Mahmoud Abbas and the Great Lies Told

Starting yesterday meetings sponsored by King Hussein of Jordan in Amman were to be held for a couple days between Israeli and Palestinian representatives in an effort to restart negotiations, preferably official direct negotiations, between the Israelis and the Palestinian authority in time to meet the January 26 deadline for meeting the Quartet’s schedule for initial filings of proposals. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had quite a bit to say about his expectations and hopes for both the meetings and the potential negotiations. We will first quote his words and then try to discern exactly what they both meant and implied.

Abbas told reporters, “Allah willing, results of this meeting will be revealed in the coming two days, and based on that we will set the suitable grounds for resuming negotiations. This would be positive, and we hope Jordan will succeed. The Palestinian demand is well-known, which is for the Israelis to accept the identified references for the peace process, and to stop settlement expansion. If that happens, we will be ready to resume negotiations.”

Where Mahmoud Abbas has made a statement that on the surface sounds extremely hopeful and straightforward, there is a large elephant of a problem hidden within the innocent reference of, “The Palestinian demand is well-known, which is for the Israelis to accept the identified references for the peace process,…” This little aside hidden just past halfway through Mahmoud Abbas’s statement could pass by most readings without gaining much attention, especially in how he follows it up with a misleading reference as if it is the only demand he has made of Israel when he added, “…and to stop settlement expansion.” As is often the case, the Devil is in the details and, as usual, it is in the unspoken details. So, what exactly is Mahmoud Abbas making reference to when he demands, “…accept the identified references…”

As Mahmoud Abbas further stated, “the identified references” only start with his referred statement, “stop settlement expansion.” There are other unspoken and implied demands which have been mentioned in numerous different combinations and order, always feeling out how far the Palestinian Authority spokespeople can state safely without appearing to have unreasonable demands. Obviously, these demands are far more freely stated when speaking to friendly crowds in Arabic than is ever stated publically in English or Hebrew. For complete lists one often will need to reference those organizations such as MEMRI and PMW which translate much of that spoken, written, and telecast on radio or television in Arabic (or Farsi or other foreign languages) to Arab or Muslim crowds and audiences.

So, what exactly are the real demands that Mahmoud Abbas demands that the Israeli government grant the Palestinians in order for negotiations to begin? There is, of course, the stated demand that all Israeli building in the Settlement areas be suspended completely until a resolution of negotiations no matter how long that takes. Building in Jerusalem and its suburbs are included in the building ban including areas around the Western Wall, the Old City including the Jewish Sector and the rebuilding of any Synagogues which had been destroyed during the Jordanian occupation. Mahmoud Abbas also has stated he intends for the building ban to include all of the suburbs of Jerusalem even if they are parts which even the Palestinians have previously agreed were going to remain as a part of Israel. There is a demand for the release of every Palestinian prisoner held in Israeli custody. Another demand has been the complete removal of all IDF, Police, Border Guards and other enforcement personnel from all of the “occupied” (contested) lands. Israel will be required to accept the “1967 borders” (1949 temporary Armistice Lines which the Arab negotiators insisted were never to be construed as borders in any manner for all time as doing so would be a recognition of Israel) as the initial start for negotiating borders and should the Palestinians refuse to grant any land swaps, these would be the final boundary lines between the Palestinian State and Israel. Adding to this, the Palestinians have already stated they demand they retain all of the Old City of Jerusalem, the entire Temple Mount, the Western Wall and the plaza adjacent to the Western wall where they have plans to build houses and shops. There is also their long running demand that absolutely no Jew will be allowed to reside, work, visit or in any way be allowed upon any piece of sovereign Palestinian Lands. This demand would leave Kever Yosef (Joseph’s Tomb), the Machpelah (Cave of the Patriarchs), Kever Rachel (Rachel’s Tomb), and near countless other Jewish Holy Sites completely outside of the reach of any Jew no matter if they are Israeli or from another country. The Palestinians have already begun to implement their plan to have every Jewish Holy Site be recognized as a Muslim Holy Site through their newly won membership in UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and thereby remove any legitimacy of Jewish requests for access to these sites. There are a number of other demands, some of which have only been mentioned in speeches made during meetings of the Palestinian Parliament or in speeches given to local Arab audiences, some of which can be researched through some of the monitoring organizations such as the two mentioned earlier. Saving the best demand for last, even better than making every Jewish holy site Muslim and denying their Jewish historical evidence, there is the “Right of Return” which is a demand to allow anybody who can trace any ancestry to qualify as a Palestinian as per the rules of UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), which is a separate United Nations entity solely for Palestinian refugees and completely separate from UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) so as to allow for a completely separate set of rules to be implemented in order to perpetuate the Palestinian refugee situation into a massive and constantly spreading open wound that the Muslim and Arab societies could use to assault Israel and be ready to inundate Israel once the world is convinced to agree that all the UNRWA refugees are to be allowed to return to live inside Israel, even if they had never been in or even seen Israel in their entire life. When taken objectively, the Palestinian demands as preconditions for negotiations is nothing more and nothing less than a complete set of demands that Israel capitulate on every single contention before negotiations begin to resolve these same issues. Should Israel agree to these demands in full which Mahmoud Abbas has referred to consistently for close to ten years now, adding items whenever anybody accidently or intentionally mentions a new demand on Israel such as the building freeze and the acceptance of the 1967 Lines which originated from the President of the United States, Barack Obama, who made these demands of Prime Minister Netanyahu early in President Obama’s first two years in office when he was acting seemingly with the premise that Israeli intransience was responsible for the lack of a Middle East peace, Israel would cease to exist.

The only good that can be taken from the litany of demands from the Palestinians is that no matter how many more items are added, they will not get any more self-destructive for Israel in their considerations of them. The current set would be the death of Israel as a homeland for the Jews. The one thing that is often added by Mahmoud Abbas and his cohorts from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and many others throughout the world, not just the Muslim world but the world, is that even if peace is finally attained, the Palestinians have promised and demanded of themselves that even then they cannot and will not give up on their resistance until they free all of Palestine from the (Jordan) River to the (Mediterranean) Sea. With that addendum being attached to any peace treaty, why would anybody ever even consider negotiations, yet the Israelis still hold out hope that there can be negotiations held without preconditions. Abbas has answered them by claiming that he has not made preconditions, these are just small matters required to be met before negotiations can begin without preconditions. Such a deal!

Beyond the Cusp

Where the War is on Christians, not Christmas

There is one city in the world that exploits Christmas in an effort to take as much money from the throngs of Christians of all stripes who come to celebrate Christmas and visit the holy locations while doing everything within their power to disenfranchise and persecute Christians the entirety of the rest of the year. This city with the duplicitous and deceitful attitude is Bethlehem. While Bethlehem is technically within lands within Israel it is totally under control and rule by the Palestinian Authority. Remarkably, the law which requires that the Bethlehem City Council must have a Christian majority has been accepted and even enforced by the Palestinian Authority, some of the Christians serving on the Council are hand-picked known collaborators with the Islamist majority. The one fact which depicts the reality and truth of the story of Christians and Bethlehem is that though in 1950 Christians made up approximately 80% of the population, today the Christian population barely reaches 15% in Bethlehem. It is now estimated that 70% of Christian Arabs who originally resided in the West Bank and Gaza now live in Israel or overseas with large concentrations also in Sydney, Berlin, Santiago, Detroit, and Toronto. The rate at which Christians have fled the Muslim run areas of the West Bank and Gaza has greatly ramped up over the last decade such that there is an actual threat that should a Palestinian state be founded it would be free of Christians and Jews.

Despite an apparent effort to force the Christians of Bethlehem to either convert to Islam, flee or face persecution and victimization under constant threat of assault, theft, or other violence which is not prosecuted by the Palestinian Authority, Bethlehem will once again be decked out with Christmas decorations in selected tourist spots replete with vendors stalls and stores filled with Christian items boldly marked with the city name, Bethlehem. For about one month starting in mid-December through late-January the whole of Bethlehem becomes a Christmas wonderland with every detail addressed in order to make Bethlehem as comforting and accommodating the Christian Christmas experience all in an effort to ply money from those making their Pilgrimage into the pockets of the Arab Muslim merchants and into the Palestinian Authority tax accounts. Even the most densely decorated retail mall in the United States has nothing over the scene set up in Bethlehem to celebrate the season with festivities and commerce.

I have nothing against the people who reside in Bethlehem making money from their tourist industry. That is actually to be expected of any town which finds itself having a special season or holiday where the tourists arrive especially in town for a holiday, celebration or special event. What I have a problem with is the horrific treatment given the Christians who have been forced to flee and the continuation of the persecution of those remaining few Christians living in and around Bethlehem. It is the hypocrisy by the Muslims and the Palestinian Authority who fawn, flatter and cater the Christians for a mere six weeks of the year plying them with false revelry, celebrations and honors while victimizing and persecuting the resident Christians the other ten and a half months of the year.

It is the fact that the remaining Christians in Bethlehem specifically, the West Bank and Gaza as well as much of the Muslim world who instead of speaking the truth about their miserable treatment at the hands of the Muslims, point to Israel and the Jews blaming them for the miseries under which they are constantly pummeled. Where it is understandable to a point that they dare not blame the Muslims who would most assuredly mete out viscous punishments, those who live outside the Muslim world and also blame Israel for the treatment of their brethren in Muslim areas are simply promoting a hatred and reasserting a false history where every blame is placed upon Israel. Those who choose placing the blame on a convenient scapegoat in hopes that they will be spared as payment for their false witness is just one more example of the latest ailment that has stricken Western societies, namely the feed the crocodile and hopefully it will eat us last. May I point out that by blaming a fellow victim in order to feed the crocodile you are guaranteeing that the crocodile will eventually feast upon you. Would it not be better to join with those who ally with the other victims to starve the crocodile. Making friends, not scapegoats, is the only path in which the crocodile’s feeding frenzy can possibly be curtailed, possibly even prevented.

Beyond the Cusp

The Gathering Storm Clouds Over Israel

Now that the initial panic-driven pressure of the opening ceremonies of the United Nations with the Palestinian drive to circumvent negotiations with Israel by demanding the United Nations grant them a Palestinian State and grant an all-encompassing package satisfying every one of their demands; the repeated usual rants from Iranian President Ahmadinejad dismissing the Holocaust, denying the rights of Israel to exist as the Jewish State, and decrying the numerous crimes he accuses the United States, Israel and the West of committing against humanity; the steadily escalating accusatorial rhetoric from Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan spelling out presumed illegal acts by Israel against the IHH ship Mavi Marmara from the flotilla; and the Durban III Conference to celebrate and restate every anti-Israel, anti-Zionist, and anti-Semitic blood libel that were the theme that hijacked the original conference ten years ago are history; now Israel, and those who support Israel, need to sift through the propaganda and inflammatory accusations and dispel them with truth and plan for the ramifications which may materialize from all of the threats made at the United Nations and the weeks leading up to the opening ceremonies in New York. All of these were fully expected and provided no surprises even including the rounds of applause and approval for every anti-American and anti-Israel speech while giving scant, if any, approval for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech where he recounted Jewish history and the Jewish people’s ties to the Promised Lands including all of Israel and Jerusalem. So, with this recent reminder of where the lines are drawn and who those are willing to stand with Israel and the seeming multitudes that stand against Israel, exactly what should be expected in the near future and beyond.

The most immediate of threats comes from the Palestinians, both in Gaza and in Judea and Samaria (West Bank). Mahmoud Abbas was received as a conquering hero in Ramallah where he called for the start of the “Palestinian Spring” and stressed the need for the protests and other actions to be nonviolent. For those familiar with the coded message when the Palestinian Authority or other Palestinian leaders call for nonviolent demonstrations, you already know the inevitable results in violent disruptions and attacks against Jews. We have already seen an increase in rock attacks on motorists in the past week with one such attack resulting in the death of 24-year-old Asher Palmer and his infant son Yehonatan when a large rock was thrown through the windshield hitting Asher in the face causing loss of control and the vehicle to crash off the road. There have also been reports from the IDF of the Palestinian Authority paying Arab Palestinians to riot which resulted with the riots in Judea and Samaria last week being larger in number and more violent than usual, as reported by Arutz Sheva. This violence is in addition to the continuing rocket and mortar attacks being launched on civilian targets in areas of southern Israel which more area has fallen within the increased range and sizes of Hamas weapons capabilities.

The escalating posturing by Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdogan insisting for measures to be taken against Israel in retaliation for the Mavi Marmara confrontation during the IHH Flotilla attempt to break the recognized and legal Israeli blockade of Gaza, despite the United Nations Palmer Report recognition of the Israeli right to impose a blockade on Hamas in Gaza, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan has been demanding an Israeli formal apology and for reparations to the families of the recalcitrant IHH terrorists who died as a result of the attack and response from IDF commandoes when they boarded the vessel to divert them to an Israeli port. Turkey has escalated the heated rhetoric by deploying warships in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea announcing intentions to disrupt Israeli shipping. Turkey has also threatened to escort the next challenge to the Gaza blockade with these same naval ships and even to disrupt drilling operations in the Mediterranean between Crete and Israel, possibly even destroying the drilling equipment. Erdogan’s posturing has reached a point where it now borders on declaration of hostile intent and should he continue to escalate the situation, it may be near impossible for Turkey to climb down before the situation goes from confrontational threatening to actual threat being put into actions and the situation escalating out of control. Erdogan was sounding like a leader seeking support for a war against Israel on his recent trip to Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya.

Most people and experts have expressed the opinion that Syria has too many problems with their current uprising to be of any great threat as far as Israel is concerned. I beg to differ on this point. Syrian President Bashir Assad has regularly blamed terrorists who are backed by Israel or directly accused Israel of arming those who are opposing his continued rule in Syria. One of the threats that must be considered is that of Assad forcing a border confrontation with Israel even larger than the one that occurred in conjunction with the Palestinian Naqba Day protests. It was established that Assad had paid people to protest by crossing the Israeli border and even promised additional reimbursement for the families of anyone who was injured or killed in an attempt to force a confrontation simply for propaganda purposes where any violence could be photographed and released to an eager world media. The confrontation did not occur and the instigation was ended without violence. There exists the possibility of an even larger border confrontation being forced to such a magnitude where violence is virtually guaranteed should those sent to cross into Israel refuse demands to return to their side of the border and instead attempt to continue into Israel past the border troops. This could then be used by Assad as a means to utilize maximum force to end the protests by invoking the need to battle Israel in order to protect Syrians from the murderous Jews. I realize this is not likely, but I also would not totally rule this out, especially if Assad is backed by Iran and Hezballah in a regional war with Israel. This could be done in concert with Egypt and Turkey in addition to Syria’s normal allies.

The situations with Lebanon and Egypt are quite similar and likely to become nearly identical in the near future. With Hezballah now also officially the governing party of Lebanon and the high likelihood for the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party to win outright the Egyptian elections, or at least win the majority of the necessary seats to command a ruling coalition, that Egypt and Lebanon would find themselves allied with Iran in spirit if not in fact. Add to the mix Erdogan and the Turkish threat and Assad in need of a distraction to retain his hold on power with Iran’s desire to keep close ties with Syria and Hezballah needing Syria as a convenient arms storage facility and arms pipeline, and that makes for a very serious mix. Now add Hamas and the possibility of a Palestinian unilateral declaration of statehood and what comes next is anybody’s nightmare. The Middle East is as close as it has been in nearly a quarter of a century to initiating another war to drive the Jews into the Sea. This is further made possible as the American presence in the Middle East becomes less pronounced once they pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan within the next year. Add the American Presidential election cycle coming into play and it makes for a perfect stage for things to go wrong, very wrong. Many of Israel’s enemies see the Administration of President Obama as weak and unlikely to come to Israel’s aid, or to provide such aid with great reluctance and thus delaying the probably necessary aid making Israel more vulnerable than she has been since President Carter. Add to this the fact that Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Turkey have nearly equal weapons systems as does Israel with them all having F-15 and F-16 Jet Fighters, Abrams Tanks against Israeli Merkava tanks, small arms, anti-tank armaments, Apache Attack Helicopters, or similar arms and the Arab leaders may see the present as the best chance they have had ever. Add to that if Turkey can make it appear as they have a legitimate reason for a war with Israel, what do the NATO allies do as they are treaty bound to assist Turkey in all manners requested, which minimally would be to leave Israel fending for herself. That is one view of the picture, one any sane person would pretend not to see as the probability, or at least possibility, of great evil is on the horizon.

Beyond the Cusp