Terrorism
Israel has been confronting terror since long before 9/11. Even before the founding of the Jewish state, Israel’s enemies targeted civilians and used other revolting tactics in order to sow fear among the citizenry. But Israel and Israelis have refused to give way, even as terror groups have become more brazen. Read about the groups and tactics Israel confronts here.
Asymmetrical Warfare
Israel’s challenges in fighting the terrorists who threaten it is, in some ways, a classic case of “Asymmetrical warfare”—when one side of a conflict has more might or resources than the other. While it’s true that Israel’s army—a highly trained force equipped with sophisticated weaponry—looks like it has all of the advantages, this conflict is not really so simple. Read more »
Asymmetrical Warfare
Israel’s challenges in fighting the terrorists who threaten it is, in some ways, a classic case of “Asymmetrical warfare”—when one side of a conflict has more might or resources than the other. While it’s true that Israel’s army—a highly trained force equipped with sophisticated weaponry—looks like it has all of the advantages, this conflict is not really so simple.
Traditional asymmetrical warfare
Beginning with the war between Spanish fighters and Napoleon’s French Army between 1807-1813, and continuing into the modern era, dozens of “revolutionary” forces have attacked or undermined governments through “guerilla warfare” – raids, ambushes, and other small-scale attacks directed at military installations and forces.
In Israel today, however, the terrorist fighters have added new, horrible twists to “guerilla warfare” by targeting civilians rather than the military, and by using their own civilian populations as human shields. Sadly, these tactics have begun to appear in other conflicts around the world, such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The question of how to fight this kind of perverse asymmetry is essential not only for Israel, but for all democratic nations.
Armies fighting armies
The Israeli army began as a typical national military whose purpose was to defend against the regular army forces of other countries. With highly motivated and expertly trained troops, as well as sophisticated weaponry purchased abroad and developed at home, the IDF was able to beat back the combined armies of countries many times its size in several wars.
Following the defeats of these regular armies in the 1967 and 1973 wars, however, Israel’s army began to face other “military” forces: Terrorist groups and militias that began with Yasser Arafat’s PLO and its associated groups – the predecessors of the terror groups it faces today, such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, the Tanzim, and the al-Aksa Martyrs’ Brigade. Israel is not fighting a ”Palestinian” air force, navy, or army, but rather a series of inter-related militias that not only do not function like regular military forces, but that use tactics abhorrent to regular armies, such as carrying out “missions” against purely civilian targets and engaging in military operations from their own civilian areas.
Irregular forces, irregular tactics
Israel’s military victories against other nations’ armies generally were credited to superior weaponry, highly trained and motivated soldiers, and the element of surprise. None of these “asymmetrical” advantages, however, are enough to defeat small cells planning suicide bombings on city buses or restaurants or home invasions in Israeli villages.
The initial phases of the First Intifada were, in fact, a more traditional case of asymmetrical warfare: Small bands of civilians staging violent protests against Israeli soldiers (which, overnight, negatively impacted the Jewish state’s world image). Not after long, however, the initial grass-roots protests were taken over by terrorist groups using non-standard “asymmetrical” tactics, such as using “human shields” – having armed fighters shoot at Israeli soldiers from behind groups of children, so that the soldiers could not pursue them nor return fire without harming the children.
By the 1990s, the “asymmetry” Israel faced had become a question of how a law-abiding state can fight terror.
When any response is “disproportionate”
Today, Israel faces terrorist forces who regularly launch rockets and missiles at Israeli cities, engage in suicide bombing campaigns targeting Israeli public transit and public spaces like restaurants, and—in a vile but legitimate tactic aimed at Israel’s military—attempt to kidnap soldiers. The terrorists operate from heavily populated areas, preventing the IDF from being able to respond without incurring civilian casualties—going so far as to locate military command centers and other strategic targets in spots like hospitals, schools and mosques. Israel cannot respond by conventional military means without killing civilians placed in harm’s way by the terrorist groups, incurring not only Israeli regret but world censure (the same world, of course, that is silent on the terrorist groups’ tactics to begin with).
There is no way for a regular army to respond to terrorist groups—which are, by definition, smaller—without its response being “disproportionate,” in that the army has more conventional resources at its disposal. This is all the more true when the terrorists operate in such a way that any response will end up hitting civilians.
And, sure enough, accusations of “disproportionate response” predictably follow every Israeli action, no matter how much restraint the Jewish state shows before responding, nor how carefully Israel responds. For example, Israel was pilloried for its “disproportionate response” when it invaded Gaza in 2008 to stop Hamas rocket fire – in spite of the fact that thousands of rockets had fallen on Israeli cities, that Israel had tried every avenue to get the government in Gaza to stop the rockets themselves, and that the IDF compromised its own mission and its soldiers’ safety by announcing that it was invading and even leafleting areas to warn civilians.
Different definitions of success
Despite the incredible odds, however, Israel’s military has pioneered tactics that—while imperfect—are showing the way for other democracies facing terrorist threats. As researchers like Yagil Henkin have shown, the IDF has developed effective and ethical ways of engaging terrorists.
Cultivating superior intelligence networks that can pinpoint terrorist activities and locations is essential. One Israeli tactic that lessens threats to civilians—as well as soldiers—in highly populated urban areas is “swarming,” in which small and mobile infantry brigades connected to aerial surveillance and other intelligence suddenly overwhelm buildings in order to apprehend terrorists, or even conduct searches. In addition, forces enter and exit buildings by blowing holes in walls—which severely damages buildings, but protects soldiers and civilians from snipers and other ambushes. Redrawing an urban battlefield lessens the incentives terrorists have to operate from within population centers. At the same time, Israel has tried to limit the scope of the battlefield with targeted assassinations of terrorist leaders.
These new methods don’t promise immediate defeat, but they have a growing record of subduing the terrorist threat. Ultimately, the true asymmetry isn’t a question of tactics or weaponry, but of ethics. And when it comes to moral asymmetry, Israel may have to fight for its survival, but it retains the high ground.
Hamas
Hamas was born along with the First Intifada. The word “Hamas,” which is an acronym for the Arabic phrase “Islamic Resistance Movement,” means enthusiasm or zeal, and correctly describes the attitude with which its members carry out its main mission—namely, the destruction of Israel. Read more »
Hamas
Hamas was born along with the First Intifada. The word “Hamas,” which is an acronym for the Arabic phrase “Islamic Resistance Movement,” means enthusiasm or zeal, and correctly describes the attitude with which its members carry out its main mission—namely, the destruction of Israel.
Hamas began as an offshoot of the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood, and was created in 1987, during the First Intifada, the Palestinian uprising against the Israeli rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The founding sheikh was Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. In 1992, Hamas’ military branch was founded, named Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, named after a Palestinian nationalist. Yahya Ayyash, a Hamas bomb-maker known as the “Engineer” who was killed by the Shin Bet in 1996 has also taken on venerated status in Hamas lore, and members often refer to themselves as “Students of Ayyash.”
Hamas’ fundamental beliefs are simple. They believe in the absolute authority of Islam in all aspects of life, and that resisting the “enemy” (i.e. Israel) is a religious duty required of all Muslims. Hamas’ charter states that their goal is to “raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine.” Hamas does not recognize Israel, and believes that all of Israel, including the West Bank and Gaza Strip, rightfully belongs to the Palestinian people. While Hamas has offered that it will “settle” for the West Bank and Gaza in exchange for peace with Israel, many Israelis are skeptical that any true peace can be achieved with Hamas. In fact, Hamas never talks of “peace,” but only of a “hudna”—a temporary truce—leading many in Israel to believe that should their government accept such an offer, it would only be a matter of time before Hamas set out to realize its original goal and occupy all of Israel.
Hamas believes, based on religious writings, that the land of Israel belongs to them, and as the rightful occupiers, they are legitimate in their attacks on the Israeli “occupiers.” They believe the land is non-negotiable, and Hamas’ charter calls loudly and clearly for the destruction of the Israeli state and an establishment of an Islamist government in its place. Hamas has claimed over and over that there can be no peaceful negotiations with Israel, only jihad (“holy war”). Hamas has said that their beliefs are not anti-Semitic, just anti-Zionist, but a number of their statements, such as denial of the Holocaust, smacks of the contrary.
Hamas pioneered the use of suicide bombings; the first one took place in April, 1993, when two Israeli buses were attacked in front of a coffee shop. As many as 500 people may have been killed by Hamas’ suicide bombings over the years, including those killed in the devastating 2002 Passover attacks. Hamas’ arsenal also includes rocket fire, small-arms fire, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), in addition to kidnapping soldiers. Hamas is responsible for the capture and holding of now-famous Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, which occurred in 2006; Shalit’s family is still awaiting his return home. Hamas has also been accused of militarizing Palestinian children, including establishing special training camps for the purposes of indoctrination of children as young as kindergarten age.
Hamas receives its funding largely from Saudi Arabia and Iran, with other monies coming in from Muslim charities around the world. A 2003 US intelligence report estimated that Hamas had an annual budget of $50 million. A charitable foundation in the United States, the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, was accused of funding Hamas, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the US; five leaders of the foundation were convicted.
Within Gaza and the West Bank, Hamas enjoys a high level of popularity. Since its formation, Hamas has not only focused on terrorist activities, but has simultaneously worked on improving the lives of the Palestinian citizens. Hamas runs or funds many social welfare activities, such soup kitchens, education programs, healthcare clinics, orphanages, and sports leagues. While their actions undoubtedly help the Palestinians, many also view the humanitarian activities as propaganda and an opportunity for recruitment. The same money funds both the social welfare arm and the terrorism arm.
The wealth of services offered to the residents is one reason for Hamas’ overwhelming victory in the 2006 elections. Hamas, a religious movement, began to break with the PLO/Fatah movement, the latter of which became more moderate, even recognizing Israel’s right to exist. After Hamas won 76 of the 132 parliamentary seats in the elections, the rivalry and tensions between Hamas and Fatah grew, until they erupted in violence. A civil war broke out, and Hamas took over the Gaza Strip, ousting any Fatah leaders. Hamas’ rule in Gaza was devastating for Israeli towns along its border, and the increase in shootings and rocket attacks eventually led to the Israeli military operation Cast Lead, in December 2008.
Hezbollah
In January and February of 1985, as Israel began slowly pulling out of Lebanon, a Lebanese sheik announced the official formation of a resistance movement named “Hezbollah,” the name that today is synonymous with Katushya rockets and terror. Hezbollah was founded in order to combat what the Lebanese perceived as Israeli occupation; even though Israel withdrew most of its troops, Hezbollah objected to the soldiers stationed in a “security zone” in southern Lebanon. Between 1982 and 2000, Hezbollah, which means “party of God,” waged guerrilla warfare against the IDF, attacking and kidnapping soldiers. Read more »
Hezbollah
In January and February of 1985, as Israel began slowly pulling out of Lebanon, a Lebanese sheik announced the official formation of a resistance movement named “Hezbollah,” the name that today is synonymous with Katushya rockets and terror. Hezbollah was founded in order to combat what the Lebanese perceived as Israeli occupation; even though Israel withdrew most of its troops, Hezbollah objected to the soldiers stationed in a “security zone” in southern Lebanon. Between 1982 and 2000, Hezbollah, which means “party of God,” waged guerrilla warfare against the IDF, attacking and kidnapping soldiers.
Hezbollah ideology is based heavily on the teachings of the Iranian leader, Ayatollah Kohmeini. In fact, Hezbollah and Iran are closely linked, the latter donating a tremendous amount of aid, weapons, and money to Hezbollah. Hezbollah also receives assistance from the Syrian government, as well as from donations from religious institutions around the world. Hezbollah has emerged as a well-funded, highly-organized terrorist group, evolving from a primitive cell to an organization with sophisticated weaponry and missiles. Hezbollah’s political arm is influential in Lebanese politics, and Hezbollah enjoys wide support among the general Lebanese population, especially within the Shiite community. The group has been accused of some of the worst atrocities in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, such as the suicide truck bombings of the US Embassy and US Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983; the wave of kidnappings of Westerners in the 1980s, known as the Lebanese hostage crisis; the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847; an attack on the Israeli embassy in Argentina in 1992; and countless attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians.
Hezbollah is defined as a terrorist organization by many countries, including the United States. Since 1992, the group has been led by Hassan Nasrallah, a charismatic leader, and an adept commander who takes a hard-line approach toward Israel, and was responsible for much of the military and propaganda campaign during Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon. His popularity has surged within Lebanon since the withdrawal, and the social welfare networks in Lebanon that he created have allowed Hezbollah to make substantial gains in the Lebanese parliament. Nasrallah is one of the most popular figures in the Arab world.
The goal of Hezbollah is to eradicate the Jewish state. None of the leaders within the movement recognize Israel, and they have accused fellow Arabs in the Palestinian Authority of betrayal for agreeing to move forward with the peace process. Hezbollah justifies their attacks on Israel by claiming Israel unjustly occupies some of their territories and is holding Lebanese citizens prisoners. Like its fellow terrorist group Hamas, Hezbollah claims to be anti-Zionist, not anti-Semitic, but has often issued statements regarding conspiracy theories and Holocaust denial which smack of anti-Semitism.
Hezbollah attacks were the main cause of Israel entering into a second war with Lebanon in 2006. Hezbollah had been conducting cross-border raids, killing and kidnapping soldiers, and firing rockets into Israeli towns. Though Israel responded with a mighty military effort, the “asymmetrical warfare” practiced by Hezbollah members, mostly in the form of devastating Katushya rockets, made it difficult for Israel to uproot the organization completely. While Hezbollah could not very effectively invade and conquer another country, what its army lacks in military strength it more than makes up for with deadly guerilla tactics.
Hezbollah and its parent country, Lebanon, have an uneasy relationship. Hezbollah is currently the most powerful political party within Lebanon, and although Lebanon denies supporting or encouraging the terrorism, they also do little to stop it. However, when the Lebanese government tried to weaken Hezbollah’s influence by breaking up its internal communications system, Hezbollah fought back. And despite Hezbollah’s promise to never harm a Lebanese citizen, many were harmed during the brief, decisive battle. At the end of the conflict, in 2008, Hezbollah was granted veto power in the Lebanese government and controls eleven of the thirty seats in the parliament. The agreement came just as the country was about to dissolve into another civil war. However, many hope that the discord present between Lebanon and Hezbollah will lead to a weakening of Hezbollah’s power.
Iran
While only a handful of Arab or Muslim countries have acknowledged Israel, let alone established diplomatic relations with her, there is one whose rhetoric—and, more importantly, military actions—have positioned it as Israel’s most dire enemy: Iran. Read more »
Iran
The threat to Israel… and the world
While only a handful of Arab and Muslim countries have acknowledged the existence of Israel, let alone established diplomatic relations with her, only one has positioned itself as Israel’s most dire enemy: Iran.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is a chief source of instability not only in the Middle East, but around the world. According to numerous intelligence agencies and military observers, Iran is one of the main sponsors and promoters of global terror and is working diligently to acquire a nuclear arsenal. The country’s extreme agenda gives comfort and inspiration to Islamic radicals seeking to transform moderate Muslim and Western societies in their own image. While Iran’s leaders are not shy about heaping scorn on “The Great Satan,” the United States, they save most of their vitriol for the “Little Satan,” Israel. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called the Jewish state “the most cruel and repressive racist regime in Palestine.” He claims that Israel’s founders “resorted to military aggression to make an entire nation homeless on the pretext of Jewish sufferings.”
Ahmadinejad and other Iranian officials have repeatedly and openly called for the destruction of the Jewish state. And, without actually involving their own troops, these Islamist zealots have used proxies to wage war on Israel.
“Proxy wars”: Hamas and Hizbullah
Iran funds, arms, trains and supports terrorist regimes and organizations that wreak murder and chaos around the globe. Their most prominent client-organizations, however, are Hamas and Hezbollah, through which Iran is able to wage “proxy war” against the Jewish state. Though Iran has never directly engaged Israeli militarily, Israel’s last wars were fought against irregular forces acting at Iran’s behest.
Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, a narrow band of land on Israel’s southeast border, and Hezbollah controls southern Lebanon, which borders Israel on the north.
For years, Hamas used Iranian funds and technology to launch vicious terrorist assaults on the Jewish state, murdering and injuring thousands of civilians. Once it seized control of Gaza in 2007, Hamas began bombarding southern Israeli cities with thousands of rockets until, in December 2008, IDF forces invaded the strip to stop the attacks.
Technically a “political party,” Hezbollah is a terrorist group that became the first Arab or Muslim group able to claim a real victory over Israel: Following years of Hezbollah’s guerilla warfare, in 2000, Israeli forces unilaterally withdrew from southern Lebanon, which they had patrolled for more than nearly two decades in order to prevent shelling of northern Israel from the region.
Although getting Israel out was its stated purpose, following the withdrawal, Hezbollah continued guerilla attacks and occasional incursions into Israel, in addition to launching rockets and missiles at northern cities. Other tactics include erecting large billboards visible across the border with graphic photos of the bodies or body parts of dead Israeli soldiers, or photos of missing soldiers, that mocked and threatened the IDF, the Israeli government, and the Israeli people.
In July 2006, Hezbollah launched yet another attack on Israeli soldiers stationed at the border, killing three and kidnapping two. Israeli forces invaded, seeking the two soldiers, while Hezbollah began bombarding Israeli towns — the worst attacks since the nation’s founding. One million residents of the Galilee fled or sat in shelters for a month. More than 150 Israeli civilians and soldiers were killed and Hezbollah did not return the two soldiers, whom Hezbollah claimed were alive. The soldiers’ fate was not known until their bodies were returned in a prisoner swap two years later; Israeli authorities believe they were killed in the initial attack.
In November, 2009, Israel intercepted a cargo ship carrying hundreds of tons of weaponry disguised as civilian goods, which Israeli intelligence says was on its way to Hezbollah from Iran.
The Palestinian Authority
The Palestinian Authority, (PA, also called the Palestinian National Authority, PNA), came into existence in 1994 as a result of the 1993 Oslo Accords. In an effort to moderate the Palestinian voice, the PA was created in order to take over negotiations and administration of Palestinian territories in the West Bank until a final agreement could be reached. While the PLO remains the internationally recognized representative of the Palestinian people, and has a seat in the UN, the PA became responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Palestinian areas. Read more »
The Palestinian Authority
The Palestinian Authority (P.A.) came into existence in 1994 as a result of the 1993 Oslo Accords. In an effort to moderate the Palestinian voice, the P.A. was created to take over negotiations and administration of Palestinian territories in the West Bank until a final agreement could be reached.
Yasser Arafat was the first president of the P.A., winning by a landslide in 1996 elections. However, his administration was rife with internal corruption and continued acts of terrorism. At Israel’s behest, Yasser Arafat was removed from his post as president. Mahmoud Abbas, viewed as a more moderate leader, was appointed president in 2003, and went on to win the 2005 elections.
While the P.A. was created to form a more moderate Palestinian administration, since its creation, Israel has accused the P.A. of at best, turning a blind eye to the terrorist activities of its members, and at worst, financing, aiding, and assisting them. During the Second Intifada, Israel was able to prove that the P.A. was behind some of the worst atrocities, and the IDF sought to disable their infrastructure.
The P.A. scored an important victory in 2005, when then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered the disengagement from all settlements in the Gaza Strip, and a few from the northern West Bank, in the hopes of achieving a more stable peace with the Palestinians. The P.A. gained full control over all areas in the Gaza Strip. However, in 2006, a surprise victory by Hamas in the parliamentary elections threw the P.A. into turmoil. The United States and European Union halted their financial aid to the region, soon redirecting the funds directly to Abbas.
But the fighting between the Fatah-led P.A. and Hamas intensified, leading to a split within the administration. Hamas gained control of the Gaza Strip, while the P.A. retained its control in the West Bank. Hamas’ leadership, as many Israelis predicted, led to further attacks on Israeli citizens, including devastating rocket attacks, which in turn resulted in Israel’s 2008 military campaign. Operation Cast Lead lasted three weeks and targeted the terrorist headquarters and weapons’ stores in Gaza.
Today, talks continue between the P.A. and the Israeli government, under the stewardship of the United States. However, disputes, such as the timetable for the envisioned Israeli-Palestinian agreement, Israel’s construction on the West Bank, and the Palestinians’ lack of recognition of Israel, continue to stymie progress.
Most recently, this process has been slowed even more by the new unity agreement between the P.A. and an unreformed Hamas. Already this collective Palestinian body has come under fire by the U.S. and other western nations who insist the Palestinian leadership agree to principles established by the Quartet: recognizing Israel and renouncing terrorism.
World Opinion
You don’t have to be an ardent lover of the Jewish State to see that there’s something odd in the way that the world treats Israel. Though its a tiny country with no natural resources, the media has more correspondents based in Israel and devotes more space to stories about it than nearly any other country in the world. The UN devotes more time to criticizing Israel than it does to all the genuine humanitarian disasters across the world, combined. Only Israel seems to have to defend its very right to exist. Read more about the ways that certain issues and trends impact the Jewish state here.
“Women’s Rights in Israel and Throughout Middle East”
One of the biggest differences between Israel and her Arab neighbors is in the area of women’s rights. This is obvious even glancing a typical street scene in Israel, where women move about freely, dressed as they wish, and in nations such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, where women must wear head coverings in public and must either be accompanied by a male relative or have the permission to travel. Read more »
“Apartheid”
In the last few years, it’s become common to hear Israel called an “apartheid state” — a label that alleges that Israel maintains an oppressive legal system like the one once used in South Africa that institutionalized segregation, discrimination, and domination based on race. Read more »
Durban
In 2001, the World Conference against Racism was held in Durban, South Africa. The American and Israeli delegations walked out, believing the proceedings unfairly targeted Israel and hijacked the proceedings in order to tar Israel and Zionism with charges of racism. The second United Nations World Conference against Racism, popularly known as “Durban II,” met in Geneva, Switzerland, in April 2009. Read more »
Pan-Arabism
Pan-Arabism refers to the nationalist ideology that all Arab people from around the world constitute one nation, and the pan-Arab movement sought to unite them all. Pan-Arabism climaxed in the 1960s, but has since lost momentum. Read more »
Settlements
The residents of the villages, communities, and small cities that constitute the Jewish “settlements,” primarily on the West Bank - Judea and Samaria, are living in hotly contested areas, though it may not feel like it. Indeed, perusing the shops and restaurants in the cosmopolitan Ma’ale Adumim mall, or walking the streets of Modi’in Illit (also called Kiryat Sefer), with its plethora of synagogues and yeshivot, it’s hard to believe that these areas are controversial, or that these residents could be possibly evacuated and their land turned over to the Palestinians. In fact, two of the biggest communities on the West Bank—Modi’in Illit and Beitar Illit—are heavily ultra-Orthodox; the residents have no Zionistic agenda, no ambitious plan to “settle the land.” They just live there, sending their kids to school, and doing their grocery shopping. Read more »
"War crimes" prosecution
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is promising Israel that a wacky British law that’s been used by pro-Palestinian activists to harass Israeli officials is on its way out the door. Whether or not Britain cancels its law, the issue is one that some say imperils the concept of national sovereignty but, more immediately, has become a cudgel to threaten Israel and its leaders. Read more »
Peacekeeping
Israel is rarely out of the headlines, but it’s rarely off the front page when there’s any sort of military action happening in the area. News coverage is not only subject to bias, but often takes events out of historical context or simply doesn’t have the space to tell the whole story. Find out the real story here.
First Lebanon War
Though Israel had been attacked repeatedly, since its inception, the northern border with Lebanon had remained relatively quiet. However, the large influx of Palestinian refugees after 1948 and the events of “Black September” in 1970—the violent suppression of militant Palestinian organizations by King Hussein of Jordan—led to the establishment of PLO headquarters in Lebanon, and caused a radicalization of many of the country’s inhabitants. Read more »
Intifada II: “The Oslo War”
The peace process, which began in 1993 with the Oslo Accords, was never truly finalized, and soon began to significantly deteriorate. In July 2000, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and United States President Bill Clinton met at Camp David for the Middle East Peace Summit. Unlike the meetings seven years earlier, this summit failed, each side blaming the other as unwilling to compromise. The main issues which the two sides could not agree upon were Jerusalem and Temple Mount, Israel’s security concerns, the Palestinian “right of return,” and territorial disputes. Arafat and Barak walked out, and the lack of progress led to frustration in the Palestinian settlements. Read more »
Oslo Accords
The 1990s brought Israel into a new era. Following the victory of the US and its coalition in the Gulf War, during which Israel had been attacked by Iraqi Scud missiles but did not retaliate, hopes for peace were renewed. In addition, the collapse of the communist Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War led to greater hopes of moving toward a “new world order.” Read more »
Road Map for Peace
The “road map” for peace, the plan to provide the ultimate solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, has had a history of fitful starts and stops since its inception in 2002. It has been fraught with violent outbreaks and disagreements on both sides. It currently is in a state of limbo—because of its strong backing from the US, it has not been completely disregarded, but the quick peace envisioned has not come to pass. Read more »
The First Intifada
“Intifada” means “shaking up” or “shaking off,” and is the term applied to the uprisings against Israel in modern times. Though the term is used in other countries to refer to uprisings against the ruling government, the word has special significance in Israel. Israel’s First Intifada lasted from 1987 until 1991, finally dying off with the onset of the Gulf War. Read more »
No Jew has the right to yield the rights of the Jewish People in Israel -
ReplyDeleteDavid Ben Gurion
(David Ben-Gurion was the first Prime Minister of Israel and widely hailed as the State's main founder).
"No Jew is entitled to give up the right of establishing [i.e. settling] the Jewish Nation in all of the Land of Israel. No Jewish body has such power. Not even all the Jews alive today [i.e. the entire Jewish People] have the power to cede any part of the country or homeland whatsoever.
This is a right vouchsafed (granted) or reserved for the Jewish Nation throughout all generations. This right cannot be lost or expropriated under any condition or circumstance. Even if at some particular time, there are those who declare that they are relinquishing this right, they have no power nor competence to deprive coming generations of this right. The Jewish nation is neither bound nor governed by such a waiver or renunciation. Our right to the whole of this country is valid, in force and endures forever. And until the Final Redemption has come, we will not budge from this historic right."
BEN-GURION'S DECLARATION ON THE EXCLUSIVE AND INALIENABLE JEWISH RIGHT TO THE WHOLE OF
THE LAND OF ISRAEL:
Since the Arab-Palestinians are inciting to commit terror and violence.
ReplyDeleteThe Arab-Palestinian Leadership encourages their people to kill Israelis. Support terrorists and their families. Arab-Palestinian leaders name streets after suicide bombers and celebrate the death of Israelis. Teach and educate their children to hate Israelis and promote them to violence.
They are Israel’s enemy and must be vanquished and not treated as a legitimate entity, but as a terrorist entity which is no difference than Hamas or Hezbollah.
It is time for Israel to go on a full our offensive to extinguish this terrorist entity and take full control of all of Judea and Samaria. Any Arabs west of the Jordan River who riot or commit violence and resist Israel’s authority must be expelled and their assets liquidated to compensate for the damages.
The Arab-Palestinian leadership is stealing funds donated by world nations and terrorizing their Arab population. It is time to give the Arab-Palestinians who want to live in peace a chance to flourish and expand their economic future. There is no one else that can accomplish this task but Israel.
Time for action is now. Every delay only increases the terror and violence and reduces the safety and security of Israel’s citizens. Do not worry about world opinion; they complain no matter what action Israel takes. Israel must restore complete and absolute safety and security to its people without reservations.
Arabs control 99.9 percent of the Middle East lands, The Arabs received over 6 million sq. miles (13 million sq. km.) of territory after WWI with a wealth of oil reserves and The Jewish people were allocated Palestine with no boundary restriction, but now they have only about 21,000 sq. km. Israel represents one-tenth of 1 percent of the landmass. But that's too much for the Arabs. They want it all. And that is ultimately what the fighting in Israel is all about today. Greed, Pride, Envy, Covetousness. No matter how many land concessions the Israelis make, it will never be enough. The Arab countries expelled over a million Jewish families and confiscated all their assets.
Every leader, and every regime, and every movement, and every organization that steps across the line to terrorism must be banished from the discourse of civilized human life.
“A United Israel is a Strong Israel”
YJ Draiman
Jordan is the Arab-Palestinian State which is on Jewish land.
ReplyDeleteLegally Israel could under International Law - Israel can take-over Jordan. The British violated International Law when they parceled off over three quarters of Jewish land to the Arabs. Israel has to notify the Arabs who reside west of the Jordan River, and that they the Arabs are there because Israel’s generosity and they have no right to complain. Hebron is the second holiest city in Judaism after Jerusalem. Mecca and Medina (Medina was a Jewish city named Yathrib) is the holy city for the Arabs which are in Arabia aka Saudi Arabia. Hebron is the holy city to the Jews going back to the days of Abraham which is located in Judea which the Jewish people derive their name.
The UN resolutions are non-binding and have no legal standing the UN has no authority to assign territory or modify international treaties like the April 1920 San Remo Conference that incorporated the Balfour Declaration (without boundary restrictions) as international law and Jewish sovereignty must be applied, you do not need to annexed your own liberated territory. At the Same time they allocated over 6 million sq. km. of territory to the Arabs with a wealth of oil reserves including Jordan as the new Arab state on Jewish land, which is the Arab-Palestinian state. The Oslo Accords are null and void as stated by Abbas at the U.N. Any peace agreement must be approved by the people of Israel. The Oslo Accords are null and void as states by Abbas numerous times. It is time to reverse all concessions and set back the status quo of 1992, no Arab PA with Israel in total control of Judea and Samaria and all the territories west of the Jordan River.
YJ Draiman
The British Mandate for Palestine terminated over seventy years ago. However, this basic document—first set forth and agreed upon by the Principal Allied Powers in April 1920 at The San Remo Conference (which allocated over 6 million square miles of territory with a wealth of oil reserves for the Arabs) and partially in The LON Mandate for Palestine in 1922—re-established the modern-day legal status of Judea and Samaria, and remains crucial. In fact, the purpose of the Mandate has been fully executed and realized. Israel has become a Jewish homeland, civil and religious rights of the non-Jewish minority are protected, and access to the holy places in Jerusalem is guaranteed to all religions.
ReplyDeleteThe Mandate for Palestine, a binding international treaty "in fact and in law," 115 designated Palestine without boundary restrictions as the allocated national home of the Jewish people, and recognized the territory of "Palestine" as including the area of Judea and Samaria and the areas of what is formerly known as Palestine. No valid treaty, document, or resolution altered this reality. UN non-binding Resolution 181 which is non-binding with no legal standing, which proposed a Partition of the territory, was never came to fruition and nullified and voided by Arab aggression and refusal to accept the existence of a Jewish state in Palestine. Thus, upon termination of the Mandate in 1948, the Jewish people received sovereignty—the res of the Mandate-trust—over this territory .with no boundary restrictions. No subsequent agreement or resolution repudiated Israeli sovereignty over the area defined by the April 1920 San Remo Conference and its application of the Mandate for Palestine by the LON, which continues to dictate the existence of Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria and other parts of Palestine aka The Land of Israel.
The League of Nations originally created Mandatory Palestine on both banks of the Jordan River based on the Treaty agreed to at the April 1920 San Remo Conference. However, on September 16, 1922 in accordance with the Transjordan Memorandum, the League of Nations amended the original Mandate for Palestine to include Article 25. Specifically, Article 25 authorized Great Britain to "postpone or withhold" Jewish close settlement in the area of the Mandate east of the Jordan River." Although the legality of the act is in possible violation of the April 1920 San Remo Conference Agreements. Britain indeed exercised the alleged right and illegally partitioned the area east of the Jordan River, creating the "territory known as Trans-Jordan" in 1922. As explained above, the Mandatory exempted the application of the Balfour articles (Articles 2, 4, 6, 13, 14, 22, and 23), as well as abbreviating the application of others (Articles 7 and 11) designed to achieve "the establishment of the Jewish national home." See Crawford, The Creation of States in International Law, 428-9. However, it should be noted that no limitation was placed on the other articles, specifically Article 5, which encourages Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria. This right has never been abdicated and remains consistent with international customary law regarding the concept of “usufruct” embodied in Article 55 of the Hague Regulations (1899 and 1907) even to the extent that Israel could – inaccurately- be viewed as an “occupier”. (While beyond the scope of this report, it can be argued that this same concept would invalidate any land transfers by Jordan during its illegal occupation, and could, at best, have had validity only until Jordan’s withdrawal. The laws of usufruct do not permit the permanent transfer of government land and any such attempts can be seen as void. The validity of such transfers are dubious at best and each case would have to scrutinized in light of land law requirements.)
ReplyDeleteThe U.N. did not create Israel - it only implemented international law & treaty.
ReplyDeleteIn sum, modern Israel may credit its legal recreation to the Supreme Allied Powers and its 1920 San Remo conference which incorporated the 1917 Balfour Declaration as international law; thereby reconstituting the Jewish
National Home in Palestine in 1920 with the British as trustee and its implementation by The League of Nations Mandate for Palestine, and its de-facto existence to the impatient belligerence of its enemies and the consequent resolve of the Jewish people to survive.
There was also the 1919 Faisal Weizmann Agreement which stated that all of Palestine is for the Jewish National Home while the Arabs received over 12 million sq. km. of territory with a wealth of oil reserves.
After the British abandoned its obligation to implement the terms of the Mandate for Palestine aka The Land of Israel. The U.N. recognized that the Jews in Palestine-Israel have become a majority; as stated in the terms of international treaty and therefore the Jewish people can assume control of its own sovereignty. That took place on May 15, 1948. The Arab countries terrorized and expelled over a million Jewish families and confiscated all their assets, businesses, home and over 120,000 sq. km. of Jewish owned land for over 2,600 years. (They also expelled the Jews from Jordan and confiscated all their assets and prohibited Jews from residing or owning property in Jordan. Most of the million expelled Jewish families and their children now reside in Israel and comprise over half the population.
AFSI - American Friends For A Safe Israel
YJ Draiman, Los Angeles Chapter President
It is the Arab Conflict, not Israel. The Arabs want what Israel has; which they rebuilt with blood sweat and tears; well they cannot have it.
ReplyDeleteIsrael is on its own historical territory with continued habitation of Jerusalem and The Land of Israel for over 3,000 years, that in the past 140 years with hard work and toil have turned the land of Israel from a desert, desolate and abused land into green pastures with modern industry and infrastructure and a first class medical research, outstanding technology and innovation that is helping all the people and nations in the world. The April 1920 San Remo Conference incorporated the Balfour Declaration as international law and allocated Palestine without boundary restrictions to the Jewish people and at the same time; The Arabs have received over 13 million sq. km. since WWI of which 70% is vacant with a wealth of oil reserves plus Jordan which is Jewish territory. The Arab countries expelled over a million Jewish families (confiscated all their assets including homes and over 120,000 sq. km. of Jewish owned land for over 2,600 years) who were resettled in Israel and now they want to throw them out of their own country. There is no such entity as Arab Palestinians, they are Arabs from the neighboring Arab countries that most of them crossed the border illegally into Israel and settled there on Jewish land in the past 120 years. The Arab-Palestinian Organization is a terrorist organization just like Hamas and Hezbollah with its leader Mahmmoud Abbas the convicted terrorist murderer.
The Arabs and the world at large must face reality and stop deluding themselves. It is Jewish territory for over 3,700 years and Israel will never surrender it to anyone.
Only with this realization will there be a chance for peace.
U.N. resolutions are non-binding with no legal standing.
It is time for Israel to transfer the Arabs who reside west of the Jordan River to Jordan and to the million homes and over 120,000 sq km. (47,000 sq. mi.) of land the Arabs countries confiscated from the million Jewish families they expelled who now live in Israel. That is the only way that Israel will have peace and safety.
YJ Draiman
Mandate for Palestine* – crucial terms
ReplyDelete*Was part of an international agreement at the April 1920 San Remo Conference of the Supreme Allied Forces which also incorporated The Balfour Declaration as International Law – reconstituting the Jewish National Home in Palestine without boundary restrictions.
(b) that the terms of the Mandates Article should be as follows:
The High Contracting Parties agree that Syria and Mesopotamia shall, in accordance with the fourth paragraph of Article 22, Part I (Covenant of the League of Nations), be provisionally recognized as independent States, subject to the rendering of administrative advice and assistance by a mandatory as trustee until such time as they are able to stand alone. The boundaries of the said States will be determined, and the selection of the Mandatories made, by the Principal Allied Powers only and non-other.
The High Contracting Parties agree to entrust, by application of the provisions of Article 22, the administration of Palestine as trustee, within such boundaries as may be determined by the Principal Allied Powers only and no other (the British or the League of Nations had no authority to excise and remove over three quarters of Palestine, all the territory east of the Jordan River and handed it over to the Arabs as the new Arab state of Jordan, the Mandatory trustee, to be selected by the said Powers. The Mandatory as trustee (not as a ruler occupier) will be responsible for putting into effect the declaration originally made on November 8, 1917 (The Balfour Declaration), by the British Government, and adopted by the all the other Allied Powers, in favor of the re-establishment in Palestine (without any boundary restrictions) of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights only, of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other countries (this particular term about the Jewish rights in other countries has been violated to the extreme over and over without any objections whatsoever by the Allied powers and others). Thus the Arab countries forcefully terrorized and expelled over a million Jewish families and confiscated all their assets (including in Jordan) which included personal items, businesses, homes and over 47,000 square miles of Jewish owned Real estate for over 2,600 years (valued in the trillions of dollars). Most of those expelled Jews from Arab lands were resettled in Israel and today comprise over half the population.
At the same time the Arabs were allocated over 6 million square miles of territory with a wealth of oil reserves. After applying the terms stated herewith; if you are to question the territory and the sovereignty of Israel it also puts to question and maybe rescind and annul the territory and sovereignty of the 22 Arab states. There is also the January 1919 Feisal Weizmann Peace Treaty – The Arabs do not abide by any agreements.
YJ Draiman
Face it - No Arab-Palestinian state west of the Jordan River
ReplyDeleteIf you read the 1917 Balfour Declaration (Which emulated Napoleons 1799 letter to the Jewish community in Palestine promising that The National Home for The Jewish people will be reestablished in Palestine, as the Jews are the rightful owners). Nowhere does it state an Arab entity west of The Jordan River.
The San Remo Conference of April 1920 which incorporated The Balfour Declaration into International Law with no boundary restrictions it does not state an Arab entity west of The Jordan River, confirmed by Article 95 in the 1920 Treaty of Sevres which was signed by all the Allied Powers and the Treaty of Lausanne.
The Mandate for Palestine terms does not state an Arab entity west of the Jordan River. It specifically states a Jewish National Home in Palestine without limiting or restricting the Jewish territory in Palestine. It also states that the British should work with the Jewish Agency as the official representative of the Jews in Palestine to implement the National Home of the Jewish people in Palestine. I stress again; nowhere does it state that an Arab entity should be implemented west of the Jordan River.
As a matter of historical record, The British reallocated illegally over 77% of Jewish Palestine to the Arab-Palestinians in 1922 with specific borders and Jordan took over additional territory like the Gulf of Aqaba which was not part of the allocation to Jordan. The British also illegally and in violation of treaty, traded the Jewish Golan Heights to the French for the right to Iraq and its oil..
The United Nations resolutions are non binding with no legal standing it does not create an Arab Palestinian state and it has no authority to change the April 1920 San Remo treaty or modify the terms of the Mandate for Palestine which has the force of international law in perpetuity.
No where in any of the above stated agreements does it provides for an Arab entity west of the Jordan River. The U.N. and General Assembly resolutions are non-binding with no legal standing, same applies to the ICJ. The Oslo Accords are null and void as state by Mahmmoud Abbas at the U.N.
Israel must disband the Arab-PA and take back full control and sovereignty of all the territory west of the Jordan River – All of Judea and Samaria without delay. Time for talk is over. Now is the time for action to restore our Jewish sovereignty in all the Land of Israel and stop terror and violence.
It is time to relocate the Arabs in Israel to Jordan and to the homes and the over 120,000 sq. km. of Jewish land the Arab countries confiscated from the over a million Jewish families that they terrorized and expelled and those expelled Jews were resettled in Israel. They can use the trillions of dollars in reparations for the Jewish assets to finance the relocation of the Arabs and help set-up an economy and industry instead of living on the world charity. The Arab countries were allocated over 13 million sq. km. (6 million sq. miles) with a wealth of oil reserves.
YJ Draiman
P.S. Possession is nine tenths of the law – Israel has it.
Political Rights in Palestine aka The Land of Israel were granted only and exclusively to the Jews in all of Palestine and the right to settle in all of Palestine with no exclusions.
The Jewish people’s war of survival was not won when Hitler lost. It continues to this day, against enemies with more effective tools of mass murder at their disposal.
Plus we are easy to find now.