Open Writing

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America sends a peace envoy to Palestine.

America appears to be still providing full support to Israel with minimum action to solve the Palestinian situation. The situation demands more than sending a token envoy, (General Anthony Zimmi)---to negotiate, what---a peace settlement---they must be Joking---an ex-Marine General to negotiate peace in a land that has not had peace for thousands of years.

I don’t know much about the background of General Zimmi, but it would appear that he is more of a Military individual than a professional Political Diplomatic Corp peacemaker.

Question; Is it in anyone's best interests to send a Military man to attempt to bring about a cease-fire and negotiate a political peace settlement, unless of course one wishes to retain the status quo? I would have thought that a professional political negotiator of the caliber of Dr. Henry Kissinger or even ex-President Jimmy Carter would have been a better choice.

The best efforts at providing a solution have come from Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia who proposed in a recent peace initiative that both sides stop the killing and that the Palestinian Arabs resume full normalized diplomatic relations with Israel in exchange for the return to the Palestinian Authority of all lands taken from them by Israel in the 1967 Middle East War.

One would assume that of course this would include the return to Syria of the Golan Heights and the return to Jordan of the West Bank. Sixty countries around the world are said to back such a proposal. This proposal if implemented would of course be hotly contested by Israeli families currently living in housing settlements built upon the seized Arab lands.

I wouldn’t hold my breath in anticipation that this will ever come to pass.

Prince Abdullah’s proposal looks better all the time. Question: Has the time come for the United States, or better still, for United Nations Forces to step in and separate the two factions?

In my opinion, we the British did a good job of governing Palestine for sixty odd years under the Balfour agreement and finally gave in to world pressure after World War Two and allowed the creation in 1948 of an Israeli State on Palestinian land.

What is good for the Goose is good for the Gander?

I’m puzzled, what is the difference between the United States providing funds and weapons of destruction to Israel over a long period of time, and the charges made by Israel that Iran is currently supplying the Palestinian Arabs with weapons in order to conduct acts of terrorism against Israel? Remember, one man’s “Freedom Fighter” is another man’s “Terrorist”. I must admit that I have always found it very difficult to differentiate between the two.

Perhaps the time has come to disarm both sides, (if that is possible), and see if Crown Prince Abdullah’s peace plan can be implemented to the benefit of both Israeli and Palestinian citizens.

Some background on Israel’s past involvement in Lebanon.

It has been reported that there were 23 lawsuits filed against Ariel Sharon in a Belgium court, (when he was the Israeli Minister of Defense), for his alleged involvement in the September 1982 massacre in two Palestinian refugee camps, (Sabra and Chatilla), in Lebanon.

It was stated that more than 800 people were killed or went missing in a three-day killing spree by Lebanese Christian Militiamen who were allowed into the camps by Israeli soldiers.
Israel invaded Lebanon in June of 1982 and as occupiers were responsible for the security of civilians at the time that the massacres occurred.

The Brussels court, under a 1993 Belgium law allows crimes against humanity or genocide to be tried in Belgium courts regardless of where the crime s were committed.

Mr. Sharon’s lawyers have argued that at the time the massacres were committed, Ariel Sharon was Minister of Defense, and therefore during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon he enjoyed diplomatic immunity. They have also questioned the competence of the court to try an individual for a crime not committed on Belgian soil.

Question: Under the same set of rules and conditions does that mean that Mr. Slobodan Milosovic was being improperly tried for alleged similar conduct?

Amazing coincidence: On the 24th of January Elie Hoebeijka, a former leader of the pro-Israeli Christian Militia, widely blamed for the massacre at the refugee camps in Lebanon, was assassinated in Beirut. Months before his assassination Mr. Hoebeijka swore his innocence and declared that he had proof of Sharon’s involvement in the incident and expressed a willingness to travel to Belgium to testify. An official Israeli investigation in1983 was said to have found Sharon “indirectly’ but “personally” responsible for the deaths in the refugee camps in Lebanon, and Sharon subsequently resigned as Defense Minister.

Different strokes for different folks---or are some more guilty than others.

Arab Summit.

The Arab Summit convened today the 27th of March 2002, was overshadowed by disagreements amongst the delegates attending the summit when the Palestinian Delegation walked out in protest as apparently Lebanese President Emile Lahoud blocked the broadcast that Mr. Yasser Arafat was going to transmit live.

The reason given for this omission was a fear that Mr. Sharon may use latest video technology to hack into the program and present his own views. The Summit opened without the presence of three key Arab World figures, Mr. Arafat, President Mubarak of Egypt and Jordan’s King Abdullah.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak told reporters that he had made the decision to boycott the meeting to show solidarity with Yasser Arafat. King Abdullah of Jordan did not give a reason for his last minute decision not to attend the summit.
It must be remembered that both Jordan and Egypt are beholden to the United States for past financial assistance.

Crown Prince Abdullah’s basic peace proposal.

Israel.
· Must withdraw from land seized by Israel after the 1967 war: (The west Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights).
· Must agree the right of return for Palestinian refugees.
· Must accept an Independent Palestinian State with Jerusalem as it’s Capital.

Arab States.
· Must consider the Arab-Israeli conflict over.
· Must agree to a peace treaty for the region.
· Must establish normal relations with Israel. (And I would assume accept and recognize the State of Israel).

The war goes on.

A deadly explosion wrecked the Park Hotel in the northern Israel seaside resort of Netanya, (Approximately half way between Haifa and Tel Aviv), killing at least 21 Israelis and injuring over 100 people. The bombing occurred just after sundown on Wednesday evening the 26th of March 2002, when many Israeli’s were gathered to celebrate the week long Passover holiday.

Considering the circumstances, I have many pleasant memories of the town and beaches of Netanya, as I was stationed at a tented camp a few miles north of Netanya, (Camp 21, which I understand is still used by the Israeli army), during a two year tour of duty in Palestine with British Armed Forces in 1946 through 1948.

Incidentally twenty five years, or so, later, my wife and I revisited Israel and stayed at a “Park Hotel” in Netanya, which if my memory serves me correctly was located on the cliffs adjacent to the cliff top gardens overlooking the Mediterranean Ocean with close proximity to the high street, and could possibly be the same hotel as the one that was bombed today.

The continuing retaliatory strikes by both sides, with the constant bloodshed, do not bode well for any immediate peace treaty. The region is so unstable that once again I must repeat the warning. “Don’t hold your breath for any peace treaty between the two sides in the near or maybe distant future”.
I named this chapter “The war goes on” but looking back in retrospect, a war needs two active and somewhat equal combatants, and as the Arabs are vastly outgunned by the Israelis, perhaps the paragraph should have been named ”The conflict of two unequal and opposite forces equates to a massacre” (A sort of reversal of Sir Isaac Newton’s laws).

The bottom line.

Will the Israeli reprisal against the Palestinian Arabs be so violent and bloody that the world at large will condemn the action and demand an end to this terrible conflict and set in motion the segregation of the two combatants by enforced policing of the country by United Nations Forces. I would suspect that Arafat’s compound in Ramallah will come under heavy fire and that an attempt will be made by the Israelis to detain Arafat.

The second scenario is more complex as it potentially involves the question as to what will the surrounding Arab Nations do now that they appear to have a somewhat unified approach under the Saudi peace proposal to assisting their Palestinian Arabs in their fight to regain an independent Arab State.

The burial of Sergeant Ernie Lamberts. (Ramallah--Palestine 1947).

Ernie Lamberts, a Sergeant with the British Third Parachute Battalion, was killed whilst leading a British army patrol in the area of Peta Tiqua in 1947 when he and his men came under machine gun fire from an Israeli terrorist group.

To the best of my recollection, Ernie, whilst sitting up front with the driver of a three ton truck noticed a row of land mines located on the road in front of them. He immediately stopped the vehicle and ordered his men to evacuate the truck. He then stepped out of the cab to reconnoiter the obstacle or detonate the mines, which were linked by a wire, a method used by the Israelis to pull the mines across the road in order to either stop, or blow up British Army trucks. In this particular case, the stationary truck became the target of an Israeli terrorist group ambush and Ernie was mowed down by machine gun fire.

Ernie was buried with full Military honors.

So the question remains---Has anything changed---the killing goes on.

Relevant supporting information. (Obtained from various reliable sources).

Fatah.
· Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, (PLO), is also the leader of “Fatah” the Palestinian Liberation Movement, which was founded by Mr. Arafat in the late 1950s and was aimed at launching commando raids on the new State of Israel.

· Mr. Arafat took over the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the PLO in 1969

Hamas.
· Hamas, the main Islamic movement in the Palestinian territories was formed after the start of the first Palestinian Intifada in 1987.

· The organization opposes the 1993 Oslo peace agreement, and its short-term aim is a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territories.

· The political wing is involved in improving the Arab way of life in the West Bank and the Gaza strip.

The Military wing, (Known as the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigade), has carried out a series of bloody attacks against Israeli targets over the past several years.

· Hamas is viewed by Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian Authority, (PA), as a serious rival and they insist that Hamas accepts the PA as the only National Authority in the Palestinian territories.

· The spiritual head of Hamas is the 64 year old quadriplegic, Sheik Ahmad Yassin.

Hezbollah.
· Hezbollah, (The party of God), emerged as a Political and Military force in the early 1980s at the time of the second Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

· Its manifesto is the formation of “Islamic Resistance Units”, to fight for the liberation of the occupied territories and the ejection of Israeli forces.

· The guerrillas have apparently received financial assistance in the past from Iran, and even though denounced by the United States as a terrorist group the Lebanese Government, which is influenced by Syria, has not disarmed them.

· The Secretary General of Hezbollah is Sheik Hassan Nasrallah.

Disclaimer.
Some of the information gathered for this newsletter is gleaned from American and International media sources, (including the Internet), and as such is quoted as accurately as possible. I try to obtain confirmation on each subject from several outlets so the text is a mixture of composite news items and personal comment and therefore the reader must make his/her judgment as to the reliability and degree of accuracy of the subjects discussed.

Note: To view the complete April 2002 edition of “View from America” go to the www.huddersfield1.co.uk website.

bill25ca@hotmail.com
June/July. 2006.