Displaying posts categorized under

ISRAEL

ISRAEL, WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Palestinian Reconciliation: To What End? By Shoshana Bryen

By on October 15th, 2017

After weeks of Egyptian-sponsored pre-talks, and a very short “cabinet meeting” in Gaza, “formal reconciliation talks” are now being held between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (P.A. or Fatah) in Cairo under the direct auspices of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

For some Middle East-watchers, the talks are a form of progress. There are presently three functional governments between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, and this is about getting rid of one of them. Progress here is that Israel is not the government they’re talking about getting rid of. Yet. This is about whether Hamas or Fatah will lead the Palestinians – whether to peace with Israel or to war with Israel is less important for them right now than simply who between them is top dog.

The factions are “optimistic,” according to Palestinian sources in Cairo. To the extent they are, Israel and the West should be worried, because what they agree on is that Jewish sovereignty is illegitimate. What they don’t agree on is who gets the bigger army. Scylla here is an 83-year-old despotic kleptocrat whose administration has impoverished and radicalized the people of the West Bank while begging protection from Israel against Charybdis – a terror organization that has impoverished and radicalized the people of Gaza.

Most of the world – the United States included – simply assumes that the legitimate party is Fatah. Hamas assumes no such thing. In the last Palestinian election (2006 if you’re counting), Hamas won 76 of the 132 legislative seats; Fatah won 43. Hamas should have been allowed to form the cabinet, but the legislature was never seated – in part because Israel and the United States didn’t want Hamas in the government any more than Fatah did. But it was, in fact, the result of the last thing that passed for a general election. The short, brutal civil war came in 2007. Mahmoud Abbas’s term as president expired in 2009.

Hamas claims that it will turn the civil administration over to Fatah but insists that it will hold on to its army (25,000 fighters of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam brigades) in what it calls a “Lebanon solution,” a private militia outside the government. Hamas leader Ismayil Haniyeh told Egyptian television, “There are two groups of weapons. There are the weapons of the government, the police and security services[.] … And there are the weapons of resistance. Regarding the weapons of the resistance, as long as there is a Zionist occupation on Palestinian land, it is the right of the Palestinian people to possess weapons and resist the occupation in all of forms of resistance.”

P.A. president Mahmoud Abbas firmly rejected the Hamas proposal. “I will not accept or copy or reproduce the Hezb’allah example in Lebanon. Everything must be in the hands of the Palestinian Authority.” His great fear is Hamas demanding that security cooperation between Fatah and the IDF, which protects the P.A., cease – leaving the field clear for a Hamas military takeover on the West Bank. That is Israel’s nightmare as well.

Continue reading →
BOOKS, ISRAEL Comments turned off

The Incredible Genesis Of Israel’s Air Force: An Interview with Author Robert Gandt By Elliot Resnick

By on October 14th, 2017

The number of unusual – many would argue miraculous – incidents associated with Israel’s founding is remarkable. Among the most incredible of these is the story of Israel’s air force. Israel essentially had no air force on May 14, 1948 – the day it formally came into being – but a mere two weeks later, a handful of planes built at a former Nazi air base in Czechoslovakia halted two separate Arab invasions of the fledgling Jewish state.http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/the-incredible-genesis-of-israels-air-force-an-interview-with-author-robert-gandt/2017/10/10/

This fascinating history is outlined in the new book Angels in the Sky: How a Band of Volunteer Airmen Saved the New State of Israel (W.W. Norton & Company) by Robert Gandt. An award-winning author of more than a dozen books, Gandt is a former Navy pilot and the leader of the Mavericks Aerobatic Formation Team.

The Jewish Press: Your book is titled “Angels in the Sky.” Who were these angels?

Gandt: These were men, almost all of them World War II veterans, who went to Israel in 1948 when the newly founded country was overrun by invading Arab armies. They weren’t all Jewish. About a third of them were not. But together, these men – fighter pilots, bomber pilots, transport pilots, radio men, bombardiers, navigators – formed the nucleus of a tiny little air force that ultimately saved Israel.

Where did these men come from?

The greatest number came from the United States. A significant number came from Canada. Per capita, the largest contingent was from South Africa. And then there were some from France, several from Britain, and a scattering from half-a-dozen other countries, including Russia, Poland, and India.

You write that the number of local Israeli pilots was so small that the language of Israel’s air force was originally English, not Hebrew.

That’s correct. Of the fighter and bomber pilots, I think there were only two Israelis – Ezer Weizman, who later became the president of Israel, and a hero named Modi Alon, who was the first commander of the elite fighter squadron.

It’s interesting that even the “angel of death” logo of Israel’s first fighter squadron was conceived by foreign volunteers – two Californian Jews.
The emblem of Israel’s 101 Squadron – designed by two Californian Jews.
The emblem of Israel’s 101 Squadron – designed by two Californian Jews.

Yes, that emblem was designed by Bob Vickman and Stan Andrews, both of whom dropped out of art school in California to go to Israel. They were later killed in the war. That emblem is still on the nose of every plane in Israel’s 101st squadron today.

What motivated all these foreign pilots and airmen to fight for Israel?

A great number of them had family members who had been lost in the Holocaust, so they saw this as a holy cause – preventing a second Holocaust. Others were zealous Zionists. And some of them just missed the adrenaline rush of combat. You have to remember: These were all young men in their 20s, most of them were single, and almost all of them were World War II veterans. For a number of them, World War II had been the peak experience of their life. And here suddenly was a new and worthy adventure they could risk their lives for.

All these men come to Israel and the first planes they fly are Czech versions of Nazi fighter planes – which is more than a tad ironic considering that the Nazis had just finished murdering six million Jews three years earlier.

David Ben-Gurion searched far and wide for appropriate fighter aircraft but was unable to get them from the United States, Britain, or South Africa [because of an arms embargo imposed by these countries]. The only place he could find them was in Czechoslovakia.

Czechoslovakia had built Messerschmitt fighters for the Nazis during World War II, and they were still producing versions of this Messerschmitt which they were willing to sell to Israel. They were inferior planes, but that was all that was available, so Israel bought them. The field in Czechoslovakia where [Israel’s] pilots trained was a former Luftwaffe fighter base, so all the equipment they used was left over from World War II: Nazi flight suits, goggles, parachutes, etc.

What made these planes inferior?

They were very difficult to land and take off. Israel lost far more airplanes in accidents than they did in combat. The pilots hated them. They lost at least two airplanes because they shot off their own propellers with machine guns that were supposed to fire between the propeller blades but weren’t properly synchronized.

Despite all the plane’s deficiencies, you write that it single-handedly stopped Egypt from conquering Tel Aviv two weeks after Israel’s founding. That’s quite an achievement.

By May 29, 1948, two Egyptian armored columns were within 20 miles of Tel Aviv, and word came to the fighter pilots: “Either strike immediately or the Arabs will be in Tel Aviv the next day, and the war will be over.” This wasn’t supposed to be their first strike, but off they went – four Messerschmitts is all they could get in the air – and they attacked this Arab column of about 10,000 troops.

Their machine guns jammed and they only dropped a few measly bombs, but they completely terrified the Egyptian army. The Egyptians had no idea Israel had an air force, and they went into a panic and hunkered down. Those four little ineffective fighters literally saved the country that evening.

And the next day these planes stopped another invasion from the east.

Continue reading →
ISRAEL Comments turned off

Army to Deploy Israeli Trophy Armor System on Tanks Israel’s battle-tested wonder weapon impresses the Department of Defense. Ari Lieberman

By on October 12th, 2017

On March 1, 2011 an Israeli Merkava IV tank on patrol along the Gaza periphery was fired upon by Hamas terrorists from concealed positions within Gaza. Using a deadly RPG-29, a more advanced version of the RPG-7, the terrorists waited for impact. But their moment of glory never transpired. As the anti-tank projectile neared its target, a revolutionary platform – the Trophy Armor Protection System (APS) – deployed on the Merkava IV detected the threat and instantly fired a number of pellets at the deadly menace, destroying and rendering it inert yards from the tank.

Barely three weeks later, Hamas terrorists experienced further failure. They once again attempted to engage a Trophy-equipped Merkava IV. This time, the Trophy calculated the missile’s trajectory and determined that the missile posed no threat, allowing it pass along harmlessly. But that wasn’t the end of the story. Based on the missiles flight path, the Trohy was able to determine the source of fire and transmitted the coordinates to the tank’s crew as well as to nearby units who instantly directed their accurate counter-fire toward the source of the attack, causing at least one terrorist casualty.

The Israeli made Trophy APS had instantly revolutionized armored warfare. It was the first time that such a system had been successfully deployed in battle and the results elated the army’s top brass as well as Trophy’s designers, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries’ Elta Group. No longer would an armored vehicle have to rely on its own armor to defend against anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) and other forms of anti-tank threats. Tanks and other vehicles, such as armored personnel carriers and even HUMVEEs would henceforth go into battle with an active protection system designed to swat anti-tank missiles, shells and rockets as though they were pesky mosquitos.

Trophy works like a mini Iron Dome, another Israeli wonder weapon that intercepts and neutralizes short-range rocket threats, like Russian GRAD rockets, from the skies. It utilizes a combination of sensors and radar along with fire control technology and intercepting pellets to detect and neutralize incoming missile threats. A secondary feature enables the Trophy to accurately determine the source of fire and transmit the coordinates to nearby ground and air units through the Tzayad battlefield management system. All friendly units in the theater are instantly apprised of the enemy’s position making escape and evasion difficult.

Trophy proved its mettle once more during Operation Protective Edge, a seven-week counter insurgency campaign undertaken by the Israel Defense Forces against the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza during the summer of 2014. During the operation, Trophy succeeded beyond all expectations, intercepting a variety of anti-tank threats. In fact, according to IDF sources, the Trophy system intercepted no less than 15 anti-tank missiles and rockets including the deadly Russian Kornet missile which is believed to be capable of penetrating 3.9 feet of armor and has a range of about 5,500 yards.

These missiles were used by the Iraqi army against American M1 Abrams tanks during Operation Iraqi Freedom and by Hezbollah against Israeli Merkava tanks during the Second Lebanon War. The Trophy system is an outgrowth of the Israeli experience during the Second Lebanon War and became operational some four years later. By 2010, an entire battalion of Merkava IV tanks had been outfitted with the Trophy. The Trophy has also been adopted for use in Israeli Namer & Eitan armored personnel carriers and there are plans in the works for deployment on naval craft.

Despite its revolutionary design features and battle-tested capabilities, the United States Army was initially hesitant in adopting the Trophy APS, preferring instead to see how a locally produced variant performed. But a confluence of emerging threats coupled with a new, no-nonsense attitude adopted by Trump’s secretary of defense, James Mattis, has finally convinced the U.S. Army to adopt the Trophy APS for its M1A2 tanks, at least in limited numbers.

Continue reading →
ISRAEL, WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

DAPHNE ANSON: ANTI-ISRAEL EVENTS IN ENGLAND MOUNTING

By on October 12th, 2017

“When the Discussion Opened to the Floor, a pro-Israeli Commentator Spoke …”
As I noted last week, anti-Israel events are sprouting thick and fast in the countdown to 2 November and the centenary of the Balfour Declaration, with Israel-denouncing Christians doing their share of the participating.

One such event that caught my eye was that held on 7 October at the British Library. Sponsored by the anti-Israel Middle East Monitor, it was entitled “Palestine, Britain and the Balfour Declaration 100 Years on”.

Professor Avi Shlaim, Emeritus Professor of International Relations at Oxford University, was the keynote speaker, and you can read about the rest of the panelists, and their highly biased offerings, here, where there is also a video and several photos of the event. Begins the account:

“The grey weather did not deter the hundreds of attendees who arrived early on Saturday morning at the British Library in London to attend MEMO’s conference to commemorate 100 years since the Balfour Declaration. A heavily subscribed event, the conference took a detailed look at Britain’s role in the creation of Israel, past and present, showcasing an alternative narrative to the celebrations promised by British Prime Minister Theresa May.

Attendees were able to purchase books on the Palestinian issue, including those shortlisted for the Palestine Book Awards 2017 and indulge in refreshments before being ushered into the auditorium. They were welcomed by Dr Daud Abdullah, the Director of MEMO, who expressed the importance of recognising the Balfour Declaration for what is was.”

Professor Penny Green of Queen Mary’s University of London, chaired the first session, journalist Peter Oborne (notorious for his obsession with Britain’s so-called “Israel Lobby”) the second, and Corbynista ex-Labour cabinet minister Clare Short [read me here] the third.

“Zionism was a settler colonial movement and the state of Israel its progeny, is a settler colonial state,”

declares that account, inter alia,in effect summarising the conference’s thrust.

Note this paragraph:

“Journalist David Cronin [associate editor of the Electronic Intifada, folks], looked at strategies used to oppose the Israeli occupation, namely the use of boycotts. He pointed out that Balfour had an aversion to boycotts, namely because of the powerful symbolic nature that withholding payment presented. He advocated that the international community and Palestinians should harness the power of boycotts to bring about a change in Israel.”

And these (emphasis added):

“Dr Jacob Cohen [praised by no less an antisemite than Gilad Atzmon here], who joined the Zionist movement at the age of 16 before leaving it four years later, also praised how the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement had expanded its international influence and hoped that the global community would continue such long-term campaigns. He was heckled during his speech when he accused of Israel of perpetuating conflict in order to receive foreign aid and weapons investment, an argument the majority of the audience applauded.

When the discussion opened to the floor, a pro-Israeli commentator spoke in defence of Israel, alleging that it had made peace with Arab countries, retreated from Gaza and was prepared to sacrifice it’s land for peace. Other questioners spoke positively of the support for the Palestine movement and encouraged all listeners to transform their attendance into activism.

As the attendees filed out of the auditorium, many expressed their gratitude to MEMO for hosting such a comprehensive event that had invited speakers from all over the world, to discuss the origins of an enduring conflict that has affected millions of people.”

There he sits, if I’m not mistaken, in the centre of this photo of the audience, that same “pro-Israel commentator”, I’ll wager, namely the intrepid Jonathan Hoffman (good onya, sir!):

A shot of the event by a certain clerical anti-Israel activist:

(Plenty of antisemitic posts below the line on the account I’ve linked to show some of the supporters of the event for what they are.)

Continue reading →
ISRAEL, WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Palestinian Normalization — With Hamas, Not Israel by Bassam Tawil

By on October 11th, 2017

The most widespread conspiracy theory, which has been floating around for decades and can be heard in almost every coffee shop on the streets of Cairo, Amman, Ramallah and Beirut, is that Zionist Jews, together with American capitalists and imperialists, have a secret plan to take control over the Arab and Islamic countries and their resources.

How exactly are the “Zionists and imperialists” trying to “undermine” the Palestinian “national project”? And what, precisely, is this project? Is it the project of Hamas and many other Palestinians that seeks the destruction of Israel?

The corrupt Arab and Palestinian leaders spread such rumors to divert attention from problems at home, such as corruption and dictatorship. These leaders want their people too busy hating Jews and Westerners to demand reform, democracy and transparency from their leaders. Those valuables, of course, are what Arab and Palestinian leaders still refuse to offer their people.

Why do many Palestinians prefer peace with Hamas? Because they identify with Hamas’s dream of destroying Israel and killing Jews. It may be an unpleasant a truth, but that is the bottom line.

When Palestinian women took part in a march with Israeli women for peace this week, they were condemned in the harshest terms by many other Palestinians, who called for their punishment. The Palestinian women who participated in the October 8 event, organized by a group called Women Wage Peace, have been denounced by many of their own people as and “traitors” and “whores.”

Conversely, when Palestinian Authority (PA) officials held “reconciliation” talks with Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip and Egypt during the same period, many Palestinians praised them as “heroes” and “brave.”

Judging from the reactions of many Palestinians, especially on social media, they prefer peace with Hamas rather than with Israel.

The thousands of Palestinian women who participated in the march with Israeli women are being accused of promoting “normalization” with Israel. This, in the eyes of their critics, is an abhorrent and despicable act, tantamount to “high treason” — an offense punishable by death.

Continue reading →
BOOKS, ISRAEL Comments turned off

POLITICIDE: VOLUME IV -THE ATTEMPTED MURDER OF THE JEWISH STATE

By on October 10th, 2017

POLITICIDE: Volume Four
By Victor Sharpe
View this Author’s Spotlight
POLITICIDE: Volume Four

Price: $15.00
Prints in 3-5 business days
This is my collected and published articles and essays which have appeared in leading websites and magazines. It is my hope that readers will benefit greatly from my research into the historical background of the Arab-Israel conflict; better described as the Islam-Israel conflict.

Continue reading →
ISRAEL, NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

The American Jewish Historical Society Hosts Destroy Israel Event Hamas, Hezbollah and BDS in a Jewish organization. Daniel Greenfield

By on October 9th, 2017

The American Jewish Historical Society was founded to study and preserve Jewish history. These days it’s instead partnering with Jewish Voice for Peace: an anti-Israel BDS hate group that defends anti-Semitism and which sponsored talks by an anti-Semite who accused Jews of drinking blood.

The fruits of the AJHS and JVP partnership have been a series of events attacking Israel.

Coming up in late October is “The Balfour Declaration: Support for a Jewish Homeland or Jewish State?”

The two speakers are Robert Herbst, the coordinator of the Westchester chapter of JVP, and Jonathan Kuttab, who advocates a one-state solution for eliminating Israel. He had tweeted, “EU no longer considers #Hamas a terrorist group. Time for US to do same.”

Kuttab has defended Islamic anti-Semitism by claiming that the “distrust Moslems feel towards Jews” is due to “two acts of betrayal by Jewish tribes against the Prophet.” And that Jews suffer from a “Holocaust Syndrome” of entitlement. He justified hijacking planes, described suicide bombers as “taking the supreme sacrifice” and defended Hezbollah as “an armed-resistance movement”

He has claimed that the “Jewish community gradually consolidated its power, wealth, and influence in all sectors of society” especially in “crucial sectors like banking, finance, media” where “their influence both as individuals and an organized community far exceeded their numbers” and that their power strengthens “conspiracy theories about ‘Jewish control’ that are reminiscent of the infamous “’Protocols of the Elders of Zion.’”

Robert Herbst and Jonathan Kuttab are both supporters of a one-state plan for eliminating Israel.

The American Jewish Historical Society is co-sponsoring a JVP anti-Israel event by two opponents of Israel, one of whom has defended Hamas. An organization that hands out the Emma Lazarus Award, named after a passionate Zionist, at its posh dinners is hosting attacks on the existence of Israel.

The “Jewish Homeland” or “Jewish State” argument is a hook for contending that the Balfour Declaration didn’t endorse Israel, but some sort of Jewish Bantustan within a Muslim country.

That worked so well for the Christians and Jews of the Middle East.

The American Jewish Historical Society is not only co-sponsoring a one-state event by an anti-Israel hate group. But it’s also hosting it at the Center for Jewish History’s headquarters. AJHS is a component of the Center for Jewish History. And the partnership between AJHS and JVP sheds light on the controversy over the appointment of David N. Myers, an anti-Israel activist, to head the Center for Jewish History.

During the Myers controversy, the Center took pains to disassociate Myers and themselves from JVP because a JVP handout had listed him as a “JVP Academic Advisory Board Member.” But in reality the Center, through AJHS, has an ongoing relationship with JVP.

The Balfour event was not AJHS’ only partnership with JVP. In December, the AJHS will feature “Rubble Rubble”, a play by Dan Fishback based on his trip to Israel. Fishback is a BDS supporter and a member of the JVP Artists Council. His goal is to “normalize Jewish anti-Zionism”. AJHS and JVP members get discounted admission. The venue is once again the Center for Jewish History. Specifically the Leo and Julia Forchheimer Auditorium at CJH. Leo Forchheimer’s philanthropy had left its mark on Israel. What would he think if he knew the anti-Israel purposes that CJH is putting his gift to?

Continue reading →
ISRAEL, NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Ronn Torossian :Center for Jewish History Hosting Jewish Voices for Peace Events

By on October 9th, 2017

The Center for Jewish History is making history by being a Jewish cultural landmark that hosts anti-Israel events. Is it trying to separate Jews from Israel?

The New York based Center for Jewish History (CJH) remains embroiled in controversy weeks after it has been revealed that the new CEO, David N. Myers is an active leader of the New Israel Fund, If Not Now, When, J Street and other organizations that are hostile to the State of Israel. While Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP) has Myers listed in their propaganda as an academic advisor, he claims that this is inaccurate. Hiis writings reveal hostile-to-Israel viewpoints, including affinity for boycotts of Israel and sympathy for the Palestinian “Nakba.”

Despite these facts, the Center for Jewish History has defended Mr. Myers and insisted he will remain as leader of the Jewish library of congress. And while organizational and Israeli leaders continue to demand he be fired, facts on the ground show that CJH has been infiltrated by Jewish Voices for Peace.

On October 26th, CJH is hosting an event for Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP), “The Balfour Declaration: Support for a Jewish Homeland or Jewish State? Is there a difference?” JVP, according to the Anti-Defamation League, is “the largest and most influential Jewish anti-Zionist group in the United States. Despite the neutral tone of its name, JVP works to demonstrate Jewish opposition to the State of Israel and to steer public support away from the Jewish State.”

On December 14th, we have learned that at the Center for Jewish History, JVP members are offered reduced admission to a play hosted by the American Jewish Historical Society entitled “Rubble Rubble” a new play by Dan Fishback, a JVP leader.

Fishback supports BDS and has previously urged plays sponsored by the Israeli government be boycotted. He’s proudly Anti-Zionist and falsely claims Israel “seeks to systematically destroy Palestinian culture based on the identity of artists and the content of work.” He believes all of Palestine must be liberated, noting in a candidacy note for JVP leadership “that the only way to liberate Palestine is to liberate world Jewry from our pain, which is why I believe in organizing from a Jewish perspective, even as I look to Palestinian organizers for essential leadership, nuance and insight.” Does this belong at the Center for Jewish History?

In a 2016 op-ed, Fishback in a lengthy op-ed about the viewpoints of Anti-Zionists like himself explained he struggles with Israel’s right to exist, noting “there is something fundamentally wrong with any state that privileges one ethno-religious group over another” describing Israel as a “supremacist state.”

Continue reading →
ISRAEL Comments turned off

Palestinians Violating U.S. Law, Twisting Israelis into War Criminals. Where are President Trump & the GOP?by Anne Bayefsky

By on October 9th, 2017

If President Trump is backtracking on his promise to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, allegedly for the sake of a “peace process,” why is he simultaneously allowing the Palestinians to violate U.S. law and sink peace unilaterally?

American law requires that funding for Palestinians be drastically curtailed if they use the International Criminal Court (ICC) to turn Israelis into war criminals. Though Palestinians have given the ICC a veritable bear hug, hundreds of millions of American dollars are still flowing into Palestinian coffers.

Palestinians are actively using a crooked international legal system as a means to avoid a negotiated end to the Arab-Israeli conflict and an acceptance of a Jewish state. It’s called lawfare — the antithesis of a “peace process.”

Palestinian-led lawfare has two goals: to criminalize Israeli exercise of the right of self-defense, and to criminalize Israelis living on any territory that Palestinians and the UN have unilaterally appropriated.

Congress has understood lawfare to be exactly what it says — namely, war by another means. They have also understood that twisting self-defense against terrorism into a war crime will rebound on American and NATO soldiers. Feeding Israelis to the sharks will be just the first course.

The International Criminal Court Statute was a coup for anti-American and anti-Israeli globalists because it trashed the essence of the reach of international law – namely, the consent of states. For the first time, international law could be used directly against citizens of states that had refused to be bound. Neither Israel nor the United States have ratified the ICC Statute, but that cannot prevent the ICC prosecutor from going after either Americans or Israelis.

Moreover, the late stages of the drafting process of the ICC Statute – originally conceived as an instrument to target the most heinous acts perpetrated by humankind – were hijacked in 1998 by the Palestinians and their friends. The result is a statute that purports to turn Israeli settlements into war crimes.

Congress, therefore, ostensibly decided to protect Israelis from this international monstrosity by threatening serious financial repercussions to the Palestinian Authority (PA) should Palestinians start down the ICC path.

Each year beginning in 2014, and most recently in May 2017, the consolidated appropriations bills have included a commitment to deny the bulk of U.S. funding to the PA if “the Palestinians initiate an International Criminal Court (ICC) judicially authorized investigation, or actively support such an investigation, that subjects Israeli nationals to an investigation for alleged crimes against Palestinians.”

Palestinians have violated this law. But instead of exacting the mandatory price, the Congressional piper has gone into hiding to avoid being paid.

The PA first tested Congressional resolve in December 2014 when “the Government of the State of Palestine” claimed that it recognized the jurisdiction of the ICC to prosecute Israeli war crimes “since June 13, 2014.” The date was cynically chosen because Palestinian terrorists kidnapped and murdered three Israeli teenagers on June 12, 2014. Subsequently, on January 2, 2015, the “State of Palestine” acceded to the ICC Statute generally.

Continue reading →
ISRAEL Comments turned off

Palestinian “Reconciliation”: Hamas Free to Fight but Now Abbas Accountable by Bassam Tawil

By on October 6th, 2017

Abbas’s new partnership with Hamas means that from this moment on, the Palestinian Authority (PA) president should be held responsible for everything that takes place inside the Gaza Strip.

Until now, Abbas was rightly absolved of any responsibility for what was happening in the Gaza Strip. He has been able to argue that because he is not there, he is not responsible if Hamas has tunnels and is building up its weaponry and firing rockets at Israel. Now, the jig is up.

Why shouldn’t Hamas accept a deal that allows it to retain its security control over the Gaza Strip while Abbas’s government is busy collecting garbage, paying salaries to civil servants and footing the bill for water and electricity?

Failing to hold the Palestinian Authority government — and Abbas — responsible means endorsing the Hezbollah model, where the Lebanese government is impotent and the real power is wielded by the Shiite terror group, Hezbollah.

Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority (PA) government is on its way back to managing civilian affairs in the Gaza Strip. Hamas, meanwhile, says it will remain in control of security and will not lay down its weapons or dismantle its security forces and militias.

Abbas’s new partnership with Hamas — the product of Egyptian mediation efforts between the two parties — means that from this moment on, the Palestinian Authority president should now be held responsible for everything that takes place inside the Gaza Strip.

Abbas and his PA government should now be held accountable, among other things, for the fate of two Israeli civilians and the remains of IDF soldiers being held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas.

Now that the Palestinian Authority has reached a deal with Hamas, President Mahmoud Abbas should be held accountable for what goes on in Gaza. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Abbas should also now be held responsible for any rockets that are fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel. Abbas cannot have it both ways. He cannot use the new partnership with Hamas to project himself as the legitimate president of all Palestinians, including those living in the Gaza Strip, but at the same time argue that he does not have “control on the ground.” He cannot have his prime minister and government managing the day-to-day affairs of the Gaza Strip while at the same time claim that he cannot do anything about Hamas’s security forces and militia.

Until now, Abbas was rightly absolved of any responsibility for what was happening in the Gaza Strip. Hamas expelled him and his Palestinian Authority from the Gaza Strip in 2007, and since then he has been able to argue that because he is not there, he is not responsible if Hamas has tunnels and is building up its weaponry and firing rockets at Israel. Fair enough.

Now, the jig is up. Abbas can no longer avoid responsibility for anything that happens inside the Gaza Strip. He demanded that Hamas dismantle its shadow government and allow the Palestinian Authority to assume its responsibilities as the sovereign power in the Gaza Strip. Hamas was clever enough to grab the opportunity. Hamas complied with his demand and cordially invited Abbas and his government back into the Gaza Strip.

What motivated Hamas? Love for Abbas? Love for Egypt? No, Hamas complied with Abbas’s demand because doing so furthered its own interests. Why shouldn’t Hamas go for any agreement that does not require it to make any meaningful concessions? Why shouldn’t Hamas accept a deal that allows it to retain its security control over the Gaza Strip while Abbas’s government is busy collecting garbage, paying salaries to civil servants and footing the bill for water and electricity?

Abbas knows that Hamas will not lay down its weapons or dismantle its security forces and armed wing, Ezaddin Al-Qassam, despite the “reconciliation” agreement and the presence of the Palestinian Authority government in the Gaza Strip.

Continue reading →