Doc's Talk: What Now? Israel Debates Next Moves in Gaza

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

What Now? Israel Debates Next Moves in Gaza

Nissan Ratzlav-Katz

A far-left Knesset member advocates an international military presence in Gaza, as Defense Minister Ehud Barak relents a bit in the embargo of supplies to the Hamas-controlled area Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says the Gaza Arabs can walk if they have no gas for their cars, while Arabs blame Israel and each other for their current situation. Meanwhile, PA terrorists continue to launch rockets at the Jews of the Negev.

Update: PA terrorists fired three rockets Tuesday morning at Jewish targets in the western Negev. Two exploded in the city of Sderot, while a third landed in the vicinity of a nearby kibbutz. There were no injuries reported in the attack.

Embargo Limits PA Rocket Attacks
The current Israeli embargo of certain supplies to the Hamas-controlled PA in Gaza seems to have caused a drop in enemy rocket and mortar attacks on Jewish targets Sunday and Monday; however, such attacks have not ceased altogether. PA attackers launched more than six rockets and 10 mortar shells from Gaza on Monday.

On Monday night, PA elements fired a rocket at Sderot. It landed just outside the city. Earlier in the evening, Gazans launched four rockets at the Shaar HaNegev communities and at least three mortar shells at Negev-area kibbutzim. The shells landed in an open area in the Nahal Oz region, including striking fields belonging a local kibbutz, while a third shell landed near a different kibbutz. No injuries were reported in any of the attacks.

Despite the rocket barrages, Gazan attacks were down from the week before, when terrorists fired dozens of rockets per day.

Israel Relents, Somewhat
Citing the decrease in the number of PA rocket attacks on Jewish towns ever since Israel cut fuel supplies and closed Gaza crossings last week, Defense Minister Barak ordered the IDF to relent slightly in its embargo of the PA.

According to statements Barak made Monday evening, a limited supply of fuel will be allowed into Gaza in order to allow Hamas to run the Gaza power plant, which supplies approximately 25 percent of the area's electricity. In addition, PA hospitals will continue to receive shipments of medicine, but gasoline will not be allowed in.

Speaking at the Herzliya Conference, Defense Minister Barak said Israel would continue to put "pressure and more pressure on Gaza." He promised that the army would stop the terrorist rocket fire just as the army managed to prevent terrorist shootings on Jewish cities and suicide bombings. "What matters to us," Barak said, "is that residents of the western Negev and Sderot can live in quiet. If to get this quiet we need noise on the other side - there will be noise."

Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Olmert said that Israel would continue to allow food, medicine and other basic needs into Gaza, but would not allow any other goods to enter the area. Residents of Gaza will not be allowed to continue life as normal while tens of thousands of Israelis are under attack, he explained. Saying that "all of the residents in Gaza" can walk, instead of using their vehicles, if they are unable to get gasoline, PA residents can blame the "murderous" Hamas regime for their problems.

Addressing a Kadima party caucus, Prime Minister Olmert added that he will not allow a humanitarian crisis to develop in Gaza. He also confirmed reports from Egypt that President Hosni Mubarak called him Monday morning to express concern over the situation in Gaza. The conversation was described as "friendly and serious," but Olmert did not mention Mubarak's demand that Israel renew fuel supplies to the area.

Opposition leader Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu (Likud) told the Herzliya Conference that Israel should adopt "a strategy creating mass deterrence that will eventually bring the downfall of Hamas." The failure of the government to take harsher steps, Netanyahu explained, may force the Jewish state to eventually act against missiles coming from three directions - Gaza, Iran, and Judea and Samaria, where Fatah is in power.

He recalled the decision by then-Prime Minister Mister Ehud Barak to conduct a rapid withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000. The tactic "encouraged the forming of an Iranian base of operations in the north and the pullout from Gaza created another pro-Iranian one," the Likud chairman declared.

Knesset Member Avshalom Vilan of the far-left Meretz party has joined a growing chorus of political and military leaders calling for a massive IDF invasion of the Gaza region in order to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure and stop attacks on Israel.

"There is no choice but to use massive force," MK Vilan said, adding that Hamas will exploit the lack of fuel in order to gain international support.

By Tuesday morning, however, MK Vilan claimed he was referring to action by a multinational military force deployed to "create a buffer zone" between Israel and Gaza. Foreign troops, Vilan explained, would put a stop to terror attacks on Israel and IDF counter-terrorist operations, enabling "a return to normal life."

Government leaders, including Defense Minister Barak, have said for months that an invasion is only a matter of time. Left-wing leaders generally have favored opening talks with Hamas rather than using military force.

Local Arab Reactions
In reaction to the partial Israeli embargo of Gaza, hundreds of Arab residents of Jerusalem protested near the Old City on Monday night.

"With spirit and blood we will free you, Gaza," the crowd chanted. Some participants called out, "Allah is great!"

Protesters carried candles as a sign of protest against Israel for the periodic blackouts in Gaza, where Hamas has chosen to close down the only power plant and claims there is no electricity. Many Arab-owned stores in Arab neighborhoods and in the Old City were closed for the day as a sign of solidarity with the Hamas-run PA in Gaza.

For their part, sources in Hamas have charged the rival Fatah faction, headed by PA
Like their allies in Gaza, Arab terrorists in Judea and Samaria continued attacking Israelis.
Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, with sharing the blame with Israel for what it claims is a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza region. It accused Fatah of not condemning Israel soon enough and loud enough for recent counter-terrorist operations in Gaza.

Like their allies in Gaza, Arab terrorists in Judea and Samaria continued attacking Israelis on Monday. Attackers threw firebombs and rocks at Israeli vehicles near Shechem, near Ramallah and near Hevron in several separate incidents. One car was damaged, but no injuries were reported.

An Arab man threw heavy rocks at IDF soldiers on Monday evening in the village of A-Shiukh near Hevron after forces entered the village in response to rock attacks on Israeli vehicles. Soldiers fired at the man's feet, injuring his leg.

Enemy gunmen opened fire on IDF soldiers on Monday night near the Samaria city of Jenin. The soldiers were not injured in the attack.

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

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