The Palestinian Question continues
to provoke anger and international pressure. President Barak Obama stated as late as March
3rd, 2014 that the window of opportunity towards a “peace” is
dwindling. Obama’s state of address to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu may become the primer which may alter Israel’s expansion into
Palestinian occupied territory.
Political pressure from the
Negations Affairs Department (NAD) arm of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO); and the United Nations (UN) are making Israeli domestic policy
difficult to ignore. It is compelling Israel to recognize Palestinian
sovereignty in earnest- or face an uncertain future. Israelis have long memories...Forged
in wars, cemented within its successive victories in 1967, 1973, and 1982;
Israel will be hard pressed to find any shred of validity behind NAD’s efforts
to vilify its actions within the West Bank.We often hear of the 1948 Jewish War of Independence and the subsequent political and military foundering of Egypt, Trans-Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon which created the exodus of 70 percent of Palestine’s population and the destruction of four hundred and eighteen villages. What is being omitted by NAD are the historical annals of war; the Palestine participation in retaliatory reprisals after the armistice agreements- on Israeli soil.
“…In the meantime they found what was considered a perfect tool to show
their own people that the war was not over yet and at the same time both to harass
Israel and embarrass her. Palestinian Fedayeen (suicide troops) infiltrated
across the long and ill-protected border - and it should be recalled that no
place in Israel was far from the border: infiltration's for the purpose of
stealing farm equipment were followed by the laying of mines, the killing of
individuals, and wholesale massacres. The Fedayeen were trained, equipped and
paid for by Egyptian Intelligence, although they operated mainly from bases in
Jordan, so that Jordan would bear the brunt of Israel's retaliation, which
inevitably followed. And each time Israel retaliated, the Security Council
condemned it; condemnation of an Arab government had long since become an impossibility,
because of the Soviet veto.”- From "The
Arab-Israeli Wars" by Netanel Lorch.
The Suez Crisis of 1956 did nothing to allay Israeli fears of reprisals
from the PLO, Egypt and foreign interest; albeit the Straits of Tiran were made
available and Israeli access to the sea preserved. As a point of contextual parameters,
what Gamal-Abdel Nasser promised is something that he could not in good
conscience deliver-the annihilation of Israel.
The Six Day and Yom Kippur Wars
ushered the present modern day conflict within the region. The PLO cannot
divest itself with the terrorist tactics of its political officers; notably Yasser
Arafat. It cannot disclaim responsibility during the Munich Olympic massacre of
eleven Israeli participants in the 1972 Games; and the continued harassment of
Israel (supplied by Syrian, and Iranian intelligence) during the first and
second Intifada.
The (Anwar) Sadat-(Menachem)
Begin peace proposal brokered by the United States President Jimmy Carter in
1979 can be construed as a decisive moment in Middle East politics; until Sadat’s
assassination in 1982. Ironically it was Begin himself and that of his cabinet
which sanctioned Jewish settlements within Gaza and the West Bank.
There can be no disassociation between
events unfolding presently in the Middle East without bringing attention to
British, French, and American interest since 1900. Its aim obviously; to achieve
maximum political and foreign influence within the region…Namely for its petroleum
deposits. The mess that is the Middle
East was created by international economies dependent on OPEC producing
countries; which mandated the sort of compromise…Imposing the harshest outcome
upon one city alone-Jerusalem.
We speak of transgressions; of
the continued bloodshed of civilians…Israeli and Palestinian alike. We clamor and issue proclamations demanding Israeli acknowledgement of Palestine as a
sovereign country. We condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank without
considering what if any meaningful considerations might be convincing enough
for the PLO and other terrorist organization to cease and desist.
If there is to be a peace between
Arabs and Jews; it must be done outside the realm of foreign affairs. It must
be pursued by those who can reconcile the past…to understand that there can be
no return to what was lost. Insisting the partition of East Jerusalem as the
future capital of Palestine is futile; as is its demand on pre-1967 territorial
demarcations.
Palestine must be created by
parts of Jordanian, Syrian, and Lebanese territory; it is also in need of
traditional territory within Israeli control. Access to Muslim holy sites must be accommodated
by Israel; including the affirmation and some basis of restitution for
Palestinian born Israelis. Of course the premise to such and
any future reconciliation efforts must first be accompanied by a lasting and
continued ceasing of hostilities-from Arab controlled territories
adjacent to its borders. Netanyahu is weary; doubtful and mistrusting of any PLO led initiative. The same can be said by NAD and its political officers charged with furthering the Palestinian cause at the UN. The days of American determination and support for Israel is diminishing; Obama can no longer project American military superiority on a long term basis.
Russia’s military invasion of the Crimean peninsula is indication enough that it can inflict major economic chaos within Europe. Russian petroleum dictates what Russia can do; as its neighboring countries can ill afford to alienate Russia on this economic truth. In lieu of a full blown war; the effectiveness of the UN (its very existence) might very well be an indication of what future can be expected in the Middle East.
No comments:
Post a Comment