Blogging the democratic revolution
Now, let’s be all dramatic like most of the headlines which say, “Middle East Ceasefire Shattered.” Because honestly, the truce was a big lie anyway. Now the possibility exists that the Palestinian government will have to succumb to more terrorist leadership or kill it outright. Policeman of the PA and Hamas terrorists are fighting now in Gaza as Abbas has declared a state of emergency. The fighting began when the government confronted Hamas after it attacked Israel. The Palestinian Authority declared a state of emergency in the Gaza Strip last night, hours after an Israeli woman was killed when a…
The Palestinian Authority held local elections yesterday, and the results, released earlier today, indicate a win for the secular Fatah but a clear gain for Hamas. This is an excerpt from the Reuters report, “Fatah prevails but Hamas gains in Palestinian polls“: Unofficial results released on Friday showed Hamas making strong inroads in key urban centres in the West Bank and Gaza, an indicator it could do well in this summer’s parliamentary ballot, possibly complicating Abbas’s peace efforts. Fatah won control of 52 of the 84 municipal councils being contested in the West Bank and Gaza in Thursday’s vote, while…
Natan Sharansky, author of perhaps my favorite book “The Case For Democracy,” has submitted his resignation to Ariel Sharon to protest the unilateral disengagement of the territories. JERUSALEM (AP) – Cabinet minister Natan Sharansky, a frequent critic of Israel’s peace moves with the Palestinians, submitted his resignation Monday in protest over the planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Sharansky, a former Soviet dissident whose imprisonment there made him a hero to world Jewry, wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that he opposes making unilateral concessions to the Palestinians. Sharansky, the author of “The Case for Democracy,” a…
Israel’s long-planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip is almost ready to go ahead, and it is becoming clearer what will take the place of Israeli administration there – a coalition government between the Palestinian Authority (run by the secular Fatah Party) and the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas. The debate over the Gaza pullout has just about pulled Israel apart. Those who favor the pullout argue as follows: Since everyone knows that Israel will eventually have to leave Gaza, and since it is such a financial burden to maintain the few settlements there, it is better to leave now, even in…
I’m still not finished with my residence move, and still have books all over the floor, but I felt the need to start blogging again after a six-day hiatus. So, since I recently posted an entry pouring water on the Palestinians’ united front, as it included a release of terrorists by Israel in exchange for just ten months of peace, I felt it appropriate to note that the Arab League made a more realistic offer at its yearly conference this week (see my last post on this issue, Oslo II? The Palestinians’ United Front, and the Fading Hopes for Peace).…
Earlier today the Palestinian Authority and several Palestinian terrorist organizations, including, most prominently, Hamas, wrapped up their meeting in Cairo with an agreement to extend their ceasefire with Israel until the end of this year, assuming Israel meets a variety of conditions. As I watched the press conference and statements by leaders of the various organizations on Al-Jazeera earlier, the most oft-repeated demands were “and end to Israeli aggression” and “freeing of the prisoners” – the latter a reference to terrorists which currently inhabit Israeli prisons. The Islamist daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi phrased the united position this way: ÄQuoting Amr Sulayman,…
This one almost flew under the radar. NABLUS, WEST BANK — Hamas, the major force behind a four-year suicide bombing campaign, announced yesterday it would run in a coming parliamentary election, a move that could undermine Palestinian efforts to end violence, reform a corrupt government and renew peacemaking. Hamas has emerged as a key player in Palestinian politics. A victory by the militant group in the July 17 parliamentary vote — to be held days before Israel is to begin withdrawing from the Gaza Strip — could be a deciding factor in whether the Israeli pullout leads to peace talks…
I just caught wind of this on the news. The Israeli government will shortly announce a transcript of orders delivered by the Syrian government to the terrorist group that carried out the attack in Tel Aviv. I haven’t been able to find an article on the net as of yet, but will post one as soon as I do. My prediction: If anything, Monday is the day of the Lebanese revolution. If Israel attacks and destabilizes Syria for any amount of time during this, they will lose control of the situation there and Lebanon will go free. Who knows what…
A revealing interview was published Friday (Feb. 25) in the Islamist daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi with Khaled Mashal, the head of Hamas’ political wing. The article was headlined: “Mashal: Pressures on Syria will have a negative effect on Hamas.” Aside from suggesting that the Syria-Hamas relationship is much closer than Syria claims, Mashal describes the truce with Israel as a purely temporary affair. He also suggests that the Bush administration has been secretly sending conciliatory messages to Hamas, a point which I hope is not true, and if true would seem to violate the Bush Doctrine. I have translated it below,…
That’s the Palestinian people. It remains to be seen if the leadership understands that their people have had enough and are demonstrating a new willingness to talk peace: If this is to be made into something that could resemble a positive step, the PA should offer to work beside the Israeli military instead of against it, even going so far as to wage war against the Palestinian terror forces. It Abbas is to be seen as serious, he needs to begin punishing terror organizations immediately. If he does that, he will find himself in what amounts to a civil war.…
Haaretz is reporting that at least 20 people have been injured in a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv: The suicide bomber apparently blew himself up at around 11:15 PM on a Friday night at the “Stage” club on the corner of Herbert Samuel and Yonah Hanavi streets in the city. Police were closing roads Friday night, and have asked the public to avoid arriving at the area. Security officials are persuing two suspects, after witnesses reported they saw two men fleeing the scene of the explosion. According to the police, the terrorists may have come from the northern West Bank,…
Just today, the Israeli parliament approved funds for the pullout and compensation of settlers in Gaza. JERUSALEM, Feb. 16 — Israel’s parliament on Wednesday approved a nearly $1 billion financial package to pay for withdrawing Israeli troops and Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank, delivering a major victory to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his plan to vacate settlements for the first time in 23 years. The 59 to 40 vote in Israel’s Knesset followed hours of emotional debate, weeks of street demonstrations by settlers who oppose Sharon’s plan and a growing number…
Matt has some recently released poll results that show slightly more Israelis would prefer kicking the Palestinians out over evacuating from the occupied territories. It was 38% for the former and 37% for the latter. Either way, including doing nothing, is simply masochistic. Some ways less than others, which is why it is better to pull out than to shove out.
Abbas is quickly getting a reputation for reform: GAZA (Reuters) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas fired three of his top security chiefs on Thursday after militants, puncturing a cease-fire he reached with Israel, bombarded Jewish settlements in Gaza with mortar rounds. Israeli cabinet minister Ophir Pines praised Abbas for “an unprecedented step” in dismissing the three, members of Yasser Arafat’s old guard, in response to violence that flared after Tuesday’s summit in Egypt with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The United States, which has pledged renewed commitment to Middle East peacemaking after Abbas succeeded Arafat last month, also praised the dismissals.…
As you have all probably heard by now, Sharon and Abbas have agreed to a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians. SHARM EL SHEIK, Egypt (AP) _ Grinning broadly, the two men clasped hands as they strained to reach across water bottles, their national flags and a bouquet of yellow and white flowers atop a wide table that spoke of the distance remaining between Israel and the Palestinians. The warm and lengthy handshake between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, repeated three times for the cameras at a breakthrough summit at this Egyptian resort Tuesday, lifted…
John at Crossroads Arabia posts an interesting editorial with some interesting commentary about how Hamas, while sponsoring terrorism, is also one of Gaza’s biggest sponsors of social caretaking. I’ve never heard of this, but it could definitely be due to the western media not presenting the information. Either way, it will take some research on my part. Here is what he excerpted: While the overwhelming victory of Hamas candidates in the Gaza local elections may have disappointed Mahmoud Abbas, it must not be taken as a vote overturning his triumph in the election for the Palestinian leadership or his efforts…
It’s not so often that we see such optimism from Israel. But I guess if even Sharon is confident that the Palestinians are doing their part, then we might actually be seeing something good here. Speaking at a convention of building contractors in Tel Aviv, Sharon said, “I believe that the conditions are now ripe to allow us and the Palestinians to reach a historic breakthrough in the relations between us.” Sharon’s remarks followed a series of steps by the new Palestinian regime headed by Mahmoud Abbas, including efforts for a halt to militant attacks against Israelis and deployment of…
In an interesting development, the Palestinian Authority is actually taking a stand against militants and deploying troops. This is actually rather unprecedented, and I hope Abbas is able to win true authority over the militants with this. We’ll see how it plays out
Abbas, under huge pressure from Israel, finally made a declaration for militants to halt their attacks against Israel. But Hamas rejected this call just a few hours after it was made, launching rockets into a nearby settlement. According to the articles, Abbas will be spending a few days in Gaza to have talks with the militants, but that is likely to lead nowhere. Terrorist organizations like Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah are self-interested and have no desire to bring the Palestinians a free, thriving society. They know that if that ever happens, they’ll be out of business. Let’s see if…
Reported here. As much as people are going to complain that Israel is not even giving Abbas a chance, after some rethinking over the past few days, I am going to have to side with Sharon on this. The Palestinian Authority simply cannot act against the militants because they do not have the capabilities to do so. Sharon is actually making a clear-cut distinction here between the terrorists and the Palestinians. The huge division between the Palestinian Authority, organizations like Hamas an Islamic Jihad, and the people is so great that the hyperplurality of it won’t permit the necessary conditions…
Pejmanesque is where I saw it first. The article is here. This report is heavily contradicting initial stories of “the most transparent ÄelectionÅ in modern Arab history.” Now that I think about that statement, it probably was more transparent than previous elections. But that doesn’t erase the mass fraud. “This proves that what happened is very serious and it must not happen again,” said Dwaik, the commission’s deputy chairman. “These pressures and threats lessened the degree of the integrity of the election, even though overall it was free and fair.” Serious indeed, when 46 members of your commission resign over…
Israel earlier decided to cut off all ties with Abbas due to recent militant strikes in Gaza. Being sworn in today, Abbas will have a lot to handle. Many people are calling what Israel is doing a blockade to the roadmap for peace. I don’t think so. I think this is a test for Abbas to see if he is really worth his weight in salt. “You do what you promise to stop the suicide bombers, and we’ll leave you alone.” That sounds fair to me. Talk is cheap, but if Abbas shows action, then we’ll be getting somewhere.
Here’s the CNN article I don’t think any candidate could solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict without intense struggle. So on that note, Mahmoud Abbas is probably the best choice they have at the moment. If we remember correctly, Abbas once served as Prime Minister under Arafat, but quit because Arafat would not hand over the reins of power to him. That seems to give the hint to me that he’s a man willing to cause some change. Now that he’s at the head, let’s see what he can do. He won by a pretty clear margin. Exit polls indicate by about…
After the long overdue death of Yasser Arafat, the Palestinians are finally going to the polls. Mahmoud Abbas, a close adviser to Arafat, seems to be the frontrunner. As the news article suggests, he is promising to end the violence; however, he wants to do it through a cease fire without denouncing military groups like Hamas. This is the most troubling part about electing a leader so closely related to a regime that only had talk up its sleeve. You get more of the same: just talk. It seems likely that he will be elected, but for whoever eventually is,…