Will The Genuine Fatah Kindly Step Forward...
Well, which is it to be? A force for good in the region, advancing the cause of the Palestinian people? Granting them through the good graces of honest efforts to come to an agreement with Israel an opening for the establishment of a sovereign land to embrace all Palestinians? Or drag on forever and a day, the grudge-enmity of a people wronged, bereft of what was theirs, determined to obliterate all hope for the future in orchestrated violence.Kindly stand up, authentic Fatah...
This very day honours the 90th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, the first recognition on the international stage of the Zionist yearnings for the world Jewish diaspora to return to its beginnings. And where, in that holy land, they hoped to secure a refuge of safety for all Jews. This, at a time when Britain acted as a colonial occupier-of-the-moment in the region.
The Declaration itself came in the form of a promissory letter addressed to Lord Walter Rothschild from the British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour. To convey official recognition from the Government of Great Britain to the World Zionist Movement. Subsequently approved by the British Cabinet in 1917, the text was humanitarian, responsible, clear and concise.
"His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country."
Clearly, a landmark decision in favour of a need to be filled; the eventual creation of a modern Jewish homeland. Clearly also cognizant of the rights to be protected of all residents of the area, Jews and non-Jews. As the world is aware, when the State of Israel was declared a legal entity and a reality by a majority vote in the United Nations, neighbouring Arab states were ready to respond.
There has never been a moment's peace in the region since the formation of sovereign Israel.
Even now terror groups throughout the Middle East name that occasion as a black one, a blot on the honour of Islam. Fatah-linked terrorists in Gaza refer to "the evil Balfour declaration", and have celebrated the occasion of the anniversary by firing off hundreds of rockets at the border town of Sderot, along with other Jewish towns in the western Negev.
Not to be left out of the picture Hamas is attempting to lure Fatah-linked militant factions back into an alliance, to set up a joint command centre within Gaza. The very Fatah militants whom they routed and murdered during their seizure of the Gaza Strip are now being courted by Hamas. And why not, since they avow a common enemy, a common purpose; to destroy any and all elements allied with Israel.
This, while the PA security force, newly trained and equipped by the U.S. is being deployed in the terrorist cess-pit of Shechem. Considered a test for the Palestinian Authority to allay any suspicions it is not serious about its obligation toward searching for a peaceful resolution, and reaching a settlement which will benefit his people, it will be of great interest to onlookers to see whether this security force will prove its reliability and effectiveness mettle.
The maintenance of law and order in the territories is long overdue. Without which order, halting the continued border attacks, the IDF cannot withdraw its protective presence, and serious talks to effect serious and long-lasting agreements cannot commence.
This dedicated security force, trained and armed for that purpose of establishing order in the territories will be tasked with subduing its dedicated terror-militia counterparts. Skeptics can be forgiven for holding their breath, given that scores of Fatah members formerly serving as PA security officers in Gaza have abandoned their posts in favour of joining the al-Qaeda-devoted Army of Islam.
Should the newly-debuted U.S. trained-and-armed security force prove its resourceful determination in installing an atmosphere of order where none now exists, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas would be given the green light in his demands that Israel withdraw its forces and remove security roadblocks which have been the successful instruments of suicide-bombing apprehensions.
And then there is the issue of PA factions meeting in Damascus with Iran's foreign minister to confer about the possible outcome of the MidEast summit to take place in the U.S. Present at the meeting were Hamas and Islamic Jihad elite, as well as PA officials. Integrity among passionate jihadists? PA officials? A cautionary triumvirate of purpose between Syria, Iran and the terrorist factions they so generously fund?
"We don't know what is happening in the Gaza Strip," said a senior Fatah official in Ramallah. "Ever since the Hamas coup last June, we have no idea what's happening on the ground." Well, do they know what is happening elsewhere? Say, for example, in those areas in the West Bank where Fatah enjoys complete control? What, for example, about the latest music video appearing on Fatah's PA television?
The one that promises the elimination of Israel? That holds out the promise that the "Arab identity" will be restored in centres throughout Israel, when it is no more. This sounds nothing quite like what Mahmoud Abbas has been stating in support of the upcoming multinational peace conference in Maryland. For foreign consumption the PA continues its demands for a two-state solution to the current impasse.
Right on target and reflective of business as usual in the MidEast, all of Israel is referred to as "Palestine" in Arabic statements, along with the promise of Israel's timely demise. For, as the message continually broadcast asserts, Palestine will be "liberated", its Arab Palestinian identity restored.
Hello, Fatah...are you there?
Labels: Middle East, Political Realities, Terrorism
posted by Pieface @ Friday, November 02, 2007
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