FresnoZionism.org — ציונות פרסנו

Palestinians and their friends continue to claim that Israel is ‘strangling’ the Gaza strip in an act of collective punishment, and that Israeli and international sanctions are causing widespread hunger and hardship.

But look at what the IDF found in just 36 hours:

IDF forces have uncovered seven smuggling tunnels in the Gaza Strip within 36 hours.

Military officials said Thursday that the tunnels, which were unearthed near the village of Dahaniya in the southern Strip, were used by terror organizations to smuggle weapons from Egypt into Gaza.

The tunnels were found about 1.5 kilometers from the border fence. According to IDF sources, they were all active and had been used by terror groups to smuggle weapons until recently.

A senior officer said several months ago that the smuggling attempts in the southern Gaza Strip have become “import-like, both in terms of their extent and legitimization.” — YNet [my emphasis]

Someone is paying for the weapons and explosives (at premium smuggler’s prices), someone is paying for the labor and materials to dig the tunnels and manufacture the rockets, and someone is paying the terrorists who launch the rockets.

The priorities of Hamas are clear: fight Israel regardless of the cost to Gaza residents.

We also should keep in mind that all of these tunnels go somewhere — Egypt. Surely the Egyptian authorities, whose nation is at ‘peace’ with Israel, must notice some of the activity.

Meanwhile, it is not incorrect to say that a state of war exists between Israel and Hamas:

Earlier Thursday, nine Kassam rockets were launched into the western Negev, including four that struck Sderot. In response, the IDF bombed two Kassam launchers in northern Gaza…

Also Thursday, the IDF shot and killed five terrorists who were spotted planting bombs along the Gaza security fence. — Jerusalem Post

Technorati Tags: Israel, Hamas, Gaza

Rumors that have been circulating in Israel for some time have now hit the mainstream press:

The September 6 raid over Syria was carried out by the US Air Force, the Al-Jazeera Web site reported Friday. The Web site quoted Israeli and Arab sources as saying that two strategic US jets armed with tactical nuclear weapons carried out an attack on a nuclear site under construction.

The sources were quoted as saying that Israeli F-15 and F-16 jets provided cover for the US planes.

The sources added that each US plane carried one tactical nuclear weapon and that the site was hit by one bomb and was totally destroyed. — Jerusalem Post [my emphasis]

If this is true, it would be the first time since 1945 — at least, as far as I know! — that a nuclear weapon has been employed operationally.

On October 17, I received a copy of an email (in Hebrew) that was circulating in Israel. In addition to the above, it said that at least one Israeli plane was damaged by Syrian antiaircraft fire, but returned safely to base. And it added that

The target included three nuclear weapons, which had been shipped in pieces by sea from North Korea and assembled by North Korean technicians in Syria.

Technorati Tags: Syria, North Korea, nuclear weapons

Part of the program of delegitimizing the Jewish state is an attempt to deny a historical connection between Jews and the land, in particular the Temple Mount.

In recent years, the Muslim Waqf, which was given physical control over the Mount by Israel in 1967 in an attempt to address Islamic sensitivities, has conducted construction activities which have done great damage to archaeological artifacts (see my earlier articles here and here) which could attest to Jewish provenance.

The Israeli government has shown remarkable ‘restraint’ (read: fear of Arab violence) in allowing this to go on. Now some private citizens are trying to stop it:

JERUSALEM, Nov. 1 /PRNewswire/ — A group of 150 Israeli citizens, which represent a broad cross section of the Israeli public, have initiated an unprecedented criminal prosecution of WAQF (Islamic trust) leaders in Jerusalem — alleging that Islamic officials have engaged in the deliberate destruction of ancient Jewish relics on the Temple Mount. The indictment was filed in the Jerusalem District Court today by means of a private law suit. The private indictment is first of its kind in Israeli legal history and utilizes a seldom applied section of the criminal code. If convicted, the WAQF officials face years in prison.

The legal action, which is led by Shurat HaDin – Israel Law Center, accuses members of the Islamic Trust (“the WAQF”) of the intentional demolishing of priceless Jewish artifacts, including the remains of the Second Temple.

In recent months the WAQF has brought in bulldozers and heavy digging equipment to carry out “renovations”. Israeli archaeologists who have sifted through the discarded earth were shocked to have discovered a great number of Jewish artifacts brutally trashed by the bulldozers. A wall from the outer courtyard of the Second Temple is believed to have been completely pulverized.

The court papers contend that the recent accelerated destruction is part of a four decade long campaign by the WAQF to eradicate all evidence of the historical Jewish connection and claim to the Temple Mount.

The idea that the Jews have nothing to do with Jerusalem was a favorite theme of Yasser Arafat, and the controversial Barnard faculty member Nadia Abu El-Haj’s book ‘Facts on the Ground: Archaeological Practice and Territorial Self-Fashioning in Israeli Society’ argues that Israel has improperly interpreted the archaeological record to justify her existence.

It is of course exactly in keeping with the Palestinian attitude toward truth that they would on the one hand deny a Jewish connection to the land and at the same time destroy evidence of it!

Update [1 Nov 2154 PDT]: Sources at Barnard College leak that El-Haj has received tenure. More proof that politics has replaced scholarship in the academic world.

Technorati Tags: Israel, Jerusalem, Waqf

As the Annapolis conference approaches, Israel and the Palestinians (Abbas faction) disagree about whether to try to decide ‘core issues’ (borders, refugees, Jerusalem) or, as Israel prefers, just to produce a general statement of principles.

Abbas is pushing hard for core issues, but the version of his bottom line that he has so far presented is unacceptable to Israel: full withdrawal to 1967 borders including all of East Jerusalem, return of refugees and their descendants to Israel, Palestinian sovereignty over the Temple Mount and Western Wall, etc.

Ami Isseroff thinks that Israel is making a mistake in trying to avoid discussing the core issues, but he thinks that Israel should be the one to lay down the bottom lines. Here are his ideas for an Israeli core proposal:

Liquidation of the refugee problem – This was deliberately created and is artificially maintained as a tool for destroying Israel. This was explicitly stated at a Fateh Web site until not long ago in so many words: “The refugee issue is the winning card that will mean the end of the state of Israel.” Everyone knows it is so, yet the UN, including the EU and the United States, continue to support the UNRWA, which perpetuates the refugee problem, and treats Arab refugees from Palestine differently from every other refugee population in the world. Termination of this situation is a key requirement for peace.

Recognition of the right of the Jewish people to self-determination and the right of Israel to exist as the state of the Jewish people – Until today, this right has never been recognized by any Arab country including those who made peace with Israel, and it was not recognized by the Palestinians either. The right of Israel to exist was recognized [this can be disputed — ed.], but this recognition was a cover for the plan to flood Israel with Arab “refugees.”

Recognition that the Jewish people and the State of Israel have historic rights in Jerusalem – The internationalization of Jerusalem must come off the international agenda. Jerusalem is holy to many religions, but in all history, except for the short-lived crusader state, Jerusalem was only the capital city of one nation – the Jewish nation. We cannot expect that the Palestinians will recognize any Jewish rights in East Jerusalem if the United States doesn’t recognize any Jewish rights in any part of Jerusalem.

A declaration that wanton murder of civilians is illegitimate – The Palestinians agreed to an end to violence in the Oslo accords, but did not keep their word.

The above conditions must be met if there is to be peace. They must be implemented by declarations in Arabic as well as in English for the benefit of foreigners, and more important, by sincere actions. These must include a total cessation of the systematic incitement and racism that is rife in Palestinian society and the Arab world. No more Nakba commemoration parades with posters reading “Haifa,” “Beisan,” “Birsaba,” “Yaffo.” No more maps that show all of Israel as Palestine. No more kiddie shows of children willing to blow themselves up to “liberate” Jerusalem. No more TV shows and newspaper articles about the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and Jews baking Matzot from the blood of Christian children. No more sermons about God destroying the Jewish sons of dogs and monkeys.

Israel in effect is saying “we are not an obstacle to peace; we are prepared to make an agreement on borders that will allow for a Palestinian state, but we will not accept, explicitly or implicitly (by allowing incitement) your definition of our state as illegitimate”.

These principles have to be Israel’s bottom line, but they obviously aren’t sufficient conditions for a deal. An agreement that won’t be kept is far worse than no agreement at all, just a prescription for war. Can we ask Israel to withdraw from territory that will be difficult or impossible to reoccupy in the event that the Palestinians don’t live up to a commitment to end violent attacks on Israel? How can this be guaranteed when Abbas doesn’t even control Fatah extremists, not to mention Hamas?

It’s hard to understand the logic of the Europeans and others who want Israel to sign on the dotted line on the assumption that that the Palestinians will act in good faith, given their track record until now.

So yes, here are the core principles. But I think an actual deal has to wait for the day that there is some stability on the other side, and a reason to believe that agreements will — or even can — be honored.

Technorati Tags: Israel, Palestinians, Abbas, Annapolis conference

After construction began on the security fence, the usual suspects started screaming bloody murder: Apartheid segregation wall! Ethnic cleansing! Bantustans! Land grab!

I realized the significance of this immediately. The fence, if effective, would take away the Palestinians’ best weapon, terrorism or the threat of terrorism. No wonder that Israel-haters like Noam Chomsky, Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, the International Solidarity Movement, etc. were livid!

And as a matter of fact, it was effective. During the Second Intifada, a close friend of mine served in a special unit of the security forces. Their primary task was to intercept terrorists infiltrating from the territories. They travelled all over the country, day and night. They never saw their families, but they stopped far more bombers than got through. Some days there were literally dozens of alerts.

And as the security fence was built, their job got easier. The suicide bombers and others could not cross where the fence was finished, so they had to go around it. It was easier to patrol the open areas than the whole border. But there still were some infiltrations from areas where the fence was not complete, and some of them were successful.

It would seem that finishing the fence is a no-brainer. No matter how good the Palestinians get at rocket science, it’s still easier, cheaper, and more accurate for the terrorist groups to send a dupe with an explosive belt than to hit something with a rocket. An unbroken fence might save dozens, or even hundreds of Israeli lives if it prevents a handful of suicide bombings.

So I was extremely disheartened to read the following:

Not a single kilometer of the West Bank security fence has been completed in the past four months…

This week, the Defense Ministry told three contractors with signed agreements worth NIS 100 million not to begin scheduled work on the fence in the South Hebron Hills – due to lack of funds…

Last year, the Defense Ministry completed 102 km. of the fence. Some 10 months into 2007, however, only an additional 48 km. – just 6 percent of the entire planned route of the fence – have been completed…

Earlier this year, the estimated target date for the project’s completion was moved from 2008 to 2010 – meaning it will take the government eight years to build the fence which was first approved by the cabinet in 2002. — Jerusalem Post

Is there actually a lack of funds? Of course the Defense Ministry has many expensive projects, such as developing anti-missile systems, countering new Russian weapons in the hands of Hezbollah, and rebuilding ground forces decimated by years of neglect. Like everything, it’s a question of priorities, and for some reason the government does not give this a high priority.

Could it be that the reason is political? Could it be that the campaign by the Palestinians and their friends to help them keep their best, cheapest, most accurate weapon have borne fruit, perhaps via the US State Department?

Maybe the Defense Ministry is simply tired of the hundreds of legal challenges to the route of the fence?

It’s too important for that. My suggestion is that the existing parts of the fence should be left where they are for the time being, to be revisited after the rest is complete. The Ministry should be flexible about the proposed route, but speed of construction needs to be a priority.

A leaky bucket is better than no bucket, but an intact one is better still.

(courtesy of Jewish Virtual Library)

Technorati Tags: Israel, security fence, terrorism