Last night I heard Ehud Barak on TV saying something just as dangerous and unworkable, explaining how Israel can hold onto small "settlement blocks" and have "peace with the Arabs." There are two major problems with it.Opposition leader Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) told the The New York Times that he would "respond to 100% of the territorial demands of the Palestinians" if elected Prime Minister.
“I intend to replace Netanyahu,” Mr. Mofaz, 63, said. “I will not join his government.”
Mofaz said that he believed Israel should keep the main settlement blocs, but that he would give the Palestinian Authority as much land from sovereign Israeli ground as he kept from Judea and Samaria.
He added that he believes it is possible to reach an agreement on the borders and security within one year.
When asked about Israeli residents of Judea and Samaria living in communities he would cede to the Palestinian Authority, Mofaz said, "If they're given the right incentives they will leave their homes. Those who do not, we would have to evacuate [them]."
- it's technically/physically/geographically unworkable
- the Arabs have never agreed to give us peace for such an agreement
Neither of these two former IDF heads are thinking past the rush of headline grabbing. None of their ideas will give Israel peace and security, and they're ignoring the very basic fact that the Arabs are more interested in Haifa, Tel Aviv and other pre-1967 Israeli cities.
IMRA has an interesting article that reveals the total lack of thought that had gone into Yossi Beilin's Oslo Accords. It was created in a total vacuum, without taking any security and long-term planning into account.
Shavit: When you entered the Oslo process, Rabin Peres and you, was it clear to you that this was going to a Palestinian state?That superficial "NOW" mindset reminds me too much of Ehud Barak's campaign pledge to withdraw from southern Lebanon. It was one of the most foolish and dangerous moves Israel has ever made. Read this excerpt from Dr. Mordechai Nisan's Did Israel Betray Its Lebanese Allies?:
Beilin: No. It is very interesting to note that the talks of the soul regarding "where will this process lead" took place only between the sides, not within them.within the Labor party and within the government and within the negotiating team I don't recall any real and serious discussion of the final solution.
Shavit: I don't understand. In 1992 you were elected to the government. In 1993 you created the Oslo process. At no stage did you ask yourselves where this all was leading to?
Beilin: No.
Failure after dangerous failure, and that Leftist ideology still reigns. Our enemies assist in promoting people like Barak, Mofaz, Peres and Beilin. Even post-Disengagement, as the Arab terrorists continue to launch deadly missiles at Israel's south, as far as Eilat we keep hearing that all we have to do is give our enemies our precious Land for "peace."
For Israeli and SLA personnel, officers and soldiers alike, the events of late May unfolded without prior preparation, notice, or warning.
On Sunday, May 21, the SLA, in somewhat unclear circumstances, withdrew from the military outpost at Taibe, situated five kilometers from Kibbutz Misgav-Am. Israeli officers then announced that "Hizbullah is coming" and an air of danger filled the south. The SLA's Shi‘i brigade 70 collapsed, and many of its soldiers turned themselves over to Hizbullah. (They would subsequently be sent to Beirut for trial.)3 On Monday, May 22, Israeli officers told SLA secret-intelligence-services personnel in south Lebanon to leave. On Tuesday, May 23, Colonel Faris Qasis, the commander of the western brigade stationed at Bint Jbail, was ordered to leave with his troops for the gates on the Israeli border. That same day, a domino-like collapse encompassed both the western and eastern sectors of south Lebanon; the Druze brigade under the command of Colonel Nabih Abu-Rafi‘a fell by the early afternoon. The central sector— dominated by Marj Ayoun, which served as the SLA headquarters and the Israeli-Lebanese liaison unit—was abandoned later in the day.
The gates on the Israeli-Lebanese border, from Rosh Hanikra in the west to Metulla in the east, were opened to allow the southerners to flee to safety in Israel. The full disarray and end of the SLA followed inevitably. SLA heavy weapons were ordered brought to Majidiye on the Israeli border. All SLA personnel in the central sector opposite the Fatma gate were told to run to Israel, and thousands fled for their lives.4
A soldier named Roni, with six years experience in the SLA, related that on "Monday night at eleven o'clock we got a call from the Israelis telling us that Hizbullah is approaching and telling us to leave."5 Another soldier said, "We could have stopped them with our weapons," but the IDF did not shoot and would not allow the SLA to shoot either. A couple from the village of Kawkaba fled with their two children, leaving behind their two-story house, shoe store, and car.Another man from Klay'a, whose family members had been working with Israel in military and economic affairs since 1975, fled leaving behind extensive personal property and assets.6 All together, about 6,500 dispossessed Lebanese fled into Israel, which was unprepared for such large numbers of refugees. Apparently, Israeli authorities had expected only 500-plus Lebanese senior intelligence personnel and officers, and their families, to end up in Israel.
Thus did the decision for an IDF withdrawal cause the SLA to disintegrate and create havoc among its forces. Southerners feared being massacred immediately by Hizbullah or being tried and tortured as "enemies of the state" by the Beirut authorities.
The Arabs don't promise peace; they just up their demands, because they don't want peace with Israel. They just want us dead and gone.
Here's the latest edition of Caroline Glick's Latma.
8 comments:
Your right, peace is not profitable to the parties involves. The PA and Hamas are paid to keep a war of attrition going. The EU and US pay billions to keep the propaganda war to delegitimize israel going, viral, that is. It is so viral that our own communities in the diaspora have been infiltrated. Hillel , the campus jewish organization in the US, is now completely neutered by the presence of the Muslim Student Union. If the right were organized and not so damn splintered, if they had a strong leader or rwo or three, then perhaps they would be a formidable challenge. But as fractured as they are, we don't have a chance. Organization the right is needed desperately. The goal to unify is pretty basic, our future, and that of our childrens. As Jews.
Barak wants power, and one way to get it is to be a big shot in Judea and Samaria, knocking off settlements left and right. He sees a future in the Knesset for himself. And it does not involve a coalition with the religious or the right wing. So the tougher he looks, the more he appeals to the left wingers. Mofaz and him want the same thing, so they should make beautiful music together, storm trooping their way down the road 60 through the settlements, tearing them up one by one. Divide and conquer is the best way, if you ask them.
Deborah, so what should be done to neutralize them?
Israel needs direct territorial elections. No more parties picking a list of MKS to choose from. Candidates, regardless of party affiliation, should be allowed to run in districts. This eliminates the problem of demographics as well. Arabs will have their own district leader, but they l be less radical, and more centrist due to the need to appeal to a wider audience, which may include others, ie Jews, Christians, Druze, etc. Without appeal, they dont get voted in. This goes for Jewish leaders in their represented districts as well. Also in the US we have jerrymandering, which allows for redistircting when necessary or applicable. Without direct elections, Israel's form of electoral systems breeds for weak leaders and corruption. I just found this article in a search, so that is why my response is so late! Shalom and best wishes to you and yours Batya
deborah, in all honesty, I totally disagree with you. I hate to think what Israeli politicians would do when making the districts. Didn't you ever hear of gerrymandering? Israel is too small and diverse a country for districts.
then you do not understand gerrymandering, learn about how its done here. Has nothing to do with size,
Batya , please if you will, read this article about gerrymandering in Virginia. Virginia is a small state. http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/11/14/2941931/gerrymandering-virginia-republicans/
You are mistaken as are many in Israel to think gerrymandering is not useful. It works. Ms. Lurya is right on. Open your minds and see the good in American political systems. It is the only solution. No matter how good a politician Israel may have as a leader, without a system in place that protects electoral process, as democratic, nothing will change. The system Israel has in place creates the weakest in leadership.
here is one more, but you can read more about it yourself if interested.
Jason, there is no way that Israeli politicians and government workers would be able to resist turning districts into gerrymadered frankensteins. I'm a realist, not a dreamer.
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