Doc's Talk: Enough of the empty threats. Act now against Hamas in Gaza

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Enough of the empty threats. Act now against Hamas in Gaza

Isi Leibler
May 22, 2008

Alas. Our fears have been realized. A missile landed in a crowded shopping mall in Ashkelon, a city with 120,000 inhabitants. Although fatalities were miraculously averted, there were over 90 casualties, including a number of seriously wounded.

I learned of the attack at the "Facing Tomorrow" Conference in Jerusalem, held under the auspices of President Shimon Peres. Just moments before President Bush was scheduled to make his appearance, the master of ceremonies informed the packed hall of the tragic event and concluded his announcement with the inappropriate and chilling observation that "we are used to it." Unfortunately, he was probably right. We all assumed that once a missile hit a key location or inflicted major casualties, a long-overdue, tough IDF response would be instantaneous. Yet it seems our leaders consider that unless it is accompanied by numerous fatalities, the bombing of a crowded shopping mall does not qualify as a sufficiently grave offense to warrant a harsher military response.

It is surely unconscionable for them to continue abandoning their citizens. Yet these leaders have the gall to urge residents to stoically accommodate themselves to further onslaughts in order to promote a make-believe peace process.

Like a broken record, Prime Minister Olmert once again made the same empty threats and repeated the mantra "This must stop… it is intolerable and unacceptable." Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Ashkelon residents: "You guys need to bite your lips, but not for long," implying that some miraculous solution beyond military action would soon be unveiled.

The following day Israelis were informed that a military response would take place after the departure of Bush, but that it would be limited to targeting missile launch sites and Hamas activists. It was also once more hinted that the anticipated Gaza invasion was "coming closer" but was being delayed to enable the government to rally "broad international support" for such an operation.

Clearly, PRIME Minister Olmert is desperate to avoid being accused of responsibility for derailing the "peace" negotiations with the PA, which would be the consequence of a military confrontation with Hamas. There were also hints that the government was obliged to take account of the sensitivities of the Egyptians, especially in view of their efforts to broker a short-term truce with Hamas.

Yet the IDF is bitterly opposed to such an arrangement, adamant that it would enable Hamas to regroup and acquire more lethal weapons for future confrontations. (In terms of Egyptian sensitivities, it is also noteworthy that the Egyptian minister of culture has just announced that he would be happy to "personally burn Israeli books if they found their way into Egyptian libraries.")

Since the first missile launches - which our leaders initially dismissed as "Kassams, Shmassams" - thousands more have been raining down in northern border areas, where residents have been transformed into refugees in their own country.

The founding fathers of Israel, who vowed to ensure that Jewish blood would never again be shed with impunity, would turn in their graves if they were aware of the behavior of their successors. Could one conceive of Ben-Gurion, Begin or Rabin, out of concern for international public opinion, standing by and failing to protect their citizens while missiles were targeted toward shopping malls and schools? Would they have allowed our deterrence to erode to the point where terrorists dismiss our bombastic, empty threats of retaliation as jokes?

No country in the world whose citizens were under missile attack from murderous neighbors would respond in such an impotent manner, or be concerned with accusations of having responded with disproportionate force.

There is also an element of surrealism when our leaders babble endlessly about peace, implying that all that is required is to haggle over real estate and divide the land between two peoples. Such attitudes deny the reality that, to this day, the overriding Palestinian objective remains to deny Jewish sovereignty. This applies no less to our duplicitous partner for peace, Mahmoud Abbas, who speaks with a forked tongue, than to Hamas, which at least is open about its intentions. Besides, it is abundantly clear that Hamas would today control the West Bank were the IDF not protecting the despised PA regime.

It is thus bizarre when, despite undeniable evidence to the contrary, we endorse the chorus of international leaders promoting the mirage of the feasibility of creating a Palestinian state, today, one that would live peacefully side by side with Israel.

President Peres, who is riding on the crest of a wave of popularity, talks as though the Oslo Accords were still on the table and supports dividing the land with a "partner" who, to this day, does not bother concealing his determination to deny us our right to remain a Jewish state.

In the course of an otherwise sparkling address at the opening of "Facing Tomorrow," our president went to great lengths, stressing the need to set aside the past in order to concentrate on the future. But the truth is that to succeed in the future we are obligated to learn from former mistakes.

If we fail to do so and repeat failures like Oslo or unilateral disengagement, we merely pave the way for more Israelis to die in vain. We must also stop hallucinating and recognize that our "peace partner" is an impotent, unpopular leader without a constituency who, moreover, like Hamas, denies us the right to Jewish sovereignty. Otherwise we will pay a bitter price for living in Wonderland.

With the barbarians at our gates, the time to act is now. Matters can only get worse. Our military intelligence chief predicts that Kiryat Gat, Ashdod and even Beersheba will soon fall into the range of the Hamas rocket launches. Must we wait to act until the Knesset is targeted? Or, God forbid, until there is a mega-bloodbath involving hundreds?

The vast majority of Israelis are willing to make great sacrifices to achieve a genuine peace, if they could achieve security. They would also dearly like to live in peace side by side with the Palestinians, or at least be separated from them. But creating false illusions simply undermines any possibility of achieving genuine peace.

Leaders who abandon their citizens, who lack the courage and determination to take the steps required to deter terrorists should no longer be permitted to remain in office. They can certainly not be trusted to negotiate peace on our behalf. They must be replaced by those willing to follow the courageous lead of our founding fathers and impress upon our enemies that they will pay a bitter price if they seek to murder or harm Israeli citizens.

The road to peace lies in strength and determination and the application of deterrence. History consistently shows that appeasement only encourages further aggression.

We have one of the most powerful armies in the region. It is now abundantly clear that we cannot coexist with this evil Hamas regime and, unless a dramatic change occurs, there is no alternative. We must put an end to them.

ileibler@netvision.net.il

This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1211288137960&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Original article available at: http://www.leibler.com/article/333

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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.

Doc's Talk