Today, April 22, 1998, marks Jewish holocaust Remembrance Day, when
people around the world recall the slaughter of six million Jews in
twenty one countries that occurred over a period of six years, while the
US, Great Britain and other great nations of the world closed all
avenues of exits to the European inferno.
It goes without saying that most people would take a dim view of killing
Jews. Yet on March 5, 1998, the New York Times published a front page
investigative story that documented how the CIA tains the Palestine
Liberation Army, which spearheads the war against the state and people
of Israel, aligned and in coordination with the Arab states who remain
in a state of war with the Jewish state since its inception almost
exactly fifty years ago. These nations still in a state of war include
Syria, Iraq, Libya, Algeria, and, most recently, Iran. Meanwhile, the
Palestine Liberation Army openly supplies weapons and training for
Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Fatah Hawks, the Palestine Front for the
Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of
Palestine - all of which continue terror activity against the Jewish
state. In addition, the Palestine Liberation Army operates its own
Preventive Security Service, which maintains iron fist control over the
Palestinian Arab population, also in East Jerusalem, suspecnding any
notion that the Palestine-state-in-the-making will maintain any respect
for human rights or civil liberties. Just ask the Palestinian human
rights organizations.
American and Israeli security experts concur that the PLA, operating on
its own, represents no serious threat to Israel's ultimate security.
However, an Israeli military expert recently gave an interview to the
Associated Press in which he expressed an overriding concern in all
Israeli security circles that the CIA-trained PLA security forces ,
which have swelled to well over 50,000, could easily hamper the dispatch
of Israeli troops to the front at a time of war. It would be no problem
for many of the PLA forces to melt into the Palestinian west bank
civilian population.
In terms of the coordination with the Arab states in the area, I asked
Yassid Abd Rabu, Yassir Arafat's senior security aide, as to whether the
Palestine Authority's PLA security services would give logistical
support to Syria in a time of war between Syria and Israel. I reminded
him of the enthusiastic PLO support for Iraq during while Bagdad reigned
scud missiles on Israel in 1991. Abd Rabu responded that "we all hope
for peace with Syria". When I pressed Abd Rabu about the possibility
that war would indeed break out between Israel and Syria, he firmly
acknowledged that the PLA would "give all logistical support" to Syria
at a time of war.
In its March 5 investigative story of the CIA training exercises for the
PLA, the New York Times was quick to mention that these activities were
being carried out with the full knowledge of the Israeli security
establishment.
"Knowledge does not mean approval", gritted Dr. Uzi Landau, the
chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee. It also
goes without saying that the European Communitty-Palestine Liberation
Army security pact that was initialled by British Prime Minister Tony
Blair and Yassir Arafat on April 21, 1998 was with the "knowledge and
not the approval" of the state of Israel".
Landau, like others with whom I have discussed this with in the Israel
Ministry of Defence and the IDF, would prefer not to launch a frontal
attack on the American government. That would be like biting the hand
that also feeds you.
Perhaps the peoples of the world do take a dim view of killing Jews.
That does not prevent the nations of the world from participating in the
process, while Jews grit their teeth.
The Hamas
Exerpts from Al-Ahram
Al-Ahram Weekly
26th March - 1st April, 1998
The following are excerpts from articles which appeared in the
Egyptian English weekly, "Al-Ahram" of Al-Ahram Weekly 8th -
15th April, 1998
Close Up -- "Boiling Over"
by Salama A. Salama
The Palestinian Authority (PA), for reasons of its own, has in the
past few days offered three different versions of killing of Hamas
bombing expert Mohideddin Al-Sharif, finally exonerating the
Israeli intelligence services from the charge of having
assassinated Al-Sharif, throwing the blame instead on financial and
political strife within the ranks of Hamas.
. . . The absence of compelling evidence absolving Israel of
Al-Sharif's murder should be weighed against the compelling
circumstantial evidence in favor of its involvement, The Israeli
intelligence services have been hunting Al-Sharif for months --
even years.
. . . Sharif may have been killed by Israeli agents, or possibly by
the double agents active throughout the Palestinian political
spectrum. This time, through its constant denials, Israel seems to
be giving itself away.
Since its establishment, Israel has commonly resorted to
assassination as an expedient means to its policy ends. By
assassinating Ayyash, Israel triggered retaliatory suicide bombings
which claimed 60 lives, precipitated the downfall of Peres and the
accession of Netanyahu and the Likud, and put an end to the peace
process.
. . . US efforts to urge Israelis and Palestinians to exercise
self-restraint are totally unrealistic. Such US endeavors only
buttress Israeli state terrorism and prevent the Palestinians from
retaliating or evening the score, since Hizbullah in southern
Lebanon has taught Israel the dangers of such retaliation.
Hamas may have complied recently with the Palestinian Authority's
urging that it suspend operations against Israel, in the hope that
some progress would be achieved. But with the assassination of one
of its leaders, threats to escalate the violence against Israel
would be fully justified.
Does Israel truly want to see an end to violence against its own
people? Does it seek to help the Palestinian Authority abide by its
commitments in security guarantees, which Israel uses as a pretext
for its reluctance to withdraw from Palestinian land? On the
contrary, it is quite clear that Israel seeks to maintain a
certain level of insecurity and violence, beyond its genuine
security needs. Without this process of violence and
counterviolence, Israel cannot sustain its occupation of
Palestinian land on any grounds. In other words, when the
Palestinians refrain from violence, Israel deliberately incites
their fury -- precisely the situation created by Al-Sharif's
assassination.
"Waiting for Hamas"
by Graham Usher
[Heading:] The Palestinian Authority has exonerated Israel from
responsibility for the killing of Hamas military leader, Mohieddin
Al-Sharif. Much will depend on Hamas' next move writes Graham
Usher from Jerusalem.
|
The Israeli government is adamant that it had "no hand" in the
death of Hamas military leader, Mohieddin Al-Sharif, whose
dismembered corpse was found beside a wrecked car in Ramallah on 29
March. Once it became known that the victim was Al-Sharif --
wanted by Israelis as the alleged "second engineer" behind the
suicide operations that have rocked Israel in recent years --
Israel has spared no channel to convey to Yasser Arafat that it was
not involved and that the Palestinian Authority (PA) would be held
"responsible" for any reprisals against Israelis by Hamas or its
military arm, Ezzeddin Al-Qassam. Madeleine Albright too has
reportedly told the Palestinian leader that "any terror attack now
would destroy the peace process."
Arafat probably understands this better than Israel or the
Americans. He is also aware that Israeli disclaimers and American
warnings are likely to cut little ice with Palestinian public
opinion.
On Thursday, thousands of Palestinians attended Al-Sharif's
funeral.... Although Hamas supporters led the procession, many of
those present were nationalists known for their support of the
peace process, including the PLO's head of Jerusalem affairs,
Faisal Al-Husseini.
. . . The fact that the PA's official account of Al-Sharif's killing
now seems to coincide with Netanyahu's is unlikely to lessen
Hamas's suspicions. Nor is it likely to avert Hamas's expected
response...
. . . Yehia Ayyash was the "first engineer", allegedly responsible for
a wave of suicide attacks inside Israel in 1994 and 1995.
Following his certain Israeli sponsored death in Gaza in 1996,
Ezzeddin Al-Quassam responded with suicide attacks in Jerusalem and
Ashkelon that left 45 Israelis dead, brought the peace process to
its knees and effectively lost the elections for Shimon Peres's
Labour Party.
With Netanyahu and Likud in power, Arafat is aware that any repeat
of such vengeance will draw consequences even more mortal for the
Oslo process.
The PA's conclusion that Al-Sharif was killed by members of his own
movement, if true, is thus a denouement that will be welcomed by
Israel and Arafat alike. But if Hamas rejects this conclusion,
then the likelihood is that "revenge" will still be the price of
Al-Sharif's death for the Israelis. As for the political
consequences of such retaliation, this, almost certainly, will be
the PA's price to pay.
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