After putative PA president Abbas
went to the UN late last year to seek recognition as a state, PM Netanyahu
made several announcements, including the fact that planning for building would
be advanced in the area between Ma'aleh Adumim and Jerusalem known as
E1.
This caused a furor among the
Arabs and their supporters because, went the claim, building in E1 would
prevent a contiguous Palestinian state from being established.
Here you see a map of the E1 area
and Ma'aleh Adumim. Note the arrows saying "To Ramallah" to the north, and
"To Bethlehem" to the south. What the Arabs want is continuity of Ramallah
and Bethlehem via a tract of land that is directly adjacent to eastern
Jerusalem. That is because they still covet eastern Jerusalem (at a bare
minimum, and all of Jerusalem, more honestly) as the capital of their state some
day. That requires that state to be up against eastern
Jerusalem.
Once there is contiguity between
Ma'aleh Adumim -- which is itself only seven kilometers (just over four miles)
to the east of Jerusalem -- and Jerusalem, via E1, a swath of Arab land that
runs along all of Jerusalem's eastern border is no longer possible. This
does not mean, it should be noted, that a theoretical Palestinian State could
not abut Jerusalem at some eastern points. There just wouldn't be
contiguity along the whole eastern border of the city.
Credit: Israel
Hayom
But in any event, Jerusalem will
never again be divided and is not going to serve in any part as the capital of a
Palestinian Arab state. Jerusalem was only divided once in its 3,000 year
history: During the illegal occupation by Jordan of eastern Jerusalem from 1948
to 1967. Since then full Israeli sovereignty has been applied to eastern
Jerusalem and Israel's basic law stipulates that the undivided city is the
capital of Israel.
And the government has
consistently envisioned Ma'aleh Adumim -- with a population now of some 40,000
-- as being contiguous with Jerusalem, were there to be a Palestinian Arab
state; there has been no intention to either abandon it or to allow it to
be surrounded by an Arab state on all sides.
Credit:
israelmatzav
~~~~~~~~~~
Now look at this map of Judea and
Samaria and see where Ma'aleh Adumim is. There is considerable area from
this city eastward to the Jordan River. You'll see that Jericho,
controlled by the PA, is to the (north) east of Ma'aleh Adumim. Thus
it is obvious: Were there to be a Palestinian Arab state, it could still have
contiguity of area from north to south even if E1 were developed. That
continuity would simply flow east of Ma'aleh Adumim. Building in E1
would not "jeopardize" the non-existent "two-state solution."
And, I should add, lest there be
any doubt about this, this city and E1 are fully and solidly within Area C,
allocated by Oslo to full Israeli control.
Credit:
JPost
~~~~~~~~~~
All of this background is
essential, not because I am envisioning a Palestinian Arab state but, because of
what is being claimed now by the Arabs.
Two days ago, some 250 Palestinian
Arabs and "activist" supporters -- organized by the non-governmental Popular
Struggle Coordination Committee -- set up an "outpost" with more some 25
tents on Area E1 to protest Israeli plans for the area. They declared that
they were building a new village, which they were calling Bab el-Shams (Gate of
the Sun). "Bab el-Shams is our gateway to Jerusalem," the committee told
the media.
Hanan Ashwari, of the
PLO, said that the Palestinian Arabs "had a right to live anywhere in their
state."
Credit: Flash
90
~~~~~~~~~~
Netanyahu immediately ordered
roads to the area closed and then had the area declared a closed military
zone. Several PA ministers were prevented from entering.
Before full action could be taken,
however, an attorney for the group, Tawfiq Jabareen, claiming that the land was
private Palestinian Arab land, filed a petition with the High Court for a
temporary injunction against the State of Israel.
Everything is "private Palestinian
land," if you believe PA and PLO representatives.
Jabareen maintained
that the property had been "misclassified" as Israeli land. He said
he was representing four Bedouin families, that the land was theirs, and that
the outpost was being established as part of a project to attract tourists
to learn about their culture. Allegedly, they were planning to teach
people how to grind wheat on stones and make pita bread.
They are inventive, I'll say that
much.
~~~~~~~~~~
The temporary injunction was granted -- as long as there was not an
emergency warranting an evacuation.
The Civil Administration for Judea
and Samaria (which operates under the umbrella of the Ministry of Defense), says
the land belongs to the State and that those who pitched the tents did so
without permits. It issued eviction notices.
And the injunction was appealed by
the State. A representative of the state attorney's office said that “An
urgent evacuation is needed because of urgent security concerns in
order to prevent a serious breach of public order.” According to Attorney
General Yehuda Weinstein, relying upon "up-to-date intelligence," the outpost
was set up to provoke riots "of national and international
consequence."
In the small hours this morning,
Israeli police entered the site and evacuated some 150 persons who were there.
With the exception of Mustafa Barghouti, Palestine National Initiative
Director, and one other person, they were not arrested but, rather,
escorted out, put on buses and brought to Kalandiya.
Apparently the tents will
not be removed until there is documentation of the ownership of every plot
of land on which they stand.
~~~~~~~~~~
With certainty, things are tough
and getting tougher in Syria. As of now, it is estimated that 60,000 have
died there, and the count goes on. While the world watches.
As Palestinian Arabs there have on
some occasions taken the side of the government and on other occasions taken the
side of rebels, their position is hardly secure.
Thus, last month Abbas appealed to
the UN to make it possible for these Palestinian Arabs to come to PA controlled
areas of Judea and Samaria and to Gaza. And the UN successfully brokered a
deal in which Israel would permit them to come. Israel's condition was
that they relinquish their "right" to return to Israel.
Abbas has now given an interview
to the media in which he described this deal and his subsequent decision to
reject it:
"So we rejected that and
said it’s better they die in Syria than give up their right of return."
An indication of how
deeply Abbas cares for "his people," of course. Did they all
sign off on this refusal? But let's look at what's underneath it: In today's
radicalized climate, were he to agree to relinquish the "right of return," he
would lose whatever leverage he has politically and possibly his
life. (See below on reconciliation with Hamas.)
He is willing to let
others risk death in order to save himself. No surprise at
all.
~~~~~~~~~~
Lt. Col (ret.) Yonaton
Halevi, in a briefing for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, takes a
closer look at Abbas's more radical tone (emphasis added):
On January 4th of this year, he
gave a speech honoring the founding of Fatah in which he advanced a
radical political doctrine.
"Abbas pledged to continue the
path of struggle of previous Palestinian leaders, mentioning the Mufti
of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin al-Husseini, who forged a strategic alliance with Nazi
Germany, and heads of Palestinian terror organizations who were directly
responsible for the murder of thousands of Israeli civilians. All are
equal and suitable partners in the Palestinian struggle, and their ideological
platform, even if it is terrorist and/or radical-Islamist, is a source of
inspiration for the Palestinian people.
"...Anyone who expected that Abbas would follow a
more moderate course after the UN General Assembly resolution of November
29, 2012, upgrading the status of the PLO's Observer Mission to that of an
observer state, was undoubtedly disappointed with Abbas'
remarks. He was not preparing the Palestinian people for making
peace, but rather reverting to rhetoric perpetuating and even escalating the
conflict."
~~~~~~~~~~
Ambassador Dore Gold, president of the
JCPA, has written about Abbas as well:
"...What is important is not the vapid debate over
whether Abbas can still be regarded as a partner for peacemaking, but rather to
internalize that the political environment in 2013 no longer resembles what the
Middle East looked like when Israel began talking to the Palestinians in
1993.
"The next Israeli government must accept the fact that given what is going on in the Middle East, it is completely unrealistic to propose a negotiation to reach a full-blown final status agreement with the Palestinians.
"Given the regional dangers on the horizon, any political arrangement in the future must have a much stronger security component than what was proposed in the past. More than ever, Israel needs to preserve the ability to defend itself, by itself, no matter how the declared intentions of its neighbors change."
~~~~~~~~~~
It is much to be regretted that many in the international community
are oblivious to how " completely unrealistic it is to propose a
negotiation to reach a full-blown final status agreement with the
Palestinians."
That certainly applies to the Europeans, who have no business
whatsoever telling us what to do. But attempt to tell us, they
do:
The word now is that France and Britain, with support from Germany, are
honing a new "peace proposal," which they hope to unveil in March.
"...the goal of the EU plan is to bring about the establishment of an
independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with its capital
in East Jerusalem. The report said the EU intends to set a clear timetable for
negotiations between the two sides in 2013."
They are totally daft, but, harboring more than a bit of malice
towards us, they can be a very painful thorn in our collective side.
~~~~~~~~~~
What occurs to me, as I read this, is that Netanyahu is likely to
factor in these international nuances as he shapes his coalition.
Several alternatives lie before him. He might move right, incorporating
Habayit Hayehudi, with intention of standing strong. Or he might bring in
left-center parties to show the world how amenable to compromise he is.
Oh, how he needs backbone now! I'm not going to predict what is
going to happen, but will say that I'm glad he acted with alacrity with
regard to E1.
~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Jordan's King Abdullah has announced that he may host talks
between Israel and the Palestinians in as little as a month. For that's
when there will be "a window of opportunity." What window? Obama's inauguration
for a second term. He's communicating with the Europeans but expects input from
Obama as well, as he works to develop "fresh ideas."
One happy piece of news after another.
What I don't know is if this is simply Abdullah talking -- as this
might strengthen him internationally, or if there has been some very quiet
agreement on meeting. The likelihood that Abbas would buy into this,
considering his current negotiations with Hamas, seems remote indeed. But
for the first time recently I've seen talk -- however vague -- about a
Palestinian-Jordanian federation in mainstream media.
What is clear to me is that Israel will not push Abdullah or make him look
weak. He is balancing a very unstable situation, as Islamists eye his
throne. I might see Netanyahu reasoning that a (token) meeting in
Amman might have consequences far less serious than if Obama or the EU were
breathing down our neck.
~~~~~~~~~~
Last week, Abbas met with Hamas politburo
head Khalid Mashaal in Egypt, as Egypt's president Morsi worked to broker
reconciliation arrangements between the two groups. While unity is hardly
a done deal, Fatah and Hamas are now on better terms than they have been in
a long time. This follows Hamas's engagement with Israel and Abbas's unilateral
bid in the UN.
~~~~~~~~~~
And the good news.
Last week Israel had storms, first rain and then snow. Days of storms and
drenching rain.
Now it has been announced that Israel has moved from a situation of water
crisis to a period of water stability. The Kinneret, which is now at its
highest level in 20 years, had 100 million tons of water poured into it in the
course of the storm -- and there is still melt-off from the Hermon to
come. The winter is not yet over and already 130% of the nation's average
in rain has already fallen.
~~~~~~~~~~
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Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner,
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