Shalom,
The following is the editorial which will appear in the next issue of
Nativ (to be published on May 15). It is important that this information is
distributed widely; PLEASE, DO, before it is too late for the forthcoming
elections! -It would be wise to put it on WebSites of various organizations.
From: "Leah/ACPR" <
181 - A DECLARATION OF WAR
In its session in Gaza on Tuesday, April 29, l999, the Palestinian
National Council (PNC) discussed the postponement of the declaration of
Palestinian statehood, scheduled for May 4. The debate centered primarily
on the demand to establish a Palestinian state which will include all
territories designated as Arab land in UN Resolution 181. For about a half
a year now, the Palestinian Authority has vigorously pushed forward a
political initiative calling for the implementation of UN Resolutions 181
(November 1947) and 194 (December 1948). In other words, fulfilling those
resolutions which call for the State of Israel to return to the partition
borders and for millions of Arabs to overrun the emasculated stump which
will remain of the Jewish state.
After a series of meetings with personalities in Europe in which this
matter was raised, Arafat met with Kofi Anan, the Secretary-General of the
UN, on March 21, 1999 and received his blessing. Anan claimed that Arafat's
demand was firmly anchored in the General Assembly's resolutions.
After receiving the green light from the UN Secretary-General on March
25, the PLO, now operating in its role as the Palestine Liberation
Organization, submitted an official request for a General Assembly session
in which Israel be called upon to explain its violations of the UN
Resolutions. The PLO demand is supported by all of the Arab states - led by
Egypt.
Europe, at the insistent urging of Germany, the dominant force on the
continent and the nation currently presiding over the European Union,
supports the Arab demand. It was Germany which raised the demand for the
internationalization of Jerusalem by transforming it into a separate entity
(corpus seperatum) based on the partition borders.
The UN Human Rights Commission (a body which enjoys great prestige and
influence), in its annual meeting in Geneva on April 28, l999, adopted a
resolution calling for self-determination for the Palestinian nation on the
basis of Resolution 181 from November 1947, and demanding that Israel
fulfill Resolution 194 from December 1948. Of the committee's 53 member
nations (Israel's candidacy was rejected due to the claim that Israel
violates human rights), 44 voted in favor of the resolution, including all
the European nations, and 8 abstained. Though the United States voted
against, it adamantly refused to accede to the Israeli request to expend
efforts to prevent the resolution's adoption. As a result, within a short
time, the residents of Jerusalem, Nahariya, Lod, Ramle, Jaffa and
Beersheba, to name but a few, can anticipate their cities being labeled
"illegal settlements and obstacles to peace" by the international
community.
The precedent for the new Arab demand is a direct result of the
strategic abuse to which Israel has been subjected since 1990 (better known
by its sarcastic euphemism: "peace process"). From the moment that Israel
waived its basic right as an attacked nation to maintain territories which
served the aggressor as a springboard for war, the return to the partition
borders and the liquidation of Israel have become merely a function of
time.
Now that all pretenses have been eliminated and the malicious Arab
intentions to annihilate the Jewish state have been exposed, the critical
mass which demands courageous action required of any sane nation standing
on the verge of a national catastrophe has crystallized. The minimal
response required to upset the Arab strategy would be to immediately
announce suspension of the "peace process", annexation of those parts of
Judea and Samaria which have not yet been relinquished to the Palestinian
Authority, expulsion of the PLO from Jerusalem and disarming the
"Palestinian police force". This step will almost certainly lead to the
severing of diplomatic relations with Egypt and Jordan, riots in Judea and
Samaria and possibly economic sanctions by the European Union. Taking all
factors into account, it is a reasonable price to pay. The probability of a
comprehensive war is low, as the Arabs are unprepared at this point. On the
other hand, if the Arabs decide to wage a war, there is a reasonable chance
that they would be routed, as Israel has not yet squandered its strategic
holdings in Judea and Samaria and the Golan Heights. If Israel does not
take the above actions and chooses "disgrace instead of war", ultimately,
to paraphrase Churchill ("You chose disgrace instead of war, you got
disgrace and war as well."), Israel will get both "disgrace and war".
However, one major distinction exists: Disgrace was the worst that
Churchill feared as he never considered the possibility that Britain might
be destroyed. The Jewish state does not have that sort of British luxury at
its disposal.
______________________________________
ACPR - Ariel Center for Policy Research, Nativ
Arieh Stav, Director
Leah Kochanowitz, Director of Publishing
POB 21463, Tel Aviv 61213 Israel
Tel: 972-3-906-3920 Fax: 972-3-906-3905
Email: acpr@inter.net.il
Internet Website: www.acpr.org.il
Arieh Zaritsky, Ph.D
Department of Life Sciences, phone: 972-7-6461.712, -627.8951 (W)
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, cellular: 052-701.746
PO Box 653, Be'er-Sheva, 972-7-649.9238, -.8407 (H)
ISRAEL 84105. telefax: 972-7-627.8951, -6472.890 (W)
ariehz@bgumail.bgu.ac.il, http://www.bgu.ac.il/life/zaritsky.html
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