Doc's Talk: The good old days before we had peace

Friday, October 29, 2010

The good old days before we had peace

Missingpeace

The British journalist Peter Hitchens recently published an article about his visit to Gaza and the West Bank.

He wrote: ‘The true state of the Gaza Strip and of the West Bank is so full of paradoxes and surprises that most of the news coverage of the Middle East finds it easier to concentrate on the obvious and to leave out the awkward bits’.

Hitchens’ article was one of those rare things: an analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that was honest.

I was reminded of the tenor of Hitchens’ words this week when I had three encounters, each of which underlined the paradoxes of daily reality in Israel. A long talk with Khaled Abu Toameh, the Arab affairs reporter at the Jerusalem Post, was the third and most important one of those encounters. During our conversation, Toameh observed bluntly that the foreign media in Israel simply ignore news if it cannot be reported from an anti- Israel angle.
As a result, readers obtain a totally distorted picture of the Mideast conflict.
My first opportunity to reflect on Hitchen's article came in a meeting I had with a Palestinian entrepreneur in the Bethlehem area.
The man asked me for help with emigration to Holland.
I naively thought his request had something to do with the collapsed peace talks.
But that was not the issue. He told me he had had enough of the mafia-like character of doing business in Palestinian society. The elites in the PA, he said, strangle anyone who dares to start a competing new business.
A while ago, he told me a similar story about how the PA deals with sick Palestinians who require hospital treatment in Israel. Ordinary people do not get compensation for the costs of these treatments – but the families of the Fatah elite do.

The experiences of this entrepreneur are consistent with issues raised in the documentary film Precious Life which I saw in Jerusalem last week. It deals with the tribulations of a Gaza family: a desperately ill baby and his parents.
The parents had previously lost two children to the same disease, before turning for help in Israel. But the Palestinian Authority refused to pay for the treatment.
Their story made headlines when it was exposed on Israeli Channel 10’s evening news.
Ten minutes after the broadcast, an anonymous donor, an Israeli Jew who had lost a child in one of Israel’s recent wars, contacted them and undertook to pay for the entire medical treatment.

An especially compelling aspect of the movie is the Gazan mother’s struggle with her ambivalent views about Israelis. The ‘child killers’ – as depicted on Hamas-controlled television – are transformed in her experience into caring humans, struggling to save the life of her baby.
The dramatic peak, however, came when the mother declared she wanted her baby son – once cured – to become a shahid, a martyr, in the Jihad struggle for Jerusalem.

My third encounter with Israel’s paradoxes and surprises came last Wednesday.
In Jerusalem’s Old City, Palestinian reporter Khaled Abu Toameh delivered a devastating blow to the customary narrative of the Israeli Palestinian conflict.

Abu Toameh’s lecture commenced with his account of working for the PLO over a period of more than twenty years. Then one day he decided to become a real journalist. That day, he left the PLO and embarked on a path that allowed him to emerge as a prominent and well-respected journalist at the Jerusalem Post and several other foreign media outlets.

The current mess in Israel is a result of the Oslo accords, he said. The concept was fine; but the implementation caused a disaster.
The West’s support of Yasser Arafat’s PA via money and weapons was the root cause of this disaster. Western leaders should have anticipated that Arafat would abuse this aid. The second intifada was a direct result of the Arafat clique’s misuse of foreign aid. Moreover, said Abu Toameh, it was a deliberate attempt to divert attention from rampant corruption in the PA.

The PA has no mandate to conduct negotiations with Israel, Toameh asserted. The PLO will never implement any future peace accord.
The sole reason Abu Mazen continues to rule from Ramallah is the Israeli presence in the West Bank.

An Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank will result in a Palestinian bloodbath, similar to the one that happened in Gaza during the 2007 Hamas takeover. When it comes to Fatah and Hamas, one can only speak of bad guys and bad guys, he said.

Abu Toameh spoke at length about the influence of foreign media reporting on public opinion about Israel in the West.
The media, he said, have done a great injustice to Israel. He accused foreign reporters of hypocrisy and of applying a double standard.
An example of this hypocrisy: most foreign reporters live in Tel Aviv where they enjoy the freedoms offered by Israeli society. These same reporters then condemn Israel for alleged human rights violations and the lack of freedom of the press. And they are silent when it comes to the widespread human rights violations and absence of freedom of press in Palestinian society.

About Gaza, he said, the real problem is the role played by Egypt.
Egypt did nothing to prevent the Hamas takeover of Gaza in 2007. It was Israel that actually helped Fatah officials escape the Hamas rampage and executions.

Corruption by Egyptian officials continues to allow Hamas to smuggle weapons into Gaza.

He pointed to the massive presence of humanitarian aid organizations in Gaza; on average, this is larger than in ten African developing countries taken together.
The situation in Gaza has always been bad, he said. The Palestinians wasted an enormous opportunity for a better life following the Israeli withdrawal in 2005.

Abu Toameh described himself as an Arab Israeli Palestinian Muslim. He said he is not pro Israel but rather pro the facts.
As a result of his honest and factual reporting about the PA and the Arab world, he has reason to fear for his life whenever he travels to the West Bank or to Arab countries.

Some of the foreign visitors present at this meeting were visibly taken aback by Abu Toameh’s account.
The paradoxes and surprising insights offered by his lecture clearly were new to them.
As an Israeli, the only real surprise for me was hearing them from a Palestinian journalist.
Driving home, I recalled the words of a Palestinian Arab quoted by Hitchens who mourned for ‘the good old days before we had peace’.

The absence of truth goes some way to explaining why there are so few journalists like Abu Toameh and Hitchens.
Peace begins with the truth. Ultimately, the truth will contribute to a better understanding of the conflict in the West.
And that will surely increase the chances for peace.

Yochanan Visser
Researcher, Missing Peace (Jerusalem Office)
missingpeace.eu

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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