Av 26, 5777, 8/18/2017
 Why Did Israel Agree?We don't know the full extent of the deal, but we are told it includes an airport, sea port, and buses and trucks to go overland between Gaza and the West Bank. We don't know what rights Israel has retained to terminate the agreement, if any.Reject the LinkDiscussions are taking place now regarding a link between Gaza and the West Bank. No where in the political or journalistic discourse is there any discussion of whether Israel should provide such a link.A Winning PlatformLabour intends to resign from the government soon because it wants more concessions and more withdrawal. In the next election, they will argue for more of the same and in so doing, they will suffer a further reduction in seats. I don't believe that Sharon will be able to start a new party that will defeat the Likud. Sharon has discredited himself.Particularism Before UniversalismAre the citizens of a country entitled to preserve their ethnic or religious makeup or their culture? And who is to decide? The Western model says "no".It Pays to Be JewishJust look at the affinity of the Christian Right in the US for the Jewish settlers and their fight to keep the land.A Silk Purse Out of a Sow's EarI have long argued that the establishment of settlements served the purpose of making time on Israel's side. That is, the more the Palestinians avoided making a settlement, the larger the settlements would become. This was the only pressure Israel could really apply.Israel is Being RapedIt is clear that the US is in the process of raping Israel. Israel can either scream "rape!", or lie back and enjoy it.A Solution Devoutly to be WishedI find fault with the Right in Israel because they offer no attainable solution that would enable Israel to keep all of Judea, Samaria and Gaza, but argue for the status quo nonetheless.Dissecting Uri AvneryFor those of us who have followed the career of Uri Avnery, we know him as an extreme leftist, a turncoat, if you will. He preferred to embrace the Palestinian cause rather than the Jewish one.What Will "Disengagement" Accomplish?Assuming Sharon is able to transfer the last Israeli from Gaza, what will be the situation the morning after?Beyond the PaleIn the Oslo Accords, there was no limitation put on the settlement of the territories by Jews. It was not yet beyond the pale. The Mitchell Report opened the door for this to be so when it called, for the first time, for a freeze of Jewish settlement. Who says that terror doesn't pay?Flying in the Face of the FactsThe Roadmap, Oslo and UN Resolution 242 were all attempts to find a solution that the Arabs would accept. Sharon's disengagement plan is an attempt to find a solution the US will accept. They all involve a retreat by Israel from any idea of Israel retaining control of or sovereignty over Judea, Samaria and Gaza. They were and are premised on the idea that the Arab world will live in peace with IsrIsraelis Have Been Had, AgainWhen the Cabinet endorsed the Roadmap, it was subject to fourteen red lines. They have never been heard from since, even from the Cabinet members who demanded such red lines. Once again, Israelis were had.Transfer: Is It Legal?I have long been discussing transfer of Arabs on the Internet, as I wanted the concept to be on the table for discussion at least. In addition, I argued that if transfer of Jews out of the territories is legal, it is legal to do the same to the Arabs.It Would Cross a Rabbi's EyesThere is much more to the recent High Court decision on the fence than meets the eye.Postmortem of a PlanPrime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan is dead in the sand, but not yet buried.Needed: A New RoadmapAmending the Disengagement Plan is not the answer. Amending the Roadmap is.In Support of DisengagementRegardless of whether the letter from President George Bush stakes new ground or is bankable, the withdrawal of settlements in Gaza is a good thing in and of itself. I don't care whether Hamas tries to make hay out of it.Don't Take Orders, Take ChargeIsrael has no choice but to get off the Road and end the peace process. Everyone agrees that Israel has no partner in the peace process, so in effect there is no peace process. It is time for unilateral moves by Israel not only in relation to the Palestinians, but also in relation to the US.Hang Tough[N]ow is not the time for Israel to turn tail. Bush is in no mood for the further weakening of the coalition. My guess is that for this reason alone the US will not agree to the Gaza disengagement.International Relations 101Israel's best friend, the US has always played a double game. Her core interest in the relationship is oil. She keeps Israel strong enough to make the Arabs come to her for help in curbing Israel or getting the return of land, yet keeps Israel weak enough that it too would be in constant need of the US. Restraining Israel or forcing Israel to make concessions allows the US to gain headway with tSocrates' CaveAnd so, both the US and Israel pay homage to the Roadmap, which in turn, pays homage to the Oslo Accords. The Oslo Accords were based on the premise that an entity, the Palestinian Authority, must be created in order to have someone to negotiate with. It was thought that it wasn't enough to have the PA represent the Arabs in <i>Yesha</i> only, but that it should also represent the Arab refugeesSharon is a Lame Duck Prime MinisterWhen Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced his Disengagement Plan, I jumped on his bandwagon.Elon?s Plan Should Be Israel?s PlanAmerica?s greatest difficulty with such a plan is the possibility that the Palestinians will take control of Jordan, democratically or otherwise.In Defense of Ariel SharonThe Left attacks Prime Minister Ariel Sharon saying he doesn?t mean what he says or that he hasn?t brought security, as he promised. The Right attacks him for being a lackey of George Bush or for not defeating terrorism once and for all or for abandoning some settlements, which he himself was instrumental in creating. The Right goes so far as to suggest that his policies are based on an attempt toWhen Push Comes to ShoveImagine, if you will, a major assault upon the fence by 10,000 unarmed protestors over a distance of 100 miles, with the intent of destroying the fence. What should the rules of engagement say then? For Israel to allow the fence to be destroyed would be a major setback both militarily and psychologically.What?s More Credible?I believe that they have right on their side in taking this position, but they cannot make it happen given the opposition of the Quartet and given the resistance of the Jews, whether in Israel or in the Diaspora, to this solution.Sharon?s Strategy and Why I Support ItPrime Minister Ariel Sharon starts with the premise that Arab rejectionism is the problem and that an acceptable end-of-conflict agreement is not achievable for decades. Thus, he favours an interim solution by agreement if possible, unilaterally imposed, if necessary.No Choice But a Unilateral SolutionIsrael can argue ?til it?s blue in the face that she is entitled to all or part of Judea and Samaria, but no one cares. Israel can offer more and more concessions to the Palestinians ?til the cows come home, but they won?t get Israel a meaningful end-of-conflict agreement. Israel can continue to ?work? with the US ad infinitum, in the hope the US will work with her, but that is not likely. The whoIt?s All About OilThe oil embargo of the seventies, initiated by the newly formed OPEC headed by Saudi Arabia, accomplished three things; it scared the hell out of the US, it lifted the Arabs out of a defeatist malaise and it started the beginning of the end for the Arab regimes.From Security to RightsIt is very clear to students of the Middle East that the Quartet has decided that the Saudi Peace Plan is the object of all processes put forward. This plan provides for 1948 borders, with negotiated trades of some land and a shared Jerusalem. The Plan itself doesn?t require the Right of Return, but the endorsement of it by the Arab League does. The West wasn?t ready to kill the Right of Return, sWho?s Being Realistic?Any discussion of borders should start with the Torah, wherein the land, including what is now Jordan, was promised by God to the Israelites.The Cart Before the HorseThe entire world has bought into the idea that peace depends on Israel making concessions. This is based on two notions; namely, that Israel is usurping Palestinian rights to the territories, to Jerusalem and even to the refugee "homes" in Israel itself; and, secondly, that it is in the self-interest of each nation to curry favour with the Arabs (<I>protexia</i>, if you will).The Handwriting on the WallBit by bit, step by the step, the plan to which Sharon has agreed is unfolding. |
