On May Thursday 25th, the office of the Israeli ministry of defense lead by Labour Amir Peretz decalred that Israel was transfering light weapons to mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president.
This decision was announced after Olmert's return from the United States where in his discourse before the American congress Olmert said about Abbas: 'I am stretching my hand towards him as a sign of peace' (my translation from French, the original could be in a slightly diffferent form).
Israel knows no other peace talks than the voice of arms.
The transfer of arms to Fatah will be fuelling existent battles going on in Gaza between Abbas's men from the Fatah and Hamas's militants who are the legitimate representatives of the Palestinin people in a desperate attempt initiated by Fatah to keep its hold on power and on the money poured by the international community as aid to Palestinians.
On another front, Fatah and Hamas's political prisoners in Israeli jails which had historically a significant impact on Palestinian politics have agreed on a conciliatory proposal to put before the Hamas government and Abbas which advocate armed resistance only within the 1967 borders with Israel. Yesterday Haaretz reported that Hamas declared that it is ready to make a prolonged truce with Israel if Israel agrees to retreat behind the 1967 borders. And Abbas himself declared that he was going to organise a referendum on this proposal. So whatever the solution, Palestinians are looking for one and the intrusion of israel on behalf of one side is clearly meant to abort any solution to the internal conflict.
On the other hand, it is ironic that while blocking financial aid to the Palestinians Israel is transfering arms to them! This move is designed to make sure that no solution will emerge from ongoing street battles between Fatah and Hamas other than the one which will benefit Israel by ingniting a civil war in the Palestinian territories. At this point Israel will be able to tell the world again and again that there is no partner for peace to speak with on the other side and finally goes its own way.
From Arafat to Abbas, Palestinians should have deserved better leaders who watch for their interests and when they were finally able to elect them by electing Hamas, the only organisation who continually watched over Palestinians welfare, they instantly found themselves pushed by Israel, its western allies and their puppet Arab leaders towards the edge of the precipice !
UPDATE: Palestinians are trying all they can to prevent a civil war inside the territories. The PA denied receiving arms from Israel and Hamas pulled its military presence from Gaza streets. They are now working on the document propsoed by Fatah and Hamas political prisoners in Israeli jails who enjoy a lot of credibility among the population. The document will outline the frontiers of a future Palestinian state (1967 borders) and will permit armed resistance inside the proposed borders while calling for a unity government between Hamas and Fatah. A smart move in my opinion. Lets hope they will reach an agreement.
However this will be insufficient to put Palestinians on the initiative side in this conflict. In my opinion, the only really sensible move that can be made by Palestinians (as Issam suggested on the comment section of this blog) is to stop fighting, dissolve the PA, take care of their strained population, stop wanting a state at their own expanse and let Israel occupy and occupy and occupy. No nation can live in a continuous state of occupation. And one day, the only possible solution will be the one state solution. The advantage of this solution is that it spares lives.
But you cannot say that by sending arms to Abbas, Israel didn't try to foment civil war in the territories and that it will not keep on trying...
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Since March 29th 2006
4 comments:
Man, that Olmert guy is really generous. He actually deserved the 18 standing ovations at the congress.
Will this nightmare ever end?
Bashir,
Some pretend that it was Olmert who converted Sharon to a 'peace' figure and was behing the unilateral withdrawal. Sharon in sheep's clothing.
The man is a Sharon "Mini Me" and a nasty piece of work.
I have been convinced since 2002 that the long-term goal in Israel is to ferment civil war in the PA. Such is his arrogance that he barely disguises it.
Wolfie,
He was at the best zionist enterprise; as a mayor of Jerusalem he contributed to the vanishing of the international and Arab characters of Jerusalem, the vanishing of the Arab quarters and its ever increasing judaisation.
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