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The IDF revealed Monday new evidence based on military intelligence regarding the involvement of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Hamas’s October 7 attack.
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Odious odours
The residents of Cape Town recently complained about an overpowering, noxious smell that was permeating their city.
After investigations, it transpired that the source of the problem was a vessel anchored off shore, which was transporting livestock to Iraq. Once the ship moved away the air quality improved much to the relief of the residents.
Meanwhile, another more obnoxious and potentially lethal emission was circulating in Cape Town. Not only was it threatening the health of many of the city’s inhabitants but it also had the very great potential to cause murder and mayhem on a grand scale.
A Member of Parliament from one of South Africa’s political parties gave a speech in which he threatened a “bloodbath” if Cape Town was “given to the Zionists.” In case this was not clear enough he proceeded to launch into a denunciation of Israel and Zionists and issued a warning against South Africans who supported the Jewish State.
This should come as no surprise given the poisonous atmosphere that has been created by the ANC South African Government’s indictments of Israel at the International Court of Justice and its embrace of Hamas. Many decent South Africans are horrified at their Government’s love affair with terrorist groups and its frenetic vilification of Israel defenders. The problem remains, unfortunately, that constant rhetoric of delegitimisation inevitably leaves an impression on gullible minds which in turn results in potential violence.
This is the dilemma faced by the Jews of South Africa as they fight a rearguard action in an endeavour to hold back the resultant backlashes of incited mobs. Once the constant brainwashing has permeated the ignorant minds of the masses the eruptions of mayhem will follow. Inciting sermons in Mosques combined with anti-Israel education in Islamic schools only needs a wink and a nod from ruling political parties for violence to follow.
This is the lethal concoction being brewed not only in South Africa but also in every country where the authorities are cowed into shameful inaction in the face of jihadist intimidation.
One has only to look at what is occurring not only in Europe and Scandinavia but also in Canada, USA, UK and even in Australia and New Zealand.
Threats of violence against legislators because of their support for Israel are now commonplace. It has become so bad in the UK that one MP has decided to throw in the towel while others now require security protection. Mobs shouting the vilest threats against Jews march unmolested and unchallenged through the streets of London on a weekly basis. The House of Commons is thrown into mayhem and incitement to genocidal cleansing “from the river to the sea” is projected onto Parliament’s Big Ben.
The same phenomenon can be witnessed in Sydney, where a Jewish man carrying an Israeli flag is detained while the pro-Hamas mob screams threats against Jews and Israel. In Melbourne, two Jewish men are detained and threatened with arrest for lawfully trying to attend a City Council meeting. Despite being assaulted, the Jews were detained while their assailants were given a pass by the police.
The refusal of law enforcement authorities in the UK, Australia and elsewhere to confront blatant Jew hate is a symptom of a woke collapse of moral backbone so evident these days. It is obvious that political cowardice and hypocrisy in the face of jihadist intimidation is infecting the reluctance of police to pull the rug from under the feet of the inciters.
The political writing on the wall is now clear for all who take the trouble to read the omens.
As the electoral clout of those who demonise Israel and Jews grows, the question needs to be asked as to how long beleaguered Jewish communities can hold on. Rearguard action, outreach to open-minded people, education, and appeals to common sense and decency are all valuable tools, but can they hold back the gathering clouds of noxious fumes? In many countries it is already too late as the effects of this pervasive poisoning are likely irreversible.
The antidotes to this massive threat are no longer working.
Once upon a time there was bipartisan support in the USA for Israel. Today that is vanishing as fast as a desert mirage. The progressive socialists of the Democrat Party are joined by an increasing number of leftist apologists for Islamic terror. The isolationist wings of the Republicans are seeking to revert back to the 1930s when standing up against Nazism and Fascism was not part of the agenda. Those under the age of 50 have no clue about history or historical facts, and a whole generation of university students and graduates have been inculcated with anti-Israel dogmas.
In other countries, the knee-jerk anti-Zionist perversions have mutated into the green generation. Their concerns for climate change and environmental matters now embrace anti-Israel conspiracies as part and parcel of the new gospels of hate. The patron saint of climate change, Greta Thunberg, is a cheerleader for anti-Israel incitement. The polluting poisons supposedly influencing our weather have now also produced a generation of Israel haters.
An insidious smog of diseased discourse is spreading worldwide and infecting large swathes of humanity.
One of its manifestations is a hallucinogenic effect causing many to embrace beliefs hitherto consigned to the realms of science fiction.
That is the only explanation one can give when faced with the irrational belief that a “revitalized and reformed” Palestinian Authority will be the perfect peace partner. With the resignation of the PA Prime Minister and his colleagues the experts in Washington and elsewhere are seized with paroxysms of ecstasy. What all of them refuse to acknowledge is that anything which comes afterwards will be just as corrupt. In fact, the objective is to unify all the terror groups.
Joe Biden has declared that “the overwhelming majority of Palestinians are not Hamas.” He is wrong again because polls have shown an overwhelming majority supporting Hamas and the terror agenda of associated groups.
While grasping an ice cream cone, Biden was asked about a ceasefire and hostages release. With a dazed look, he mumbled that, hopefully, by Monday, something should be agreed to. The brutal truth is that he doesn’t have a clue. Obviously, licking an ice cream is preferable to facing up to brutal realities.
China has argued at the World Court that the Palestinians have a perfectly legal right to engage in an armed struggle against Israel. In other words, it is perfectly OK to murder and kidnap Israelis. The fact that a country with a track record like Communist China can stand in front of a UN Court and speak such garbage is an indication of how low matters have sunk these days.
The Hashemite monarch of Jordan stood next to President Biden and pontificated that “seven decades of occupation is the reason for the current plight of the Palestinians.” By my calculation seven decades takes us back to 1954. From 1948 to 1967 Jordan illegally occupied what they erroneously call the West Bank and half of Jerusalem without creating the so called much desired Arab Palestine. Of course Biden did not react to this blatant piece of chutzpah most probably because his mind was elsewhere.
The annual Eurovision extravaganza is again about to take place. It is being held in Malmo. This city, from which most of the Jewish community has been driven out, is now the capital of Islamic jihadists in Sweden. The competition has nothing to do with artistic or musical quality and everything to do with political shenanigans. It is somewhat of a minor miracle that Israel has managed in the past to win first place. That is definitely not likely to happen this year. Already, there are demands to disqualify Israel from competing. If the country does not succeed, there is apparently another “drei” (Yiddish for stitch-up) that will be used. The lyrics of Israel’s song are being challenged because they are not sufficiently politically correct. Referring, even obliquely, to Israelis murdered or kidnapped, is forbidden. If Israel does not agree to omit the offending verses it will be banned from Eurovision.
It now transpires that Israel has substituted an alternative song. This too has been banned because the lyrics are not suitable. The offending words are “”Hope doesn’t stop, it just spreads its wings,” It’s like a million stars that suddenly light up in the sky.”
A clearer case of cynical hypocrisy would be hard to find.
Presumably, the next step in this international theatre of the absurd will be a demand at the UN General Assembly for “Shema Yisrael” to be deleted as an article of Jewish Faith because it represents a colonialist apartheid oppressive belief that is incompatible with the lofty and sacred gospels of the world body.
If nothing is done to prevent the odious odours emitted by the unhinged masses from spreading it will threaten to engulf all sane and decent humanity.
Activists Push For UNRWA Replacement At Geneva Conference
On February 27, 2024, a conference convened at the UN in Geneva, spearheaded by activists advocating for the replacement of UNRWA.
However, the UN has unequivocally stated its stance against the replacement of UNRWA, which oversees 5 million people in “temporary” refugee camps, descendants of Arabs who fled villages during the 1948 war.
Given the permanence of UNRWA’s presence, the imperative now is to address the challenge at hand: How to align UNRWA’s operations with the values of peace and reconciliation, central to UN principles.
Contrary to promoting peace, UNRWA has been accused of fostering hostility towards Jews, advocating for the “right of return” to pre-1948 villages through armed force. This stance is bolstered by support from various entities, including Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, and several nations.
As the UN shows no indication of altering UNRWA’s policies, the parliaments of donor nations can step in to oversee and influence UNRWA’s direction. Here are seven proposed steps to promote UNRWA’s role as an advocate for peace:
- Revitalize the Refugee Working Group (RWG) of donor nations, tasked with ensuring transparency in UNRWA’s budget allocation.
- Disarm UNRWA facilities to prevent militarization within refugee camps.
- Remove UNRWA personnel affiliated with terrorist organizations to uphold neutrality and integrity.
- Prosecute UNRWA officials who support or facilitate violence, ensuring accountability for wrongdoing.
- Establish a new UNRWA school system aligned with UN guidelines on peace and reconciliation, fostering a culture of harmony among students.
- Introduce UNRWA maps that accurately depict sovereign nations, promoting geographical accuracy and inclusivity.
- Adopt the UNHCR principle of dignified refugee resettlement to provide long-term solutions for displaced individuals.
While amending UNRWA’s mandate would necessitate approval from the United Nations General Assembly, implementing peaceful changes in UNRWA’s day-to-day policies does not require such endorsement.
PA organizations holding reconciliation talks in Moscow
Representatives of the Palestinian Arab organizations began talks on national reconciliation in Moscow on Wednesday, under the auspices of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Jihad Taha, a spokesman for Hamas, denied the reports that the possibility of establishing a Palestinian government of technocrats was discussed in the reconciliation talks, stressing that the top priority now is “the cessation of Israeli aggression” against the Palestinian Arab people.
In a conversation with the Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper, Taha said that it is too early for any discussion on the question of establishing a government of technocrats, and that efforts are now being directed to achieving an agreement on a ceasefire, an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip.
“The connection and coordination between the Palestinian organizations continues, but the issue of establishing a government has not come up for discussion at the current time,” Taha said.
The newspaper quoted another source in Hamas as saying that Hamas has made it clear in principle that it is not opposed to the establishment of a national unity government, provided that it is inclusive on the basis of a defined ideological platform and that its functioning can be examined in the future.
Hamas and Fatah have been at odds since 2007, when Hamas violently took control of Gaza in a bloody coup.
A unity government between Hamas and Fatah collapsed in 2015 when PA chairman Abbas decided to dissolve it amid a deepening rift between the sides.
The two sides signed a reconciliation agreement in October of 2017, as part of which Hamas was to transfer power in Gaza by December 1 of that year.
That deadline was initially put back by 10 days and later reportedly hit “obstacles”. It has never been implemented.
The Former US Ambassador to Israel Who Can’t Get Basic Facts Right
(Moshe Phillips is a commentator on Jewish affairs whose writings appear regularly in the American and Israeli press.)
Martin Indyk has spent his entire professional life immersed in the Arab-Israeli conflict, holding prominent positions in advocacy groups, think tanks, and the State Department. So how is it that he still can’t get the most basic facts about the conflict right?
In the March-April 2024 issue of Foreign Affairs (https://www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/palestine-strange-resurrection-two-state-solution-indyk), Indyk makes the case for why it would be great to have a sovereign Palestinian state as soon as possible. Yet again and again throughout the essay, he makes glaring errors in referring to key aspects of the history and nature of the Arab war against Israel.
For someone who served as ambassador to Israel and Assistant Secretary of State (among other positions), Indyk is either surprisingly ignorant or surprisingly careless about his area of presumed expertise. Either possibility is alarming.
Let’s start with Indyk’s “history” of the idea of creating a Palestinian state. He wants to show that the proposal has deep roots. It’s not just something that he and his State Department friends cooked up last week; it has a tradition. Because, presumably, something with a long history is less scary than something which seems new and radical. He writes: “The two-state solution dates back to at least 1937, when a British commission suggested a partition of the British mandate territory…”
Indyk is off by fifteen years. The two-state solution began in 1922, not 1937. And what happened in 1922 was not just some British proposal—the British actually implemented it. They physically partitioned the Palestine Mandate territory, giving the 78% east of the Jordan River to the Arabs, leaving only 22% on the western side for the Jews.
Too bad the British didn’t just honestly call the eastern part of Palestine “East Palestine.” That would have spared us all a lot of rhetorical confusion over the years. Instead, they chose to call it “Trans-Jordan.” Not because the people living there were ethnically “Trans-Jordanian.” They were no different from the Arabs living on the western side of the Jordan. They called it “Trans-Jordan” because that means “other side of the Jordan.” The name was geographically convenient. Many years later, the country’s king changed the name to “Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,” so that his particular tribe’s name would be enshrined as part of the country’s name. It was what we call a land-grab.
Could Indyk really not know how, when and why Jordan was created? Not likely. More likely is that he was being deliberately disingenuous when he skipped 1922 and went straight to 1937.
Another blatant error by Indyk in his Foreign Affairs article concerns the crucial issue of Palestinian Arab refugees. After the UN’s 1947 resolution, he writes, “The ensuing war led to the founding of the state of Israel; millions of Palestinians, meanwhile, became refugees, and their national aspirations languished.”
How many falsehoods can an alleged “expert” pack into one sentence? First, the war of 1948 was not just “an ensuing war,” as if both sides were culpable. It was unprovoked Arab aggression. Israel did not invade any Arab countries; five Arab armies invaded Israel.
Second, “millions” of Palestinian Arabs did not become refugees. Mainstream historians and demographers estimate that about 1.3-million Arabs lived in the Palestinian Mandate in 1947, and between 600,000 and 700,000 of them left their homes to get out of the way of the invading Arab armies. Not “millions.”
Third, their “national aspirations” did not “languish.” Their aspiration was to annihilate Israel, and they acted on it every day. There were constant Palestinian Arab terrorist attacks throughout the 1950s and continuing ever since. In 1964, they established the PLO. They have fought endlessly for their “national aspirations,” that is, to replace Israel with “Palestine”—by murdering Jews.
When Indyk gets to 1967, he does it again. He writes that the Six Day War “placed millions of Palestinians under direct Israeli control.” Wrong again. In 1967, there were about 400,000 Arabs living in Gaza, and another 900,000 living in Judea-Samaria. Not “millions.”
I understand why Indyk inflates the numbers. The larger the number, the worse Israel looks. But changing history to score political points is just wrong.
Martin Indyk wants us to trust him. He wants Israel and world Jewry to believe that based on his vast experience, he knows best how to bring about Middle East peace. But looking at his new Foreign Affairs article, so chock full of bias, exaggerations, and omissions of key historical facts—all to Israel’s detriment—I would say that he has not yet earned the Jewish People’s trust.
END
Who’s afraid of a Palestinian state?
All you have to do to set off a firestorm in Israel is say, “Palestinian state.”
Suddenly, nearly everyone is outraged, incensed and otherwise triggered by the reference coming from US, EU and others about setting up a Palestinian state. “It’s a prize for terrorism,” complain some. “It would put a Hamas state on Israel’s doorstep,” warn others. Or as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put it with characteristic understatement and sensitivity, “It would bring Oct. 7 to Kfar Saba.”
For those of you living in Antarctica for the past five months—Oct. 7 is the date when Hamas sent thousands of terrorists across Israel’s border with Gaza to massacre, rape and burn 1,200 Israelis and kidnap over 200 others. Kfar Saba is just east of Tel Aviv.
Let’s take a breath here. There are objective reasons why Israel should not be reacting so negatively to its allies floating the idea of a Palestinian state. Here are a few:
- It’s not going to happen.
- Israel would do itself a favor by taking part in the process of negotiating toward a Palestinian state, because
- It’s not going to happen.
- Creation or even declaration of a Palestinian state would relieve Israel of several burdensome chores, but (did we mention already?)
- It’s not going to happen.
Let’s start with points 1, 3 and 5. It’s not going to happen because the Palestinians will never accept a state within reasonable parameters. They have painted themselves into a corner with their outlandish, non-negotiable “right of return” claim, as if 5.9 million “refugees” have the God-given right to “return” to the villages in Israel that their grandparents left 75 years ago.
Many of the villages don’t exist anymore, and anyway, that demand would mean that while the Palestinians had their own state, they would insist that the majority of their people must go and live in someone else’s state, namely Israel.
Not only that, but in turning down Israel’s offer of a state in the equivalent of all of the West Bank and Gaza, a link between the two through Israel, and parts of Jerusalem—the chief Palestinian negotiator, quoting his president, declared that the Palestinians would not compromise over “a single inch… a single stone” of east Jerusalem. That would mean erasing the history and development of the past five-plus decades.
It’s part of a pattern. The Palestinians are always demanding to go back to the borders and situations they rejected last time around. They rejected the 1947 UN partition, starting a war that ended up with cease-fire lines. Now those lines have been enshrined as the holy “1967 borders,” because Israel crossed the lines and captured the West Bank, Gaza, Golan Heights and Sinai in a war the Arabs provoked in 1967. Israel’s offers of 2000 and 2008 to trade territory on either side of the cease-fire lines were rejected.
So really, it’s not going to happen. Therefore, Israel has nothing to lose by saying, “OK, we’re in, let’s see where this leads, no guarantees.”
Point 2, taking part in the process, means that if in the end, a coalition of moderate Arab states and Western powers comes up with an interim stage that includes taking over rule of the West Bank and Gaza, drawing a border, and guaranteeing peace and quiet with permission for Israel to act it its own defense—it’s hard to figure how that would be harmful to Israel.
Oh, of course, Israel has been saying for decades that it can’t trust anyone else with its security. But Israel just bungled its way into a situation where it can’t go it alone anymore. That is the “price” Israel must pay for its own negligence on Oct. 7.
Hamas is to blame for its atrocities, but Israel let it happen. As a result, Israel was forced to bring in outside parties to help it fight Hamas, and that’s never for free. It would be better to accept the price and work with the coalition, instead of opposing it and being lumped together with the consistently rejectionist Palestinians.
Point 4 is something to think about—for the Palestinians, too.
Under the “Oslo” process, the partial peace accords Israel signed with the Palestinians between 1993 and 1995, Israel undertook a number of obligations. If a Palestinian state were created, or even if the Palestinians declared that they have a state, the painfully detailed and explicit Oslo accords would be automatically canceled..
Trashing them would mean, for starters, no more Palestinian use of Israeli seaports. Israel would no longer collect taxes for the Palestinians. Coordination of customs duties would end. So would security cooperation—that would revert to the Arab-international sponsors.
Not only that—recognized borders would mean the end of the “occupation.” Israel could close its borders completely if it so decided. Every nation has the right to seal its borders. Just as Israel’s borders with Syria and Lebanon are closed, so could the border between Israel and a Palestinian state. Tens of thousands of Palestinian workers in Israel? Treatment of Palestinian patients in Israeli hospitals? Commerce? Not unless Israel agreed.
Point 4 is the main reason why legendary Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat never implemented the clauses in the Oslo accords that authorized him to declare a Palestinian state as early as 1997.
None of the above conditions have changed. That’s why when it comes to a Palestinian state, Israel need not fear—it’s not going to happen.
— — —
Correspondent MARK LAVIE has been covering Israel and the Mideast since 1972. His second book, “Why Are We Still Afraid?” recaps his career and comes to a surprising conclusion.
Oslo accords: On the way to the garbage? (Photo by Mark Lavie)
UN cannot stop an effective campaign to curb UNRWA policies.
Concerning a new on-line petition to replace UNRWA:
UNRWA reports to the UN General Assembly, which will not allow UNHCR or any other UN agency to replace UNRWA.
The UN will simply not allow one UN agency to replace another UN agency.
However, the UN cannot stop a effective campaign against UNRWA policies.
Please review:
Have worked against the UNRWA policies for 37 years.
There is no reason to invest in a strategy doomed to failure.
US training and arming 5,000 Palestinian Authority troops in Jordan
Palestinian Civil Defense and Security Officers take part in an exercise that simulates different scenarios, in the city of Nablus, in the West Bank, March 14, 2023. Photo by Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90 *** Local Caption *** תרגיל
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The Biden administration is currently training and arming several thousand Palestinian Authority troops, commentator Carolyn Glick has recently denounced.
As reported in The Media Line, the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, and Axios, a recent joint security summit included the Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization Hussein al-Sheikh; the head of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service, Majed Faraj; and the diplomatic advisor to President Mahmoud Abbas, Majdi Al-Khalidi. From the Israeli side, Israel’s National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Shin Bet intelligence service chief Ronen Bar attended. Also in attendance were the heads of intelligence of Jordan and Egypt. The negotiations were overseen by the US Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Leaf and coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa in the Biden administration, Brett McGurk.
The stated goal of the summit was to boost Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation and solidify understandings that already have been reached regarding the steps that the two sides would take to de-escalate tensions.
According to Glick, the training, outlined by Lieutenant General Michael R. Fenzel, US security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, provides for the military training of 5,000 Palestinians in counterterrorism and commando tactics. At the end of the training, the Palestinian officers will bring with them 5,000 rifles and additional “anti-terror equipment” to Palestinian cities and towns inside Samaria and in the areas surrounding Hebron. The plan, also “foresees the deployment of foreign forces, including U.S. military forces, on the ground.”
The program, originally set up by President George W. Bush, has already trained several thousand Palestinians in four-month courses at a facility in Jordan already used by US-backed Iraqi forces. The program aims at establishing a force of nearly 50,000 trained Palestinian soldiers. None of the instructors will be U.S. government personnel. The program requires detailed background checks for each recruit and Israel has a veto over who participates because it has to permit them to travel to Jordan.
Unlike the program being initiated by the Biden administration, the original program, supervised by U.S. Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, was explicitly designed to train Palestinian troops in riot control and other police methods to control civilians—not counterterrorism. As Dayton put it at the time, “we don’t give out any guns or bullets.”
The new program proposed by the Biden administration is distinctly unlike the original plan in that explicitly provides “guns and bullets” and the training to use them, creating a special force of armed PA security forces.
For its part, the PA agreed to stop its efforts to bring forward a draft resolution in the United Nations Security Council condemning Israel’s decision to build and legalize more settlements.
In the article in JNS, Glick cited a report by Israel’s Channel 14 as outlining the US plan to train PA security forces in Jordan. Glick pointed out the fatal flaw in the plan; the direct involvement of PA security personnel in terrorist attacks targeting Israelis.
“During the course of the Palestinian terror war 20 years ago, U.S.-trained P.A. forces murdered 26 IDF soldiers in 2002 alone,” Glick wrote. “The Palestinians learned how to use cell phones as remote detonation devices from their American trainers. Over the years, they have put that knowledge to use not to fight terror but to kill Israelis in terrorist attacks.
“The P.A., whose forces the U.S. seeks to “empower,” is controlled by the Fatah terror group. P.A. chairman Mahmoud Abbas is the chairman of Fatah. Fatah terrorists carried out most of the murderous terror attacks in 2021-2022. Several of those attacks were carried out by P.A. security officers.”
At last month’s summit in Jordan aimed at calming the violence between Israel and the Palestinians, Hady Amr, the Biden administration’s special representative for Palestinian affairs, promoted an American plan requiring Israel to sharply curtail counter-terror operations by the IDF.
Gatestone Institute reported on the plan, describing it as “a political and military nightmare” since it reportedly calls for the foreign military to be stationed alongside PA forces in Israel in the future.
“[The Israelis] would find themselves in the impossible position of risking harming the Europeans and Americans forces stationed there,” Gatestone wrote. “These troops, mingled among the Palestinians, would essentially be ‘human shields,’ deliberately placed in harm’s way to prevent Israel from taking any action.”
Dr. Mordechai Kedar acknowledged that the plan to give commando training to PA forces was in place and ready to begin. He explained that this was bad for Israel since the PA security forces play an active role in terrorism. He explained that the intention of the Biden administration was focused on the Palestinian Authority.
“This is just another example of how the Americans are trying to resuscitate the Palestinian Authority,” Dr. Kedar said. “The stated purpose is to train the PA police to maintain order and deal with terrorists in their midst. But this is a bluff. The real purpose is to maintain order on the day after Mahmoud Abbas leaves the picture.”
Dr. Kedar explained that the security organizations of the PA are currently under the control of the Palestinian Authority General Intelligence Services chief, Majed Farej, appointed by Abbas in 2009. Five months after President Biden took office, Farej traveled to Washington to meet with his counterparts in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
“The Americans understand that he will be the most likely to take over after Abbas,” Dr. Kedar said. “One way or another, Abbas is going to leave, probably very soon. There are at least five militias who are right now preparing for that day. That is one of the reasons for the violence in Samaria right now. They are jockeying for position, trying to show who is stronger.”
According to Dr, Kedar, the Americans want to make sure that they are supporting the winner.
“It is just another example of the Americans meddling in the Middle East without understanding the culture or the situation,” he said.
“Israel was forced to allow it,” Dr. Kedar added. “Netanyahu chose not to fight this. He is already out of favor with the Biden administration. And if there is a massive civil war in the PA after Abbas leaves, Netanyahu doesn’t want to get blamed. But Israel always gets blamed when the Palestinians kill each other, like after Hamas won the elections in Gaza.”
Prof. Efraim Inbar, a professor emeritus of political science at Bar-Ilan University and a veteran authority on the Arab-Israeli conflict and strategic developments in the Mideast, was skeptical of the plan to train PA security forces.
“The US expects that when the PA security forces return, they will add to the security of the region,” Prof.Inbar said. “That seems doubtful. The PA security forces are not going to use force against Palestinians in Samaria. I am sure the Israeli government understands this but they have no choice but to appease the Biden administration.”
According to Inbar, this move may help Abbas and his people when there is a battle for power, but it has no benefit for Israel or our security.
“A Palestinian army is a part and parcel of creating a Palestinian state,” Prof. Inbar said. “The Palestinians are not a state and it does not seem that they will become a state anytime soon. A state has one very clear and necessary trait; a monopoly on the use of force. The PA lost this monopoly when Hamas took over Gaza by forcing the PA out. Now, in Jenin and Shechem (Nablus), new militias are cropping up. The PA can’t become a state if they aren’t the sole power. It really has little to do with Israel.”
The Zionist Organization of America condemned the US plan “in the strongest possible terms”, emphasizing that the US-led military intervention is an explicit violation of Article IV.3 of the 1995 Oslo Accords II.
Article XV of the same agreement states that “both sides shall take all measures necessary in order to prevent acts of terrorism, crimes, and hostilities directed against each other…”, a measure the PA is clearly not taking as it pays stipends to terrorists and their families.
“Thus, under the Biden administration’s plan, Israel would be restricted from defending innocent Israelis from terrorists; and much of Judea/Samaria would become a “safe haven” for terrorists to retreat to and be celebrated after perpetrating murderous terror attacks in Israel, with no consequences,” the ZOA wrote. “Moreover, American and other foreign forces on the ground would become sitting ducks, subject to Palestinian-Arab terror attacks. American and foreign soldiers would also become human shields, who block Israel from going after the terrorists, lest foreign forces be caught in the crossfire. Further, the PA will want foreign forces to include Iranians, thereby introducing even more terror into the region.”
According to ZOA, if the Biden administration proceeded with its plan, Israel would have the right to deport and ban any Palestinian-Arab commandos trained by the U.S. from re-entering Israeli territory, including Judea/Samaria. In addition, Israel could expel or refuse entry to any foreign forces and U.S. trainers.
“Israel has always been responsible for her own defense and has never asked for a single American soldier to protect the Jewish State,” ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said. “The administration’s plan is a horrifically grotesque idea, which will weaken Israel’s counterterrorism defenses while massively increasing Palestinian Arab terrorism. The Palestinian Authority, which would supposedly direct this new elite armed force, is itself a terror organization that incites and pays Arabs to murder Jews. This outrageous proposal would result in the murder of more Israelis, and must be opposed and scrapped.”
