The fundamentalist, right-wing, extremist led government of Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, does not stop talking about peace, and how, unlike the Palestinians, Israel is not placing obstacles “in the path of peace”.
Netanyahu, and former Kach movement member (A terrorist group by Israeli definition), Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, along with other officials, are trying to convince the world that Israel and its actions do not jeopardize the “peace process”, and cast the blame on the Palestinians.
Well, nothing new in that, Israel previously declared former President, Yasser Arafat, as an obstacle to peace, and confined him in his headquarters in Ramallah until his death.
But to remain in the present time, Israel declared tenders for the construction of hundreds of units of Jewish-only settlements in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
In Israel’s view, this new projects are only “housing projects” that fall under the so-called Israel’s right to building residencies for its (Jewish) population.
When Netanyahu comes to the United States, elected officials and legislators in the country can’t help but keep standing up for the guy while clapping after every sentence he utters, just like what a Robot would do when it follows the commands of its master.
Netanyahu and his government are challenging the entire world, the United Nations, and even the Fourth Geneva convention, continuing their offensives and the ongoing illegal construction and expansion of settlements in occupied Palestine.
It seems that every year when the United States sends Israel more than $3.6 Billion (not even mentioning the hundreds of millions in private donations) it forgets about International Law, and ignores its own claimed beliefs is justice and human rights.
The arrogance of the Israeli government, the biting of the hand that feeds it, should not strike you as odd, as consecutive Israeli government got to learn first-hand that they can dictate the policies of the White House and the government, and still get the money.
When a person like Netanyahu, or his body Lieberman, talk about peace, they really mean it; they want peace, but it seems that in Israel’s dictionary peace means Israel having its way, violating and challenging International Law, committing War Crimes, and telling the world that Tel Aviv is seeking peace, peace that ignores the legitimate Right of Return of the Palestinian refugees, and the right to real freedom and liberty.
Peace for Israel means its claimed right to construct and expand Jewish-only settlements in occupied Palestine, and of course maintaining control over borders, natural resources, and rejecting the Internationally guaranteed right of return of the Palestinian refugees.
While Israel is building its illegal colonies in occupied East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, and while its settlers are diving in their swimming pools, the Palestinians have to put up with the ongoing water shortage. They are being pushed to accept Israel’s version of peace, and to remain confined in ghettoes surrounded by the illegal Annexation Wall and settlements, and isolated from their farmlands and orchards.
It seems that Netanyahu and his government speak in different tongues; they tell the United States, the European Union, and the rest of the world that they want peace, and are seeking peace, and when addressing the settlement movement, and Zionists, they speak of more settlements and more theft of Palestinian lands.
Netanyahu has been pushing his “vision of peace” or what he called economic peace, which simply means giving the Palestinians some of the economic freedom Israel stole from them, while keeping Israel’s grip on all other aspects; in other words, strangling the Palestinians but keeping them on life support so they live under the mercy of Israel.
The main achievement of the so-called peace process was granting Israel all the time it needs, and the political strength, to conduct its largest settlement projects, and one of the widest campaigns targeting Palestinian orchards and farmlands, the hills and the meadows; and above all keeping the Palestinians on a short leash, a leash that can be tightened whenever Israel wants.
It is not strange that a person like Netanyahu is now talking about a two-state solution; he has nothing to lose, with Israel’s ever-growing borders on the expense of the Palestinians and their land, why should he or any Israeli leader rush to a final-status peace agreement, at least not now, and not in the near future.
But, the fact that the State of Israel was built on the ruins of Palestinian villages and towns, destroyed and depopulated by terrorist groups such as the Hagana, tells us that this colonial project loves nothing more than wasting time in fruitless peace talks; time is one of the main life-support systems Israel strives on.
A significant number of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem were either built or largely expanded in the nineties, during “the grace period” when the International Community was busy talking about the emerging prospects of peace in the Middle East amidst the launched peace talks.
Before this “process” moved forward, Israel demanded the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) to recognize it and its right to exist, and the PLO sure did, but not single Israeli government made any sort of official legislation and recognition of the Palestinian right to full independence and statehood.
Yet, we recently started hearing Israeli leaders, including Netanyahu, talking about a Palestinian state, of course a state that fits Israel’s description, but never an official recognition of this state yet.
Consecutive Israeli governments spoke about Peace, but they all continued their illegal occupation of Palestine, and continued their illegal construction and expansion of their colonies.
But now, it seems that Israel is not satisfied with the Palestinian recognition of it and its right to exist in peace security, therefore, Netanyahu and his extremist coalition partners are demanding a Palestinian recognition of Israel as a “Jewish State”.
The whole issue here is not about religion, or about Judaism, as Jews managed to live in peace and harmony in Palestine, and the Arab world, before the Zionist movement emerged and set its goals to occupy Palestine, and remove its indigenous Arab population.
The United States, Israel, and their allies frequently talk about Palestinian terrorism, dubbing every act of resistance as an act of terror, and of course citing suicide bombings as an example, suicide bombings that were never approved by the majority of the Palestinian people, and only started in 1994, while Israel’s occupation, and crimes, started dozens of years before that date, even before Israel was established in Palestine.
For instance, Theodore Herzl, the founder of the World Zionist Organization, said on June 12, 1895, while describing the Arabs in Palestine, ‘Spirit the penniless population across the frontier by denying it employment… Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly.’
In May 1948, David Ben-Gurion, stated ‘We must use terror, assassination, intimidation, land confiscation, and the cutting of all social services to rid the Galilee of its Arab population.’ (Ben-Gurion; A Biography, by Michael Ben-Zohar, Delacorte, New York 1978).
Ben-Gurion was Israel’s first Prime Minister; he held several posts in Zionist organizations, especially when he held the position of the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization in 1946, two years before Israel was established in the historic land of Palestine.
Peace is possible, we should all work to achieve this peace, Jews and Arab lived in peace before Zionism took over, and they can live in peace again, but there can be no peace, no lasting and comprehensive peace, without justice; we should work to achieve Justice, and once there, the path for peace will be clear.
Israel must understand that building peace cannot happen by building illegal settlements, and while maintaining an ugly and criminal occupation in Palestine.
Let us build peace based on justice, human rights, equality and international legitimacy.
