NETANYAHU CONSIDERS USING ARIEL SHARON’S FAILED STRATEGY

Israel Report 14 April 2011 The Palestinian Arabs are intensifying their campaign to get the United Nations to approve a Palestinian state in September. The Palestinian Authority’s (PA) well known representative, Saeb Erekat, said this week that the PA has grown tired of the inability of the Quartet (US; EU; Russia, UN) to reach a decision. When the issue comes up in the UN in September, every nation which does not recognize “Palestine,” places itself outside of international law, Erekat claimed. The Palestinian Arab analyst, Hani al-Masri, said the US follows the dictation of Israel and is unwilling to accept PA’s terms of reference for an agreement. He therefore  called upon Arab states to cut the connection with the Quartet – It has lost its legitimacy, al-Masri claimed. Meanwhile, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is considering a series of moves to counter the plans of the PA. Israel’s Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, has warned of a diplomatic tsunami following September should the UN recognize a Palestinian state. A main option that Netanyahu is considering is an extensive withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). Israel would leave large swaths of the so-called B-areas where Israel has military control and the PA civilian policing functions. The settlements will probably be left intact for now with perhaps some outposts being evacuated. In the south of Israel, a fragile cease fire has been reached between Israel and the terrorists in Gaza. After two weeks with intensive rocket fire on Israeli cities, and an Israeli response targeting and killing around 20 terrorists, the last few days have been quieter. However, inside the Gaza Strip there is no consensus for the cease fire, and although the terrorists do not at the moment fire at the big Israeli cities, the small communities adjacent to the Gaza Strip are still exposed to mortar fire. The successful operation of the Iron Dome anti-rocket defense system last week, gave some reason for optimism among the residents of the larger cities in the area. On the Internet the popular campaign of the Arab masses against Israel continues unabated. Facebook closed down the main site of “The Third Intifada,” but there are more than one hundred other Facebook sites that carry the same message and call for violence and even murder of Jews. The page with the name “The People Want the Official Third Intifada Page Restored” says that on May 15, one billion two hundred thousand Moslems “will rise up for you, Palestine… O Palestine, millions of martyrs are marching towards you.” Other statements say:  “Dear Jews, don't be afraid, death will be swift…We will help the religion of Allah and Palestine to triumph… Death to the Jews, murderers of the prophets…The offspring of the sons of Zion are going to Hell.” Comment: While the war against Israel from the Palestinian Arabs is continuing in many areas, Israel’s Prime Minister is considering an option to which he traditionally has been the most vocal opponent of; to leave territory without getting anything in return. Netanyahu has written a book on the failed logic of such an appeasement policy. However, because of international pressure, and a Defense Minister who all the time has advocated appeasement, Netanyahu now seems to follow in the footsteps of former Premier, Ariel Sharon who left Gaza for similar reasons. While visiting the rocket-battered southern parts of Israel this week, Defense Minister Barak offered little hope of a better future. He said that those who came to the State of Israel in order to set up a national home after 2,000 years, should also be able to face the tests. “Those who want total quiet, can go to Finland or Switzerland.” When Theodor Hertzl in 1897 convened the First Zionist Congress, he said: “We have gathered here to lay the foundation stone of the house that will shelter the Jewish nation.” The main idea for the early Zionists, was to create a safe haven for a people who had been humbled, persecuted and killed, practically speaking, wherever they had lived for almost 2000 years. In a state of their own they were supposed to be safe. Has the main objective of Hertzl’s Zionism become a foreign thought for the Defense Minister? If so, what is left of the Zionist idea? A similar assessment could be made regarding Netanyahu. He has always pointed out that security of Israel must come first. In this context, control of land has been a main component. In order to prevent terrorism from a certain area, the IDF has to be able to operate there. Gaza and Southern Lebanon are the perfect examples; the minute the IDF left, the areas became bases for staging attacks against Israel. When Netanyahu now, because of international pressure, may be giving away territory, is he also surrendering the security of the people – the goal of Zionism? Moreover, Netanyahu is a skilled ideologue. He knows that maintaining Jewish presence in the ancient heartland of the nation of Israel is crucial in order to ideologically defend the existence of the Jewish state in Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Ashdod. If Israel is willing to negotiate its presence in Hebron, Betel and Shilo, what signals does this send to the world? Are the Jewish claims to these areas just a matter of negotiation? Barak is relying on international favor if Israel withdraws from the territories. Netanyahu, on the other hand, at least according to the sharp logic of his books, is more of a realist and knows that any such favor will be short lived. It would seem that Netanyahu’s actions are motivated by one of the following options: 1) He has had a serious change of mind when it comes to his view of the conflict. 2) He is a political opportunist who does what it takes to stay in power. 3) He believes there is no other way than to give away land and create a Palestinian state, and any other Prime Minister would be more left-leaning and therefore do a worse job. If this option is correct, he sees himself as engaged in some form of damage control. It is hard to say which of the options, if any, are correct. However, all of them undermine the Jews’ just claims in the area. Time has come for the Israelis to go on the offensive and to remind the world of the basic facts of this conflict: The establishment of the Jewish state was perhaps the noblest thing the UN has ever done. That Israel today controls Judea and Samaria (the West bank) was a result of a war of aggression fought against them – and Israel can produce justification for her presence there based on historical and moral as well as legal grounds. The PA, on the other hand, is engaged in an immoral and dirty campaign to smear the Jewish nation while at the same time legitimating terrorism. The world needs to hear that Israel has a just case! Read the rest of the report on: Israel Report