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| Israel-Palestine |
| "Today Gaza, Tomorrow Jerusalem" |
| 2005-08-10 |
| By Daniel Pipes Excerpt: But I forecast a very different outcome. Given that some 80 percent of Palestinians continue to reject Israelâs very existence, signs of Israeli weakness, such as the forthcoming Gaza withdrawal, will instead inspire heightened Palestinian irredentism. Absorbing their new gift without gratitude, Palestinians will focus on those territories Israelis have not evacuated. (This is what happened after Israeli forces fled Lebanon.) The retreat will inspire not comity but a new rejectionist exhilaration, a greater frenzy of anti-Zionist anger, and a surge in anti-Israel violence. Palestinians themselves are openly saying as much. Ahmed al-Bahar, a top Hamas figure in Gaza, says that âIsrael has never been in such a state of retreat and weakness as it is today following more than four years of the intifada. Hamasâ heroic attacks exposed the weakness and volatility of the impotent Zionist security establishment. The withdrawal marks the end of the Zionist dream and is a sign of the moral and psychological decline of the Jewish state. We believe that the resistance is the only way to pressure the Jews.â Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, says likewise that the withdrawal is âdue to the Palestinian resistance operationsâŠand we will continue our resistance.â Others are more specific. At a mass rally in Gaza City last Thursday, some 10,000 Palestinians danced, sang, and chanted, âToday Gaza, tomorrow Jerusalem.â Jamal Abu Samhadaneh, commander of Gazaâs Popular Resistance Committees, announced on Sunday, âWe will move our cells to the West Bankâ and warned that âThe withdrawal will not be complete without the West Bank and Jerusalem.â The Palestinian Authorityâs Ahmed Qurei also asserts, âOur march will stop only in Jerusalem.â |
| Posted by:ed |
| #9 I don't buy any historical or biblical arguments about who should own what cause there's no way to know when to stop. Re Israel encouraging the settlers it doesn't change any facts on the ground. Fine they were told they could go, they went, the gov't now says oops my bad; come on back. This goes directly to my point, the only option for Israel was to say this land (all of Gaza, some of Gaza, whatever) is ours; all you Paleolithians go back to Egypt and Jordan, etc. AKA ethnic cleansing. Re: the analogy, you can push any analogy to the breaking point, but, if you don't think that the US govt has encouraged mainlanders to set up in PR you haven't been paying attention. The economics of the situation greatly encourage business to move in, and that means people. What do you think will happen if the PRs voted for independence instead of the status quo? Do you think that the US would still protect people that wanted to stay there? At best we'd evacuate them from a hostile crowd. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2005-08-10 11:53 |
| #8 AlanC, There is one minor glitch to your viewpoint. The U.S. didn't tell the settlers from NY or FLA or Kansas to move to Puerto Rico and the U.S. will take care of you (militarily & financially) even, under the threat of terrorism. If the settlers from NY, FLA, Kansas, move to Puerto Rico under their own cognizance without gov't knowledge or approval, then I can maybe understand your point. As a Christian, I can't Biblically, compare the Israeli land situation with other land, such U.S. or British land. Every other land situation is different from a Biblical point of view. Yes, the previous administrations of Israel promised the settlers protection and funding and told them to move to Gush Katif. Now, all of a sudden a new administration comes along wants to destroy the promise/agreement. This is wrong. |
| Posted by: Poison Reverse 2005-08-10 10:57 |
| #7 The problem, PR, is that Israel cannot take the steps necessary to annex Gaza. They really have only have one option. That is to build the fence / wall around what they consider Israel to be, and ethnically cleanse the area of "Palestinians". The only way they could keep Gaza (or sections of the West Bank) was to formally annex the land and kick out anyone who didn't like it. Once they have established their borders, any incursion, either human or ordnance, is a casus belli and they can respond appropriately. A better analogy would be the US relation to Peurto Rico. Imagine that the vast majority of PRs wanted nothing to do with the US. But, the settlers from NY or FLA or Kansas wanted to stay. The US should say fine stay, but, PR is no longer a part of the US. Never really was, never will be. Have fun, and don't forget to write. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2005-08-10 10:31 |
| #6 2b, I don't think my analogy is absurd and I am not alone. I don't understand your mindset. You are willing to give up U.S. land (El Centro) to build a wall. The difference between my thinking and your thinking is that, I will build a wall alright, I will build it on the BORDER. I will give up nothing and reward no one, for breaking the INS laws. I will make no deals with illegals. In the case of Israel, they should never reward terrorism. There is no denying that Israel is moving the settlers under constant rocket barrage. Even if I agree on the pullout, which I won't, I would set a mandate. The mandate states that not one rocket lands in settler land for at least two years. Being the pigs that they are, they can't even stop launching a rocket for two days much less two years. Hamas and PLF, have already coregraphed their victory parade. Your mindset states that, once the settlers leave, the Pali's are going to destroy each other. I am saying that is, absurd thinking. We may have the popcorn bowl on our lap, but we will never get to enjoy one popped kernel. Hell, I've waiting to enjoy some popcorn concerning Judea, Samaria, and Golan but, as predicted, my popcorn is stale now and lost its flavor. I don't know if this is true, but I have been getting some emails that says that Sharon has purposely denied IDF protection, for several months now in the settler area, in order to "motivate" the settlers to move out. If it is true, this is one despicable man. The simple truth is that, as long as Israel exists, the PLF and Hamas are not going to destroy each other. We will not be able to enjoy mutual destruction until Israel disappears and no one at RB wants that. |
| Posted by: Poison Reverse 2005-08-10 09:54 |
| #5 Dont forget that the Palistinians also lose any 'alledged justification' for their acts (at least for the Euros and the left). The next bombing should be viewed more for what it really is deliberate and intentional murder of innocents. Not that it actually will by the left who will make up any 'justification' for the murders. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2005-08-10 09:13 |
| #4 agreed |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-08-10 08:40 |
| #3 oh..and btw PR - your analogy of Mexifornia (yesterday) is absurd. A better analogy would be if we gave back a bit of farming land out by El Centro (that's populated by only 8,000) and in exchange for that got secure wall to restrict the free flow of illegal immigrants that cross our border specifically to blow up discos and busses. It seems a fair exchange to me. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-08-10 05:28 |
| #2 There's no surprises here. I may well be proved wrong - but I think that Israel is better off finishing the castle walls and moving inside where they can better control who comes and goes and be free to lob missles at anyone who shoots arrows at them. Besides, I think the Paleos will soon be really busy killing each other and may actually begin looking to their Arab neighbors to get some of their land back. It's like The Club - make it a little difficult and the thiefs will often move on to the next car. But I may very well be proved wrong. At least they are doing something to see if they can make it work, which IMHO is a better option than just maintaining the unmaintainable status quo. Besides, with the settlers gone, they can always take back the land, raze it, and make a nice buffer zone, if that's what they really need. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-08-10 04:47 |
| #1 Sliced salami approach to the dismemberment of Eretz Israel. |
| Posted by: borgboy 2005-08-10 02:21 |