The Iranian Revolution & the Palestinians

Ahmadinajad has voted for himself many times in many ways.

It seems that the powerful Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Basij (paramilitary, plainclothes vigilantes - is the main force used to quell the anti-government protests) and various security forces have gained the upper hand and quelled the Iranian uprising for the time being. An uneasy calm has been achieved and it can only be a temporary respite from the unrest.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinajad may have proved his mettle for now, but the winds of change in Iran will blow again. It is more than forged election results although this may have been the catalyst. News coming out of Iran is scanty as foreign journalists have been expelled and a news blackout has been declared.

Fortunately news of cruelty and abuse of power is getting through the heavy censorship, thanks to internet software such as You Tube, Flickr and Twitter. Much of the news is authentic and does give a picture of what is going on in strife-ridden Iran. The scene of the killing of a 27 year old lady, Neda Agha Soltan, by a Basij sniper's bullet in front of the camera viewed by the whole world, was horrifying. She became a symbol of the uprising overnight - perhaps even a martyr. Martyrdom is much revered in Shiite Islam.

The evil Ahmadinajad regime can only fall when the Iranian Police and Army desert and join the uprising. While the forces remain loyal to Ahmadinajad, the uprising will fail in its objective. The opposition candidate for president Mir Hussein Moussavi, is a figurehead and his influence will weaken. After all, he is no democrat nor is his ideology very different from Ahmadinajad.

While the uprising of the Iranian people has gained worldwide support, it does not seem that there will be any attempt to counter the violent repression by the Iranian vigilantes loyal to Ahmadinajad.
How does this affect the Palestinians? Ahmadinajad has been calling for Israel's destruction in the hope of getting Palestinian support for his grand scheme of domination of the Middle East. He has given money to terrorist organizations operating in the occupied territories in order to gain influence.

Ahmadinajad does not care for the Palestinians; he only cares for his megalomanic self. He uses them and for now he will probably climb down from his perch and be more involved in internal issues of his country. His power base despite his success in quelling the demonstrations is weakened and the Ayatollahs of Qom are showing signs of internal divisions. This is where his power base lies.

Ahmadinajad's support of Hamas and other terror organizations in the occupied territories will weaken as his hands are full in oppressing the uprising. Perhaps this could be seen as Iran's intifada. It would be in Palestinian interests not to kow-tow to the Ahmadinajad regime.

Ahmadinajad is a dictator and he will tolerate no opposition to his regime. He would force a Shiite style Islam on the Palestinians if given the chance.

It would be prudent for the Palestinians not to support Ahmadinajad for the reasons mentioned. It is not even a case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Ahmadinajad is the enemy of Israel, Palestinians and the Arab World! Perhaps the Palestinians do not realize it, but they are due for a rude awakening one day.

In order to weaken Ahmadinajad the free world should apply sanctions on Iran in the same spirit as they did to apartheid South Africa. They should isolate Iran and recall their ambassadors until Ahmadinajad falls.The revenues from oil finance the Ahmadinajad regime. A total embargo on Iran's oil supplies would bring Ahmadinajad to his knees. The sooner this is done, the better for all.

CROCODILE’S TEARS

Those who oppress Millions of Palestinians For 42 years – Rave about the freedom fighters - in Iran. Those who rejected the results Of the Palestinian elections – Are shocked by the thwarting Of the people’s will - in Iran. Those who shoot and kill Palestinian demonstrators In Wadi Ara, Bilin and Nialin – Shudder at the sight of The police shooting protesters - in Iran.

Gush Shalom Ad published in Haaretz, June 26, 2009

The Anticipated Netanyahu Speech was a Damp Squid

There was great anticipation of the speech that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu was to deliver. It was Netanyahu's antidote to President Obama's speech delivered at Cairo University.

Obama expressed his opposition to the building and expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank and the US support for the two-state solution. Netanyahu decided not to clash with Obama on that issue and accepted grudgingly the two-state solution with severe limitations.

Obama had put the thumbscrews on Netanyahu. It is as if he said: "Accept the two-state solution or else bear the consequences". The result was a "hiccupping acceptance" with severe limitations ensuring that the two-state solution will never be accepted by the Palestinians. This means maintaining the status quo in true Netanyahu style.

It is significant to note that the venue chosen for his speech was Bar Ilan University - the institute of right wing ideology. In this right wing environment he felt confident. Most of his audience was Likud supporters and all he did was preach to the converted. He made a very Zionistic speech - a patriotic call - and an attempt to patch up his differences with the Obama Administration on the two-state solution and settlement expansion. At the same time he wanted to satisfy his right-wing coalition partners.

The limitations imposed on the Palestinians will set the clock back for a peaceful solution to the conflict. Netanyahu also stated that the Palestinians must recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Surely this is unnecessary! Is it not sufficient to recognize Israel's right to exist in security within recognized borders?

Israel is a state of all its citizens and demographically has a Jewish majority. It is a matter of semantics. The emphasis of Israel being recognized as a Jewish state is a source of contention with the Palestinians as the innuendo is viewed by them as an attempt at "ethnic cleansing" to ensure that Israel will become free of Arabs. This is how the moderate Palestinian leadership thinks. The settlement expansion in the occupied territories somehow reinforces that view. After all, every meter of illegal settlement in the occupied territories means a meter less for the size of a future Palestinian state and thus to its viability. What is the point of emphasizing in true patriotic fashion the obvious? Is it an attempt at demagoguery so typical of the Zionist right wing in order to cloud the real issues so important for peace?

The speech received a lukewarm reception by President Obama. He stated that Netanyahu did not go far enough. The Palestinians and the Arab states rejected it outright. The US Administration's pressure on Netanyahu to get him to accept a two-state solution was partially successful. The severe limitations imposed on the establishment of a Palestinian State is so severe that with all due respect, it could never be achieved as it is unacceptable by the Palestinians.

There are those Israeli pundits who maintain that Israel is doing all the compromising while the Palestinians are giving nothing in return to end the conflict. The Palestinians feel Israel has occupied their lands and created the refugee problem. It goes back to 1948 and then again in June 1967. They therefore feel that an injustice has been done to them and they do not need to make compromises apart from carrying out their battle for an independent Palestinian state which is threatened by occupation and expansion of settlements on the West Bank.

A real security problem has to be dealt with in Israel. Israelis fear that a Palestinian state could become a reservoir for terror activity against Israel. The possibility of a Hamas take over as in the case of Gaza cannot be ruled out. Hamas is well known for its hard-line ideology against Israel. It refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist and they do not wish to negotiate with Israel. A Hamas take over in the West Bank could become a nightmare for Israel and the Palestinians as well, judging what happened in Gaza. There is also the chance that Hezbollah and Iran would gain further influence in the West Bank as a result. These are genuine fears that cannot be overlooked. Iran and its Hezbollah ally could include Syria as well. This is another reason why Netanyahu is not prepared to cede any land to the Palestinians apart from traditional ideological reasons.

The right wing coalition partners are not even prepared to accept the two state solution. They believe that the solution to the conflict is the repatriation of Palestinian refugees in Jordan. They believe that Jordan is Palestine and that is where the solution must be found. It has nothing to do with Israel's security at all. Even if there was no terror threat, the right wing, which includes the religious Zionists, believes that they have every right to settle the West Bank, or Greater Israel in their eyes. This includes the building of settlements, stealing Palestinian lands and destroying Palestinian property wherever they can for settlement activity. Even by the wildest stretch of the imagination this has nothing to do with the security of Israel.
The only way to achieve peace with security for both Israel and the Palestinians is to discuss all issues openly. There should not be talk of a limited, demilitarized Palestinian state as a precondition. The solution to the refugee problem, division of Jerusalem into a Palestinian and an Israeli canton so that it could be considered the capital of both Israel and Palestine taking into consideration the population concentration there. Of course there should be cessation of violence on both sides as well as recognition of both sides to each others right to exist in security, peace and dignity.

There was no hint of even discussing these issues in Netanyahu's speech. This is what makes his speech manipulative, insincere and a ploy to satisfy his right wing coalition partners.

Netanyahu was hoping that the violence in Iran because of severe election fraud and its threat to the notorious Ahmadinajad leadership could ease US pressure on Israel. It remains to be seen if this will be a factor. To date this does not appear to be the case.

None of their business

Netanyahu demands that The Palestinians Recognize Israel as The “State of the Jewish People”. In Oslo, the Palestinians Have already recognized The sovereign State of Israel. All other definitions Are our own affair. Until this very day We have not succeeded Even to decide Who is a Jew. How does that concern The Palestinians? Gush Shalom

Ad in Haaretz, June 19, 2009

President Obama's Cairo Speech and Implications

President Obama's visit to Cairo was well received. The speech that he made at Cairo University received a positive response. It was obvious that the speech was intended for the Arab states with whom he wishes to improve relations.

Many observers maintain that this speech was one of President Obama's greatest speeches to date. He made many generalizations but no policy announcements. However, he was clear on two issues:

1. Settlements in the occupied territories must cease.

2. The enlarging of existing settlements under the excuse of" national growth" must end as well.

There was no mention of removing existing settlements on the West Bank.

Obama is not anti-Israel despite the fact that the right wing in Israel wish to label him as such. The accusations of the Israeli right wing claiming that Obama is Moslem because of his middle name, Hussein, are scandalous! They view his speech as anti-Israel and pro-Arab because he is more outspoken on illegal settlement issues. The previous Bush Administration ignored Israel's settlement policies in the West Bank as well as the make shift outposts.

The Obama Administration made a deeper study of all the peace efforts attempted by previous US administrations noting that all these efforts achieved very little for peace. Obama seems to be adopting a more aggressive peace policy and a different approach compared to US policy of previous US administrations.

While Obama has not formulated any approach towards solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, there is a hint that he will not let sleeping dogs lie as the previous administrations did. Obama's Cairo speech illustrates his incredible charisma and a desire to be more involved in formulating peace between Israel and the Palestinians early in his presidency. All the deceptions of Israel under the guise of "natural growth" in the occupied territories which in practice meant building new settlements on stolen Palestinian lands will have to stop.

The Netanyahu government must take heed of the new US approach and change its ideas. Netanyahu's arm will be twisted until he accepts the two-state solution. He has no choice or he will risk US admonishing and pressure by not getting automatic support by the US in preventing the passing of anti-Israel resolutions in the UN. These anti-Israel resolutions will increase and the US will not veto them automatically as in the past.

Israel prides itself in being the only true democracy in the Middle East. This democracy ceases when it comes to the colonization of the West Bank and the abuse of human rights of the Palestinians. Now with a draconian law preventing the commemoration of the Naqba has brought the demise of democracy in Israel a step closer. Collective punishment meted out by the Israeli Security Forces against the Palestinians by humiliating body searches and checkpoints in the guise of security are draconian and not democratic. The uprooting of olive trees, destruction of Palestinian agricultural lands by settler zealots occurs frequently. Many settlers beat up Palestinians for no reason and all these incidents are swept into oblivion by Israel. It is inexcusable and unacceptable!

Israel wishes to be viewed as the biblical David surrounded by a hostile hoard of Goliaths. Yet the occupation of the West Bank and the behavior of the extremist zealot illegal settlers towards defenseless Palestinians dissuade that image. Their aggressive activities against the Palestinians are left largely unpunished.

Obama is aware of human rights abuses in the occupied West Bank. This is incompatible with Western democratic values to which Israel proscribes. He addresses himself to these abuses and realizes that it has to end. The only way to end it must be to end the occupation. Obama is the best friend Israel ever had in the US. At least he is honest in his attitude towards the illegal settlements. He is not side stepping that issue. It remains to be seen how he will get the Netanyahu government to agree. The problem is that the hardcore right wing coalition partners do not accept it. They regard those that oppose the occupation and building of settlements in occupied Palestinian lands as being anti-Zionist or even anti-Semitic. This is ludicrous of course but then their propaganda gains much support amongst the religious right.

It is quite possible that Obama will present a peace plan within the next coming months. It will probably begin with a commitment to the two-state solution, withdrawal to the lines of June 1967 before the Six-Day War and total freeze of settlements on the West Bank. The right wing coalition under Netanyahu will not accept this. It is obvious that Obama's desire to end the hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians as well as withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Another factor is the economic slump in the US because of the stock market crash. This reverberated throughout the world including Israel. The only way to improve the US economy is by improving relations with its trading partners and this includes the Arab world whose oil is essential for the US. While many people have lost their jobs because of the severe slump, the improvement in the economic situation in the US could be achieved by solving the conflict.

There seems to be a strained relationship between Obama and Netanyahu. Both leaders are arrogant and that is as far as their similarity goes. Both are determined to stick to their views which are diametrically opposed.

The only alternative under the present Israeli government is a binational apartheid state which can never be democratic as it means continuing the occupation. The opposition to a two state solution will gain ground in the Palestinian camp for a very different reason. They believe that if the two-state solution is not accepted by Israel, it will be replaced by a binational state which within time will have a Palestinian majority. This is a possible alternative to the two-state solution.

U.S. Attempts at Impartiality

In contrast to the Bush Administration, the Obama Administration seems to be bending over backwards to create a new atmosphere for even handedness on Israeli - Palestinian Conflict.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's posturing against the two-state solution is not going to help. In contrast to the Bush Administration indifference towards the conflict, President Obama wishes to improve US relations with the Moslem world. Bush ignored Israel's settlement activity on the West Bank.

The Annapolis Conference that President George Bush convened before the end of his presidency was inconclusive and lead to no final decisions about peace.

The Bush Administration was tainted with problems unsolved, much of which was Bush's creation out of his naive approach to the conflict and to the debacles in Iraq and Afghanistan which tarnished the US image in the Arab world. Obama wishes to improve this by taking a harder line towards Israel's settlement policy in the West Bank.

It seems as if the superficial understandings reached with the previous Bush Administration will be negated and the marking time on Israel's settlement policy will get short shrift from the Obama Administration.

The government of Israel is concerned about the even-handedness of the Obama Administration. In their eyes, the US policy on the settlements in the West Bank is unfair. The settlement policy of all Israel's previous governments in the past has been ignoring the building of settlements on the West Bank and even tacitly encouraging it. Special financial benefits were given to settlers on the West Bank to encourage settlement.

President Obama is visiting Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other Arab States in the Middle East in an attempt to heal the US rift with Moslem states. The Israeli Government is not happy about this development as it means more concessions to the Palestinians over withdrawal from the occupied territories. It means removal of outposts as starters. This also means that illegal settlements on the West Bank will also be removed in stages.

According to reports in the various media, Obama intends to persuade the Arab states to give something in return. It is doubtful if much will be achieved on this trip. Another interesting fact about this trip is that Israel is not on Obama's itinerary. The Arab states claim that the Saudi Plan of 2002 has given many concessions to Israel in the form of recognition and the establishment of normal relations if Israel agrees to the two-state solution and withdraws to the pre-June 1967 borders. The right wing coalition partners of Netanyahu government find this unacceptable. It remains to be seen whether Israel will acquiesce to US demands or to forfeit the automatic support it has been getting from the US as in the past if it panders to right wing settler demands.

The Israeli Government must realize that they are not the only players in the conflict and that peace between Israel and the Palestinians is in the US interests no less than Israel. A very serious problem remains with Hamas in Gaza. Hamas is intransigent and not amenable to negotiating with Israel irrespective of the government in power. How Obama will deal with that remains a big question.

On June 4th 2009, President Obama delivered a speech at Cairo University. His speech reflected a strong desire to make peace with the Moslem world. It was a speech reflecting a fair assessment of the situation between the US and the Moslem world despite the fact that Obama gave no indication as to how this could be achieved.

The Netanyahu government was not happy with the speech as Obama had mentioned the uprooting of settlements on the West Bank. One must bear in mind that this speech was intended for the ears of the Moslem world and not for Israel. US interests are not necessarily Israeli interests. Economic ties with the Arab states are important to the US as a bulwark against the Iranian nuclear threat.

The content of the speech was balanced and time will tell whether it will have much impact on those to whom it was intended. Perhaps the speech was a bit naive and did show a certain lack of knowledge of the history of the conflict as well as the intense hatred between the two sides.

However, President Obama realizes that the key to peace between the Palestinians and Israelis lies in improved relations with the Arab states and Moslem states. Also Obama stated that the key to a solution to the conflict consists of recognition of Israel’s right to exist and the right of the Palestinians to an independent state alongside Israel. This can only be achieved by Israel agreeing to remove illegal outposts and (this could include illegal settlements in the West Bank). After all at the end of the day, there is no other option for an independent Palestinian state but in the occupied West Bank. The Netanyahu approach against the two-state solution is harming Israel according to former ambassador to the United States Sallai Meridor. It remains to be seen how the Netanyahu Government will respond to that. Time is now against Israel and the status quo in constant settlement enlargement on the West Bank has now ended. After all much of the settlements established in the occupied West Bank is on stolen Palestinian lands.

A solution to the conflict is dependent on painful decisions on Israel’s part and the Palestinian agreement to renounce terror in all its forms and to act to prevent it. There is no doubt that the Obama approach differs from that of the previous Bush administration approach which was no approach.

It will be in the interests of all the parties concerned to heed Obama’s speech in Cairo. It is the best thing that came from the US in a long while.

42 years of occupation 42 years of corrupting the country 42 years of creeping annexation 42 years of robber settlement 42 years of increasing violence 42 years of sabotaging peace

THE OCCUPATION IS A DISASTER!

Gush Shalom

Ad in Haaretz, June 5, 2009!

The Cat and the Mouse

Israeli settlers under the protection of the Israeli army started on Monday morning to install homes on lands that belong to villagers from Bil'in, located near the central West Bank city of Ramallah.

Israeli trucks installing the mobile homes at Mitetyaho Mizrah settlement on Monday

A group of men from the village were staying over night in there land managed to come close to the trucks installing the mobile homes of the settlers and stopped them by standing infornt of them, Burnat stated. He added that the men will continue to block the trucks way in an attempt to stop the destruction of the villagers lands. ( Ghassan Bannoura of IMEMC News 26 May 2009)

The Knesset has introduced a draft law to ban Naqba commemorations. At the same time a cat and mouse game is being played out in the occupied West Bank.

Youngsters of the right wing persuasion have arrived en masse and began building illegal outposts on Palestinian lands each time the army vacates them. These youngsters are adorned with the symbolic trappings (kipot, fringes and ear locks) of their faith including their fanatic zeal.

They are treated with kid gloves by the Israeli Authorities. The hilltop youths are not averse to fomenting violence against the Palestinian people living there. Their motivation for constructing make-shift homes is high. The response by Israel is mild. They are cajoled rather gently not to carry on their illegal activities. Punishment is seldom meted out.

However after their illegal activities in building in the occupied territories is stopped by the authorities, they return to continue settlement activity when the coast is clear. A true cat and mouse game has been going on for some years now. As expected, no arrests were made.

One cannot miss thinking of what would happen to Palestinians who carry out similar activities in East Jerusalem. Their homes would be demolished immediately and arrests would be made.

The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, made an "amazing profound" statement. He said that dealing with Iran takes priority over evacuating West Bank settlements. In other words, the innuendo is to turn a blind eye on these illegal outposts and let the illegal settlers carry on undisturbed. After all Iran is priority number one - an excuse for overlooking settler activity and therefore the conflict. By being soft on illegal building of outposts, his right wing coalition partners will not threaten to bolt the government.

Palestinian building without permits is treated more seriously. The tractors move in and demolish the new homes in the guise that these homes are illegal. Many families find themselves without homes. What is illegal for Palestinians is legal for Israelis in the occupied West Bank.

The outposts that are demolished are those that are insignificant and not controversial. These are cosmetic moves only which is not a start to ending of the occupation.

It seems that the right wing kippa-cladded fanatics will be apologetically removed by the Israeli Police or Army. They will receive delicate treatment and praise by Netanyahu's right wing anti-Arab coalition partners. It seems as if Israel subscribes and prides itself on the rule of law whenever it is in the interests of the right wing as far as illegal settlements are concerned.

This cosmetic removal of illegal outposts to confuse the US and the World will not alter the fact that Israel is enlarging existing settlements on the West Bank because of "natural growth". New settlements are still being established by stealth.

Israel's Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, who is not considered devoid of anti-Arab sentiments, has given this lawlessness his blessing as it coincides with his racist world view. Lieberman and his Israel Beiteinu Party were elected to the Knesset on a racist ticket of superiority over the Arabs. His brand of racism is popular amongst a large proportion of the Israeli electorate including many Russian immigrants. As far as Lieberman and his ilk are concerned the Arab citizens of Israel are temporary sojourners. The Naqba (catastrophe) commemoration is only one example of what will be declared illegal in order to deny the Arab minority the right to commemorate it. His ilk will dictate what is legal for the Arabs to commemorate.

The Israeli Government prides itself in the rule of law. In practice this rule of law is flawed when it comes to dealing with illegal settler activities. It is amazing how flexible the law is when illegal settlement activity is addressed so lightly. The moment an illegal outpost is demolished within hours it is re-established and the criminal zealots are not even punished apart from a mild reprimand.

If Palestinians were to behave in this manner and build illegally, the full weight of the law is brought down to bear on them by means of demolitions and expulsions. Is this equality before the law Israeli style? The right wing Government with its settlement policies leaves no doubt that they wish to maintain the occupation and increase settlement activities in the West Bank. The facts speak for themselves. Illegal settlements are symbols of the fulfillment of Zionism today which is the monopoly of the right wing and its pseudo-religious zealot allies.

An unfortunate development in Zionism today is the rigor mortis of left wing Zionism. The latter has lost its identity as the Labor Party has become an amorphous mass of spineless MKs in Netanyahu's coalition of macabre specters. Meretz - the scion of left wing humanistic Zionism has become irrelevant as illustrated by their dramatic loss of support to only three mandates.

Israel’s democracy is being threatened by the right wing forces. It starts with the blind eye to increasing settlement activity and ends in the banning of the Naqba commemorations.

Israel with its occupation policies cannot prove to the world that it does not wish to rule another people apart from the sterile lip service it pays to the contrary. Facts on the ground prove that the occupation continues and with it settlement expansion so that new facts on the ground make it more difficult to reach a two-state solution. It is obvious that the more settlement that is established on the West Bank, the less land will be available for the establishment of a future Palestinian state.

NATURAL DECREASE Many settlers Would like to leave If they could get Fair compensations. The settlers’ children Must be told: You cannot build homes In occupied territory. Look for a future In Israel. Your parents will join you Soon.

Gush Shalom Ad published in Haaretz, May 28, 2009

Netanyahu-Obama Meeting

As expected, apart from some understandings between the two leaders no progress in any direction was made. Netanyahu's world view, especially regarding Israel, is one sided and not conducive to change. He does not give any indication that he will accept the two-state solution.

The undertones of the meeting with President Obama were Netanyahu's attempt to steer away from the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and discuss the danger of Iran's nuclear weapons program. It is obvious that this tactic is to postpone discussions on this issue as much as possible.

The meeting between President Obama and PM Netanyahu was cordial but a failure. Netanyahu's obsessive harping on the Iranian nuclear issue rather than focusing on a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict was so shallow and annoying. He failed to see the importance of a settlement to the conflict as strengthening the US hand in getting an agreement with the Arab states who also feel threatened by Iran no less than Israel. If Iran succeeds in her plans of developing nuclear weapons, the Palestinians will be under nuclear threat as well. Their proximity to Israel makes this obvious. Unfortunately, the enemy of Israel is a friend to the Palestinians and this is the case of Iran in its attitude to the Palestinians, especially to Hamas.

However Netanyahu has other priorities - the denial of the Palestinians' right to an independent state alongside Israel as well as continuation of the vile occupation. The removal of tiny one-horse settlements by Defense Minister Ehud Barak is cosmetic - a sop to Obama and the world. It is a mask for continuation of the occupation. Defense Minister Barak and his two-faced Labor Party are full partners because they are an integral part of Netanyahu's right wing coalition. Labor has lost its scruples and has destroyed humane left wing Zionism. This party is ceasing to be relevant and has become insignificant. Zionism is the monopoly of the right wing occupation protagonists today. Solving the conflict is the key to forming a wide coalition against the Iranian nuclear threat to Israel. It would strengthen the formation of a US-Arab-Israeli coalition against the danger of Iran and its brand of colonialism. The Saudi Peace Plan with Israel would be easier to implement and is in the interests of all who seek peace in the Middle East. Netanyahu has failed to grasp this. He is keen to satisfy his macabre racist right wing coalition partners and hold on to power rather than serve the wider interests of peace in the Middle East.

The occupation weakens Israel's position and while this continues, Iran’s Ahmadinajad will have an excuse to continue his nuclear program. None so blind as those who will not see. This is obvious and Netanyahu is putting the cart before the horse by punting for neutralizing Iran's nuclear threat without solving the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict by maintaining the occupation. This is bound to fail and will blacklist Israel as the polecat colonizer of Palestinians by maintaining the occupation and usurping Palestinian lands. This will carve up the occupied territories, creating a situation that declaration of an independent Palestinian state will be a logistic impossibility.

Netanyahu has his right wing coalition partners to satisfy in sticking to his guns by not even giving a thought to the two-state solution. According to press reports, it was not even discussed in talks with Obama.

Obama is no Bush. He is using different tactics and this could lead to cooling off of relations between Israel and the US. Bush was apathetic towards the conflict during his term as president apart from a late awakening towards the end of his presidential term and his contribution to ending the conflict was close to ground zero.

Meanwhile Netanyahu will be marking time in order to avoid the prickly issue of a possible uprooting of settlements to make way for the establishment of a future Palestinian state. By playing the game of postponing the inevitable, Netanyahu has achieved two purposes:
No decisions made on ceasing settlement activity in the occupied territories thus avoiding a coalition crisis in his government.
By avoiding final decisions that would jeopardize Israel's relationship with the US.

It is always easy to decide not to decide and this Netanyahu tactic achieves what Netanyahu wants - a continuation of the status quo. It also allows the right wing coalition to continue settlement activity with relative little interference from the US. In this way new facts are established on the ground making the establishment of a future Palestinian state impossible to achieve.

On the Palestinian side, there is no unity between Hamas and Fatah. This works to Israel's advantage. Israel states that they have no negotiating partner on the Palestinian track. Hamas being a terrorist organization is not willing under any circumstances to negotiate with Israel or recognize Israel's right to exist. This suits the Netanyahu Government down to the ground and so the two-state deadlock remains unsolved due to lack of Palestinian unity on this issue.

Obama for his part has a broader world view than his predecessor Bush. He sees Israel as part of the solution to the conflict and that it is in the interests of the US to have peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Without this peace, the Iranian nuclear threat will remain.
Therefore it is essential that Netanyahu fall into line with Obama on this issue even to risk the right wing coalition crisis. If he fails in this, Israel will become the pole cat of the world and will continue to be viewed as an occupying and colonizing power.

Will Naqba Commemorations be banned?

Friday, May 15, 2009 - Powered by RAMALLAH, Occupied West Bank: Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's party wants to ban Israeli Arabs from marking the anniversary of the Nakba, or the Catastrophe in 1948, when 700,000 Arabs lost their homes in the war that created Israel. The extremist Yisrael Beitenu party said it would propose legislation next week for a ban on the practice and a jail term of up to three years for violators. "The draft law is intended to strengthen unity in the state of Israel...

The Naqba (catastrophe) is commemorated at about the same time of the year as Independence Day in Israel. Israelis celebrate Israel's establishment in various ways. They hold barbecues in public parks, family gatherings at home or visit military camps and they may go touring.

The Palestinians commemorate it as a day of mourning and disaster that befell them in 1948 when Israel was established. The time has arrived to come to terms with Naqba recognizing it for what it means to the Palestinians. Many Israelis deny that the Naqba occurred. Many Palestinians ran away from the war situation in 1948. It even reached a point whereby they refused to recognize the Palestinians as a people. Israel has no right to decide whether the Palestinians are a nation or not. This right to recognition as a nation is determined by the group of people themselves who view themselves as a nation with a common identity. The Israelis are also a nation no less than are the Palestinians. The Israeli nation is composed of Jews, Moslems, Druze, and Christians. Palestinians born and living in Israel view themselves as having two identities. A parallel situation exists in the Diaspora where Jews are citizens of the countries where they were born. However many maintain their identity as Jews. While the non-Jewish groups form only 20% of the population, this does not mean that they are not Israelis. The majority group determines the character of the state and it is superfluous to demand recognition of that for political purposes. I have enlarged on that in a previous post. The banning of the Naqba commemorations is not in the interests of the Palestinians nor Israel. A state such as Israel must protect the interests of all its citizens including the right to commemorate various memorial days peculiar to their own group identity.

The Palestinians also have their national days of mourning. Can one imagine if a law would be passed in the Diaspora forbidding Jews from commemorating the Holocaust because of pressure exerted by Holocaust deniers who claim it to be a provocation against the national interest? There would have been a severe reaction and cries of anti-Semitism would have been heard in the Jewish world.

The Naqba is a trauma for the Palestinians no less than the Holocaust is to the Jews. We must accept this as such. If the Naqba is commemorated peacefully and viewed as a day of mourning without violence or racial incitement then there is no reason to ban its commemoration.

Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's right wing Foreign Minister and his party, Yisrael Beitenu, wish to introduce a law forbidding the commemoration of Naqba. Those who organize Naqba demonstrations will be sentenced to imprisonment up to three years. This should be opposed by all those who believe in peace and coexistence.

If the government takes away the rights of Palestinians to observe their causes peacefully they will be forced underground and this will endanger democracy. It will also increase Palestinian hate for Israel and the violence against Israel.

Every nation has its identity and this identity is emphasized by its symbolic traditions whether it is religious or national. National tragedies as well as their achievements common to the nation in question is the glue that binds a nation together. This is true of both Palestinians and Israelis.

There is a tendency by the right wing in Israel to deny or belittle the existence of the Palestinian people as a nation. They also view them as being dysfunctional. After all, a nation is defined as such by the identity of the people who view themselves as a nation with a common identity and aspirations. This is true of both Israelis and Palestinians. Israel has no right to deny the Palestinians their right to observe their national day of mourning.

It would be desirable if both Israelis and Palestinians could discuss the Naqba and Israel's establishment and recognition whereby both sides could learn and understand each other better. Mistakes have been made by both sides which have cost a lot in terrible bloodshed.

The Naqba should be a day of reconciliation and introspection. The intransigence of both sides to come to terms with each other's rights to a state has resulted in unnecessary loss of life because of futile wars.

Denying the Palestinian people the right to commemorate the Naqba does not solve anything and will contribute to aggravate the volatile situation even further.