Current Affairs Palestinian Elections
- Thread starter BigMick
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I don't generally like drawing equivalence between them but both peoples have been hideously failed by their leaders down the years.
Scenes in Lod are deeply concerning and fairly unprecedented.
BigMick
Player Valuation: £20m
Yes they are deeply worrying but not quite unprecedented. Last I remember was in late 2000 when there was similar intercommunal violence. This, though, is already worse and has the potential to spiral even further. As your previous post points out, it can also be blamed on the lack of leadership, from politicians on all sides: Israeli, Palestinian and Israeli Arab.
Islamist Mansour Abbas the only Arab MK with the courage to speak out. His party, Ra'am, are the closest legal party in Israel to Hamas.
“We are beginning to see that things are developing in very dangerous directions, as peaceful popular demonstrations have turned into direct clashes which threaten the lives and safety of our youth. I ask you all to assume responsibility, act with wisdom, abide by public order and the law, and preserve your life and the lives of all citizens without exception."
The silence of other leaders shames them.
The Arab and Jewish party Hadash issued a statement: “We support joint demonstrations by Jews and Arabs, against the occupation and the attack on Gaza, but resolutely reject the attempts to lynch, burn property and houses of worship, and any harm to civilians," Jews and Arabs.”
Meretz MK Essawi Freij rightly called for Arab and Jewish leaders to head to the streets and seek to establish calm. "Now, please, it's not too late. Go out and make your voices heard."
Abbas appeared with Ayman Odeh, the leader of the Arab Joint List on Arabic-language radio to call for Palestinian youth not to attack people or property and to tell Palestinian citizens of Israel to stay home so as not to be attacked.
Most Jewish politicians have eventually condemned the violence.
Netenyahu: “I don’t care if your blood is boiling. So it’s boiling. It’s irrelevant. You can’t take the law into your own hands. You can’t come to an Arab civilian and try to lynch him, just as we can’t see Arab citizens do so to Jewish citizens. This will not stand.”
Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef put out a statement imploring Jews not to turn violent against Arab citizens"
“Innocent Israeli civilians are attacked by terror organisations, the blood runs hot and our hearts are outraged, the scenes are difficult to watch. But we mustn’t be dragged to provocations and to hurting people or harming property."
He added that the Torah does not permit one to take the law into one’s own hands. “The work of restoring order must be left to police. We must be a light unto the nations, and not, God forbid, the opposite.”
Sickening times.
BigMick
Player Valuation: £20m
If there is a sliver of good news in the present situation it is that the calls by Hamas and others for a 3rd intifada on the West Bank have so far failed. The emphasis, though, is on the words 'so far'. There have been some incidents and these are being reported in glowing terms by the Hamas controlled media in Gaza, followed by incitements to extend the violence.
Yesterday my wife and I spoke with relatives and friends in Jericho and elsewhere in the West Bank and they all said the same thing, that most people are getting on with their everyday lives, but that it's very tense and frightening. IDF and PA security nervous and on edge; people saddened, frustrated and angry. Their concern is the longer this goes on the more chance there is of an incident happening which could cause the situation to explode, just as we've seen elsewhere.
Yesterday my wife and I spoke with relatives and friends in Jericho and elsewhere in the West Bank and they all said the same thing, that most people are getting on with their everyday lives, but that it's very tense and frightening. IDF and PA security nervous and on edge; people saddened, frustrated and angry. Their concern is the longer this goes on the more chance there is of an incident happening which could cause the situation to explode, just as we've seen elsewhere.
BigMick
Player Valuation: £20m
I know some people have linked the present tragic situation to the potential evictions in Sheikh Jarrah. To help those that don't know much about it but are interested, here is some history and how it is seen from the Jewish viewpoint, as far as I can understand, although I am no expert in property law or Israeli law.
1876 - Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire. Two Jewish committees of Jerusalem, the committee of the Sephardic community and its Ashkenazi counterpart, paid 16,000 francs for a plot of land around the tomb of Shimon the Righteous, a Jewish High Priest from around 300BC. Shortly after the purchase, a small Jewish village was established on part of the land.
1946 - Two Jewish organizations, Va’ad Eidat HaSfaradim and Va’ad HaKlali L’Knesset Yisrael, register the land with British Mandatory government.
1948 - Foundation of the State of Israel. The establishment of an Arab state - Palestine - was rejected and the Arab League declared war on the fledgling Israeli state. As well as local Palestinian militia, the armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, plus forces from Saudi Arabia and Yemen invaded on May 15th, the day after the establishment of Israel, with the intent to obliterate the new state. They failed, but Egypt captured the Gaza Strip, later annexing it, and Jordan, through the efforts of the British-led Arab Legion, captured East Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, annexing it and renaming it the West Bank. All Jews living in East Jerusalem were either killed by Arab Legion, or expelled. That included the owners of the property in what is now Sheikh Jarrah, then known as Shimon HaTzadik.
Following the war Israel's Custodian for Absentee Property took possession of property that was now in Israel and had been owned by anyone who was in the years 1948-50 residing in enemy states (or land they controlled). Jordan's Custodian of Enemy Property did the same in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Both Custodians sought to divest themselves of as much abandoned property as quickly as possible. In urban settings, both Israel and Jordan were keen to use abandoned property for the resettlement of refugees. There were political aspects to this, but mostly this was a practical response to the massive waves of refugees both countries absorbed after 1948.
In most places, this meant that title to abandoned property transferred to new owners. In this manner, much formerly Jewish property in East Jerusalem was transferred by Jordan's custodian to Arabs and much Arab property in West Jerusalem was transferred by Israel to Jews. Jordan transferred custody over all Jewish-owned property to the Jordanian Custodian of Enemy Property. In accordance with the British legislation on enemy property on which the Jordanian law was based, Jordan’s sequestration of enemy property only extinguished owners’ rights completely if the state seized title by eminent domain or if the Custodian transferred title to someone else. Importantly, in the case of the Sheikh Jarrah properties, the Jordanian Custodian did not transfer ownership of the properties to anyone else. Instead, the Custodian leased some of the properties to Palestinian Arabs (the predecessors in title to the current tenants). The properties were still held by the Jordanian Custodian when Jordan lost the territory in 1967.
1956 - the Jordanian government and the UN built 28 homes on the land in Sheikh Jarrah intended for Palestinian refugees.
1967 - Arab armies try again to destroy Israel - Israel captures the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. The Muslim population in Jerusalem is 54,963 - in 2016 it was 319,800.
Following this Israel passed a law that allows Jews whose families had been forced out of their homes by the Jordanians or the British to regain control of their family homes if they could provide proof of ownership and the current residents could not provide proof of a valid purchase or transfer of title.
1972 - Va’ad Eidat HaSfaradim and Va’ad HaKlali L’Knesset Yisrael reclaimed their ownership with the Israeli Custodian of Absentee Property. Occupants ordered to pay rent - they didn't.
1982 - The Palestinian residents of the property – including the parents and grandparents of some of the current occupants – signed an agreement confirming that the Israeli NGOs were the rightful owners.
2003 - The two Israeli NGOs sold the land to the Nahalat Shimon American-based settler organisation. The Palestinians occupying the dwelling were nevertheless allowed to continue living there and enjoyed “Protected Residents” status. However, by law, the tenants were required to pay rent to Nahalat Shimon. It was only after the Palestinian residents refused to do so — and in some cases illegally expanded the property and rented out spaces to third parties — that Nahalat Shimon initiated eviction proceedings.
In court it was found that three of the appellants are the children and grandchildren of residents who acknowledged the ownership of the Israeli organisations in court proceedings in 1982.
Four of the appellants claim to have purchased the properties in 1991 - 19 years after the properties were registered under the Israeli groups - from a man named “Ismail.” However, they were unable to identify “Ismail,” nor were they able to prove that they had indeed purchased the properties from this person.
One appellant represents the estate of a deceased former resident. In 2009, the Court determined that she had not paid rent as required, had built illegally on the property, and therefore could be evicted.
In October 2020, the Magistrate Court rejected the residents’ claim that the property had been promised to them by the Jordanian authorities, during the years in which Jordan controlled the area. According to that decision, “all of the witnesses were born after 1967 or were very young at the time and testified that they heard about the (Jordanian) promise from an older relative.”
The court added that “the only document presented” to prove this alleged Jordanian guarantee “is a copy of a standard document from the Jordanian equivalent of the Housing Ministry, but this form is unsigned and does not bestow ownership on any of the defendants.”
At a recent High Court hearing the judge asked the company and the four Palestinian families to find a compromise solution, explaining that she believed that the two sides “are not so far apart.”
According to a lawyer representing the families, they had not rejected a potential compromise where the final resolution of the dispute could be postponed by their temporary agreement to pay rent until a resolution is achieved.
However, the lawyer said that Nahalat Shimon was only willing to accept the offer of the Palestinian families to pay rent and remain where they currently live if the families permanently renounced their claims of ownership to the residences in question.
The Palestinian families were not willing to go that far, and it was unclear how long the compromise would have allowed them to remain in their residences.
Now we await the High Court decision.
I found the following in one newspaper account, but haven't been able to substantiate it.
"We have become prisoners inside our homes,” says a resident of the neighbourhood who wishes to remain anonymous. “Where will we go? The court is against us, the Jews have proved ownership of the land and our lawyers represent themselves and the Palestinian Authority.”
“Until 1991, we were granted protected tenant status," says another resident. “However, lawyers appointed with the intervention of the Orient House and the Palestinian Authority pressured us not to pay rent because we would have recognised Jewish ownership. Since then, anyone who raised the need to return to the protected tenant option has been threatened by PA representatives.”
The problem is that while the law allows for Jews whose families had been forced out of their homes by the Jordanians or the British to regain control of their family homes if they could provide proof of ownership and the current residents could not provide proof of a valid purchase or transfer of title, the same does not apply to Arabs, or any non-Jews, who can prove the same.
Certainly the potential evictions have raised tensions and increased animosity; certainly the behaviour of some of the settlers is obnoxious and aggressive, and certainly the heavy-handed actions of the police and IDF have exacerbated the situation. But a reason or excuse for going to war?
In any normal city, anywhere in the world, a case like this would be decided in a local court and probably wouldn't even make the news. But this is Jerusalem, which is anything but a normal city.
The arguments over Sheikh Jarrah have been going on for three decades. A solution has to be found. My suggestion is this. Since 1967, the Israeli state has expropriated tens of thousands of dunams from Palestinians to build some huge Israeli neighbourhoods in the east of the city. is it not possible to initiate one more small expropriation - this time, for a change, from Jews for the benefit of Palestinians? The few dunams in which the Palestinian residents live will be transferred to them or will remain in the hands of the state, which will allow them to continue living there. The Nahalat Shimon organisation could be paid generous compensation - perhaps the PA, rather than wasting money on expensive lawyers, could chip in with a few shekels as a goodwill gesture.
It might not work, and might not be acceptable to some, but it's certainly better than dropping bombs.
1876 - Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire. Two Jewish committees of Jerusalem, the committee of the Sephardic community and its Ashkenazi counterpart, paid 16,000 francs for a plot of land around the tomb of Shimon the Righteous, a Jewish High Priest from around 300BC. Shortly after the purchase, a small Jewish village was established on part of the land.
1946 - Two Jewish organizations, Va’ad Eidat HaSfaradim and Va’ad HaKlali L’Knesset Yisrael, register the land with British Mandatory government.
1948 - Foundation of the State of Israel. The establishment of an Arab state - Palestine - was rejected and the Arab League declared war on the fledgling Israeli state. As well as local Palestinian militia, the armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, plus forces from Saudi Arabia and Yemen invaded on May 15th, the day after the establishment of Israel, with the intent to obliterate the new state. They failed, but Egypt captured the Gaza Strip, later annexing it, and Jordan, through the efforts of the British-led Arab Legion, captured East Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, annexing it and renaming it the West Bank. All Jews living in East Jerusalem were either killed by Arab Legion, or expelled. That included the owners of the property in what is now Sheikh Jarrah, then known as Shimon HaTzadik.
Following the war Israel's Custodian for Absentee Property took possession of property that was now in Israel and had been owned by anyone who was in the years 1948-50 residing in enemy states (or land they controlled). Jordan's Custodian of Enemy Property did the same in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Both Custodians sought to divest themselves of as much abandoned property as quickly as possible. In urban settings, both Israel and Jordan were keen to use abandoned property for the resettlement of refugees. There were political aspects to this, but mostly this was a practical response to the massive waves of refugees both countries absorbed after 1948.
In most places, this meant that title to abandoned property transferred to new owners. In this manner, much formerly Jewish property in East Jerusalem was transferred by Jordan's custodian to Arabs and much Arab property in West Jerusalem was transferred by Israel to Jews. Jordan transferred custody over all Jewish-owned property to the Jordanian Custodian of Enemy Property. In accordance with the British legislation on enemy property on which the Jordanian law was based, Jordan’s sequestration of enemy property only extinguished owners’ rights completely if the state seized title by eminent domain or if the Custodian transferred title to someone else. Importantly, in the case of the Sheikh Jarrah properties, the Jordanian Custodian did not transfer ownership of the properties to anyone else. Instead, the Custodian leased some of the properties to Palestinian Arabs (the predecessors in title to the current tenants). The properties were still held by the Jordanian Custodian when Jordan lost the territory in 1967.
1956 - the Jordanian government and the UN built 28 homes on the land in Sheikh Jarrah intended for Palestinian refugees.
1967 - Arab armies try again to destroy Israel - Israel captures the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. The Muslim population in Jerusalem is 54,963 - in 2016 it was 319,800.
Following this Israel passed a law that allows Jews whose families had been forced out of their homes by the Jordanians or the British to regain control of their family homes if they could provide proof of ownership and the current residents could not provide proof of a valid purchase or transfer of title.
1972 - Va’ad Eidat HaSfaradim and Va’ad HaKlali L’Knesset Yisrael reclaimed their ownership with the Israeli Custodian of Absentee Property. Occupants ordered to pay rent - they didn't.
1982 - The Palestinian residents of the property – including the parents and grandparents of some of the current occupants – signed an agreement confirming that the Israeli NGOs were the rightful owners.
2003 - The two Israeli NGOs sold the land to the Nahalat Shimon American-based settler organisation. The Palestinians occupying the dwelling were nevertheless allowed to continue living there and enjoyed “Protected Residents” status. However, by law, the tenants were required to pay rent to Nahalat Shimon. It was only after the Palestinian residents refused to do so — and in some cases illegally expanded the property and rented out spaces to third parties — that Nahalat Shimon initiated eviction proceedings.
In court it was found that three of the appellants are the children and grandchildren of residents who acknowledged the ownership of the Israeli organisations in court proceedings in 1982.
Four of the appellants claim to have purchased the properties in 1991 - 19 years after the properties were registered under the Israeli groups - from a man named “Ismail.” However, they were unable to identify “Ismail,” nor were they able to prove that they had indeed purchased the properties from this person.
One appellant represents the estate of a deceased former resident. In 2009, the Court determined that she had not paid rent as required, had built illegally on the property, and therefore could be evicted.
In October 2020, the Magistrate Court rejected the residents’ claim that the property had been promised to them by the Jordanian authorities, during the years in which Jordan controlled the area. According to that decision, “all of the witnesses were born after 1967 or were very young at the time and testified that they heard about the (Jordanian) promise from an older relative.”
The court added that “the only document presented” to prove this alleged Jordanian guarantee “is a copy of a standard document from the Jordanian equivalent of the Housing Ministry, but this form is unsigned and does not bestow ownership on any of the defendants.”
At a recent High Court hearing the judge asked the company and the four Palestinian families to find a compromise solution, explaining that she believed that the two sides “are not so far apart.”
According to a lawyer representing the families, they had not rejected a potential compromise where the final resolution of the dispute could be postponed by their temporary agreement to pay rent until a resolution is achieved.
However, the lawyer said that Nahalat Shimon was only willing to accept the offer of the Palestinian families to pay rent and remain where they currently live if the families permanently renounced their claims of ownership to the residences in question.
The Palestinian families were not willing to go that far, and it was unclear how long the compromise would have allowed them to remain in their residences.
Now we await the High Court decision.
I found the following in one newspaper account, but haven't been able to substantiate it.
"We have become prisoners inside our homes,” says a resident of the neighbourhood who wishes to remain anonymous. “Where will we go? The court is against us, the Jews have proved ownership of the land and our lawyers represent themselves and the Palestinian Authority.”
“Until 1991, we were granted protected tenant status," says another resident. “However, lawyers appointed with the intervention of the Orient House and the Palestinian Authority pressured us not to pay rent because we would have recognised Jewish ownership. Since then, anyone who raised the need to return to the protected tenant option has been threatened by PA representatives.”
The problem is that while the law allows for Jews whose families had been forced out of their homes by the Jordanians or the British to regain control of their family homes if they could provide proof of ownership and the current residents could not provide proof of a valid purchase or transfer of title, the same does not apply to Arabs, or any non-Jews, who can prove the same.
Certainly the potential evictions have raised tensions and increased animosity; certainly the behaviour of some of the settlers is obnoxious and aggressive, and certainly the heavy-handed actions of the police and IDF have exacerbated the situation. But a reason or excuse for going to war?
In any normal city, anywhere in the world, a case like this would be decided in a local court and probably wouldn't even make the news. But this is Jerusalem, which is anything but a normal city.
The arguments over Sheikh Jarrah have been going on for three decades. A solution has to be found. My suggestion is this. Since 1967, the Israeli state has expropriated tens of thousands of dunams from Palestinians to build some huge Israeli neighbourhoods in the east of the city. is it not possible to initiate one more small expropriation - this time, for a change, from Jews for the benefit of Palestinians? The few dunams in which the Palestinian residents live will be transferred to them or will remain in the hands of the state, which will allow them to continue living there. The Nahalat Shimon organisation could be paid generous compensation - perhaps the PA, rather than wasting money on expensive lawyers, could chip in with a few shekels as a goodwill gesture.
It might not work, and might not be acceptable to some, but it's certainly better than dropping bombs.
BigMick
Player Valuation: £20m
Further to the above and the photos in my previous post, around 3,000 people took part in riots today in various places in the West Bank, with 9 reportedly killed.
This from a PA official today:
"Ramallah lost credibility by cancelling the elections, it lost credibility by being unable to control anything or rein in Israel. Israel has also undermined Abbas for years, instead privileging its tit-for-tat relationship with Hamas."
“Hamas has thrived on this. In the eyes of the populace, they’ve gained in popularity. They were at 8% of the electoral vote two days before the elections were cancelled. Now? I don’t even want to see the polling.”
"Hamas has not managed to gain a little popularity — it’s managed to gain a lot of popularity. In the West Bank, for sure, and elsewhere in the Palestinian diaspora. Perhaps less in Gaza.”
He described the protests thus far “poorly attended and quite low level.”
But he warned:
“So the PA has prevented a protest or two inside the downtown area of major cities. What about the countryside, the refugee camps? The PA has no presence there. If they rose up, no one could prevent it.”
End the war now!
I forgot to add a translation of the Arabic in the middle photo above
“O you free heroes of the West Bank, blessed are your arms. We salute your revolution.
Set the ground ablaze under the feet of the occupation.”
It's a long way from an intifada but very depressing and extremely worrying.
So what’s the world going to do about it? Stay out of it? Is there anything the UN or anyone do?
BigMick
Player Valuation: £20m
Well John there's a UN Security Council meeting on Sunday. it should have been held a couple of days ago but the US asked for it to be put back until Tuesday, before a compromise was reached for Sunday. I'm hoping the US perhaps know something we don't.
Today a diplomatic source familiar with the efforts to broker a ceasefire said there is cautious optimism that one will be achieved in the next day or two. The source says that this assessment among negotiators comes from experience brokering ceasefires to end previous rounds of violence between the sides and a "clear reading of the room." Hamas has passed along messages that it is interested in a ceasefire, and negotiators believe that after the nature of the Israeli strikes that took place in Gaza overnight Thursday and early Friday, Jerusalem is also interested in winding down. Egypt has been playing a major role in the current efforts to end the violence, holding calls with officials in Hamas, Qatar, the US, among other countries, though not with Israel directly.
Let's hope and pray they are successful.
From "Breaking the Silence", an Israeli group despised by the Netanyahu government and considered traitors by the far right, that gives a voice to ex-IDF soldiers who feel uncomfortable with what they've seen and done in the territories, who oppose the occupation, and organise tours of the West Bank for Israelis to see what goes on there:
What's going on in Gaza is horrifying, but it didn't come out of nowhere. The flare-up comes after months of tensions bubbling under the surface across Israel and the occupied territories that have translated into the riots we've seen over the last few days, alongside the assault on Gaza.
There are people who have fanned the flames that led us to this moment for a long time and continue to stoke them now. Those leading the effort are Kahanists (Jewish supremacists). They are not the only ones in this story; The Palestinian rioters in Lod and Ramle, the gangs that sought to harm Jews on the streets of Acre and Jerusalem, and of course Hamas, all have a part to play. But while the Israeli media does not need to be reminded of Hamas and violence from the Palestinian side, it is certainly in need of a refresher about the Kahanists trying to start a race war which we will all pay the price for. They are also a part of this story and it must be told.
Here's a reminder:
On December 27, 2020, hundreds of Kahanists gathered in Jerusalem and attacked Palestinians and police officers. 11 police officers were injured from stone-throwing, one in the neck and one in the head. And of course, their political patrons Bezalel Smotrich (a former minister) and Itamar Ben-Gvir weren't calling for the rioters to be shot in the chest.
This violence was the settler’s response to the death of teenage settler Ahuvia Sandak who died in a police chase, but the violence did not begin there - the police were chasing Sandak and his friends because they were allegedly throwing rocks at Palestinians. This wave of violence continued for months after the incident. Violent settler youths were documented searching out Palestinians to beat up in Jerusalem, but those incidents were a drop in the ocean compared to the constant attacks by settlers in the occupied territories, from rock throwing to beating up human rights activist Rabbi Arik Ascherman with a metal pole. The Minister of Internal Security, Netanyahu ally Amir Ohana, preferred not to call on Palestinains to carry weapons for self-defense, as he has said now to Jewish residents of mixed cities in Israel. Perhaps he did not feel that it would be a 'security booster” as he does now.
Kahanists were also the first to jump on the wagon when two Palestinians beat up a rabbi in Jaffa. On April 22, two Kahanist Whatsapp groups sent out calls to arms to attack Palestinians at a march organized by the extremist militant group 'Lehava'. MK Itamar Ben Gvir was an administrator in some of these groups. And what was promised on Whatsapp took place in reality.
This violence was completely overt. It was photographed and documented from every possible angle. Only a small portion of it was reported by the mainstream media. But the public was exposed to even less information about the quiet violence, the bureaucracy, which allowed, for example, settlers to threaten to expel Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem, by virtue of a heavily discriminatory law, which gives Jewish Israelis rights that it completely denies Palestinians.
And of course, when the violence in Sheik Jarrah began, it was none other than MK Itamar Ben-Gvir who rushed over to fan the flames by setting up his parliamentary 'office' on the side of the road in the heart of the Palestinian neighborhood. His very presence there meant of course that heavy security was required, and as expected, the intense Israeli police presence immediately ignited riots, causing Netanyahu to intervene in order to get him out of the area.
Once the tension in Jerusalem and around the country was palpable, it was the Kahanists who demanded that Netanyahu allow their flag parade to pass through Muslim neighborhoods on Jerusalem day. Many breathed a sigh of relief when the government made a last minute decision to change the parade's route, but that did not stop members of the government voting this week to normalize unauthorized outposts in the occupied territories, for example, because even when everything is ablaze, there are apparently some opportunities that simply can't be missed.
Ben-Gvir did not hide his intentions. Israeli journalist Raviv Druker reported on Tuesday that Ben-Gvir explicitly told Netanyahu that if a military operation were to be carried out, the opposition parties' plans to form a coalition with the parties representing Israel's Palestinian citizens would soon fall apart, allowing Netanyahu and his right-wing allies (including Ben-Gvir) to form a “full-fledged right-wing government.” Most people were, rightly, too distracted by the unfolding war by the time this was reported to take much notice. But from what we can see now, the plan seems to have worked.
As we write this, messages are being spread on Lehava and Kahanist group chats calling on people to come,armed, to mixed Jewish-Arab cities in Israel, in order to 'defend' the Jewish residents. Over the last few days, groups of armed settlers came to Lod and Ramle from the West Bank looking for Arabs to beat up. At the same time, the director of the highly influential right-wing Kohelet Forum think tank took the opportunity to recommend the full re-occupation of Gaza, the re-establishment of the Gush Katif settlement bloc in Gaza together with a preemptive strike on Lebanon for good measure. Of course, other people will be doing the dirty work for him. He’s just here to give recommendations.
What we are seeing today is the initial phase of the Kahanist vision for the State of Israel. Now they are demanding to bring in the military to calm the flames they helped ignite. In Smotrich’s “Decision Plan” rolled out a few years ago, his goal was explicitly stated: a country in which Palestinians were denied the right to vote, and those who woudn't agree to the plan would be forcibly expelled.
If you find all of this hard to believe, take a look at what has been going on for years in the center of the city of Hebron. The Palestinian-free 'sterile' roads, the daily setter violence, the massive military presence. And like in Hebron, if it were the Kahanists alone, they would have no real power. Their power comes from the backing they receive from above, directly from Netanyahu and generations of Israeli governments.
What's going on in Gaza is horrifying, but it didn't come out of nowhere. The flare-up comes after months of tensions bubbling under the surface across Israel and the occupied territories that have translated into the riots we've seen over the last few days, alongside the assault on Gaza.
There are people who have fanned the flames that led us to this moment for a long time and continue to stoke them now. Those leading the effort are Kahanists (Jewish supremacists). They are not the only ones in this story; The Palestinian rioters in Lod and Ramle, the gangs that sought to harm Jews on the streets of Acre and Jerusalem, and of course Hamas, all have a part to play. But while the Israeli media does not need to be reminded of Hamas and violence from the Palestinian side, it is certainly in need of a refresher about the Kahanists trying to start a race war which we will all pay the price for. They are also a part of this story and it must be told.
Here's a reminder:
On December 27, 2020, hundreds of Kahanists gathered in Jerusalem and attacked Palestinians and police officers. 11 police officers were injured from stone-throwing, one in the neck and one in the head. And of course, their political patrons Bezalel Smotrich (a former minister) and Itamar Ben-Gvir weren't calling for the rioters to be shot in the chest.
This violence was the settler’s response to the death of teenage settler Ahuvia Sandak who died in a police chase, but the violence did not begin there - the police were chasing Sandak and his friends because they were allegedly throwing rocks at Palestinians. This wave of violence continued for months after the incident. Violent settler youths were documented searching out Palestinians to beat up in Jerusalem, but those incidents were a drop in the ocean compared to the constant attacks by settlers in the occupied territories, from rock throwing to beating up human rights activist Rabbi Arik Ascherman with a metal pole. The Minister of Internal Security, Netanyahu ally Amir Ohana, preferred not to call on Palestinains to carry weapons for self-defense, as he has said now to Jewish residents of mixed cities in Israel. Perhaps he did not feel that it would be a 'security booster” as he does now.
Kahanists were also the first to jump on the wagon when two Palestinians beat up a rabbi in Jaffa. On April 22, two Kahanist Whatsapp groups sent out calls to arms to attack Palestinians at a march organized by the extremist militant group 'Lehava'. MK Itamar Ben Gvir was an administrator in some of these groups. And what was promised on Whatsapp took place in reality.
This violence was completely overt. It was photographed and documented from every possible angle. Only a small portion of it was reported by the mainstream media. But the public was exposed to even less information about the quiet violence, the bureaucracy, which allowed, for example, settlers to threaten to expel Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem, by virtue of a heavily discriminatory law, which gives Jewish Israelis rights that it completely denies Palestinians.
And of course, when the violence in Sheik Jarrah began, it was none other than MK Itamar Ben-Gvir who rushed over to fan the flames by setting up his parliamentary 'office' on the side of the road in the heart of the Palestinian neighborhood. His very presence there meant of course that heavy security was required, and as expected, the intense Israeli police presence immediately ignited riots, causing Netanyahu to intervene in order to get him out of the area.
Once the tension in Jerusalem and around the country was palpable, it was the Kahanists who demanded that Netanyahu allow their flag parade to pass through Muslim neighborhoods on Jerusalem day. Many breathed a sigh of relief when the government made a last minute decision to change the parade's route, but that did not stop members of the government voting this week to normalize unauthorized outposts in the occupied territories, for example, because even when everything is ablaze, there are apparently some opportunities that simply can't be missed.
Ben-Gvir did not hide his intentions. Israeli journalist Raviv Druker reported on Tuesday that Ben-Gvir explicitly told Netanyahu that if a military operation were to be carried out, the opposition parties' plans to form a coalition with the parties representing Israel's Palestinian citizens would soon fall apart, allowing Netanyahu and his right-wing allies (including Ben-Gvir) to form a “full-fledged right-wing government.” Most people were, rightly, too distracted by the unfolding war by the time this was reported to take much notice. But from what we can see now, the plan seems to have worked.
As we write this, messages are being spread on Lehava and Kahanist group chats calling on people to come,armed, to mixed Jewish-Arab cities in Israel, in order to 'defend' the Jewish residents. Over the last few days, groups of armed settlers came to Lod and Ramle from the West Bank looking for Arabs to beat up. At the same time, the director of the highly influential right-wing Kohelet Forum think tank took the opportunity to recommend the full re-occupation of Gaza, the re-establishment of the Gush Katif settlement bloc in Gaza together with a preemptive strike on Lebanon for good measure. Of course, other people will be doing the dirty work for him. He’s just here to give recommendations.
What we are seeing today is the initial phase of the Kahanist vision for the State of Israel. Now they are demanding to bring in the military to calm the flames they helped ignite. In Smotrich’s “Decision Plan” rolled out a few years ago, his goal was explicitly stated: a country in which Palestinians were denied the right to vote, and those who woudn't agree to the plan would be forcibly expelled.
If you find all of this hard to believe, take a look at what has been going on for years in the center of the city of Hebron. The Palestinian-free 'sterile' roads, the daily setter violence, the massive military presence. And like in Hebron, if it were the Kahanists alone, they would have no real power. Their power comes from the backing they receive from above, directly from Netanyahu and generations of Israeli governments.
BigMick
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Yes Breaking the Silence are one of the organisations I follow.
A few others.
www.allmep.org
www.theparentscircle.org
newisraelfund.org.uk
www.standing-together.org
Regarding the article, the Kahanists are of course a small minority in Israeli society. The problem is they've been allowed to get away with their behaviour for far too long.
I also think the ridiculous political vacuum in Israel has been part of the problem. Netanyahu has been preoccupied with trying to cling to power and fight his court case and for all his multitude of faults he is an astute politician who likes to keep a lid on any troubles. With him distracted some stupid decisions were taken by a fairly new police chief - the fence at the Damascus gate for instance.
Regarding Palestinian violence it obviously is mainly due to the current situation but there have been underlying problems for a while with violent and criminal behaviour. This article by the ever-perceptive Aaron Boxerman from last December is worth reading.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/arab-...nized-crime-fuels-record-levels-of-bloodshed/
A few others.
Home - Alliance for Middle East Peace
The Alliance for Middle East PeaceMeet Our MembersGroundwork – Season 3 is out now! Season 3 is out now! Available wherever you listen to podcasts! Listen NowGlobal AdvocacyLearn more about […]
www.allmep.org
Parents Circle Families Forum
We share in the sorrow of all Israeli and Palestinian families who have lost their loved ones as a result of the conflict Every Story- a Universe Personal Stories Each member in the forum carries within their hearts and bodies the story of the loss of their loved ones. The personal stories offer...
www.theparentscircle.org
New Israel Fund - UK
newisraelfund.org.uk
ENGLISH | standing-together
Standing Together is the grassroots people’s movement in Israel. We organize Jews and Arabs, locally and nationally, around campaigns for peace, equality and social justice, in order to build power and transform Israeli society.
www.standing-together.org
Regarding the article, the Kahanists are of course a small minority in Israeli society. The problem is they've been allowed to get away with their behaviour for far too long.
I also think the ridiculous political vacuum in Israel has been part of the problem. Netanyahu has been preoccupied with trying to cling to power and fight his court case and for all his multitude of faults he is an astute politician who likes to keep a lid on any troubles. With him distracted some stupid decisions were taken by a fairly new police chief - the fence at the Damascus gate for instance.
Regarding Palestinian violence it obviously is mainly due to the current situation but there have been underlying problems for a while with violent and criminal behaviour. This article by the ever-perceptive Aaron Boxerman from last December is worth reading.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/arab-...nized-crime-fuels-record-levels-of-bloodshed/
Thanks. Some good reading for later there by the look of it. I'm familiar with The Alliance for Middle East Peace but most of that seems to be new to me. Another organisation I used to have a lot of time for when I was active in campaigning on this issue was Jeff Halper's Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, who I expect you're aware of.Yes Breaking the Silence are one of the organisations I follow.
A few others.
Home - Alliance for Middle East Peace
The Alliance for Middle East PeaceMeet Our MembersGroundwork – Season 3 is out now! Season 3 is out now! Available wherever you listen to podcasts! Listen NowGlobal AdvocacyLearn more about […]
Parents Circle Families Forum
We share in the sorrow of all Israeli and Palestinian families who have lost their loved ones as a result of the conflict Every Story- a Universe Personal Stories Each member in the forum carries within their hearts and bodies the story of the loss of their loved ones. The personal stories offer...
New Israel Fund - UK
ENGLISH | standing-together
Standing Together is the grassroots people’s movement in Israel. We organize Jews and Arabs, locally and nationally, around campaigns for peace, equality and social justice, in order to build power and transform Israeli society.
Regarding the article, the Kahanists are of course a small minority in Israeli society. The problem is they've been allowed to get away with their behaviour for far too long.
I also think the ridiculous political vacuum in Israel has been part of the problem. Netanyahu has been preoccupied with trying to cling to power and fight his court case and for all his multitude of faults he is an astute politician who likes to keep a lid on any troubles. With him distracted some stupid decisions were taken by a fairly new police chief - the fence at the Damascus gate for instance.
Regarding Palestinian violence it obviously is mainly due to the current situation but there have been underlying problems for a while with violent and criminal behaviour. This article by the ever-perceptive Aaron Boxerman from last December is worth reading.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/arab-...nized-crime-fuels-record-levels-of-bloodshed/
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