By Vic Rosenthal
Leslie Susser, in a JTA piece, presented what is coming to be the conventional wisdom about the IDF’s poor performance in the recent Lebanon war: it was caused by an attempt to implement an inappropriate battle doctrine, championed by former Chief of Staff Dan Halutz:
The following statistics are taken from Israeli General Security Services head Yuval Diskin’s press briefing on Monday:
Number of tons of explosives smuggled into the Gaza strip in 2006: 28
Number of assault rifles smuggled: 14,000
Number of ‘armament accessories’ smuggled: 5,000,000
Number of RPGs smuggled: 150
Number of grenade launchers smuggled: 65
Number of upgraded antitank missiles smuggled: 10
Number of antiaircraft missles smuggled: 10
Number of tunnels currently being dug towards Israel from Gaza with the intention of carrying out attacks against IDF forces in the communities adjacent to the border: 10
Number of terrorists arrested in 2006 after trying to enter Israel unlawfully, having left Gaza for Egypt with the intention of entering Israel through Egypt: 43
Number of Kassam (or Qassam) missiles that fell in Israel in 2006: 1726
Number of potential suicide bombers arrested in the West Bank in 2006: 279
Percent increase in the number of terror groups being guided by Hezbollah over the course of the first half of 2006: 150
Technorati Tags: Israel, terrorism, Gaza strip
Here are some statements made by Palestinians about the fighting in Gaza, quoted by Khaled abu Toameh in the Jerusalem Post:
“Everyone here is disgusted by what’s happening in the Gaza Strip,” said Shireen Atiyeh, a 30-year-old mother of three working in one of the Palestinian Authority ministries. “We are telling the world that we don’t deserve a state because we are murdering each other and destroying our universities, colleges, mosques and hospitals. Today I’m ashamed to say that I’m a Palestinian.”
Hafez Barghouti, editor of the PA-funded daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, said he was concerned that the fighting would tarnish the image of the Palestinians. “Tens of millions of people now look at us as worthless gangsters with no values,” he complained.
[Mahmoud Habash said] “The world is watching how the Palestinians are destroying their institutions and achievements with their own hands. They see how we are mercilessly slaughtering innocent people. We are losing the sympathy of the world. I’m afraid the world will now view us differently.”
Political analyst Ikrimah Thabet said: “…the bloody events have caused enormous damage to the reputation of the Palestinians, especially in light of the filthy and painful violence that has claimed the lives of children, activists, leaders and innocent civilians.”
Suddenly they are ashamed of murder. “The world will now view [them] differently” because they have taken a break from killing Jews and are now killing Arabs. The Palestinian image has been tarnished.
This is really breathtaking. It shows their one-sided understanding of what has been going on until now. It explains why one never heard expressions of conscience or regret for Arab terrorism against Jews. Sure, from time to time a Palestinian will say that their activities are ‘not productive’ or ‘not good for the cause’, the way Abbas spoke against the Kassam bombardment or Sari Nusseibeh deplored suicide bombings. But never, ever have we heard even a whisper of moral condemnation of the most horrible killings of Israeli “children, activists, leaders and innocent civilians.”
Shireen Atiyeh is correct, they don’t deserve a state.
Technorati Tags: Palestinians, Gaza, Palestinian civil war
Bradley Burston wrote in Ha’aretz that the American embassy should stay in Tel Aviv. Stripped to the bone, here’s the heart of his argument:
True, Israel needs recognition. But Israel and its western half of Jerusalem have survived, and thrived, without it for nearly 60 years. Recognition can wait.
What cannot wait is the possibility of diplomacy between Israel and the Palestinians…
West Jerusalem will not be recognized as the capital of the Jewish state, until East Jerusalem becomes the capital of an independent Palestine.
There will not be a solution without a Palestinian state. There will be no Palestinian state without a share of Jerusalem as a recognized capital.
It may be true that there will not be a solution until there is a Palestinian state. It may also be true that there will not be a solution.
However, it is certainly true that there will not be a solution until the Jewish state receives the same treatment as every other state. There is no other state in the world which has been in existence for almost 60 years whose legitimacy (or that of its capital) is considered tenuous.
Burston says that moving the embassy would be “kicking the Palestinans while they’re down”. Why? Do the Palestinians have a legitimate claim on West Jerusalem? Does anyone who wants a fair two-state solution think that it will require Israel to move the Knesset to Tel Aviv?
Burston talks about Morton Klein’s ambitions and the Republicans’ desire for pro-Israel votes. But he doesn’t mention the influence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on successive US administrations.
The US embassy should be moved to Jerusalem regardless of what the antisemitic supporters of terrorism in Riyadh say.
The latest truce between Hamas and Fatah has fallen apart, with 6 Palestinians killed in Gaza on Thursday and dozens wounded. I spoke to a source in the Israeli security services and asked him about it. For obvious reasons I’m not giving his name:
FresnoZionism: Abbas and Haniyeh have both called for quiet. The fighting is certainly not helping either side, not to mention the civilians caught in the middle. Why are they fighting?
Source: These groups aren’t organized, not even militias. They’re hamoulas, groups of relatives and friends. And they’re fighting for control of neighborhoods, for graft, for revenge. They’re like street gangs.
FZ: The US is supporting Fatah with weapons and money. Can they defeat Hamas and assert their control?
S: I doubt it. The United States has never learned that you don’t win by supporting unpopular warlords. The Palestinians see them as mercenaries working for the Americans.
FZ: Do they see Hamas as less corrupt?
S: Anybody that isn’t aligned with either side hates and is afraid of both of them. Both sides are corrupt — Fatah just has more money.
FZ: Is the fighting hurting Israeli peace efforts?
S: Neither side wants peace with us — they both have the same goal, to destroy Israel, although they are following different strategies. As far as I’m concerned, I’m happy they’re busy. The more they shoot at each other, the less they shoot at us.
