Stephen Lendman: Israel Signals Hardline Policy Intentions

Observers thinking Palestinians gained from a Pillar of Cloud might think again. Nothing has changed. Hardline Netanyahu policies continue. Expect worse ahead. Palestinian peace, reconciliation and unity advocates are murdered and arrested. Qassem brigades leader Ahmed Jabari negotiated a truce agreement draft. Ways for establishing ceasefires in case of future flare ups were included. Jabari was working with Egypt to establish permanent peace. Israel murdered him to prevent it. Peace, stability, and Palestinian unity defeat its agenda. Conflict and violence are prioritized. Rogue states need enemies to justify policies. Israel's include crimes of war and against humanity. They rage against soft targets. Tougher ones require US intervention. Israel prefers riding shotgun. When enemies don't exist, they're invented. Hamas is a convenient one. So are Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah. Achieving regional hegemony depends on inventing enemies, destroying major ones, and eliminating rivals various ways. Balkanizing some into weak state-lets substitutes for full scale war. Israel's long standing strategy calls for dividing the entire region along ethnic and sectarian lines. It wants easily controlled satellites. In 1982, Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs senior adviser Oded Yinon published "A Strategy for Israel in the 1980s." Longtime Israeli academic, activist, analyst, and outspoken critic Israel Shahak (1933-2001) translated, edited, and retitled it "The Zionist Plan for the Middle East." Israel modeled it after the Ottoman Empire's Millet or nation system. It functioned by letting local authorities govern confessional communities with separate ethnic identities. Israel wants the region ruled this way. Peace and stability defeat its agenda. Great pains are made to prevent them. Jabari was murdered for that reason. Palestinian divisions and besieging Gaza serve the same purpose. On November 21, Israel arrested at least 55 Palestinians. Dozens of others followed. Many were Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Popular Font for the Liberation of Palestine members. Victims committed no crimes.

Alan Hart: The Palestinians' Only Option

In the final countdown to the UN General Assembly vote on recognition of Palestine as a non-member state, the PLO has indicated that it's expecting "a pleasant surprise", it being the number of European countries which will not do Zionism's bidding on this occasion and will vote for the resolution. Victory for the Palestinians in this forum can be taken for granted, and it will help to further isolate the Israel of Netanyahu as a pariah state, but It won't be, can't be, a substitute for a viable strategy to secure justice for the Palestinians. In my analysis the Palestinians now have only one option. For starters, it requires the PLO to recognize and declare that the two state solution is dead, not least because no Israeli prime minister is going to trigger a Jewish civil war in order to end the occupation of the West Bank including East Jerusalem. Then what? The next step should be winding up the Palestinian Authority and handing total responsibility for the occupation back to Israel. That would open the door to what I believe to be the only viable strategy for the Palestinians, if they are ever to obtain justice. With the two state solution not only dead but formally buried, they could then campaign, with glowing global support, for equal rights and security for all in one state. All of pre-1967 Israel plus all the West Bank plus the Gaza Strip. In one or two decades at the most, because the Palestinians would outnumber the Jews, one state would mean the end of Zionism, but it would also open the door to real security for the one state's Jews. As I have previously written and never tire of saying, the Jews are, generally speaking, the intellectual elite of the world, and the Palestinians are by far the intellectual elite of the Arab world. What they could do together in peace and partnership in one state is really the stuff that dreams are made of. They could change the region for the better, and by doing so, give new hope and inspiration to the whole world. As things are, and look like going, and given that the Palestinians are never going to surrender to Zionism's will by accepting crumbs from its table, the only alternative to one state for all is a final Zionist ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

Stephen Lendman: Collaborating With The Enemy!

Previous articles explained Abbas' longtime collaboration with Israel. He sold out long ago for whatever benefits he derives. He's Israel's enforcer. He ill serves and insults Palestinians. His presidency is illegitimate. Israel rigged his 2005 election. In January 2009, his term expired. He is still in office. At least for now, Washington and Israel want him there. He's more stooge than statesman. He's a duplicitous puppet. He replicates fascist Quisling Norway, Vichy France, and other Nazi controlled collaborationist regimes. Instead of serving his people, he betrayed them. He subverts Palestine's liberating struggle. Collaborating with the enemy is treason. Abbas and like-minded Fatah officials are guilty on multiple counts. What did he know and when, about Pillar of Cloud? He knew about Cast Lead in advance. On November 30, 2010, Reuters headlined "Israel says Abbas. Egypt warned on Gaza war, leaks," saying : Ahead of Cast Lead, Israel ''conferred with the Western backed Palestinian leadership and with Egypt" Leaked US diplomatic cables quoted a senior Israeli official confirming it. Haaretz reported the same thing. Mubarak and Abbas were briefed in advance. Haaretz said "Israel tried to coordinate the Gaza war with the Palestinian authority." Wiki Leaks released US diplomatic cables confirming it. In June 2009, months before Cast Lead, Israeli Defense Minister Barak met with US congressional members. He also "consulted with Egypt prior to Operation Cast Lead, asking if they were willing to assume control of Gaza once Israel defeated Hamas." He "received negative answers from both." Previous leaked information reported the same thing. Wiki Leaks provided "the first documented proof." Abbas denied getting advance word. He lied. Mubarak said nothing either way. Reuters said Abbas "urged Israel to crush Hamas during the war." Avigdor Lieberman held ministerial positions under Sharon and Ehud Olmert. In April 2009, he became Netanyahu's Foreign Minister.     

The Economist: After the Ceasefire An Old DAWN!

In the first light of the first day of the ceasefire, Gazans filed to mourning ceremonies postponed because of the bombing. In the garden outside the bedroom of Faris Bassioun, aged nine, killed in his sleep by the shrapnel of three Israeli missiles that ploughed into the neighboring orchard. Now olive trees are charred and twisted. Lemons lie on the ground, roasted and black from the blast. "Don't give us a six year ceasefire, give us a hundred," cries Hanan Shabat,, the mother of three children, who are now in hospital in Beit Hanoun, in north east Gaza, after shrapnel smashed into their bedroom. "What's the point of raising my child only to be killed when he's 11?" she says, crouched on a sofa littered with glass shards. The clean up has already begun. Worshipers hover over the thick cream carpets of the Istiqama mosque, whose walls were toppled by the blast, and Hamas guards are already back at their posts, entering the passport details of those coming in and out into their computers. "We have won the freedom to move," said one. "That is our victory." Hamas cadres have particular reason to celebrate. For over six years, Israel, the region and western powers, led by the United States, hahe tried to bypass the movement that won the 2006 elections. Unlike the ceasefire that ended Israel's 2009 offensive, its terms include an end to Israeli incursions and the restoration of civilian life, in what Israel calls its buffer zone. Hillary Clinton promised to help Gaza, without insisting that the aid go through the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. No one mentioned the conditions laid down by the quartet of America, Russia,, the European Union and the UN for dealing with Hamas. Israel, backed by the US, demonstrated its military superiority once again.    

Michael Shrimpton: The Coup In Cairo!

The Arab Spring is over. Perhaps we should now be talking about the Arab Fall, in more senses than one. I do not believe that Hillary Clinton knew about the coup in advance. While we have our political differences, she is both the nicer and smarter of the Clintons,and her commitment to democracy is undoubtedly genuine. She is bound to have misgivings over Morsi's seizure of plenary power in Cairo, which has echoes of the seizure of power by Germany's Colonel, perhaps it should have been "Oberst' Nasser. I am less sanguine about Obama. I suspect he green lighted the coup. There is too much US taxpayers cash propping up Egypt for Morsi not to have cleared the coup in advance with the White House. The proof of the pudding, as we say in England, will be the eating. If US cash is withdrawn, then we will know that the Obama White House is serious about democracy in the Middle East. With Iraq now an Iranian client state, the coup leaves Israel as once again the only functioning democracy in the region. Say what you like about those nice chaps President George W Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, (and many have) their commitment to bringing democracy to the Middle East was genuine. They would not have stood by while Syria slid into civil war, nor would they have backed off Libya, as Obama did, presumably in the hope that Gaddafi could hang on. Obama's apparent support for the coup will have sent a shock wave throughout the Middle East. The coup would have taken some time to plan, and was clearly backed by Germany. The silence from the EU has been deafening. It looks as though Morsi agreed the timing of the stepped up rocket assault on Israel with both Hamas and Obama, the idea being that an Egyptian brokered "hudna" would provide diplomatic cover for his seizure of power. I respectfully agree with Egypt's senior judiciary that the powers Morsi has taken are unprecedented. He has promised to hand them back, but then so did Hitler, Mussolini and Nasser. Will Jordan be next?     

Richard Becker: Gaza Ceasefire: Palestine Holds Strong!!

A ceasefire agreement between the Hamas led Palestinian government in Gaza and Israel was announced today, Nov 21, in Cairo by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr. Clinton made an emergency trip to the Middle East with the aim of brokering a truce, a clear sign of the Obama administration's fears that the continuation of the brutal Israeli assault on Gaza was endangering US imperialist interests in the region. Since Israel's latest intense bombing campaign began last week, Clinton, President Obama, and Republican and Democratic congressional leaders have repeatedly expressed all out support for the Israeli side, while pointedly ignoring far higher Palestinian casualties. The House of Representatives "passed" a resolution expressing its "unwavering commitment" to Israel. House Resolution 813 was introduced at 12:04 pm on Nov. 16, and declared adopted at 12:04 pm on the same day! Since Nov. 14, at least 146 Palestinians have been killed, more than 1,000 wounded, and much of Gaza's infrastructure and public facilities destroyed by a coordinated air, sea and land based bombardment. On the Israeli side, there have been five killed, and more than 100 wounded. To hear US officials talk, you would think it was the other way around, but despite their obscenely pro Israel rhetoric, it was also clear that Washington was fearful that a new Israeli ground invasion of Gaza might provoke rebellions in Egypt, Jordan and other neighboring Arab countries, and possibly lead to a wider war. Despite the death and destruction inflicted by Israel, and despite the fact that it has no air force, navy, armored units or anti aircraft defenses, the Palestinian forces have not been defeated. Virtually all news reports from inside Gaza reflect a strong determination to resist among the population. The terms of the temporary agreement reportedly call for a halt to the fighting, an end to Israeli targeted assassinations of Palestinian leaders, and undefined steps to lift the Israeli blockade that has inflicted massive suffering on the 1.6 million Palestinians in Gaza.

Prof. James F. Tracy: When Propaganda Masquarades as News

The week long Israeli onslaught against largely defenseless Palestinians in Gaza that began on November 14 provides a basis for assessing how Western corporate media whitewash the war crimes of America's foremost ally in the Middle East. There are three often intertwined techniques consciously applied to such news coverage historical context, sourcing, and objectification of the enemy to be targeted. Such practices can readily transform journalism into propaganda that acts to abet such crimes, while at the same time allowing journalistic institutions to still claim the mantle of objectivity. Such methods are on full display in the reportage of Israel's most recent operation in Gaza. The use of such propaganda fits within a broader campaign of media disinformation that subdues potential outrage, particularly in the US over Israel's overwhelming use of force against an oppressed and vulnerable people, most of whom are civilians. Meaningful historical context for understanding Israel's aggression is almost entirely absent from most Western news coverage of the event. If present, such context would illuminate Israeli government officials true motivations for a military venture that involved 750 airstrikes in four days alone. Operation Pillar of Defense, Nile Bowie observes. Launched just months away from Israel's elections, is a calculated component of the Netanyahu governments strategy to topple Hamas and continue absorbing Palestinian territory. Decades of occupation and apartheid have shaped the current scenario. Israel has dehumanized an entire people by seizing their land, and forcing them into prison like ghettoe's. Adherents to political Zionism have shown contempt for a genuine political solution to the Palestinian conflict, and the Netanyahu administration is poised to crush all opposition to the Jewish state. Major Western media focused instead on the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) November 14 assassination of Hamas leader and Palestinian hero Ahmed al Jabari, while blatantly omitting the fact that he was also a major figure in negotiations for a long term truce between Hamas and Israel, freshly brokered by Egypt.