians back the land that rightfully belongs to them, or at the very least offer them a share of Israeli land that is as big as the West Bank, if Israelis continue to refuse their evacuation of it.


4. Should the United States give aid to either the Israelis or Palestinians -- or both of them? If so, what kind of aid?

When we were going to meet our friends, my brother said something that got my attention. He said, "Why do the Arabs have to be checked on their land by the Israelis?" The Israelis can only keep doing this if the US keeps supplying them with weapons and money. I think this is unfair to Palestinians. Palestinians say that the Israelis kill people, take over land often, and the U.S.A supports them. U.S.A supports Israeli and when the Israelis kill Palestinians, it's considered normal, but when an Arab with Hamas does something, it turns into a terrorist organization.


5. What additional ideas or proposals can you make to bring about a peace and just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis?

My brother and I think think that everybody, even people who are religious, should serve in the army, and we have seen many bad incidents with close people we know. I think the way to solve peace is for the US to split the money that they give to Israel and Palestine equally. Also, the Israelis should give the land back that is rightfully Palestinian, and get rid of all the checkpoints and soldiers in Palestine. They should either unify Israel and Palestine into one state, or spit them apart entirely.