Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Why A State of Palestine Is Not the Answer to the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Nadene Goldfoot                                        
Israel 1947 with announcement at UN of statehood

The Arabs rejected the UN partition plan that would create a state of Palestine in 1947.
                                                                             
29 November 1947 until signing of Armistice Agreement in 1949, War of Independence with statehood on May 14, 1948  Israel was invaded by regular armies of Egypt, Transjordan, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon and a Saudi-Arabian contingent.  Israel won, but 6,000 Israelis were killed.  They had managed to drive back the Arab armies.  These agreements didn't hold.  
Judea and Samaria and Gaza were ruled by Arabs from 1948 to 1967.  They never had any thought during those 19 years of having a need for another 49th Muslim state in the world, let alone in the Middle East out of Palestine.  It is ironic that the Arabs have demanded that Israel do much in these 3 areas that they never considered doing while under their occupation.

At least up until 1992, the US opposed the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.  President Bush (2001-2009)  himself had said this on January 17, 1991, printed in the Washington Post.
                                                                       
Hamas
Fatah (former PLO)
The thought was at that time that" such a state would become a radical nation dominated by the PLO or Islamic extremists such as Hamas."  Since then, Hamas terrorists in Gaza have won their first election, insisted on by the USA, and they now have a permanent hold there and rule.
                                                                         
Even then in 1991, people saw the strong support for Iraq was being shown by the Palestinians living in Judea and Samaria and Gaza (the territories) during the Gulf War that the USA was embroiled in.  That was the sort of radicalism that would probably develop  in their Palestine.
                                                                           
Palestinians aiming for Ashkelon, Israel
Another danger seen by all was that a Palestinian state could be a base in another future war for Arab nations that had still refused to make peace with Israel.  The last big war Israel faced was the 1973 War, and there have been several Intifadas and constant barrages of mortars, missiles and rockets from Gaza since then.  From their actions seen and heard, there is no show of bringing about peace with Israel.
                                                                           
Beit El (Hebrewבֵּית אֵל‎) is an Israeli settlement and local council located in the Binyamin Region of Judah (the West Bank). The Orthodox Jewish town is located in the hills north of Jerusalem, east of the Palestinian city of al-Bireh, adjacent to Ramallah, which was founded in 716 by Arabs, considered the Arab capital.  It's population in 1990 was 44,500 including 7,500 Arabs.  
To Israelis citizens who have moved to Judea and Samaria and east Jerusalem, they are now living in their original land of Israel and care to do so out of religious obligations they have.  Here are sites of their religion.  To the Israeli military, they see Judea and Samaria  as defensive positions for their tiny 8,000 sq miles of Israel.  Possession of these lands deters Arab attacks from even being considered along the "eastern front."  This fact comes out of the Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies notes.  In 1991, an" Arab coalition attacking from the east of the Jordan, which would be Jordan itself, would face a very difficult fighting conditions as it would be fighting uphill from the lowest point on the face of the earth;  the Dead Sea and the Rift Valley that runs below it."  It is these mountain ranges in Judea and Samaria that are "Israel's main line of defense against Arab armies from the east.
                                                                 
Menachem Begin, Jimmy Carter and President Sadat of Egypt
signed September 17, 1978.
Autonomy of the Palestinian Arabs was never thought of as a permanent solution to the animosity and killings by the Arabs, either.  It was a temporary measure as envisioned in the Camp David Accords.  Egypt, Israel and any Palestinian Arabs and Jordanians that wanted to take part could negotiate the formation of a self-governing authority that would administer the territories for 5 years.  This is how the Palestinian Authority (PA) were created.  Jimmy Carter signed, and had been president of the USA from 1977 to 1981.
                                                                     
The Palestinian Authority was formed in 1994, pursuant to the Oslo Accords between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the government of Israel, as a five-year interim body.
In 1982, Israel offered to transfer a many of the administrative powers in Judea and Samaria and Gaza to a Palestinian self-governing authority.  Israel agreed to give up power to the PA in no fewer than 25 important areas.  They were in taxation, budget, civil service, commerce, environment, education, finance, labor and housing.  The American delegation to the negotiations saw that the parties were 80% of the way to an agreement and that problems remaining could be resolved at the negotiating table.                                          
                                                                       
Born in 1934 in Palestine, Walid Ahmed Nimer al-Naser went by
alias of Abu Ali Iyad, a senior 
Palestinian field commander based in Syria and Jordan during the 1960s and early 1970s..   
WRONG.  The PLO under Arafat opposed Camp David and they assassinated Palestinians who showed a willingness to talk with Israelis.  Abu Iyad denounced "people of weak character" who "might be tempted to participate in the conspiracy of autonomy."  Remember, the Arab heads had attended their own Kartoum Conference right after losing the 1967 War and had sworn to say no to 3 things; and that was no to peace with Israel.
                                                 
President Sadat of Egypt made the wonderful decision to visit Israel and speak to the people in 1977.  From that time on till the summer of 1982, the PLO committed many political murders in its campaign to derail the peace process.  That wasn't all they were killing.   One thing--this was when I lived close to the northern boarder in Safed, and I remember our IDF having to go up our hill and through Safed to the north where the Lebanese Christians, led by Major Haddad,  were allowed by Sharon to go into the Palestinian camp to stop them from all the shelling they had been doing to northern Israel.  They did, and Israel was blamed for a slaughter. It was called the Sabra and Shatilla Massacre.   They had been bombing Israel constantly.  My friend had gone further north to a department store we all loved in Kiriat Shimona and was trapped there in a bomb shelter.  We didn't know what had happened to her.  
Moshe Dayan, Sadat, Begin
                                                                                   
Anwar Sadat (1918-1981)
President of Egypt 1970-1981
It was he who launched the Yom Kippur War against Israel in 1973.
By 1977 he initiated a peace process with Israel and addressed the Knesset,
Signed a peace treaty in 1979 with Israel
Assassinated by Moslem extremists while reviewing a military parade in Cairo
At any rate, the talks collapsed when it was seen that Egypt, who had been negotiating for the Palestinians, did not want to continue talking for them.  Then Sadat was himself assassinated and the Lebanon War ended the hopes of reviving the negotiations in the early 1980's.

Jews Living in Judea and Samaria
Camp David had decided on a 5 year period of time for the Palestinians to govern themselves.

  Prime Minister Menachem Begin had agreed to a 3 month moratorium on Israelis coming into their ancient land and establishing any new homes.  Begin kept his agreement.  The Israel position was backed by Anwar Sadat who said, "We agreed to put a freeze on the establishment of settlements for the coming 3 months, the time necessary in our estimation for signing the peace treaty."  So even though Egypt was a major leader of the Arab world, even they saw it was time to call an end to the animosity the Muslims had felt for the new Jewish nation who had returned to their homeland.  He had made peace and thought the Palestinians should, too!!  The Camp David Agreement was signed on September 17, 1978 after 12 days of secret talks.  In September 1980, we made aliyah to Israel.  


Resource:  Myths and Facts by Mitchell G. Bard, Joel Himelfarb-a concise record of the Arab-Israeli Conflict.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_David_Accords
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ali_Iyad
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beit_El
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_National_Authority
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabra_and_Shatila_massacre

















































































Today they also have to worry about the other 3 sides as well:  ships from the Mediterranean on the west; missiles from Lebanon in the north; and the armies coming through Egypt in the south.  However, Egypt signed a peace agreement and they have been doing well.  So has Jordan.


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