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| Israel-Palestine |
| Terror alert in Jerusalem after Sharon fires ministers |
| 2004-06-04 |
| As has happened repeatedly over the past 11 years, radical efforts by Israel’s leadership to move ahead in the direction of a "land-for-peace" agreement with the Palestinian Arabs have been rapidly followed by a surge in terror alerts. Israeli security forces were placing roadblocks at entrances to Jerusalem Friday, following multiple warnings that Arab terrorists planned to carry out an attack in the capital. The alert spiked just hours after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon took the unprecedented step of firing two of his ministers in order to secure a slim majority in Sunday’s scheduled vote on his Gaza retreat plan. By dismissing National Union ministers Benny Elon and Avigdor Lieberman, Sharon signaled his growing disregard for the concerns many Israelis have about making concessions that could lead to the establishment of a "Palestinian" state. The way now appears open for Sharon to pass his plan, which aims to uproot thousands of Jews from their homes in the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria. Such an act would amount to a de facto reversal of the restoration of Jews to their biblical homeland that came about as a result of the 1967 Six Day War. Bible-believing Jews and Christians believe that, having brought that land back under Jewish control in accordance with biblical prophesy, the God of Israel is wholly committed to securing His ancient people’s presence there. Right wing Israelis reacted with disbelief and anger to the news late Thursday that Sharon had decided on the unprecedented step of firing two cabinet ministers in order to railroad his plan to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip and parts of Samaria of their Jews. Speaking on Israeli television, Sharon told the country he was relieving Transport Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Tourism Minister Benny Elon of their posts because they were committed to opposing his plan. The prime minister said he had fired the men because "I need a majority on Sunday" when he brings his plan to the cabinet. The move had been made necessary, he said, because three Likud ministers - Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Education Minister Limor Livnat and Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom - had indicated they would vote against the plan. Earlier this week, Sharon declared his conviction that the plan, aimed at paving the way for the establishment of a State of Palestine on Jewish lands in accordance with the demands of the international community, would be fully implemented by the end of 2005. On hearing that he was being given the boot, Lieberman noted that Sharon’s plan had never been approved by the government, and was in fact rejected by the ruling Likud Party, meaning he had absolutely no obligation whatsoever to support it as a member of the cabinet. "I’m being fired for disagreeing with the prime minister," he told Israel Radio. Housing Minister Effie Eitam (National Religious Party) said that Sharon’s firing of Elon and Lieberman was an "immoral and undemocratic act." NRP MK Shaul Yahalom called Sharon’s actions unprecedented and said that, under Sharon, Israel was closer to a dictatorship than a democracy. On Friday morning, hours after Sharon announced his intention to fire the ministers, and shortly after he sent couriers to serve written dismissal notices on Elon and Lieberman, Israel’s police and military forces went on high alert for a terrorist attack. As the nation prepared for the start of the Sabbath, Israeli media reported roadblocks were being set up around the capital, patrols inside the city had been beefed up, and suspicious looking vehicles and individuals were being searched and questioned. While many terror attacks have been thwarted during the past years, often in apparently miraculous ways, Jerusalem Newswire staff note that concerted efforts by Israel’s leaders to move the land-for-peace process forward have often been followed by successful acts of terrorism, costing Israelis their lives. |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |
| #5 Sharon Can't fire everyone opposed... I'm sure he remembers a one Julius Caesar and "The Ides Of March"! |
| Posted by: smn 2004-06-04 11:17:39 PM |
| #4 I am impressed with his strategy. I wouldn't have thought of firing my ministers. Does anyone more familiar with the Israeli Constitution see a viable response to shut him down? Can they just replay the no confidence vote to stop him? |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-06-04 10:44:41 PM |
| #3 what can I add to AP and Verlaine's comments, other than ballsy move by Sharon to take the initiative? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-06-04 10:42:53 PM |
| #2 Correct, Paul. As negotiation is not a meaningful option in the near term, separation and withdrawal are a strategic coup de main. Note how the "100 unique retaliations" or whatever b.s. Hamas threatened following dispatch of the wheelchair psycho and then the pediatrician of death have, uh, not materialized. The suicide-bomber terror war was Arafat's last gambit. The barrier and separation (supplemented by limited or zero Pal access to Green Line Israel) neutralize that weapon. Israel's economy is on the mend, as is the mood on security matters. The old line was the Pals would have to fight their civil war before the Israelis fought theirs -- the order may actually be reversed in practice, but the comparative intensity (nasty but containable in Israel, titanic and fateful among the Pals) of the two spats will be noticeably different. The only mystery is why this wasn't done two years ago, if not earlier. |
| Posted by: Verlaine 2004-06-04 10:20:15 PM |
| #1 I do not know all of the complexities of Israeli politics, but Sharon's plan of evacuating untenable settlements in Gaza and the West Bank, followed by a wall seems to be the most tenable and achievable plan so far. The Paleos get their state, such as they are and such as it is, and the Israelis do not have to deal with them any more, except to blow some Paleos away that are dumb enough to lob ordinance over the wall. Holding onto settlements may have a religious connotation or something, but they do nothing but serve as magnets for Paleos. I hope that the Israelis get it together and make the realignment and the wall happen. A resulting Paleo civil war is not the Israeli's problem. They are outa there. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-06-04 8:38:00 PM |