| Israel: Arafat is officially deportable |
I was watching a fascinating documentary about sept.11 on TV when I heard the surprising news - the Israeli government declared Arafat deportable (’Bar Gerush’ was the Hebrew term the israeli news used). It doesn’t mean he will be deported now, or later or at all. But it does says the Israeli government doesn’t need to discuss the issue again and that the army needs to prepare operational plans for/if the moment the government decides to do so.
I was surprised cause I was sure the common sense and the American pressure will prevail. But turns out that when a right-wing government is elected, even if the PM proves to be responsible, the other ministers are still plain extreme-right morons.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think Arafat is an angel. I keep arguing myself there could never be progress towards peace as long as the old shmuk still stays in the PA. Arafat isn’t the only source of evil in the PA but he’s certainly the biggest. So, if I do think all these things about Arafat why am I against the declaration?
Cause this declaration is plain and simple one of the most stupid ways to do something right. Yes, Arafat needs to be kicked out of anything connected with the conflict. The best ever solution for both sides is to see him die of some natural cause - and sooner the better. But unless he would do us all a favor and drop dead, we have to handle him smart. First, we’re obviously not going to deport him now. So this declaration is going to cause a lot of fuss without any reason. We’re not scaring anyone here, either, since Israel been voicing this option for so long everyone took it in account anyway. This declaration should also have been made after some serious error Arafat had done (and god knows there are plenty of these lately). But not when they are trying to create a new government. puppet one or not.
Also, please note that in addition to the objection of the Americans (which shouldn’t and aren’t taken lightly) even our head of Shabak (the Internal Secret Service) is strongly against it. He says that as long as Arafat is here he indeed undermining any peace effort but we’re able to watch him closely. We tap his phone calls, we know who visits him by the cellphone signatures, and we can always siege the Mukataa (his office) and hold him hostage if we need. Once he’s out wondering in the world he will still do all the damage he’s doing right now but we would not be able to watch him as closely as we can when he’s here. And I totally accepts this. Arafat damages both Israelis and Palestinians as long as he lives and acts, whether he’s in the PA or hosted as a king in some terror supporting country like Syria, Libya or France. At least here we can put a close eye on him.
So, what would be a better way to do it? Well, first, undermine him. Don’t make public declarations (certainly not ones which are not going to be applied soon) but keep acting. Keep doing targeted killing (more accurate ones, please!). Keep tracking down terrorist. Keep working on world public opinion so Arafat will have a very hard time getting anywhere when he’ll finally be deported. It’s better to act smart then to ‘declare justice’.
And one last word against an even more idiotic statement I’ve heard from some our ministers. Arafat should not be killed by us!!! How can I stress this enough? SHOULD NOT BE KILLED BY US!!!
Of course I think his death could bring only bliss to this conflict but we cannot - we must not - be responsible for it. it will throw the region to just another long period of havoc if we will. Making him a martyr. Arafat is their hero. Their president. A legendary figure. He can sends thousands of them to pointless death, he can even kick them, step, spit and pee on them (as he keeps doing) and they will still look up to him. If we want to get peace with these people (and we do) we need to play the game. We need to neutralize him, allowing him to die old, miserable, alone and powerless. Not give him the death of a hero he so wishes.
This is why I think this declaration is bad and foolish and will only damage Israel. You, of course, are entitled to express other opinions.
Some links: Ynet (Hebrew), Ynet (arabic), CNN, Google news list of sources.
10 Comments so far
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I was directed to this article on the Jerusalem Post twice already.
So for the record - I also object this article completely.
My point isn’t that arafat should be out of the picture. My point is that he’s a hero of a people we want (eventually) to make peace with. You can’t kill a leader of a people and say "ok, now we can make peace!". What would be if that palestinians will kill Sharon and say - "ok, now we’re ready to stop terror!" ? Would we buy it?
That’s my point. We need to make Arafat outcast. to drain him from all his powers. To make sure that when we WILL kick him out of here he won’t have anywhere to go. Certainly not in Europe. We need to act smart. Use politics and the secret services. A LOT of the secret services.
Any other action is just being plain stupid.
I couldn’t agree more…this has already been handled poorly, and if they actually follow through and expell him it will make matters so much worse. I am biting my nails as I wait to see how this unfolds…this week, even for me who is not in the thick of it and can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like, has been intensely stressful. And I am admittedly terrified at how ugly things may get.
Israel has always been better at taking the higher ground and not stooping to Palestinian tactics. Killing him or expelling him would only make him more powerful and that’s the last thing Israel needs.
Israel is better than that and must rise to the difficult occasion.
I understand Israel’s extreme frustration, but this is no time to lose it’s cool, and react in a manner it may regret.
Any course of action taken must be very well thought out, and very calculated. Decisions must not be made based on emotion…think with the head, and not heart.
Time, patience, and planning.
Let the Palestinians make the mistakes and foolish (and rash) decisions…and let them hang themselves with them.
Dear Civax,
Please join with us and bloggers around the world in supporting the Iranian people against a brutal fanatic terrorist clerical regime that continues to support terror and make problems for not only peace but also for American soldiers and others who are trying to assist the Iraqi people!
Join BLOG-IRAN at http://www.activistchat.com/blogiran and help free the Iranian people… LETS BE THE VOICE when everyone else is SILENT!
In Unity & Struggle,
Haleh
Civax-
If I am ever in a beer brawl, I sure hope you are not my only back-up. Wow, you covering my back with your outstanding logic.
Lets see.. Arafat dead… bliss..Israel killes him…region in havoc. So what? What is going to happen, Jews butchered in the streets? Oh wait, they already have. Well Arabs will hate you? Oops , they already do, refer to Jews butchered in the streets. The Palistinians will target your women and children? Oops, they ALREADY DO! Refer to Jews butchered in the streets by jihadists bombers.
Protecting women and children is the States main purpose for being. Leathal force can and should be used to save lives. If the state does not, why should the terrorists and their leaders stop their reign of terror.
You give moral legitimacy to Yassir Arrafat by saying Israel should not dispose of him. Big mistake. Arafat alive=Jews Dead. Ilearned that from your friends in the USA. They were the idiots protesting the upcoming liberation of Iraq in the streets carrying signs saying BUSH = Hitler. Do not fall into an idiot trap, innocents will die, refer to Jews being slaughtered in the streets.
Cheers from San Francisco
TW
Hi Todd.
Well, I’m sure familiar with the feeling you describe. And I’m not saying Arafat is a saint or anything, as it’s pretty clear from my post.
To be clear: I do not think Arafat should be immune or anything and as I said, if he’ll drop dead from illness or internal assassination that would be a huge leap that would benefit both us and the Palestinians. But since we want peace at some point with these people, we must calculate our steps.
I refuse to give up and to think that’s the only way I can live here. Death leading to more death. I want some peace and quiet. I want to live a normal life. I’m not optimistic, that’s true, since Israel been trying many times already to get a peace agreement working and I do believe it is mostly Palestinian fault for such a thing never happening. But I refuse to stop trying. The only alternative is more of the same. Death. On both sides.
Not that I think Israel should stop fighting terror, don’t get me wrong. If the Palestinians are not going to control their terror groups Israel should and will capture and kill every one of those murders (freedom fighters my ass) But you can’t fight without having a goal. And that targeted goal should dictates your offensive. Fighting without a goal leads no where but to more fighting and death. So I say we should fight but look at the greater target, which is a true peace (opposing everything the Palestinians meant so far).
If you look at that great goal, I believe you’ll see this declaration is pretty stupid response. It would have been even better if this declaration would have been followed by an actual deportation of Arafat. Say, if all this happens after a serious error of Arafat. That would have been better. But just declaring it, after no concrete world-published offensive action by Arafat (and god know these never stop happening!) - then it would have been better then just declaring and doing nothing really.
Also, you need to think where this idiot can do less damage. I (and the internal secret services) claim that he’s doing less damage in the PA then traveling the world. That’s the basic point.
The whole thing is an incredibly tough call, let’s face it. That’s why nothing has been fully decided yet.
The world still remembers Arafat as having won the Nobel Peace Prize in ‘94, so he can’t be ALL that bad in their eyes. Remember, the media skews reports, so Israel is always looking bad. It’s up to Israel to rise above the bad press.
Expelling him would give him freedom he hasn’t had in a long time. And do you really want him taking tours of other Arab countries and drumming up support? It would be much easier for him to do that when he’s out and about and not stuck in Ramallah. No arab leader really wants to come see him because they could be accused later of having a hand in things, so isolating really does have a fair amount of impact on what he can do and support he can gain.
If you expel him the Palestinians will go even crazier than they are now, if that’s even possible. The world will frown on Israel, as they have already indicated, and they will lose much needed support. Like it or not, some of those opinions count and support helps.
And it’s safe to say that if Israel tries to expel him he will put on a huge and dramatic firefight, and if he dies he will die a martyr and he still wins.
Yes, dropping dead would be a nice thing, but even then the Palestinians would blame it on Israel (have you seen the Brad Pitt/Robert Redford movie, Spy Game? they try to assasinate a leader, but make it look like a natural death).
The damn situation doesn’t have an easy answer. We just have to hope that the leaders of Israel take the time to weigh all the pros and cons carefully and recognize the full consequences of any decision.
Civax-
Interesting response. You and all of Israel want peace and the Palistinians want to drive you and the Jews into the sea. Remember peace must be wanted by all sides in the struggle, war only needs one. Look at where your calculation has got you. Jihad bombers killing you in your restaurants, bars and buses.
You want to fight the terrorists, well Arafat is their leader. Time to face facts. Fighting without a goal is what Israel has been doing for the last three years during the Mohamoud Al Dura intifada that Arafat unleashed in 2000. 800 dead Jews later and people are still talking about the peace process. Why would you want a peace that has killed 800 of your fellow citizens? I do not understand.
It is pathetic that your leaders look to Europe for help with Arafat and terrorism. Ah, they were the same people who stood by and watched Nazis take away and kill 6,000,000 Jews. Who cares what the World says, they have never protected you Jews.
When you were three or four, your country defied the world and bombed the Iraqi nuclear plant. Well it is time to defy the world again and kill Arafat. May Sharon care more for God and Israel than he does world opinion. Protection should come first. Kill the terrorist leaders, watch your quality and peace of life increase. Death does not have to lead to death. I am America, look at Japan and Germany, from death to life and a great friend to the USA. But it only happened when we killed the leaders that were committed to war with us.
I wish you luck my friend. "I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice and moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." (Barry Goldwater, 1964, San Fransico) It is time to roll. PA and PLO and all their minions need to flee or die.
From San Francisco
TW
Does anyone else thing Arafat and Ringo Starr look like twins ?
I would be very offended from what you just said if I was Ringo…
I agree with Rebecca. When Arafat dies Israel will be blamed. Even if he dies of natural causes, they will say the Mossad did it. When that happens, he will become a martyr and all hell will break loose.
So really, in my opinion, it’s just a question of timing when this happens. I think only the Israeli’s can decide if it’s better to wait, or accelerate the process. But I can see good reasons for both alternatives.
-Stew