Tag Archives: Peace process

Palestinians Utterly Fail Two Tests: Oslo Accords And Gaza Disengagement

Posted on by
4

Palestinians have violently opposed Jews living in Israel for a century. The occasional massacres of the 1920s gave way to multi-year pogroms in the late 1930s. When the British announced their intention to leave the region and terminate their mandate, the local Arabs rejected the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan and enlisted neighboring Arab countries to destroy the Jewish State.

The loss of part of the land to Israel was balanced by the capture of Gaza by Egypt and much of Judea and Samaria by Transjordan. The Arab armies assembled to destroy Israel again in 1967 and in 1973 on Judaism’s holiest Day, losing their wars again. On their own, the Stateless Arabs from Palestine (SAPs) continued the mayhem, killing Jewish Olympians, blowing up synagogues and hijacking planes in their persistent effort to eradicate the presence of Jews in the Jewish holy land.

The SAPs seemingly were willing to turn a new page in favor of coexistence with Jews in 1991 with the Madrid Conference which eventually developed into the 1993 Oslo I and 1995 Oslo II Accords. Despite ongoing Arab violence, Israel facilitated the creation of Palestinian governmental institutions and handed over significant sections of the area east of the 1949 Armistice Lines (E49) to Palestinian control. The goal was to finalize all matters by September 2000, at the five year anniversary of the Oslo II signing.

The SAPs chose to return to their violent ways instead of concluding an agreement.

In September 2000, under the command of Yasser Arafat, Arabs committed waves of terrorist attacks, blowing up men, women and children in pizza stores, parks, on buses and in synagogues. The Arab brutality was seemingly without end, and was only curtailed in 2004 when Israel erected a security barrier to stem the flow of Arab killers and the death of Arafat.

In an effort to reengage, Israel handed Gaza to the Palestinians in 2005, with assurances from the United States that it would support Israel’s positions on retaining some land in E49 and that all Palestinian refugees would be settled in a new Palestinian State.

The SAPs would fail to capitalize on this second chance at peace as well.

First, the Palestinians elected the terrorist group Hamas to 58% of the Palestinian parliament in 2006, and then had the political-terrorist group take over all of Gaza in 2007. The Palestinians used Gaza as a launching ground for missiles in the air and tunnels below ground to attack Israelis. Full blown battles from Gaza erupted in 2008, 2012 and 2014.

Rather than Gaza proving a model for coexistence of two states living side-by-side in peace, it showed that Palestinians will never accept the presence of Jews nor existence of a Jewish State.

There is an old adage “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me” meant to convey that it’s not nice of the perpetrator to take advantage of someone one time, but by the second time, the fault lies with the victim who should have known better than to reengage.

There is no line for “fool me three times”, as no rational actor acting on free will would ever consider such preposterous notion.

Which is precisely why the anti-Israel community is calling for BDS resolutions against Israel and electing anti-Israel candidates like Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), to force Israel to reengage yet again with Palestinians who have repeatedly shown they have no interest in coexistence.

Alt-Left anti-Israel members of Congress, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and Jamaal Bowman

“Fool me once or twice is a matter between parties; fool me thrice is a hostage situation” in which the victim is compelled to undermine their own well-being. Such is the situation today among those pressuring Israel to advance a DOA peace process.

Coercion is the polar opposite of freedom, and it is gaining strength while oblivious Israelis ponder how much power to leave in judiciary’s hands. Israel’s internal debate about democracy is shrouding the potential loss of freedom from external actors.

Related articles:

Rashida Tlaib’s Modern ‘Mein Kampf’

The Shrapnel of Intent

The Toxicity of The Latest “Nakba” Resolution

No One Mentions Actual Palestinians’ Sentiments

Anti-Israel Lobbyists Dwarf Pro-Israel Lobbyists

Anti-Israel and Jew-Ambivalent in Congress

Letter To Rep. Bowman About Palestinians’ Lack of Support For Two States

Mother’s Day And Ahlam Al-Tamimi

Should A Palestinian State Have Hebrew As An Official Language?

Posted on by
Reply

A popular discussion about creating a Palestinian Arab country runs rampant around the United Nations and political outlets. The reality is local Arabs have no interest in the “two state solution” and the majority favor killing Jewish civilians, so there is no possibility of advancing such a new Arab state currently.

But that doesn’t keep the U.N. and various capitals busy talking about it anyway.

So let’s add an idea which may foster good will and coexistence: should that imagined Palestinian Arab state have Hebrew as an official language?

The idea seems to have merit based on comments made by United Nations Secretary General Antonio Gutteres on “World Portuguese Language Day” celebrated on May 5. In discussing languages, he said they are an “indispensable vehicle of understanding and hope.  They are also a place of resistance against those who intend to spread hatred, exclusion, violence, extremism, misogyny and discrimination…. Portuguese language is also a good example of this, being shared and constructed by populations on all continents.  Marked by diversity, it is a language that promotes understanding and conciliation.”

There is nothing more sorely needed in Palestinian society than removing “exclusion, violence and extremism” and promoting “understanding and conciliation” with their Jewish neighbors.

It is estimated that English is the official language of 67 countries, while French has 29, Arabic has 26, Spanish has 21, Portuguese 10, and German 6. Hebrew is the official language of only a single country, Israel. Perhaps a Palestinian state should be the second.

There are over half a million Israeli Jews and an unknown number of Israeli Arabs living in the West Bank. Presumably, all speak Hebrew already. While many of those Israelis will likely fall inside of Israel if and when borders are defined, it is likely that hundreds of thousands of Hebrew speakers would become Palestinians in a theoretical state. It is natural to include them into the fabric of the country, and to foster a good relationship with Israel.

Today, Palestinian Arabs mostly learn Hebrew so they can work inside of Israel. In the future, all Palestinian Arab people should learn Hebrew to reject the current strain of “violence and extremism”, and to promote “understanding and hope” with their Jewish neighbors.

Related articles:

Settlements For Peace

Enduring Peace Requires Unity AND Tolerance

Importing Peaceful Ideas to the West Bank

A Step Towards MidEast Peace: Shedding Ilhan Omar

Letter to Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) On Conditioning Aid To Israel

Posted on by
11

Dear Senator,

I have read with alarm that you are considering making aid to Israel “conditional,” something no American president has ever done, including President Biden. The reasons for doing so are abundant, and have never been more obvious.

Sen. Chris Murphy (photo: REUTERS/Joshua Roberts.)

Security

Iran. The Islamic Republic of Iran has threatened to wipe Israel off the map. This leading state sponsor of terrorism is on the very cusp of nuclear weapons capability, a fact very well known to you and the United States government which has been alternatively attempting to stop the terrorist regime from gaining weapons of mass destruction, and paving the way to a legal complete manufacturing infrastructure. 

Lebanon. One of Iran’s terrorist arms is Hezbollah, just north of Israel in Lebanon. The terrorist group is overseeing a country in the middle of a complete freefall, with its currency collapsing by over 90% since the beginning of they year. The Lebanese are becoming extremely anxious, with a populace now ranked as the second most unhappy country in the world, just ahead of Afghanistan. The terrorists of Hezbollah have an estimated 150,000 missiles and mortars targeting Israel, and there is no better way to distract the angry Lebanese than to start a war against the Jewish State.

Syria. Another leading state sponsor of terrorism is still led by a mass murderer who has killed hundreds of thousands of his own citizens. The country remains in an official state of war with Israel, as it has been since the reestablishment of the Jewish State. While Israel was effective at stopping Syria from building a nuclear weapons compound which the Islamic state was doing with the help of North Korea (yet another state sponsor of terrorism), Syria continues to get supplied with arms and intelligence from Iran and Russia.

West Bank Palestinian Arabs. The Arabs in the West Bank have never been more blood-thirsty than they are at present. According to a December 2022 Palestinian poll, 46% support killing Jewish civilians inside of Israel (Gazans’ support was yet higher at 57%). Several new terrorist groups have recently emerged in the West Bank including the Lion’s Den and Jenin Battalion which have a 70% approval rating according to a March 2023 Palestinian poll, with the groups shooting and planning attacks against Israelis. A similarly frightening high percentage of Palestinians support the point blank shooting of two Jewish brothers who drove into an Arab town a few weeks ago.

Gazans. The political-terrorist group Hamas, continues to rule Gaza. The group is committed to never making peace with Israel and was elected to a significant majority of the Palestinian parliament with the most anti-Semitic charter ever written. If new presidential elections were held, Hamas would win according to the March 2023 poll (52% for Hamas’ Ismail Haniyeh to 36% for Fatah’s Mahmoud Abbas), and assume control of the Palestinian Authority to rule both the West Bank and Gaza.

The idea of making aid to Israel conditional in such backdrop is not only dangerous in hurting Israel’s military readiness, but serves as an invitation to the Jewish State’s hostile neighbors that it is standing alone and vulnerable.

Palestinian Thoughts on the “Peace Process”

And for what? Why subject Israel to the evil forces that seek its destruction? Are the radical jihadist values listed above closer aligned to the United States?

You mentioned that Israel is not actively engaged in pursuing a two state solution. Have you looked at the facts and polls related to Palestinians?

According to the March 2023 PCPRS poll, “support for the concept of the two-state solution stands at 27% and opposition stands at 71%.” Three times as many Palestinian oppose a two-state solution as support it.

Their preference is violence. The same poll found that “58% supported return to armed confrontations and intifada,” and 77% want Abbas to resign. The Palestinians are not interested in peace or negotiations led by a corrupt and inept leader, but want to go to war with Israel.

Exactly how is Israel supposed to push forward two states with such Palestinian counterparty? Israel has shown its readiness to make peace with many Arab countries willing to engage, and has put forward numerous solutions through the decades to the Palestinian Arabs. The current situation offers no opportunity for fruitful negotiations.

Jewish Homes East of The 1949 Armistice Lines (E49AL)

Senator, you seem to believe that the presence of Jews obliterates the chance for a two state solution. On February 15, 2023 you said “The Israeli government’s move to advance nearly 10,000 new settlement homes and legalize nine outposts in the West Bank is deeply concerning. Unilateral decisions like these make a negotiated two-state future more and more difficult to achieve and undercut prospects for a just and lasting peace with the Palestinians.” A couple of weeks later you doubled down and said “I worry that we are at a moment in which we are watching a future Palestinian state be obliterated by the pace of settlements, by the legalization of outposts.”

If Israel is thriving with over 20% of its population coming from non-Jews including Arabs and Druze, and the United Nations continues to demand that Israel accept millions of additional Arabs into the country, why are 10,000 new homes for Jews an obstacle for a “lasting peace with the Palestinians”? Is it because the Palestinians want an ethnically-cleansed, pure Arab country devoid of Jews? If that is their goal, how can anyone believe that there will ever be peace with people who hold such noxious anti-Semitic views?

Senator, your comments would simply be viewed as irresponsible if they were uttered from the mouths of radical members of the House of Representatives. Coming from a senator who sits on the foreign affairs committee is a dangerous invitation for brutal violent dictators and terrorist groups to wage war on the Jewish State.

Conditioning aid to Israel to pressure the Jewish State to bend to the will of anti-Semitic Arabs is not the mark of a “pragmatic progressive.” It is a product of a delusional mindset chasing a fantasy that Palestinians do not want (in regards to two states) and Israelis cannot risk.

Sincerely,

Members of First One Through

CONTACT Sen. Christopher Murphy (D-CT)

Other member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee:

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ)
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD)
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-DE)
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA)
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
Sen. Cory A. Booker (D-NJ)
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI)
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)
Sen. James Risch (R-ID)
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT)
Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE)
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)
Sen. Todd Young (R-IN)
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY)
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)
Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN)
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC)

Related articles:

The Israeli-Arab Conflict Is About The Presence of Jews, Not the “1967 Borders”

UN Lies About Palestinians Favoring Two States

Israel: Security in a Small Country

On Defenses: Provocative and Legal / Unprovocative and Illegal

The Green Line

Palestinian Arabs Do Not Want Negotiations or a Two State Solution

The Left-Wing’s Two State Solution: 1.5 States for Arabs, 0.5 for Jews

Does Biden Support A Palestinian Army And Jewish Prayer On The Temple Mount

Posted on by
1

Palestinian Arabs have seemingly been successful at getting the Biden Administration to demand “equality” between the Israelis and Palestinians. It is unclear what that means.

In May 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden said “I believe the Palestinians and Israelis equally deserve to live safely and securely and to enjoy equal measures of freedom, prosperity and democracy.” A few days later, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken tweeted something similar “I underscored America’s ironclad commitment to Israel’s security, and we discussed the importance of promoting peace, security, and dignity for all.” For those who make a living parsing words of politicians who rehearse their sound bites, there was a bit to review.

Biden’s comments were focused on the people (Palestinians and Israelis) while Blinken focused on security for a country (Israel) and then rights for everyone (Palestinians and Israelis). Biden sought “equal measures” regarding “freedom, prosperity and democracy” while Blinken highlighted “peace, security and dignity for all” after giving preference to Israeli security. Biden’s “safely and securely” and “freedom and democracy” were likely meant to be used interchangeably with Blinken’s “peace, security”, but it is doubtful that Biden’s focus on “prosperity” was meant to equate to Blinken’s “dignity.”

Months later, Blinken leaned into “dignity” when he met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in February 2022 when he said “Israelis and Palestinians alike deserve to live with equal measures of security, freedom, prosperity and crucially, dignity.” He introduced Biden’s focus on prosperity but sought to underscore his belief that dignity is crucial for both people.

In March 2022, when Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israel and Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr came to the region, he “reiterated the Biden Administration’s philosophy that Israelis and Palestinians alike deserve to live safely and securely and enjoy equal measures of freedom, security, and prosperity.” Amr continued the administration’s emphasis on prosperity as a key goal but declined to mention “dignity.”

The various statements beg the question of what equal measures regarding freedom, security, prosperity and dignity, and whether each are just as important.

Freedom. One interpretation might mean the Palestinians should have freedom of movement for people and goods in and out of the terrorist enclave of Gaza. Is the U.S. pushing to end the blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt immediately, or only in context of a resolution to the conflict? Would such stand exist if the terrorist group of Hamas continues to rule the area?

Freedom could mean the right of self-determination. While one might belief based on the media that Palestinian Arabs have none, in reality, all Gazans have self-determination and the vast majority of Arabs in the West Bank (those living in Areas A and B) similarly have self-determination.

Security. Does the Biden Administration want the Palestinians to have an army like Israel? Since the Oslo Accords in the mid-1990s began a pathway towards Palestinian self-determination, Israelis held firm that any future Palestinian state could not have a standing army in the narrow strip of land abutting Israel. Is the Biden campaign pressuring Israel to change that position?

Prosperity. The United States gives Israel billions of dollars each year and has had a difficult time sending monies to the Palestinian Authority directly (it funnels monies to them indirectly via the United Nations) because the PA refuses to stop rewarding terrorism with “martyr payments” to terrorist families. Is Biden signaling that he will push congress to get rid of the laws which prohibit the promotion of Palestinian Arab terrorism and start sending the PA the same amount of money as the government invests in Israel?

Dignity. Israeli Jews lack the basic human rights to pray at their holiest location of the Jewish Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Will the Biden Administration push to overturn the current status quo in exchange for Palestinians having a military?

The action plans may be underway.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides tweeted on March 16, 2022 about his excitement that more monies were flowing to Palestinians: “Pleased to see lots for Palestinians in the budget just signed by @POTUS Biden: $144 million increase (now $219 million) for Economic Support Funds, $40 million for security forces training in the WBank, and $50 million for 2nd year of the Nita Lowey MEPPA Fund,” a strange comment for the ambassador TO ISRAEL to comment on aid elsewhere.

Blinken is in Israel now and will talk about the Russia-Ukraine war, the refugees crisis and its impact on the region, Iran’s nuclear program and its threat towards the world, the emerging peace between Israel and various Arab countries stemming from the Abraham Accords, and the Palestinian Arab- Israel conflict. The administration’s pivot towards the Palestinians can be seen at 11:50 in the video, when Blinken said that he will meet with “Palestinians in East Jerusalem who are a critical part of the city’s vibrant and diverse civil society and underscore our work with Palestinian non-governmental government organizations.” Is Blinken saying that East Jerusalem is Palestinian and that “equality” further extends to splitting Israel’s capital?

The United States is pushing the notion of equality between Israel and the Palestinian Authority as an end-goal of negotiations. Will advocating for Jewish rights on the Temple Mount and a Palestinian army kill the peace process before it begins?

Related articles:

The Parameters of Palestinian Dignity

Israel: Security in a Small Country

The United States Should NOT be a Neutral Mediator in the Arab-Israel Conflict

Considering a Failed Palestinian State

The Israeli Peace Process versus the Palestinian Divorce Proceedings

Palestinian Arabs Do Not Want Negotiations or a Two State Solution

Posted on by
10

While the United States and the United Nations talk about engaging with the Palestinian Arabs to bring about a negotiated two state solution with Israel, the Palestinians want none of it.

Over half of Palestinians Arabs in both the West Bank and Gaza are opposed to a two state solution. The trend line according to Palestinian polls has only gotten worse over time.

Opposition to the “Two State Solution” hit an all-time high of 62.8% in the West Bank according to Palestinian polls in September 2021

In both the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinian Arabs preference is for an “armed struggle,” surpassing those interested in a peace agreement.

West Bankers prefer violence to a peace agreement according to Palestinian polls in September 2021
Gazans prefer violence to a peace agreement by over a 2-to-1 margin, according to Palestinian polls in September 2021

In Gaza, the Palestinians prefer the status quo – which we have been told over-and-again is absolutely horrible – at almost the same rate as peace!

The United Nations’ adopted wards have no interest in negotiating with Israel or a two state solution, but politicians like to perform on the global stage, imagine that they are uniquely gifted to break the century-old logjam and win Noble prizes.

Ego and fantasy paid for on your taxpayers’ dime.

Settlements For Peace

Posted on by
4

The Biden Administration publicly admonished Israel for approving the construction of more Jewish homes in Area C of the West Bank. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said “We [the Biden Administration] strongly oppose the expansion of settlements… damages the prospects for a two state solution.” The homes are to be built in Revava, Kedumim, Elon Moreh, Har Bracha, Karnei Shomron, Gush Etzion and the Hebron Hills, towns strongly supported by Christian communities in the United States and around the world.

While broadly supported by religious Christians and Jews, the Biden Administration and the European Union attacked the plans for 1,300 Jewish homes, even as they ignored Israel’s approval of over 1,000 homes for Palestinian Arabs in the Israeli territory of Area C, where roughly 14% of West Bank Arabs live.

The rebuke stands in contrast to the reality that Israel has managed to exist with a minority population of 25% non-Jews. A future Palestinian state could similarly exist with several hundred thousand Jews, and the economy of such a state would benefit from Jewish residents bringing stability and trade with Israel.

The true obstacle for an enduring peace – and a two state solution – is the Arab belief that Jews have no rights to live anywhere in the land. Such mindset has guided the Palestinian Authority to have a law calling for either a death sentence or life of hard labor for any Arab selling land to a Jew. It brings the PA to prioritize payments to terrorists who kill Jews over-and-above any other public service. It drives the political-terrorist group HAMAS which runs Gaza, to spend its finite resources on building and firing missiles into Israel rather than building a productive society and economy.

Guided by such anti-Semitic worldview, Palestinians believe that terrorism drove Israel out of Gaza and Areas A and B in the West Bank and will ultimately drive the Jews from Area C and Israel completely. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called all of Israel a “painful settlement” and is ready to be rid of it entirely.

This must stop.

The pathway to an enduring peace is not to forcibly evict half a million Jews from Area C, but to shatter the false idol of a Jew-free state. It is time for the world to tell the Palestinians that Jews will not leave the West Bank nor eastern Jerusalem. The same way that there are Israeli Arabs, there will be Palestinian Jews.

For too long people have embraced the timeless anti-Semitic tradition that Jews should be banned from living somewhere. Denying the human rights of Jews will never bring peace.

It is time to recognize that the road to a peaceful two state solution will be built with the efforts of those Jews living, working and building the West Bank.

Related First One Through articles:

Considering Israel’s Model for Arabs Applied to Jews in a Palestinian State

Considering Carter’s 1978 Letter Claiming Settlements Are Illegal

The Left-Wing’s Two State Solution: 1.5 States for Arabs, 0.5 for Jews

“Which Most of the World Considers Illegal…”

Anti-“Settlements” is Anti-Semitism

The Legal Israeli Settlements

The Jordan Valley in 1930 and 2020

The Best Palestinian Response to the Trump Initiative is Welcoming Jews to Palestine

American Leaders Always Planned on Israel Absorbing Much of the West Bank

Subscribe YouTube channel: FirstOneThrough

Join Facebook group: Israel Analysis and FirstOneThrough

The UN Has No Interest in Mid-East Peace, Just a Palestinian State

Posted on by
17

The United Nations, as an institution, was designed to be an impartial party which would bring peace and order to a chaotic world.

If only.

The opening lines of the UN Charter note the “equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small,” and Article 2 specifically called out the “principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.” Equality seemed a cornerstone of the principles of the organization.

But the United Nations has continued to prefer a particular non-member OVER AND ABOVE an existing member. Specifically, the Palestinian Authority over the State of Israel.

The head of the United Nations, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, appointed a Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, by all accounts a good idea to keep the volatile region from spinning out of control and to serve as an impartial envoy to bring the PA and Israel together to forge an enduring peace.

But Guterres did not pick someone to act as a neutral party. He appointed Tor Wennesland, who has a history of working and supporting the Palestinians and other Muslim Arabs in the region. He served as:

  • Norway’s chairman of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee for Palestine
  • Norway’s Representative to the Palestinian Authority from 2007 to 2011
  • Norwegian Ambassador to Egypt and Libya from 2012 to 2015

Even worse and more telling, Guterres also asked Wennesland to act as his Personal Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority. This person was not selected to bring the warring parties together but to act on behalf of only one party – the PA – a non-member of the United Nations.

Tor Wennesland

The appointment should have been roundly rejected by Israel as an affront to the peace process and by the entire membership body of the United Nations, as the leader of the organization promoted the agenda of a non-member state over those of a member.

The systemic anti-Israel bias in the United Nations is found in every corner, from the dozens of member states that refuse to recognize the Jewish State, to the Secretary General himself, who by now has become deeply stained in that toxic sea of anti-Semitism.

Related First One Through articles:

The United States Should NOT be a Neutral Mediator in the Arab-Israel Conflict

The United Nations’ Adoption of Palestinians, Enables It to Only Find Fault With Israel

UN Secretary General Guterres is Losing the Confidence of Decent People

The UN Blesses Turkey’s Anti-Semitism and Terrorism

The UN on the Status of Jerusalem

The UN Cannot See Palestinian ‘Lies and Loathing’

New Head of UNRWA is Another Hamas-Sympathizer Politician

There’s Nothing Worse Than Terrorism in France

Subscribe YouTube channel: FirstOneThrough

Join Facebook group: Israel Analysis and FirstOneThrough

Encourage the 7% and 44% of Palestinians

Posted on by
1

There are many flowery quotes about peace that are aspirational but difficult to achieve if your counterparty cannot recognize anything decent or moral about you. In the face of ongoing terrorism, an approach of “make peace with those who will make peace, and fight those who want to fight you” is appropriate while inelegant.

There are segments of Palestinians society that neither hate nor want to kill Jews and they should be actively engaged and promoted.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) conducted a global poll about anti-Semitism and found that the Arabs of the West Bank and Gaza were by far the most Jew-hating. Approximately 93% of those polled were found to harbor anti-Semitic prejudice.

The Palestinians polled themselves in June 2021 and asked the same question they ask every three months “Are you in favor of armed attacks against Israeli civilians inside of Israel?” Again, the majority of Palestinians, 52% either strongly support or support the idea; 44% opposed attacks.

These two polls are good examples about why the conflict continues: the majority of Palestinian Arabs despise and want to kill Jews.

But an optimist can look at the 7% of Palestinian Arabs who do not harbor anti-Semitic attitudes and the 44% who oppose attacking Jewish civilians and see a hopeful opening. Perhaps this segment of Palestinian society can rise above the systemic Jew-hatred and be partners for peace.

Bassem Eid, a Palestinian human rights activist who opposes BDS and actively engages with Jews to find common areas of trust.

While the Palestinian glass is far from half full, those wishing to see peace in the holy land should consider ways of promoting the sliver of Palestinians who recognize and support the dignity and basic human rights of Jews.

Related First One Through articles:

No One Mentions Actual Palestinians’ Sentiments

Will Palestinians Ever be Taught About the Holocaust?

The NY Times Will Not Write About the Preferred Violence of Palestinians

What the Palestinians Were Thinking While Israelis Were Voting

Thomas Friedman Thinks Palestinians are Crazy in the Margins, While Israel is Crazy in the Mainstream

The Palestinians aren’t “Resorting to Violence”; They are Murdering and Waging War

The Israeli Peace Process versus the Palestinian Divorce Proceedings

Subscribe YouTube channel: FirstOneThrough

Join Facebook group: Israel Analysis and FirstOneThrough

Abbas Failed To Capitalize on Trump’s Gift

Posted on by
12

Not long after Donald Trump assumed the presidency of the United States, he made overtures to the Palestinians in the hopes of brokering a peace deal. He invited the acting-President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, to the White House on May 3, 2017. They discussed tackling terrorism and building economic prosperity for Palestinian Arabs and the promise of working together to build a better future for the region.

Shortly thereafter, on May 23rd, President Trump visited Abbas in Bethlehem and reiterated the need to confront terrorism, “Peace can never take root in an environment where violence is tolerated, funded and even rewarded…. The terrorists and extremists, and those who give them aid and comfort, must be driven out from our society forever.  This wicked ideology must be obliterated — and I mean completely obliterated — and innocent life must be protected.”

Just a week later, Trump handed a peculiar gift to Abbas: on June 1 he removed the Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) from the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

ANO was part of the October 1997 initial class of FTO’s along with HAMAS and Hizbullah. ANO carried out roughly 90 hijackings, assassinations and kidnappings of diplomats, and attacks on synagogues during the period 1974-1992 killing about 300 people to earn the FTO designation. The group targeted people viewed as moderates – including Palestinians – who contemplated the ongoing existence of the Jewish State. When Abu Nidal died in 2002, the group went inactive.

Which begs the question of why Trump took a 15-year defunct group off of the FTO list, right after meeting with Abbas.

Terrorist Sabri al-Banna, better known by his nom de guerre, Abu Nidal

Abbas was (and remains) a very unpopular leader among Palestinian Arabs who have wanted him to resign according to each poll taken over the last many years, with 64% holding such opinion at the time of the Abbas-Trump meeting. Abbas polled to come in third in a theoretical three-candidate presidential race at that time!

So Trump threw Abbas a bone to boost his standing among Palestinians, to demonstrate that he could deliver results with the new U.S. President. It was arguably a meaningless gesture as the group was inactive, but it was symbolic in clearing the name of one of the most radical and notorious Palestinian terrorist groups.

In exchange for the Trump pardon of the ANO, Abbas advanced the idea of stopping the pay-to-slay program in which the PA paid the families of terrorists in Israeli jails. The proposal landed with a thud among the Palestinians, with a nearly unanimous 91% of Palestinians standing opposed to messing with the martyr-moolah.

Things then soured at the United Nations.

Abbas met with Trump on September 20, 2017 and voiced optimism regarding the efforts Trump’s team had made with over 20 meetings with Palestinian officials in the first months in office, but he then launched his habitual screed before the United Nations General Assembly with comments about Israeli Jews living in “East Jerusalem” which will “stir religious animosity and may lead to a violent religious conflict,… playing with fire … drag[ing] us into a religious war. This is dangerous, extremely dangerous for you and us,” in a not so subtle threat of a global jihad against Jews.

Abbas further threatened Jews and insulted Trump by declaring at the end of his speech “I salute our glorious martyrs and our courageous prisoners in Israeli jails,” to appease his Arab base. This embrace of terrorism and public challenge of Trump’s demand to stop rewarding terrorism was too much. Less than three months later, Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish State.

Abbas squandered Trump’s gift of removing an evil jihadist group from the U.S. list of terrorist organizations to gain Palestinian support. Instead, he elected to boost his own jihadi bona fides and stood before the world glorifying Palestinian terrorists who killed Israelis and threatening a global jihad if Jews continued to live in their holiest city of Jerusalem. Trump’s reaction was swift in recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Abbas’s political self-immolation continues to burn to this day.

Related First One Through articles:

The US Recognizes Israel’s Reality

Paying to Murder Jews: From Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Iran to the Palestinian Authority

When Power Talks the Truth

Abbas’ European Audience for His Rantings

Trump Reverses the Carter and Obama Anti-Israel UN Resolutions

The Nerve of ‘Judaizing’ Neighborhoods

I call BS: You Never Recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital

Considering Carter’s 1978 Letter Claiming Settlements Are Illegal

The Palestinian-American You Never Heard Of: Issam Akel

The Time Factor in the Israeli-Arab Conflict

Subscribe YouTube channel: FirstOneThrough

Join Facebook group: Israel Analysis and FirstOneThrough

Proposed Lame-Duck Actions for Israel

Posted on by
4

In the waning days of the Obama-Biden administration, President Obama decided to stick a finger in the eyes of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and all Israelis, breaking with decades of U.S. policy allowing UNSC Resolution 2334 to pass, declaring that Israeli Jews living east of the 1949 Armistice Lines was illegal. The action set the stage for various BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movements of Israel around the world.

Now, as the Trump administration heads into its final days, it is also considering some parting actions, following up on its pro-Israel initiatives according to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Below are some recommendations.

At the United Nations

The hostility towards Israel at the United Nations has not abated. While the United States will not be able to get any pro-Israel items through the UN Security Council, it could set markers for future U.S. administrations.

  • Ending Phrase “occupied East Jerusalem” and “Haram al Sharif”. The UN regularly passes resolutions which are incorrect and insulting to the Jewish State. As all of Greater Jerusalem and Greater Bethlehem were separated in the 1947 UN Partition Plan (which did not pass) and the Jordanian annexation of eastern Jerusalem was illegal, there is no basis for calling the eastern part of the city as “occupied Palestinian territory.” Additionally, only calling Judaism’s most holy location, the Temple Mount, by its Islamic name is insulting. The US should declare that it will automatically oppose any resolution with such flawed verbiage, regardless of the contents of the resolution.
  • Dignity for Jews at the Temple Mount. UN resolutions routinely call for dignity of Palestinians but only security for Jews. They also calls for changing the status quo of Jerusalem but not for the holy sites. This outrage and hypocrisy is disgusting. A call for Jews to be allowed to pray on the Temple Mount at specific times just as the Muslims and Jews share the Cave of the Jewish Patriarchs and Matriarchs in Hebron should be clearly articulated.
  • Biased Supporter of Israel. The Palestinians complain the United States is not a neutral mediator in trying to resolve the conflict. It should not be. Not only is Israel a strong American ally but the Palestinians have not abandoned the incitement and reward for terrorism. Further, until the UN stops singling out Israel in its resolutions, the U.S. should make abundantly clear that it will stand with Israel in the global forum and not pressure Israel into any concessions with the Palestinian Authority.

Refugees

The situation of Palestinian “refugees” going on for generations and not having self-determination must end. It is bad for the Palestinians and is bad for the peace process which cannot move forward as it undermines the very basis of two states for two people.

  • Prepare the Compensation Mechanism. UNGA Resolution 194 which passed in 1948, sought to bring refugees who fled the war back to their homes or compensate them for their losses, provided they were willing to live in peace with Israel. Many wars, intifadas, electing a Holocaust denier to the presidency and a terrorist group to the majority of parliament long sealed the fate of how this would play out. It is time to begin tabulating the compensation for ALL Palestinians who fled from the war (not just those under the UNRWA mandate). Similarly, compensation for the Jews who fled from Arab lands should also be calculated.
  • Demand Self-Determination Now. Every person as a human right to self-determination. The Palestinians who live in refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan (even though almost all of them were born in those countries) should be granted citizenship and full rights in each respective country immediately. The people who live in Gaza, Areas A and B under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority should be able to vote in Palestinian elections, and all people – Jew and Arab – who live in Area C should be allowed to vote in Israel, if and until other dynamics change that administrative equation.
  • Dissolve UNRWA. The unique agency for Palestinians is bloated in terms of funding and personnel compared to the global UNHCR and foments hatred for the Jewish State. It’s duties should be folded into UNHCR immediately and ultimately the need for the group disappears with the actions taken above.

Jerusalem

Jerusalem has been home for the three monotheistic religions for over a thousand years, and only under the Modern State of Israel have all religions been able to live and pray in their holy city.

  • More Jewish homes. While the city has blossomed, it has done so very unevenly. The Arab population continues to grow dramatically (counter to the false claims that Israel is ‘ethnically cleansing’ the city), with the Arab population growing 38% between 2000 and 2010 and then 29% between 2010 and 2018. Meanwhile the Jewish population in the city only grew by 12% and 13% in those time periods, respectively. All of the growth for Jews was from births as there was actually a net migration out of the city of thousands of people (6,000 in 2018 alone) because of limited housing and costs. The US should support the building of additional homes in and around Jerusalem.
Muslim population of 196,900; 272,000; 349,600 and 439,600; 491,800; 555,800 for Jews

Security

Israel has the terrorists group Hezbullah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza at its borders. Iran, the leading state sponsor of terrorism which supports both groups, has threatened to wipe Israel off of the map. The Obama administration gave over $100 billion to Iran and a legal pathway to nuclear weapons threating the survival of Israel.

  • Bunker Busters. The United States is one of the few countries that has the weaponry to blast underground facilities. These armaments should be sold to Israel to enable it to deal with the nuclear facilities in Iran and the missiles in Lebanon.
  • Palestinian Terrorists. The US should make clear that no terrorist group will be allowed in a Palestinian government. Should any group not give up all weapons to the Palestinian Authority and commit to recognize Israel in becoming part of a Palestinian government, the US should cease all aid in all forms to the Palestinians, and label the PA itself a terrorist group.
  • Terrorism in Territories. The State Department under the Obama administration gave scant attention to terrorism that was not committed in Israel proper. Such approach fueled additional terror. It is bad enough when the UN and BBC blame the victims, but the US should make clear that any and all terrorism committed anywhere is appalling and commit to fighting terrorism aggressively, something the Obama administration only did for other countries.

Anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism is found throughout the world both in official laws and in civilian actions. The United States should encourage other countries to join Israel in routing this global scourge.

  • Jews Should Never Be Banned. The world has a long history of placing Jews in ghettoes and determining where they can and cannot live. It’s a disgrace. Israel is not the world’s Pale of Settlement and Jews should be allowed to live and work anywhere. Anti-settlements is anti-Semitism in its core and should be called out as such. The U.S. should call on all governments to condemn the notion of “Judaizing” a neighborhood, regardless of where it is located.
  • Anti-Kosher/Halal and Anti-Circumcision Bills. Many governments are advancing laws targeting Jews and Muslims, making it impossible to live peacefully as neighbors. The U.S. should be a beacon of openness by calling out anti-circumcision and anti-ritual slaughter laws which are thinly-veiled methods of getting rid of Jews and Muslims.

Overall, the Trump administration should recommit to the 2004 President Bush letter to Ariel Sharon which gave Israel assurances to take risks for peace. The formula led Israel to give up Gaza which rapidly became a hotbed for radical Islam and terrorism. There is no chance Israel will take any future actions to make additional concessions to the PA which not only give it moral support but guarantees for its dignity and security.

The politeness of politics catering to anti-Semites has hindered the promotion of Jewish rights for too long. The Trump administration can still take actions to right these historical wrongs.

Related First One Through articles:

How the US and UN can Restart Relations with Israel

The Parameters of Palestinian Dignity

Squeezing Zionism

Anti-“Settlements” is Anti-Semitism

Subscribe YouTube channel: FirstOneThrough

Join Facebook group: Israel Analysis and FirstOneThrough