Mahmoud Abbas Makes Peace Impossible

 

The world loves to claim that Mahmoud Abbas is Israel’s best prospect for peace. The shocker is that we agree with that statement and claim that this makes peace impossible. What people do not realize is that Mahmoud Abbas is Israel’s savior from its own mistakes. More than once Prime Minister Netanyahu has agreed to make sacrifices for peace which would have very possibly mortally wounded Israel. Had these offers been accepted the Arabs would have been able to fire rockets directly into Tel Aviv using line of sight aiming which would have crippled all economic life and life in general for the majority of Israelis. But Israel has a strange savior because Hashem works in strange and mysterious ways and often with a sense of irony thrown in just for amusement sake. That savior is the man who cannot afford to accept any peace because doing so would cost him everything. That man is Mahmoud Abbas and he knows the minute that he makes peace with Israel and the IDF and Israeli security personnel withdraw from Judea and Samaria that his life would not be insurable with Lloyd’s of London at any price, and they have an odds price on virtually anything. Once Abbas makes a peace with Israel he would be wise to leave before Hamas makes their move as the result will be identical to the fight over Gaza except this time those Hamas does not like will have nowhere to run. Abbas knows his name tops that list and that only the IDF and Israeli security forces stand between Hamas and his neck, thus he will never make peace. Still, he is Israel’s best chance for peace as there is no other and that is the sole reason, and the world knows this as well.

 

Then why does the world, especially the European Union and the United Nations insist that Israel make sacrifices to bring Mahmoud Abbas to the negotiating table? They do this for two reasons; first because they want to compromise Israel, and second because they know Abbas will never make peace thus they can make Israel destroy itself safely and without getting their hands dirty. Their plan is to shrink Israel piece by piece which is funny as that is also the Arab plan for the destruction of Israel, by stages peace by peace. Prime Minister Netanyahu also knows the truth about Abbas and his delicate predicament and that Abbas is happy with things just the way they are. You need to understand that Mahmoud Abbas has another interest in keeping everything just as they are because the European Union and the United Nations plus certain European nations along with the United States continue sending millions of dollars atop millions of dollars annually from which Abbas and select groups amongst the Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership and PLO hierarchy, of which Mahmoud Abbas is the top person in each, are taking their generous share off the top making themselves unbelievably wealthy. Abbas is not about to kill the geese which continue laying golden eggs for him and with whose gold he uses to retain loyalty and stays alive. These are the realities and everybody involved is quite content with the status quo, well, except for Netanyahu and the majority of Israelis, and that brings us to other realities we all know are real and true.

 

This is where International Law enters the picture and the realities of treaties, conventions, mandates, charters and hard facts come in. What all of these do is paint a picture of another reality which Abbas knows as does everybody else who is playing the music that they are all dancing to. The truth is that all the lands between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea belongs to Israel and will remain Israeli unless Israel signs treaties giving the land away. That is how they stole Gaza and Israel learned a hard lesson there. Israel also knows that should they ever again be forced to fight and gain territory, not to return it but to exercise the law of nations that allows that lands gained in a defensive war may be retained by the aggrieved nation. This lesson was the lesson of southern Lebanon where once Israel returned the lands taken in the war with Hezballah they returned in force and now that area has approximately one-hundred-fifty-thousand rockets and missiles aimed at every target imaginable throughout all of Israel all the way down to Eilat at the southernmost tip of the country. Israel has learned that every inch of land which she allows to be given to her enemies, be it Israeli lands or those gained in defensive struggles, are immediately taken by the terrorist enemies and become a launching pad for future wars and terrorist raids and continuous threat for more death and destruction. Yet this is exactly what the world demands that Israel concedes to, giving lands to those who will immediately utilize it as a staging ground for the eventual destruction of the Jewish State. But fortunately Mahmoud Abbas must refuse any offer no matter how generous as he proved when offered over ninety percent of Judea and Samaria, half of Jerusalem including the Old City and Temple Mount, and lands from within the Green Line equal to the lands retained from Judea and Samaria. This offer was refused twice, one when offered by Ehud Barak in 2000 and again in 2008 offered by Ehud Olmert. Perhaps Israel should be wary of any leader named Ehud in the future, especially Barak and Olmert.

 

Israel has a world seemingly hungry for her to sacrifice pieces of her ancient homelands and half her Capital City of Jerusalem and much of the historic lands of the Bible. Places that Christian and Jews hold sacred, Biblical Places, such as Bethlehem, Jericho, Hevron, Bethel and numerous others. They would demand that the Temple Mount be made Islamic only grounds where they would picnic and play soccer while Jews and Christians would be denied to come to their precious lands. These are the demands the world makes and then relies on Mahmoud Abbas to refuse any offerings so they can claim they are the ones standing for peace if only Israel would satisfy the Arab demands. We are back to the fact that everybody on all sides are familiar with the Arab demands and that they will only accept the Jews living under Arab rule begging for each day and praying that it not be their last. The Arabs cannot allow Israel to exist because their pride is challenged as the area once was theirs. They have the same problem with the lands of Andalusia, what we recognize today as Spain and Portugal. They also believe that the lands all the way to the gates of Vienna should be returned to them as the Ottomans twice extended their reach to the gates of that city. The Europeans also know that Israel is like the plug in the bottle and without Israel they stand even more vulnerable than they presently find themselves, and that brings us to the final story.

 

Biblical Israel a Historic and Accurate View

 

Europe and the remainder of the free world and developed world are facing the same threat as Israel, Islamic terrorism. The United States has taken a partial step in preventing further infiltration, though it is currently being debated in the courts, briefly, as the restraints on immigration will stand the test. Europe has been open to infiltration and has reaped their just rewards and the people have begun to stir in a number of nations. The terrorism threat has reared its ugliness throughout much of Europe but media and the current leaders are doing all they can to downplay these incidents. Many Europeans feel betrayed by their leadership which has these leaders worried as facing their public come next elections. Some are proposing an administration which would control the media acting as a Ministry of Truth. Their quoted intention was to prevent “fake news” and to act as fact checkers, but the facts they check could be to further their power or at least try to protect them until after the next elections. The left realizes that they have backed themselves into a corner and the troubles the people have realized is being placed at their doorstep. BREXIT and the election in the United States of Donald Trump as President and a Republican Congress have sent shivers through the entire left-wing political hierarchy which has completely controlled Europe for over a decade. Now they feel threatened and still have not realized why the people are displeased. The next set of elections in Europe might bring about a seismic shift in the political alignment of the continent. The real question is to how long the populations will remain engaged and retain a more measured and conservative leadership in power. The balance is precariously balanced and unless the people remain vigilant then one more round where the left gains control of the Western nations there may be no road back. Should that become the reality then the Tytler Cycle of Power will advance and history teaches us that the cycle will not return to freedom for generations. The next decade or two will be determinative in the future we hand our children and their children for too many generations to be contemplated.

 

Beyond the Cusp 

 

Tell Netanyahu and the World There Must be Limits

United States Secretary of State John Kerry is doing everything without regards for whether his efforts are sane, thought through, or have potentially disastrous consequences all in order to fulfill the task of forcing a peace between Israel and the Palestinians no matter the cost. All of this is in order to grant his boss, President Barack Obama, the privilege of wearing the title of the mortal human who made the impossible peace and succeeded where all before him had failed. So, all of these efforts are in the name of peace, what could possibly make this something undesirable? Well, let’s simply go through what will occur all in the name of peace and what the results will be when the entire farce concludes. We can cover the results in one word, nothing; there will be no peace in the end. The final picture should be pictured on the front page of every paper in the world with a proper subtitle. They should all show Mahmoud Abbas walking away from the table leaving an astonished looking Secretary Kerry, a disgusted looking Netanyahu and the world press about to try to find out exactly how Israel failed to sacrifice sufficiently to allow for peace. There will be no mention that when the last offer of virtually complete Israeli surrender of almost every single demand from the Palestinians before Abbas walked out without even bothering to make a counter offer because he cannot risk that Israel would accept that offer and he is fully aware that should he sign a peace treaty with Israel he will pay the same price as did Egyptian President Anwar Sadat who was assassinated because he willingly made peace with Israel.

 

So, what can possibly be so terrible that might result from the machinations which soon will proceed? Secretary Kerry has already begun to dance the same peace dance which has become expected from whoever is tasked with forcing pointless negotiations. The reason there have not been negotiations is because Palestinian President and Chairman of the Palestinian Authority and of Fatah Mahmoud Abbas demands that Israel meet a litany of preconditions before any negotiations can begin. Abbas has been demanding that Israel release all the terrorist prisoners currently serving life sentences who were sentenced before 1993 and the beginning of the Oslo Accords, agree that the negotiations of borders begin with the 1949 Armistice Lines as the basis thus demanding Israel begin negotiations by returning every inch of the still disputed territories, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu supply and have approved a map of what lands will make up the Palestinian State, Israel freeze all building on any of the disputed lands, the Palestinians be granted open borders and import rights in order to import any weapons they feel are necessary and Israel accept the “Right of Return” which would require the influx of five million plus Palestinian Arab refugees into the lands Israel will be permitted to retain and grant them citizenship. The reason that even should Israel meet every one of these demands with the possible exception of accepting the refugees is insufficient to satisfy Mahmoud Abbas is because the sole intent of all his efforts is the complete and total eradication of the Jewish State which is the design behind the “Right of Return” demand for the five million plus refugees. This is not the disagreement over territory or anything else; it is a disagreement over which people will be allowed to live in the entirety of the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Final proof of this is the demand that Mahmoud Abbas has made consistently that when he gets his Palestinian State that absolutely no Jew will be allowed to reside, visit or, as he words this, allowed to pollute and taint Palestinian lands with their presence.

 

What will play out between now and Abbas walking away presumably in disgust over Israeli refusal to sacrifice sufficiently to allow peace? We will hear from Secretary Kerry how Mahmoud Abbas is ready to talk peace and has agreed to forgo his preconditions. What will be glossed over is that Secretary Kerry has assured Abbas in exchange for his giving up his preconditions that Kerry will force Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu to agree to a complete building freeze in all contested lands for the duration of the peace process, force Israel to release most if not all of the terrorist prisoners from before the Oslo Accords were initiated, have Israeli agreement to use the 1949 Armistice Lines as the starting point for border negotiations, have Israel allow greater range of importation for the Palestinian Authority, and possibly even demand of Israel some partial admittance of Palestinian Refugees into Israel with full citizenship. Kerry might actually demand that Abbas not receive a map for his approval showing the borders of a proposed Palestinian State before the negotiations begin. Such deep and serious sacrifice will be described as Abbas making serious concession towards peace and it remains to be seen whether Netanyahu is equally serious. This has been the exact form every negotiation has taken since the 1993 beginning of the Oslo Accords through numerous Israeli Prime Ministers and both Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas, two of the original members at the founding of the PLO which eventually became recognized as the major part of the Palestinian Authority.

 

These Israeli sacrifices have already begun and the overt demands are being played out already. Israel has agreed to have an unofficial building freeze throughout Judea and Samaria but Abbas is demanding that Kerry force Netanyahu to announce he has put a building freeze in place. The building freeze actually has nothing to do with freezing construction; it has to do with forcing Netanyahu’s coalition to collapse and force new elections in the hope of getting a new Israeli Prime Minister who would be more pliable and weaker than Netanyahu. This has also been a desire of President Obama much as it was of President Bill Clinton who sent Democrat operatives to assist Netanyahu’s opponent in the Israeli election in the late 1990s. Netanyahu has been allowing mention of a possible likelihood that there will be a terrorist prisoner release of long-time prisoners serving life sentences in order to make facilitating renewed peace talks by Secretary Kerry. It has always amazed me that as long as these actions of complete surrender are always made in order to make the task of reinitiating the peace process much easier for whatever American official has been given the thankless and impossible responsibility of forcing peace talks which everybody knows ahead of time are useless and will produce only one thing, concessions from the Israelis to the Palestinians. When Oslo Accord negotiations were first initiated the discussion was how to divide the lands of Judea and Samaria between Israel and the to be established Palestinian State. The initial theory was that Israel would retain all of Area C while the Palestinians were to receive Area A and it was thought that Israel would retain control over Area B for security but the Palestinians would also live in these lands alongside the Israelis with each being citizens of their respective nation and societies. From that beginning the starting point has slowly been conceded away to there is now talk which would have been unimaginable just a decade ago that the Palestinians will retain every inch of the lands lost by Jordan in the Six Day War including half of Jerusalem including all of the Old City and Temple Mount which would make virtually every single Jewish Holy Site inaccessible to all Jews worldwide as they would be within the Palestinian State.

 

You may ask what Jewish Holy Sites am I referring to that would be placed beyond the reach of Jews because they will be part of the Palestinian State. Certainly the Biblical Holy Sites would all be in Israel because we have been told countless times that the Jews never lived in the areas claimed by the Palestinians. Oh, are you in for a surprise. Here is an abbreviated list of Jewish Holy Sites which are in the areas claimed by the Palestinians. The Cave of the Patriarchs which is the burial cave for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah is located outside of Hevron. The Tomb of Joseph whose bones were carried by Moses back from Egypt and carried into the Promised Land and reburied by the Hebrews, the early Jews, within the lands that G0d had Promised them in the Bible within the city of Shechem. Tomb of Rachel located just north of Jerusalem on the road between Shechem and Hevron just outside of Bethlehem. The entirety of the Mount of Olives and the Cemetery located there in which an almost endless number of famous Jews from Biblical times through to the modern age where some of Israel’s Prime Ministers have been laid to rest. The entirety of the Old City of Jerusalem, the Temple Mount which is the holiest of all places on Earth to Jews, the Western Wall, Solomon’s Stables, the City of David, David’s Castle and numerous Synagogues and other important Biblical and ancient places spanning all of human history. The City of Jericho is also within the areas claimed by the Palestinians and contains some Synagogues which are over two thousand years old and some a little less ancient. Much of the Sea of Galilee would also be placed beyond the reach of Jews along with numerous cities right out of the bible including Tiberius, Shechem, Hevron, Bethlehem, all of Old City Jerusalem which cannot be mentioned enough and even more. Reading the Old Testament almost all of the major stories related would be located in the West Bank as the heart of ancient Israel was the Judean Hills. So, in addition of surrendering the Judean Hills allowing all of central Israel to come within range of the same rockets launched currently from Gaza, it also gifts most of Jewish and Ancient Israel historic and storied locations beyond the reach of the Jewish People. The placing these precious places which hold the majority of Jewish history beyond the reach of Jews everywhere is the largest of sins that even surpasses the danger of the rockets because one cannot take away Jewish history and expect the Jewish People to remember their heritage.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Israel’s Choice

Trust Israel to give the world another election with all the boasts, promises, twists, turns, accusations, denunciations, denials, claims, and virtually every other property which we all thought we were done with after the reelection of President Obama. The one thing about the Israeli election is it has the possibility of getting more nasty than anything we saw in the American election and having far more actors as there are likely at least four party leaders who have delusions of becoming the next Prime Minister and one who will have their dream realized only to find out the dream more resembles a nightmare. Meanwhile, the main topics in this coming Israeli election are almost beyond counting and you will be told that the problems and issues are a completely different set depending on which political party you ask and sometimes even which of the candidates on a party list one might ask. The Israeli system being a form of Parliamentary governance makes the entire system rather foreign to most Americans but familiar to the Europeans watching but will likely still provide surprises to even the best informed among us. So, without commenting further on the peculiarities and special circumstances, why not simply tell you my priorities and maybe even make a few picks, not predictions as I long ago learned that predicting Israeli elections is a fool’s game.

Despite all the discussions and other diversions that will preoccupy much of the coverage with each news source telling a story which will best fit their particular political proclivities and preferences; my political peculiarities and partialities sway towards the Jewish-Muslim confrontations, the settling of the whole of Biblical Israel being permitted for the Jewish People, the allowances which must be made for Muslim, Christian, Bahá’í, and other minority religions which also wish to live within these lands, the idea of the writing of an Israeli Constitution setting in written form the rules and laws of governance, making for a lasting peace between the ultra-religious with those of less observance and the continued growth of religious observance among the Israeli Jews. When the Oslo Accords were originally thrust upon the Israeli political scene by dealings behind the scene and without the full blessing of Israeli leaders of the time, I had hoped that it would bring a possibility for peace and not prove to be a tripping mechanism deliberately placed to destroy any hopes of harmony and peace between the Jews and their Muslim neighbors. What has proven to be the case has been the most disappointing and destructive result that anyone could have imagined. The toxin that has resulted from the attempts to make the Oslo Accords realize their purported perfect relations will lead to a war of such destruction that it must be avoided at almost any cost but not at any price. The death of the State of Israel, the actual designed result intended by the Islamists, must be defeated at almost any cost though most Israelis would prefer that the cost not be in lives or in a permanent animosity, though much of that choice is beyond the ability of most Israelis. The end of the Oslo Accords and the illusions cast around it need to be revealed such that all see it as the chimera that it has always been. After this has been accomplished, then real relations can be made with those Palestinians who wish to build a functioning state for both people with safety and guarantees of religious freedom and a sharing of the Holy Sites. Those who prefer terrorism and violence over cooperation need to be treated as the criminal element that they are and no more excuses should be allowed to mitigate their deadly intents and crimes.

The difficult path going into this election for the Israeli public is to discern and separate the truths from the empty rhetoric, the promises from the deceptions, the true hope from the empty visions of ready and easy solutions. The problems and difficulties plaguing Israel are not going to be repaired through painless and easy procedures but solely through hard, steady and painfully slow definitive acts and carefully guided diplomacy. Oslo has poisoned the waters and left serious wounds to the relations between the Palestinians and Israelis with it even turning some within families on opposing sides tearing the family structure asunder. The propaganda which denies the right of Jews to exist within any borders used to define Israel which is spread through every means and medium by the Palestinian authority, Hamas, Fatah, the PRC, Islamic Jihad and numerous other Muslim means of communication and education throughout the world cannot be undone by agreements or treaties but only through ending the mistrust, lies and deceptions with the truth. That is why the Israelis need to choose leadership which is willing to admit the hard truths and work within that which is real and not those offering platitudes and promises. They need to discern which politicians are simply tearing down instead of trying to build, blaming and offering escapist solutions rather than reasoned engagement with defined means, and most of all they need to avoid those who seek a route to power by destruction of those with which they disagree instead of through debate and offering a better way. This may be once again a serious and very consequential election for Israel and it may have ramifications that last for decades. My prayers are that good people who seek a true and righteous future are elected to the Knesset and may a similar type person even be chosen as Prime Minister.

Beyond the Cusp