Posted: 06 January 2004 at 1:49pm | IP Logged

OH, BOYCOTT!

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/379790.html

People and Politics / Widening the Jordan Valley
By Akiva Eldar
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon just barely satisfied those in the audience at the Herzliya Conference who wanted to understand what exactly he means when he talks of a disengagement map. He made do with a declaration that the settlements to be moved will only be those "that in any possible future and final arrangement will not be included in the territory of the state of Israel." On the other hand, Sharon promised "to strengthen control over those parts of the Land of Israel that will remain an inseparable part of the State of Israel in any future arrangement."
Sharon finished his speech with what he considered a witticism: "I know you want to hear names, but it's best to leave something for later." But there's no need to wait for the second half of the riddle - which "parts of the Land of Israel" he regards as "inseparable from the State of Israel." The route approved for the separation fence annexes all the settlements in Area C, which is under complete Israeli civilian and security control, settlements just east of the Green Line, Gush Etzion, Beit Arieh, and metropolitan Jerusalem. The Ariel enclave is on its way. Since the eastern fence has yet to be brought to the government for its approval, there is no official route that can show which parts of that sector are part of Sharon's plan for disengagement and which parts are designated for annexation. However, it doesn't take much effort to sketch out the prime minister's disengagement map in that area. All that's required is clicking into the Web site of the World Zionist Organization's settlement division and read the rules for the "Populating Jordan Valley - Second Stage." The department is offering a cornucopia of benefits to encourage young families interested in moving to the area, and is based on a government decision made 10 days before Sharon declared at Herzliya that "there are no special economic benefits" for settlement in the territories. It's inconceivable the prime minister wasn't speaking the truth. Presumably he meant the cancelation of benefits for settlement would not cover "those parts of the country that will be an inseparable part of the state of Israel in any future agreement." Therefore, if we tick off the list of Jordan Valley settlements that are included in the operation, we'll find the "Eastern Avenue" of the Sharon map. Drawing a dot-to-dot line from one settlement to the next and then measuring the area enables us to understand what Sharon means geographically when he speaks of the Jordan Valley, meant for annexation to Israel. According to the WZO documentation, the benefits are for new settlers in the area covered by the Megillot Regional Council, the Jordan Valley Regional Council, and the Ma'ale Ephraim Regional Council. The first stage of the operation included "Alon Road settlements" - Rimonim, Kochav Hashahar and Mitzpe Jericho. In the second stage, only empty apartments in Rimonim are to be included. A glance at the map shows those settlements signify a very broad definition of the Jordan Valley, from the Judean desert in the south and north to Ma'ale Ephraim, which is 15 kilometers from the Jordan River and 490 meters above the rift floor. Sharon's disengagement map turns the Alon Road into the eastern fence and leaves Israel with another 25 percent of the West Bank, in addition to the 15 percent of the territories included in the western avenue, which according to Sharon's plan will be an inseparable part of the State of Israel in any future peace deal. This map has a significance that goes far beyond the chance of reaching an agreement on the territorial issue. The Jordan Valley is the only land reserve available to the Palestinian Authority for absorbing refugees. It's where the PA's Planning Ministry designated some 700,000 refugees would be settled over seven years of development. In short, Sharon's disengagement plan is a plan to disengage from any hope of reaching a settlement in the future. Mofaz as Robin Hood The report broadcast on Sunday by Israel Radio was truly heartwarming. The government decided to allocate NIS 600,000 to buy food for the population in Gaza. Indeed, a worthy humanitarian gesture on the part of a state that is cutting welfare, health and education for its own children. So why get petty about it, like asking about the source of the funds for helping the poor of Gaza? So what if the money was stolen by the IDF from Palestinian Authority offices last year? The government decision was based on a January 2003 order by the defense minister to allocate "money captured during the war against terror and the financing of terror" to humanitarian purposes in the territories. But according to the government's own decision, the money was "captured" from the offices of the Preventive Security forces in Gaza, which happens to be the same organization that Israel demands fight terror and arrest the financiers of terror. Did Shaul Mofaz decide to play Robin Hood - robbing the rich PA and handing out its money to the poor of Gaza? Not exactly. According to the government explanation for its decision, during the demolition of some Gazan buildings in November 2002, the IDF destroyed the food storehouses of the World Food Organization in Gaza. The government was asked to approve a special allocation due to the urgency of the matter (more than a year later) for making food purchases to replace the food it destroyed in an explosion and to give it to the WFO. The government's generosity is evident not merely in its concern for the poor of Gaza. In the context of a decision titled "directing funds to humanitarian needs for the benefit of the population," the rest of the robbed money - NIS 944,826 - will be allocated to improving checkpoints and roadblocks, to make things easier for the Palestinians. That's right - the IDF will use Palestinian money to finance checkpoints and then call it a humanitarian gesture of the first order. The government decision makes note of the fact it was approved by the outgoing attorney general, Elyakim Rubinstein. The IDF's standards of punishment Just by coincidence, the document summarizing the state of the prosecution files dealing with the deaths of Palestinian civilians at the hands of soldiers reached me almost precisely at the same time that the military court handed down its one-year sentences to the five refuseniks, who have already spent nearly a year in jail awaiting their trial. The document fills in some of the gaps in the data reported here last week regarding the period ending in September 2003. Over three years, some 2,500 Palestinians were killed with the Shin Bet defining fewer than 600 of them as terrorists, and 14,000 were wounded. Only 72 investigations were conducted into the killings. Indictments were handed down in 13 cases. The stiffest sentence the prosecutors working for JAG Commander Menachem Finkelstein managed to win was a suspended sentence - the document does not state how long the suspended sentence was for - and a career officer's promotion was delayed for two years after he was convicted. That "grave" sentence was imposed on Lt. Y.K. who was convicted of illegal use of a weapon. According to the indictment against him, he fired a machine gun within 10 meters of a group of Palestinians who were walking about 500 meters away from the position where the soldier was stationed. As a result, Mu'ain Abu Lawy was killed. A suspended sentence was also imposed on Lt. (res.) A.P., who was also convicted of illegal use of a weapon. The article proves to be a particularly effective detergent for removing bloodstains. In that case, too, it is very possible that if the result had been an Israeli being "wounded most seriously" in the head, the officer would have been charged with manslaughter. And maybe if A.P. knew that his order to his sergeant, D.S., to fire a "warning shot" at a Palestinian riding a donkey would have cost him a few days in the brig, he might have counted to 10 before issuing the order. That could also be said about Lt. A.H., charged with violating the rules of engagement when he fired at a car driven by a photographer, and whose charge sheet was converted into a disciplinary hearing. Here are the details of the rest of the cases more than two years old that are still awaiting verdicts: Sgt. A.B., accused of negligent manslaughter, after shooting at a car that tried to circumvent a roadblock. As a result, a Palestinian woman was killed. Col. (res.) A.Z. was charged with severe aggravated assault after firing at a crowd of demonstrators in Jenin. As a result, a local woman was wounded. Col. L.Y. was accused of the famous shooting at the Surda checkpoint, in which a 95-year-old woman was killed and another woman was wounded. Though two years have passed, no verdict has been been handed down. The court is now considering a motion to throw out the charges. D.S. was charged with the death of a Palestinian child near the settlement of Nisanit, when he ordered artilleryman A.G., to fire a warning shot with a .50 caliber machine gun, in contravention of the rules of engagement. There is no mention in the document of a charge against the soldier who actually fired. Apparently, the army does not consider an order to fire in contravention of the rules of engagement as an illegal order that must be disregarded by a soldier receiving such an order. There's no mention of the specific charge against Lt. S.L. but the document does state that "tank fire was used to impose a curfew in Jenin. As a result of that fire, four Palestinian residents were killed." According to B'Tselem, S.L. didn't wait for the wheels of justice to turn in his case. He's off traveling the world. Lt. T.K. is accused of negligent manslaughter after he fired at demonstrators in the village of Nazlat, killing a 16-year-old. Col. S.N. and Sgt. A.D. are accused of killing an elderly Palestinian man with their "warning shots," meant to keep him away from their position at Netzarim. The sergeant is also accused of ordering his friend "to keep your mouth shut and say that we fired in the air."

Posted: 12 January 2004 at 5:44pm | IP Logged

A warning to Israel?

I am amused.

At the moment, the Palestinian leadership are running in eights like a decapitated chicken that hadn't decided if it is dead or alive.

Maybe the suicide bombings weren't such a genius policy after all...  hmmm..

Posted: 13 January 2004 at 12:06pm | IP Logged

Tivi, you're quite right.  The Palestinians, I hope and pray for their own sake, are pondering the reason for their dilemma, their anxious, alarmed confusion of strategies, and will realize that THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE IS THE PATH TO VICTORY.  PEACE THROUGH PEACEFUL PROTEST.  THE PATH OF OBSCENE BRUTALITY LEADS TO DESTRUCTION.  

I have noticed that aside from the intelligent media in Israel, it's government has not approached the terrorism issue with a realistic, effective approach.  A humane and intelligent approach.  Namely, HELPING weak and exasperated, desperate Palestinians to calm down, and realize that they won't be brutalized and mauled by the vicious Sharon regime if they lay down their one last and obscene weapon.  If they disarm, and TRUST the world community not to abandon them to the tender mercies of the Jewish fanatics.  In other words, Sharon & Co. lack EMPATHY FOR THE PALESTINIANS!  Terrorism can be contained and suppressed, and perhaps eve eventually obliterated, but terrorism's main staying power is  SUMMARIZED IN THE FOLLOWING QUOTE FROM TODAY'S HA'ARETZ:

"Yedioth Ahronoth recently quoted a senior officer who said: "We've wiped out all the terrorist cells except for one - the one made up of 3.5 million Palestinians." That pretty well sums up the bitter truth about the policy of force embraced by Sharon's government."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/382324.html On stamina and strategic myopia
By Yoel Marcus
Sometimes I wonder if a silent chief of staff would be better than a chief of staff who talks. Not because one minute he says, "We won;" and the next, he says, "The solution is political;" but because he has this urge to blame the army's failure to eliminate terror on the Israeli public.
Last week, Moshe Ya'alon said that the weakest link in national defense is the Israeli public and its lack of stamina. Israelis, he said, are not prepared to fight for their goals and risk their lives, and there's no agreement on what the whole fight is about since September 2000. So when it comes to finding a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, you don't need a commentator to tell you that Ya'alon is saying it's the public's fault that force hasn't worked - which is a little strange. The goals of Israeli society are survival and living in peace and security. These are goals established by the state. But as the government's political objectives grow foggier by the moment, one wonders what exactly the chief of staff is asking the average Israeli to lay down his life for. In declaring us the weakest link, Ya'alon is ultimately saying that it's time to trade in the public for a new one. For the historical record, let it be said that the power of endurance of Israeli society far outweighs the performance of its myopic governments over the years, since the intoxicating days of the Six-Day War that left this country's leaders drunk and giddy, and led to this insane business of settlement, designed to create a seemingly irreversible situation. From intifada to intifada, from one terror attack to the next, the ability of Israeli citizens to get with on with life is amazing, considering the fact that there is no place a person is safe - unless you happen to be the chief of staff or a government minister with a bullet-proof car and a phalanx of armed guards. Actually, this public, accused of being the weakest link, shows uncommon bravery every single day. People go to soccer games, to the movies, to public performances; they fill the cafes and restaurants that have reopened for business after being ripped apart by bombs. Not that this is what you'd call "normal life." Not that the economic situation, which is a direct consequence of government ineptitude, doesn't hurt. But Israeli citizens have shown that they can be tougher and smarter than their governments. Most of the public was a lot calmer on the eve of the Iraq War than the government, which went into a panic and ordered us to open our gas mask kits, prepare sealed rooms and get ready for a chemical attack that was a distinct possibility if Saddam found his back to the wall. The majority of Israelis didn't bother. Neither is it true that lack of consensus on the nature of the conflict has made it harder to deal with. According to the surveys, most Israelis are in favor of giving up settlements and outposts in return for peace. Ariel Sharon was elected twice not because he was the guardian angel of the settlements, but because people believed that only he could impose the will of the majority on the minority. He was elected on the strength of his commitments to peace, security and painful concessions. The mass protest organized by the settlers on Sunday may have been impressive, but they are still a minority in this country. Meanwhile, Sharon is talking more than doing, although the White House is turning up the steam on the illegal outpost issue. Yedioth Ahronoth recently quoted a senior officer who said: "We've wiped out all the terrorist cells except for one - the one made up of 3.5 million Palestinians." That pretty well sums up the bitter truth about the policy of force embraced by Sharon's government. The Middle East is bursting with changes. Syria is fighting to clear its name; Iran will accept limitations on nuclear armament; Libya says it will halt its nuclear development program; Syria wants to negotiate peace with us; and we can't bring ourselves to say yes. Why is it that with all the Axis of Evil countries on America's blacklist, its friend, Israel, is the one that may end up on trial in the International Court of Justice in The Hague over the issue of the security fence? Why is Israel perceived as a rejecter of peace? The problem is not public stamina, but the collective intelligence of a government whose strategic perspective goes no further than its nose.

Posted: 16 January 2004 at 11:11am | IP Logged

Lapid is one of the few rational and humane ministers in the government.  His prognosis of international sanctions and boycotts would become the schoolmaster for Israel if Israel does not hear him!

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/383862.html

Lapid to present alternative plan for security fence route
By Mazal Mualem, Haaretz Correspondent
Justice Minister Yosef Lapid, the Shinui chairman, will present his party's planned route for the West Bank separation fence to the inner cabinet on Monday. The plan is for a fence 200 kilometers shorter than the 700-kilometer fence the cabinet has approved.
Lapid will ask his colleagues for another discussion on the route of the fence, and will show them a detailed map, drawn with the help of legal and security experts. Lapid will tell the other members of the inner cabinet that the shortened version of the fence would significantly help Israel's position when the International Court of Justice at The Hague discusses the fence next month. "With the current route of the fence, and without the support of the Americans, we will not be able to survive the Hague ruling," said Lapid. Missing from Lapid's map are several enclaves deep into the eastern side of the Green Line, close to Ben-Gurion International Airport. Also missing are the rings around the Jerusalem envelope, which surround Arab villages, leaving them just one exit road. "My map may be a less security-oriented map than the current one," Lapid said, "but it still serves Israel's defense interests and reduces human suffering. The other advantages are that the fence can be complete much quicker, saving NIS 2 billion." The current route of the fence, which was approved by the cabinet, was also backed by Lapid's Shinui party. According to Lapid, however, he and his fellow Shinui ministers were not entirely convinced about the route, and decided to vote in favor only to avoid being the dissenting voice in the cabinet. International criticism The international criticism that the invasive route of the fence has stirred up, led Lapid to harshly criticize it at a cabinet meeting two weeks ago. "The debate on the issue of the construction of the separation fence at the International Court of Justice in The Hague is the first step toward turning Israel into the South Africa of today," he told his colleagues. "There is a danger we will be exposed to international boycotts as was South Africa before the fall of the regime." Speaking on Thursday to Haaretz, Lapid said he had studied the issue of the fence thoroughly, has pored over maps and read all the relevant documentation, as well as consulting dozens of experts, including senior officials from the Justice Ministry, judges, experts in international law, Knesset members and ministers. His categorical conclusion, he said, was that the route of the map urgently needs to be altered. Lapid said Israel should argue that the court in The Hague does not have the authority to discuss the subject. If that argument is rejected, Israel should argue the merits of the case. "If we claim that the fence is defensive in nature, and that it has been proved to prevent suicide bombings, that is something we can explain to the world. In order to argue the merits, we have to change the route of the fence, because, at the moment, it has the appearance of a fence of occupation." Any change in the route of the fence would need to be approved by the government, and Lapid believes his proposal will stir up fierce debate. Lapid thinks other ministers are likely to support the proposed change to the route, as well as his Shinui colleagues. He has not yet shown his plan to the forum of Shinui ministers and will do so after the meeting of the inner cabinet. Afraid of Likud Lapid said he does not believe there are any ministers who don't understand the rationale behind his proposal, but "the question is how many of them are more afraid of the Likud central committee." Health Minister Danny Naveh has already said that he objects to any alteration to the route. At the same cabinet meeting that Lapid proposed changing the route of the map two weeks ago, Naveh said the proposal was dangerous and just raising the issue for discussion was playing into the hands of Israel's enemies who were behind the hearing in The Hague. Lapid will stress the economic aspects of his proposal, which, he says, cannot be rejected out of hand. "The current estimate is that the fence will cost NIS 7 billion, and that means we don't have enough money to finish it."