Yesterday 14 of the 15 members of
the Security Council moved to pass a resolution condemning Israel for
"settlement" construction. The US vetoed it. Whatever
Obama's reason -- and it likely has to do with a fear that such a
resolution would stiffen the backs of the Israeli government and make
"negotiations for peace" even more difficult, he did it.
Individual members of the Council
then moved to issue condemnations. France, Britain, Germany and
Portugal issued a joint statement saying that building in E1 would jeopardize
"the possibility of a continuous, sovereign, independent and viable Palestinian
state, and of Jerusalem as a future capital of both Israel and
Jerusalem.
"...the viability of a two-state
solution is threatened by systematic expansion of settlements...all settlement
activity including in east Jerusalem, must cease immediately."
~~~~~~~~~~
They don't get it, and they are
not going to get it, because they don't want to.
In the same statement, they
praised Mahmoud Abbas for his public criticism of "the recent inflammatory
statement by Hamas leaders that deny Israel's right to exist."
I mention this merely to
demonstrate how duplicitous this whole scenario is. Yes, Abbas did
criticize Hamas -- for Western consumption. This is the same Abbas who heads a
PLO whose charter calls for Israel's destruction. The same Abbas who is working
on uniting with Hamas even though it denies Israel's right to exist. The
same Abbas who will not recognize Israel as the Jewish state.
But the Brits and the Germans, the
French and the Portuguese conveniently overlook all of this, because only Israel
merits condemnation. Such is the way it is.
~~~~~~~~~~
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Ron
Prosor, in his statement following this condemnation, observed that he had
difficulty understanding why the international community drew the conclusion
that "the Palestinian state can't exist if there is contiguity between Jerusalem
and Ma'aleh Adumim" [that would allegedly prevent contiguity of a Palestinian
state in Judea and Samaria] while it accepts the idea of contiguity [for a
Palestinian state] between Gaza and the West Bank, which would cut Israel in
two.
Difficulty understanding? This is
purely rhetorical. He knows the answer quite well: There is one standard for the
Palestinian Arabs and another for Israel.
Prosor also pointed out that the
SC focus on Israeli building in the "Jewish people's ancient capital of
Jerusalem" took place when Assad was firing Scuds on his own
people.
~~~~~~~~~~
See an article on this issue --
"Jews in the Judean Desert?" -- by Clifford May, president of the Foundation for
Defense of Democracies, here:
~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, there is news that
plans have been advanced to build a Jewish city in the area Judea
southeast of Jerusalem known as Gush Etzion. The city is to be called
Gevaot, and the Defense Ministry is moving ahead on plans to build 523 homes on
a plot of land designated for this city. (Although 523 homes does
not exactly make a city.)
The plans have been in the works
for a long time, but final signatures are still needed before construction can
begin. These 523 homes have nothing to do with the recent announcement of
3,000 homes to be constructed in Judea and Samaria.
Gush Etzion is decidedly and
firmly Jewish in all respects. It was the site of Jewish communities
well before the establishment of Israel -- with Jews who lived in the area
repeatedly driven away and killed.
You can learn more here: http://www.gush-etzion.org.il/
The list of communities that
comprise the Gush is here: http://www.gush-etzion.org.il/communities.asp
~~~~~~~~~~
At the same time, the Jerusalem
Local Planning and Construction Committee has now given final approval for the
first stage of building in Givat Hamatos. The first new neighborhood to be
planned in Jerusalem since Har Homa was begun in 1997; it will be located
between Talpiot and Beit Safafa, and will be comprised at this stage of 2,610
apartments.
Let's keep it going!
~~~~~~~~~~
Lest there be an erroneous
impression, based on his veto in the Security Council, that Obama
has moderated, I share this report from the Investigative Project on
Terrorism headed by Steve Emerson -- an exceedingly reliable source.
This article, "State
Department's Continued Outreach to Radicals," written by Abha Shankar,
addresses:
"The Obama administration's
efforts to conquer hearts and minds in the Muslim world...
"This international
outreach to authoritarian Islamist regimes bestows undue legitimacy on Islamists
and renders democratic and secular opposition and dissident groups
voiceless. The same flawed outreach is being pursued
domestically." (Emphasis added)
Serious reading for anyone who
truly wants to know what's going on.
~~~~~~~~~~
And lest you think all if just
fine with regard to our claiming our rights here, I share an article by David
Wilder, a spokesman for Hevron on the issue of Jewish rights to Beit Ezra that
are being denied:
This provides excellent
background.
~~~~~~~~~~
The issue of "proportionality" in
warfare is regularly misunderstood, and that misunderstanding is used against
us. It does not mean "tit-for-tat," so that if only three Israelis were
killed in rocket attacks we can only kill three Gazan Arabs in our attempt to
stop those attacks. Not at all. It means we can do whatever is necessary -- but
not more than is necessary, which would be disproportionate -- to stop the Arabs
from launching more rockets.
Allen Z. Hertz, who is a Canadian
who has served in an advisory capacity to the prime minister, has written a
superb article -- "Proportionality and self-defense," explaining this
issue:
"International law certainly does
not require the Israeli government to sit back and accept the firing of rockets
at Israeli civilians and soldiers, just because measures to prevent that firing
would likely result in some collateral civilian injury and death in
Gaza."
I recommend that you read it, save
it, and use it when unfair accusations against Israel are made.
~~~~~~~~~~
Israel Air Force Commander Maj.
Gen. Amir Eshel issued a reassuring statement yesterday, in which he
said:
"We are called upon to prepare for
any possible scenario or threat, even in dealing with non-conventional
weapons...we provide the relevant capabilities so that if it is decided to use
them, we are prepared."
As to Syria, "We need to prepare a
response, and the IAF has a central role in this. Chemical weapons is one area
in which we are planning a response."
~~~~~~~~~~
The picture, with regard to what
will happen if and when Assad falls, is not a pretty one. See the
assessment by Lt. Col. (ret.) Yonatan Halevi for the Jerusalem Center for Public
Affairs:
The moment of truth is approaching in Syria.
Bashar Assad's regime is fighting a rearguard battle and has already lost
control over large parts of the country. Syria's vice president, Farouq
al-Shara, admitted in an interview in the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar on
December 17 that he did not believe that the Syrian army could win the
present confrontation.
It is unlikely that Assad's regime believes
the use of chemical weapons can restore the previous situation in Syria.
It appears probable that the regime will instead seek to transfer most
of the surviving loyal forces and strategic (including chemical) weaponry to the
Alawite enclave in the west of the country to serve as a deterrent to acts of
revenge and a political card for ensuring the Alawite community's status in a
future Syrian order.
While the U.S. and other Western countries
have recognized the Syrian National Coalition as the sole and exclusive
representative of the Syrian people, the rebel forces regard the new leadership
as having been imposed on them, and are prepared at most to accept it as a
temporary actor that can mobilize the international support needed to complete
the endeavor of toppling the regime.
In actuality, the dominant forces in Syria
are the military frameworks that have waged the campaign against the regime
since March 2011. The overwhelming majority, if not all, espouse an Islamist,
jihadist, Salafist outlook.
The full backing of the fighting forces for
Jahbat al-Nusra, a branch of al-Qaeda, against the U.S. and the West likely
indicates the future direction of the Syrian revolution, which appears
ready to adopt Islamism as the main basis of the government that will replace
the Assad regime.
After overthrowing the Assad
regime, a potential military-terrorist threat to Israel will likely emerge in
the transition period, which will be marked by governmental instability and a
lack of central control over at least some of the fighting forces.
~~~~~~~~~~
©
Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner,
functioning as an independent journalist. Permission is granted for it to be
reproduced only
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