Israel vs. Palestine

The following is the transcript for a speech I did for our year level public speaking competition. This was in 2001. We had to deliver a speech about a recent issue. I got an honourable mention in the competition.

ISRAEL VS. PALESTINE

Bombs can turn up in the strangest of places. Inside a watermelon on the seat of a bus. Or inside a drink bottle being hurled at a pub. These true events may not happen to you, but lately they happen to the people of Israel and Palestine - almost every day.
    Travel back to September last year. What started out as a disagreement regarding land became violent. The countries' leaders, Ariel Sharon of Israel and Yasser Arafat of Palestine, have made attempts at a ceasefire, but to no avail.
    If I had to choose a side in which to "go for", I'd go for the United Nations. They, too, attempted a ceasefire in June, but unfortunately, it didn't work. But the United Nations doesn't really count as a "side", so I've had to think again.
    I've chosen Israel. Some of you may ask: "Why? Why would you go for a team which has less casualties and has killed more?" Well, it's not a matter of what the Israelis have done; it's rather what they have not done. Here's how Palestine has apparently decided who goes where in the line of fire.
    Children are in front. Behind them are the elderly and disabled. Behind them are the women and behind them are the men. But that's not why I am so against Palestine.
    It's because of the suicide bombers. For those of you who aren't familiar with that term, suicide bombers attach explosives to themselves, go to a public place in the enemy's territory and detonate the explosives.
    Recently, two major suicide bombings have occurred within a gap of three days of each other. The first one was the worst attack in the Palestinian uprising. In a Jerusalem pizza restaurant during lunchtime rush hour, a suicide bomber attached to a bomb packed with nails lit the fuse. 18 were killed, including a visiting Brazilian and an American, and 90 were wounded. Benny Peretz, who was working nearby, summed the incident up best: "The world sees the Palestinians as victims and then this is what they do to the Israelis."
    Here's another true story: Muhammad Mahmoud Nasr of Palestine walked into a café in northern Israel. He looked a waitress in the eye and pointed to his chest. "Do you know what this is?" he asked her. He then lit the fuse on the explosives strapped to his body. When the bomb detonated, it blew him to bits. His head landed on a nearby table. The bomber was the only one killed, but many were injured.
    Suicide bombing really is a sad and tragic thing. But that's not the worst of it. Oded Granot, a reporter for Israeli television, has stated this about Palestine: "There's no shortage of suicide bombers. They have too many volunteers and not enough bombs."
    Another bad thing about these bombings is that they have made the Israelis a bit paranoid. Recently, a jittery bunch of them stampeded out of a crowded shopping mall. They thought there was a suicide bomber, but in actuality there was not. There was a shoe thief, and during the stampede, the thief escaped with the shoes.
    Since September last year, more than 779 people have been killed. And although the Israelis have retreated from some areas, the Israeli military high command has forecasted that the violence could last until 2006.
     In conclusion, an innocent bystander at the pizza bombing has sent out a warning: "When buying a slice of pizza could be the last thing you do, you can't be too careful."

Finland Israel vs. Palestine Ben Hall Book Talk

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