(a second report after this one) ============================================================================ Delivered-To: •••@••.••• From: "Michael Albert" <•••@••.•••> To: <•••@••.•••> Subject: ZNet Commentary / Tanya Reinhart / Green Light to Slaughter Date: Sun, 22 Oct 2000 21:33:32 +0100 Commentaries are a premium sent to Sustainer Donors of Z/ZNet. To learn more about the project and join folks can consult ZNet at http://www.zmag.org or the ZNet Sustainer Pages at http://www.zmag.org/Commentaries/donorform.htm ==== GREEN LIGHT TO SLAUGHTER By Tanya Reinhart In the Sharm-al-Sheikh summit last week, Barak got from the US his green light to slaughter. To judge by the Israeli media, what we have seen so far is just the prelude. "The most important will come in the middle of next week, when...Israel will have to consider taking the initiative, rather than merely responding to events". ('Haaretz', Amos Harel, Oct 19.00) Bits and pieces of the "initiative" have been revealed: It includes entering PA areas "to confiscate weapons", and 'inevitable' air raidings. There is talk about the Palestinian Kosovo, with 2000-3000 Palestinians dead. As usual, the blame for this slaughter is put in advance on Arafat, who, the story goes, wants his people to be slaughtered, to gain international sympathy. Another aspect of what is being planned has started already, with very little coverage, under the calm title of 'evacuation'. Palestinian residents of 'areas of conflict' near Jewish settlements have been called to evacuate their homes "for their own protection". So far this happened in el-Bireh (7.10), Beit-Jallah (18.10) and the Askar refugee camp near Nablus (19.10). And this is just the beginning. In more direct words - transfer under the pretext of war. The military preparations and training for the Israeli attack have started already in June, when Barak first informed Israeli media that "there is a danger of a Palestinian unrest, following the model of Southern Lebanon". But to get there, it was first necessary to manifest Barak's unprecedented eagerness for peace. The model was rehearsed on Syria earlier this year: Intensive "peace talks" at the end of which Barak declared that there is no partner for peace. The camp David "peace round" was sufficient to convince the obedient Israeli media that the same is true of the Palestinians. All that was still needed was US approval. US APPROVAL For three weeks now, Barak has been dragging full execution, waiting for US green light. As reported in early October, "Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is appealing to the United States for approval of a massive offensive against Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority. So far, the United States has appealed to Barak for more time" (World Tribune, Oct 9). We may have been fooled to believe he won't get US approval this time. There is so much opposition to Israel's acts throughout the world. The Arab world is storming with demonstrations. US embassies had to close temporarily, and the Yemen explosion was some indication of the burning soil. The US was first cautious - not even the customary vetoing of the security council resolution. CNN - the most direct seismograph of the White House - betrayed the hesitations. There was a week when sharp criticism of Israel was allowed in their news, along with the standard pro-Israeli propaganda, and even Edward Said got a full-length interview, probably for the first time in CNN's history. But no more! - The three weeks of deliberations did end with a green light. Intensive diplomacy of threats and promises convinced the US that the Arab regimes can still be relied upon to stand their people's pressure. They expect the Arab-league summit to end up as a harmless ceremony. They believe that when it ends, the tanks can start talking, undisturbed. For the US, this is a dangerous game. But what's at stake here is not just its automatic backing of Israel. The explosive Arab anger has been directed at the US no less than Israel. The rational move for the US would have been to cool things off for now, to stop Barak. But that has never been the US strategy. They can't tolerate even the slight disobedience of loyal servants. They have to show who is the master. ARAFAT'S ROLE In the Sharm-al-Sheikh summit, Arafat complied again. We may have been fooled to believe that this time, under the pressure of his people, he is going to change. But it is too late for him to change. The tragedy of the Palestinian people is that the person who in the past symbolized their struggle in the world's eyes has turned into an executer of the Israeli occupation. The substantial issue which was worked out in the summit, behind the public show of "cease fire", was the security agreement, which guarantees Arafat's continued commitment to do the security job for Israel, namely, prevent Palestinian retaliations inside Israel. As reported in 'haaretz', "its implementation will be overseen by CIA chief George Tenet and the CIA representative in Tel Aviv. This agreement will, for the first time, involve CIA observers in the field in addition to CIA participation in Israeli-Palestinian meetings." ('haaretz', Aluf Ben, oct 18.00) Indeed, just a day after the summit, Israeli undercover unit seized eight Palestinians who were in the crowd that lynched two Israeli soldiers a week before. "The operation was carried out with the connivance of some members of the Palestinian security forces, who apparently tipped off the Israelis where to find the men." 'The Telegraph' (U.K.), Alan Phillips in Jerusalem, 19 October 2000, The official propaganda in Israel is that Arafat is responsible for the uprising, and "he is not a real partner for peace". Not only does this provide the continuous justification for the planned slaughter, but it is also the biggest service Israel can offer in return for Arafat's compliance. Israel's constant 'dissatisfaction' with Arafat is his only claim for credibility. When Israel intensified its murder of unarmed demonstrators, on Friday the 20th (with 10 dead in one day) Arafat's spokesman, Arikaat, was interviewed pleading no other then the US to investigate and to protect the Palestinians. This follows another concession of Arafat at Sharm- al-Sheikh. -No more pleas to the international community. From now on, little red ridinghood can only call the woolf to protect her. If there is anything that could still prevent the blood-shed, it is international intervention. International inspectors, UN forces, or even just NGO volunteers present in the area could potentially slow down Israeli forces. It is therefore extremely important now to understand Arafat's collaborating role, and to remember that it is Israel, rather than the Palestinian people, who view the US as the 'neutral moderator'. Tanya Reinhart Tel Aviv University and the university of Utrecht. ============================================================================ Dear cj, Oppressors come up with the most amazing justifications for their actions and attitudes. Remember Rodney King? One of the jurors who acquitted the cops in the first trial gave an interview where she claimed that King was 'in control of the situtation' the whole time he was on the ground being beaten. The poor cops had no choice but to defend themselves! And when Nazi stormtrooper were beating Jews in the streets of Germany, the average German was convinced it was the Jews who were attacking the Stormtroopers. In the report below we learn that the Palestinians should be blamed for the Israeli slaughter! you figure it out, rkm ======================== Delivered-To: •••@••.••• Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2000 07:16:31 -0400 From: Nurev Ind Research <•••@••.•••> Organization: Nurev Independent Research X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: Activist Mailing List <•••@••.•••> Subject: Palestinian Child Sacrifice Prof. Gerald M. Steinberg: Palestinian Child Sacrifice Monday, October 23, 2000 According to the Palestinians, over 40 children have been killed in the waves of violence and confrontations that began at the end of September. They have been killed in the front lines, providing cover for the armed Palestinian militias with machine guns and other weapons seeking to overwhelm isolated Israeli guard posts. The outnumbered Israeli soldiers, defending the civilians behind these outposts, cannot see the children through the small slits and openings (as was clearly the case at the Netzarim crossing in Gaza). The tragic images of these young victims provide first-rate propaganda to use against Israel. ---<snip>--- For a people who count Abraham (or Ibrahim) among their ancestors, this willful child sacrifice violates the fundamental tenets of morality and ethics. Prof. Gerald M. Steinberg Director, Program on Conflict Resolution and Negotiation Political Studies, Bar Ilan University Ramat Gan, Israel Tel: 972-3-5318043, Fax: 972-3-5357931, http://faculty.biu.ac.il/~steing/conflict/conflict.html ============================================================================ Richard K Moore Wexford, Ireland Citizens for a Democratic Renaissance email: •••@••.••• CDR website & list archives: http://cyberjournal.org content-searchable archive: http://members.xoom.com/centrexnews/ featured article: http://cyberjournal.org/cj/rkm/Whole_Earth_Review/Escaping_the_Matrix.shtml A community will evolve only when the people control their means of communication. -- Frantz Fanon Permission for non-commercial republishing hereby granted - BUT include and observe all restrictions, copyrights, credits, and notices - including this one. ============================================================================ .
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