Doc's Talk: Encountering Peace: Abbas is a partner for peace. Is Netanyahu?

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Encountering Peace: Abbas is a partner for peace. Is Netanyahu?

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1256557966825&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
By GERSHON BASKIN

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has issued a presidential decree that elections will be held in January. This followed his decision to sign the Egyptian plan for intra-Palestinian reconciliation, knowing that Hamas would refuse to sign. Abbas is demonstrating decisive leadership. After 20 years, he convened the Fatah conference that even Yasser Arafat feared would fragment the movement and destroy the struggle for national liberation. The conference ended in relative unity behind Abbas. With the exception of the blunder - from the Palestinian point of view - of briefly withdrawing the Goldstone report from the UN Human Rights Council, Abbas's popularity is higher than that of any other Palestinian personality.

Abbas is not a man of the people. He lacks charisma. He does not do well on the streets, working the crowd. He doesn't like to go into villages and meet the common people. He doesn't seek the photo-ops that most politicians go out of their way to create. He doesn't like being interviewed. He is much more comfortable within the confines of his Mukata headquarters in Ramallah. A relative of his told me that his favorite pastime is watching National Geographic nature films.

Israelis, politicians, journalists and Middle East analysts love to state that Abbas is weak. They say he lacks control outside the confines of his headquarters. The evidence they provide is that he lost Gaza to Hamas. Their conclusion is that we still lack a partner for peace on the Palestinian side.

These same people argued that we never really had a partner. They complained that Arafat played a double game of peacemaking on the one hand and terrorism on the other - Arafat's own metaphor of the olive branch in one hand and the gun in the other. They said there would not be peace until the Palestinians are led by statesmen and not revolutionary leaders.

Abbas is a statesman, yet Israeli leaders like Ariel Sharon described him as "a chick with no feathers" - apparently a reference to the conclusion that the man will never fly or have the support of his people.

With this humiliating description in hand, Sharon refused to negotiate with Abbas, and instead went forward with the unilateral disengagement that helped empower Hamas's claim that it forced Israel out of Gaza, while fanning the flames of anti-Israel sentiment that led to the Hamas victory in the Palestinian elections.

MAHMOUD ABBAS is a leader, a strong leader, and he continues to prove this through his actions and words. He is dedicated to leading his people to statehood, liberation and peace. He opposed the militarization of the second intifada, and with great political courage stated during his first campaign for president in December 2004: "It is important to keep the uprising away from arms because the uprising is a legitimate right of the people to express their rejection of the occupation by popular and social means. Using weapons is harmful and has got to stop."

In February 8, 2005, less than a month after being elected following the death of Arafat, he spoke of "our adherence to the peace process points of reference, the resolutions of international legitimacy, the agreements signed between the PLO and the government of Israel and the road map. I stress our eagerness to honor and implement all our obligations. We will not spare any possible effort to protect this new chance for peace, which has been made possible by what we announced here today."

In November 27, 2007 in Annapolis he said, "I say to the citizens of Israel, in this extraordinary day, you, our neighbors on this small land, neither us nor you are begging for peace from each other. It is a common interest for us and for you. Peace and freedom is a right to us, inasmuch as peace and security is a right for you and for us."

More recently in the UN on September 22, he said, "I would like to affirm the following: Any Palestinian future government will abide by the past commitments of the PLO and the PNA in terms of agreements, especially the letters of mutual recognition dated September 9, 1993, between the two late big figures Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin. These two letters include mutual recognition between Israel and the PLO, denounce violence and adopt negotiations as a means to achieve a permanent solution based on the establishment of the independent state of Palestine next to the state of Israel."

ABBAS HAS implemented almost all the Palestinian obligations under the road map (Israel has not implemented any of its obligations). Abbas has consolidated the security forces and placed them under the full command of the political echelon that he and his prime minister, Salaam Fayad, control. He fired hundreds of officers who had militarized the intifada. He has worked hand-in-hand with US Gen. Keith Dayton in the training and deployment of a young generation of professional security personnel. He has reestablished law and order in the West Bank.

He has dismantled the infrastructure of Hamas and Islamic Jihad throughout the West Bank. He has closed Hamas and Jihad institutions, charitable associations, schools and terror cells. He has replaced Hamas and Jihad clergy in mosques all around the West Bank. His Palestinian Authority controls the content of the sermons in mosques all around the West Bank. He has removed the blatant incitement against Israel from the national television station. He has arrested hundreds of Hamas operatives, who are now sitting in Palestinian Authority prisons. He has refused to give in to public pressure pushing him toward reconciliation with Hamas under almost any terms.

He has demonstrated leadership time and time again. It is time to stop saying Abbas is weak. Abbas is perhaps the best Palestinian partner we could ever hope for. No, he is not a Zionist, and no, he will not adopt Israel's positions in negotiations. He will stand by his decision to bring the Goldstone report to the United Nations, against fierce Israeli pressure.

He is a Palestinian leader, not an agent of Israel. He will demand Palestinian rights in Jerusalem and he will demand that the refugee issue be negotiated and not conceded prior to negotiations.

Abbas is a partner for peace. Is Binyamin Netanyahu?

The writer is co-CEO of the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information (www.ipcri.org).

Guest Comment:Gershon Baskin is another Neve Gordon; he is a friend of Abbas-a terrorist in a suit, just like Gordon was the friend of the terrorist in keffiyeh-Arafat. He and his Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information is another J Street. He is another Jew defamer, another Israel's Jewish 5th Column, another nutty Jew (he is originally American) who makes a debris Israeli citizen.

Gershon Baskin is like Judge Goldstone, loves Israel but will feed her to her enemy without blinking an eye lid.

The way they are going to ban Peace Now, Israel should ban him and his Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information too. He should be excommunicated!

When an Israel still propagates for a "Palestinian" State to be carved from Israel's land, for 'Palestinian' rights in Jerusalem and discussing the Arab refugee issue that really is the UN and the Arab countries problem, not Israel's, we have not done our job right: we have not put him and like him in their place.

Shame we have like him in Israel; shame the JPost gives him platform to publish his, aid and abet the enemy, rhetoric.

---
Shalom,
Nurit

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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