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Israel 'to expand settlements' -- the Push Pull of Terrorism

Israel 'to expand settlements' -- the Push Pull of Terrorism
December 1, 2012 by Bruce Wallace, 121Contact

We speak of those things that drive young men and women into terrorist organizations as 'the push', and those things that pull people into violent groups as 'the pull.'

Israel has efficiently provided both motivations with one pronouncement.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's inner council has approved plans to build 3,000 new homes for settlers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. This just when the U.N. vote designates that area as part of the State of Palestine.

The insult of this disregard for the U.N.'s generates a frustration that sits atop years and years of frustration making life a bit more unbearable each day for so many young Palestinians. Who knows if just one more young man or woman will have had it? Who knows if this is not the last straw for a son whose family has over and over been the victim of the economic depravity of apartheid? Who knows if the daughter of a family repeatedly displaced from their home, village, and way of life will finally say, "I've had it,"? It is hard to predict what particular event will be enough to finally push someone into believing that violence is the only answer.

Growing up in a culture under assault can rob a child of a sense of community. Fragmented social structures can lead a young man to feel a strong need for an enveloping group to belong to. Prolonged trauma builds a profound sense of isolation that might be salved by joining a structured organization. And these organizations are not sitting passively. There are violent groups that actively seek to pull Palestinians into their midst and form them in the group image of participation.

How convenient for these terrorists that Israel has fertilized this ground.

 

 

WhoWhatWhenWhereWhy Abu Nidal, where did you come from?

WhoWhatWhenWhereWhy Abu Nidal, where did you come from?
December 1, 2012 by Bruce Wallace, 121Contact

Abu NIdal was born Sabri al-Banna in May 1937 in Jaffa. The family was quite rich and their money came from real-estate and oranges. The Jaffa area, where Israel was to build Tel Aviv on the bones of confiscated villages, is one of the most fertile in that region.

Then they lost everything. Well, not everything. They were alive, but all their land was taken away.

In 1948 their land was confiscated by the new Israeli state, including some 6,000 acres of orange fields. Sabri then spent 9 months in a Gaza refugee camp. He was eleven years old at the time.

The course of his life found him moving into more and more violent groups and he was so dedicated to violence that he was kicked out of many terrorist organizations, some of which had used him for their own violent actions. In 1974 he formed his own group, the ANO, with the goal of destroying the Israeli state and establishing a Palestinian state. He even warred with the PLO because it was leaning to reconciliation. The ANO was responsible for hundreds (some say 900) of deaths in at least 20 countries. He died alone in an apartment in 2002 suffering some serious illness. Some think his death was a suicide.

Many families can tell a parallel story of being ejected from their homes and villages. Many individuals can relate similar hardships in their early lives. So why did this child grow into someone who chose violence as a way of life?

Comments are welcome.

 

 

 

Palestine on Palestine, Israel, the U.N. Vote, and Peace

Palestine on Palestine, Israel, the U.N. Vote, and Peace
November 29, 2012 by Bruce Wallace, 121Contact

You've read about what CNN thinks. The New York Times and other media have all weighed in. It might be interesting to listen to the Palestinian people who put the issue up for a vote explain their own case.

[The reference to UNSC Res 242 is not an offhand remark. It is a call to a rational ending, without blame and calls for retribution, the cycle of violence that has  spun on and on after Israel's creation.]

We hope the U.N. votes to approve the Palestinian initiative. It will remove a major component of terrorist self-justification and move this world one more step toward more peaceful tomorrows.

 Position Paper: Palestine’s Enhancement of Status at the UN

The enhancement of Palestine's status is a step that will benefit all parties looking to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict and achieve peace in the region through the two-state solution, that is to say two states living side by side in peace and security. There can be no doubt that this initiative will help all parties to break the current political deadlock and advance the peace process.

The Palestinian position is in line with international law and the UN resolutions which the EU and international community at large has long supported. Obstructing this initiative would therefore be illogical: the EU would be effectively opposing its own positions, including its 2009 statement. Moreover, this UNGA vote could be used as a source of positive pressure to steer the peace process back in the right direction.

Opposing the Palestinian position is also counterproductive. Equally, abstention is unjustified and would send a signal that the EU either has no position on this important issue or that it has chosen to stay on the sidelines. Either way, such a position would undermine the high standing and positive engagement of the EU in the Middle East peace efforts. Furthermore, opposing or undermining the Palestinian step will send a confusing and contradictory signal, especially given the EU's longstanding and important role in encouraging other parties to seek diplomatic solutions to their conflicts, and has been actively involved in UN efforts vis-a-vis other conflicts. Palestine is not and cannot be made the exception of this policy.

The Palestinian people reject all threats, including those announced by Israel, in response to this positive step. Palestinians cannot be made to choose between advancing their inalienable rights and going hungry, This is a choice no Palestinian can accept. The international community must assume its legal and moral responsibility and compel Israel not to carry out its grave threats against the Palestinian people and its leadership, including withholding the transfer of Palestinian tax revenues. Undermining the Palestine National Authority, by withholding taxes or undertaking other reported Israeli reprisals will be damaging to all stakeholders.

Contrary to some claims, Palestine's status enhancement at the UNGA will support any efforts the American Administration and other key players could undertake to restart negotiations. The Palestinian initiative can be employed to create motivation and new momentum for a credible and effective political process. This step will only reaffirm what the EU and US already agree are the acceptable terms of reference to a final agreement.

EU support, whether unanimous or not, is highly important. A common EU abstention or postponement will not only ensure the continuation of the status quo of occupation and colonization which it condemns, but will also certainly weaken the EU's position to influence US vis-à-vis Middle East Peace Process, as the EU will be effectively side-lined as a result of its decision not to engage positively in this Palestinian initiative. To maintain credibility and weight in the process, the EU cannot be seen to be standing against the Palestinian people and their national rights.

The right time for Palestine's status enhancement at the UNGA is now. The Palestinians have dedicated over twenty years to try to reach an agreement with Israel through EU-US efforts, while the situation on the ground has deteriorated severely. Recent events in Gaza make this step even more imperative. Israel's assault on Gaza was a tragic reminder of the urgency of this step. It is time for the international community to take effective steps that ensure the recent scenes of death, destruction and despair are never repeated. The only guarantee for the prevention of violence anywhere in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is by taking a step that advances the diplomatic agenda towards ending the Israeli occupation.

Recognition of Palestine and support of its enhanced status at the UN affirms previous important UN resolutions and the ICJ Advisory Opinion on the Wall (2004), which assert that the Palestinian right to self-determination is a right erga omnes. rights is an indispensable element in the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East

In this regard, we reaffirm that self-determination is an inalienable right that is not subject to negotiation. Independence has never been a final status issue. The right of peoples to self-determination is non-negotiable and the Palestinian people will thus never negotiate this right or subject it to Israel's whims.

Finally, the Palestinian initiative at the UN does not contradict nor substitute negotiations. These are parallel paths that complement one another. Enhancing Palestine's status at the United Nations to Observer State is a confirmation of the international consensus regarding the two-State solution and the right of the Palestinian people to their independent State. It affirms respect for UNSC Res 242 by not recognizing illegal Israeli occupation and colonization of Palestinian land beyond the 1967 border and rejecting its acquisition of territory by force. Hence, supporting this step would be a reaffirmation of the internationally-agreed on terms of reference and end game of a credible political process to which we remain committed.

Obama/Netanyahu: Israel's "targeted assassinations" and Gazan's Trauma

Like President Obama, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to employ targeted assassinations as the main element in combating terrorism. The U.S. has 'sanctified' this method by defending it, and the civilian casualties is causes, in repeated statements and repeated use.

The innoocent civilians of Gaza are paying the price.

Whether the 'hit list' is Obama's or Netanyahu's the result is the same. Innocent civilians are killed much more often than the targets. Israel's  B'Tzelem puts the ratio at around 74%. That's 3 innocents for every target. Most recently 160 Palestinians were killed, more than 100 were civilians, including thirty-four children, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights. Some 1,000 were wounded, all but thirty of them civilians.

Whether or not Israel is in the midst of a genocidal attack on Gaza, or perhaps a systematic destruction of infrastructure and morale in an apartheid-like scheme, or just doing what it's fear-impaired judgement chooses as the correct path to peace, the results for innocent Gazan citizens is the same.

And speaking of innocent civilians, we note that the trauma being inflicted on Gazans will result in years of pain for the families of those killed, and years of deep psychological problems for the children that are witnessing the slaughter of the innocents, the destruction of their culture, and the disruption of their lives.

Dear President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu:

Killing for Peace is like F***ing for Virginity, It just doesn't make any sense.

 

For more on the trauma: As Gazans Recover From Israeli Attacks, Trauma Mixes With Tentative Hope,  Kouddous, The Nation

Gaza Cease Fire: it's a short term solution.

SHORT TERM SOLUTION: Opinion by B. Kimball

I am glad to see that a cease-fire has been agreed to in Gaza

but I don't see this  leading to any long term peace agreement.

Why am I such a pessimist ?

For any negotiations to be successful, two things are essential.

Both sides must separate egos from issues and both sides must

recognize the difference between what they want and what they actually need.

Neither of these are taking place today.

The leaders of both Israel and the Palestinians seem more concerned

with retaining their support and power than resolving this conflict.

They both portray the other side as an evil enemy to be hated and feared.

They can then claim to be defenders of their people and maintain their

positions of power.

In terms of wants and needs, what both peoples need is peace but their

wants are making this an impossibility.

Listening to interviews with Palestinians in Gaza, I keep hearing how they

want justice and revenge. Sadly, they will never obtain justice and when

they take revenge it only insures the continuation of this conflict.

When I listen to Israelis, I hear they want total security and revenge.

Sadly, total security is an impossibility. As long as there are people who

hate, fanatics who will die for their beliefs, no nation can ever be totally

secure. When they react to acts of violence with more violence and

innocent civilians suffer the consequences, they insure that this conflict

will continue.

We can debate, we can argue about who is right, who is wrong, who are

the victims and who are the perpetrators, who is guilty or innocent but this

serves no purpose.

As long as both sides demand what they want, they will never obtain what

they truly need, PEACE !

Statement on Gaza War

Statement on Gaza War

November 20, 2012 by  September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows

“Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows” - Dr. Martin Luther King

 The Members of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows are immensely saddened by the recent escalation of violence in Gaza and southern Israel. We are deeply concerned about the safety of innocent civilians and the suffering and loss of life on both sides of the conflict.

We look to our courageous and committed friends in Palestine and Israel, members of the Parents Circle Family Forum, Combatants for Peace, and Just Vision, who work TOGETHER across boundaries of culture, religion, language, and against severe restrictions on movement, to understand and know one another. Their work comes out of compassion for other human beings whose lives are different, but whose needs and rights as human beings are the same. Despite the difficulties, suspicion, fear, pain, and pure logistical problems of working together, they persevere … nonviolently. Out of this willingness to talk and listen, risk and trust, has come remarkable respect and renewed commitment to continue meeting and working together. The world would call them enemies, but they call each other friend and family.

We are inspired by these courageous and wise men and women who are willing and able to move together supporting and encouraging one another along the only possible road to peace. We hope their voices rise and are heard over the clamor of violence and that the violence is brought to an end.

We are humbly grateful for the example they set for the rest of us with their very lives.

 

 

What do Mandela, Tutu, and Carter have in common?

What do Mandela, Tutu, and Carter have in common?
November 18, 2012 by Bruce Wallace, 121Contact

Well, for one thing, they are Nobel Peace Prize winners. Obama won one of those also, but his medal is a bit tarnished these days.

The Digital Journal story about this puts Nelson Mandela, Bishopo Desmond Tutu, and Jimmy Carter as accusing Israel of apartheid. The UN's Richard Falk speaks of ethnic cleansing and British PM Cameron calls Gaza a prison camp.

The trouble with Obama is that his support of Israel's "right to defend itself" puts him in the same camp as Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yashai, who is sworn to "send Gaza back to the Middle Ages."

Sure, there's a lot of pressure on the American administration and a strong desire not to abandon an old ally, but a more balanced statement would have gone a long way in calming the Arab waters that are boiling with this latest sudden increase in violence. Pity the Obama guy, for his is not an easy seat. May he find the courage to speak the difficult truth: the occupation must end, and soon.

Let us pray for the innocent civilians, on both sides, who will pay dearly in the coming days...in body and in mind. And let us take action, demonstrate, write that letter, convince one more friend: violence is not the answer. Violence will never defeat this insurrection. The wrongs of occupation must righted by ending the occupation. Nothing else will do.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has called Gaza a "prison camp" and a recently-released United Nations report says the besieged enclave will be uninhabitable by the year 2020, barring "urgent action."

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/337132#ixzz2CdMTKpih

 

 

Israel's defenders, including US President Barack Obama, claim that the Jewish state has a right to defend itself against the thousands of rockets that have been launched against it from Hamas and other militant groups. Some critics say those militant groups are resisting decades of Israeli occupation and oppression. Leading international figures, including Nobel Peace laureates Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Mairead Maguire and Jimmy Carter, accuse Israel of apartheid. United Nations human rights official Richard Falk and others, including Holocaust survivors, go even further, accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing in Palestine. British Prime Minister David Cameron has called Gaza a "prison camp" and a recently-released United Nations report says the besieged enclave will be uninhabitable by the year 2020, barring "urgent action."

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/337132#ixzz2CclSMbyB

Israel's defenders, including US President Barack Obama, claim that the Jewish state has a right to defend itself against the thousands of rockets that have been launched against it from Hamas and other militant groups. Some critics say those militant groups are resisting decades of Israeli occupation and oppression. Leading international figures, including Nobel Peace laureates Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Mairead Maguire and Jimmy Carter, accuse Israel of apartheid. United Nations human rights official Richard Falk and others, including Holocaust survivors, go even further, accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing in Palestine. British Prime Minister David Cameron has called Gaza a "prison camp" and a recently-released United Nations report says the besieged enclave will be uninhabitable by the year 2020, barring "urgent action."

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/337132#ixzz2CclZ1qkS

Israel's defenders, including US President Barack Obama, claim that the Jewish state has a right to defend itself against the thousands of rockets that have been launched against it from Hamas and other militant groups. Some critics say those militant groups are resisting decades of Israeli occupation and oppression. Leading international figures, including Nobel Peace laureates Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Mairead Maguire and Jimmy Carter, accuse Israel of apartheid. United Nations human rights official Richard Falk and others, including Holocaust survivors, go even further, accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing in Palestine. British Prime Minister David Cameron has called Gaza a "prison camp" and a recently-released United Nations report says the besieged enclave will be uninhabitable by the year 2020, barring "urgent action."

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/337132#ixzz2CclZ1qkS

Israel's defenders, including US President Barack Obama, claim that the Jewish state has a right to defend itself against the thousands of rockets that have been launched against it from Hamas and other militant groups. Some critics say those militant groups are resisting decades of Israeli occupation and oppression. Leading international figures, including Nobel Peace laureates Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Mairead Maguire and Jimmy Carter, accuse Israel of apartheid. United Nations human rights official Richard Falk and others, including Holocaust survivors, go even further, accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing in Palestine. British Prime Minister David Cameron has called Gaza a "prison camp" and a recently-released United Nations report says the besieged enclave will be uninhabitable by the year 2020, barring "urgent action."

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/337132#ixzz2CclSMbyB

It's The Occupation, stupid.

The right to resist oppression was the spirit behind the bloody American Revolution of the 1700's.

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/11/can_the_new_york_times_get_any_worse.html#ixzz2CU5zCC8C

The recent violence in Gaza was sparked by a Hamas anti-tank missile attack on an Israeli jeep on patrol along the Israel-Gaza border that left one soldier permanently blinded.

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/11/can_the_new_york_times_get_any_worse.html#ixzz2CU5zCC8C

The The American Thinker said the recent violence in Gaza was "sparked by a Hamas anti-tank missile attack on an Israeli jeep on patrol along the Israel-Gaza border." Others have cited recent missile attacks aimed at Israel by Hamas fighters. Few in the West blame the O word.

Few have reminded us of the Palestinians' right to resist occupation. It's The Occupation, stupid.

The recent violence in Gaza was sparked by a Hamas anti-tank missile attack on an Israeli jeep on patrol along the Israel-Gaza border that left one soldier permanently blinded.

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/11/can_the_new_york_times_get_any_worse.html#ixzz2CU5zCC8C

The recent violence in Gaza was sparked by a Hamas anti-tank missile attack on an Israeli jeep on patrol along the Israel-Gaza border that left one soldier permanently blinded.

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/11/can_the_new_york_times_get_any_worse.html#ixzz2CU5zCC8C

Occupation puts people under the military control of an occupying force even if it is not physically present, as in Gaza. If the occupying power is in a position to take military control over the whole area then effective military control persists. Since June of 1967 Israel has occupied Gaza. The "disengagement" of 2005 did not end the occupation since Israel still controls Gaza's airspace and territorial waters, and does not allow the movement of goods in or out of Gaza by air or sea.

The Declaration on Granting Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, 1960 General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV) legitimizes a peoples right to resist occupation in any manner they can.

We do not condone violence. We abhor it. We also understand that it is easier for us, who stand outside the arena of oppression, to talk of peaceful measures than it is for an oppressed people to think in such calm terms. Have you ever considered what your feelings would be if you were living in Boston in 1776?

The right to resist oppression is the universal right that fueled the American and French revolutions. It seems to be fueling the Gazan actions of late. The way to peace is quite simple. Israel must end its illegal occupation. Until they do so the people of Israel will bear the burden of the oppressor: a constant, unsettling, and destructive undercurrent of an insurgency that will not quit.

Targeted Killing: Israeli Statistics: Does the tactic work?

Targeted Killing: Israeli Statistics: Does the tactic work?

November 16, 2012 by Bruce Wallace, 121Contact

 

A prominent voice in American Jewish youth recently said to us, "Israel is not fighting the Palestinians though...It's Hamas. You can not make peace with terrorists. It doesn't work like that. I feel terrible for the Palestinians in Gaza. There's no reason anyone should have to live like this but you also can't let an entire nation get bombarded day in and day out and not take action."

The sentiment is easy to understand. And Israel is taking action. By adopting the ever-more popular 'tageted killing' tactic Israel is making the strong statement that it will strike back, and hard, against terrorists and their supporters.

Israel can claim the success of this tactic by listing many prominent people killed, including the 2002 assassination of Salah Shehada, and the 2004 assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder of Hamas and the most recent killing of Ahmed al-Jabari, the Hamas military commander. During the Al-Aqsa Intifada Irael carried out over 250 targeted killings. It certainly didn't end terrorism.

While we acknowldege the short-term value in removing specific actors from the scene, we question the long-term value of the tactic. What are the facts? Is targeted killing an effective tool? Does it reduce the incidence of terror attacks? This last question being the major metric we use to measure effectiveness.

In the year following Yassin's death the number of terrorist attacks rose. After his successor, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi was killedt errorist attacks quadrupled. And let's not forget that in 2006, after these assassinations, Hamas won the PA elections, and even when it was ousted it held its position in Gaza. Its popularity was not diminished by targeted killing; it was enhanced.

Juan Cole has pointed to the ability of Hamas to lie low when being attacked and the reappear when things quiet down.

Targeted killing does:

• immediately reduce the number of attacks
  • but they rebound above and beyond previous numbers
• reduce the severity (Israelis killed) of each attack, which rebounds again.
• eliminate top leaders
  • but they are quickly replaced
• eliminate small numbers of terrorists
  • but they are quickly replaced by even greater numbers
• force insurgent leaders into hiding, making them harder to find and arrest/kill
• act as an effective recruitment tool
• reduce IDF casualties because it happens at long range
• increase sympathy and support for Hamas in a large part of the Arab world

It's a mixed bag, for sure, but the weight seems to be on the side of not using this tactic. It does more harm than good. Then what is the most effective response to Hamas?

It would take enormous cooperation among nations to effect a change in the Israeli/Palestinian situation. An agreement on borders for the two state solution, a stupendous injection of aid so that
the Palestinians gain a foothold in the economic world,  a buildup of infrastructure, a buildup of health facilities and health care, and, a focused effort to build schools and increase the education effort.

Oh, you think that's expensive? You think that's hard? You think?

Yes, but much cheaper in lives and money than the self-defeating policies under way now.

 

Hafez A Multivariate Analysis of Israeli Counter-Terrorism Effectiveness during Al-Aqsa
Uprising1

Naval PostGraduate School Analysis

The Trouble with Targeted Killing: Carvin, UnivLondon

Byman: Do targeted killings work

 

Gaza/Israel: Assymetric Warfare, Assymetric Demonstrations

Gaza/Israel: Asymmetric Warfare, Asymmetric Demonstrations
November 15, 2012 by Bruce Wallace, 121Contact

Brooklyn for Peace is an active group with its heart in the right place (left, that is). It sometimes, however pushes in the wrong direction. Calling for a demonstration in front of the Israeli Consulate to 'Protest Israeli Attack on Gaza' misses the point. 

The Israeli Consulate, at 42nd Street and 2nd Avenue in Manhattan, New York, is only 1.5 miles from The Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations, at 65th Street.

This is not a one-sided affair, and one-sided protests only hurt the cause of peace. It would have been much better planning to support a march from the Israeli Consulate to the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine. This would acknowledge the facts that both parties are engaging in violent behaviour that can only prolong the agony of so many innocent civilians directly affected by the conflict.

Both sides much  stitch together non-violent solutions, and peace organizations much offer more balanced, saner paths to walk toward more peaceful tomorrows.