There were calls for a “cease-fire” and a demand for an immediate stop to the violence in the Middle East this past week. It was an admirable attempt to get the bloodshed to stop and the various parties to return to negotiations. Israel announced a cease-fire but, from the PA side, there’s still shooting going on within Gilo (i.e., a suburb of Jerusalem) and other parts of Gaza and the West Bank, targeting Israeli Defense Forces and Israeli civilians. There are quite a few folks out there who have been speculating about this “impasse” in Israeli-Palestinian relations.
One group, for example, recently suggested that the “settlements” are causing the majority of the problems. An ICRC (International Red Cross Commission) delegation head recently described the Jewish settlements (in the West Bank and Gaza) as a war crime.
But what most people don’t understand is that these so-called “settlements,” in many cases, have existed as Jewish “settlements” of the Holy Land since even before the War of Independence in 1948. The entire country was “settled” by immigrants. Hebron is a prime example, where the Jews where expelled in 1929 as a result of a massacre there.
It’s very important for people to understand this history so that the “settlers” can be perceived in a balanced and historical perspective, rather than as troublemakers and/or extremists.
Meanwhile the calls to “hate the Jews” are escalating every day, along with the escalating violence. Rare is there a voice in the media that calls people’s attention to this very important “dynamic” that is going on within the Palestinian Authority (in their press, in the schools, in the religious institutions). Cal Thomas is such a “rare voice”! In a recent article, Mr. Thomas wrote: “While the press focuses on the escalation of killing and retaliation in and around Israel, it mostly ignores the fires of hate against Jews that are being stoked to insure that violence continues.”
Another writer’s opinion is that the “Big Mideast Problem is Arafat.” In Thomas L. Friedman’s article he said:
The core problem now is that Yasser Arafat cannot say ‘yes.’ President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Ehud Barak put on the table before Mr. Arafat a historic compromise proposal that would have given Palestinians control of 94 to 96 percent of the West Bank and Gaza ? with all of the settlements removed, virtually all of Arab East Jerusalem, a return to Israel of a symbolic number of Palestinian refugees and either the right of return to the West Bank and Gaza or compensation for all others.
Not only would Mr. Arafat not take it ? no, he launched this idiotic uprising. He did so because he is essentially a political coward and maneuverer, who apparently has not given up his long-term aim of eliminating Israel and who was afraid in the short run that if he took 99 percent he would be killed for the 1 percent that he left on the table. He has never been willing to tell his people that he got them most of what they wanted and now is the time to end the suffering of as many Palestinians as possible and move on.
And, if Chairman Arafat has not given up the very old dream of the total liquidation of Israel, there are certainly others in the Arab world who still do harbor such dreams! Mr. Friedman’s incredibly insightful statement towards the end of his article was that “The real problem is that the Palestinians are leaderless today, and that is what the United States, the United Nations and the Arab world have to face up to.” I think that Egypt and Jordan have faced up to this situation in coming up with the joint Egyptian-Jordanian cease-fire formula. But there is another nation also willing to “face up to” this issue, and to take advantage of it (i.e. as far as the leadership vacuum is concerned), and that is Iran, by virtue of their attempts to maneuver the Palestinians into a full-scale attempt to destroy the State of Israel.
There’s an article, written by Murray Kahl, regarding a secret meeting of terrorists on the island of Corfu. This meeting was chaired by an Iranian Intelligence official. Mr. Kahl’s expose reports that:
The intelligence official based the entire joint plan of action (i.e., from this secret meeting) on the need for isolating and toppling Yasir Arafat and removing him from the leadership of the Palestinian arena to allow for alternative leadership to take over. This alternative leadership would be led by current Islamic alternatives that would take advantage of the situation and popularity created by the Intifada and the rising support for it in light of the policy of the current Israeli Government. Because of this, the intelligence official called for increasing military and popular pressure, using new weapons, and recruiting Palestinian and non-Palestinian elements, which are not under the control of Yasir Arafat.
This is quite ominous, but not unexpected! Mr. Kahl’s entire article is well worth your time to read it. But if you want just the “bottom line” as to what’s being planned, here is a very brief highlight:
The Iranian official said that Iran and HizbAllah will help smuggle large amounts of rockets from Lebanon to the Palestinian Authority. The Iranian official said that Tehran preferred to smuggle Sagre rockets and TAW and Katyusha rockets, including the latest model with a range of 70 km. The Iranian official advised that the Intifada would need long-range missiles in the next stage, since what is expected at a future stage is to go beyond striking the settlements and to instill terror among the Jews by bringing the war to internal cities and areas such as Netanya, Haifa, and Yafo. He added that the combination of Islamic forces involved in the destruction of Israel would highlight the ineffectiveness of Yasser Arafat and help remove him from power.
