elams@dplanet.ch

Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2006

The leading Israelis are interested in the collapse of the PA as a preliminary for a mass expulsion of Palestinians. They are stopped again and again by the US. But this means just a slow down and not a total stop. The Hamas’ electoral victory serves very well this goal.

I have tried again and again to point at this intention as formulated in what I consider to be the master plan or blue prints of the policy of the Israeli army, Operation Field of Thorns. A plan that was ‘coincidently’ drawn in 1996 only a short time after the recommendations of the US neocons to Benyamin Netanyahu (thence PM) and advocated the knocking down of the Oslo process (www.iasps.org/strat1.htm ).  Op. Field of Thorns has been implemented step by step since October 2000 and the tempo of carrying out the plan has depended on green light from the US.

According to the US expert Anthony Cordesman, this plan sees the temporary evacuation of exposed low value isolated settlements. The next steps see the elimination of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the “forced evacuations of Palestinians from “sensitive areas.” (a very elastic term). (www.acj.org/Jan_17.htm#2 ).

The electoral Hamas victory was actually welcomed by the Israeli leadership as it helped to isolate economically and politically the PA and gave more back wind for harder military measures.

It was made possible also through the Israeli and US conceding to the Hamas participation in the election.  Amir Oren writes in Ha’aretz from 21.3.2006: “Ariel Sharon (until January 4), Ehud Olmert (thereafter) and Shaul Mofaz feared that if the Palestinian elections were canceled, or if Hamas were banned from running, the organization would carry out its threat to end the lull. The result would have been two difficult months of terror attacks that could have ruined Kadima’s electoral prospects.” (www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=696528).

Oren’s reasoning does not convince me. Judging the results and seeing that the main profiteer out of the Hamas’ electoral victory is the  Israeli leadership, I cannot get rid of the feeling that Olmert and Sharon calculated with such a scenario and therefore allowed Hamas to participate in the elections and did not help to postpone or cancel the elections.

I believe that by not waiting for the PA to collapse and dissolving it unilaterally before there might be some advantages or at least some damage control will be achieved.

I believe that by doing it before the unavoidable collapse not only some suffering for Palestinians might be reduced as the present siege and boycott will be lifted or at least eased, the perspective of one common state can be put properly on the international agenda and what is more important there will be more chances for common Palestinian and Israeli movements who will have to work more effectively towards stopping the ongoing ethnic cleansing.

What I’m talking about is far from capitulation.  It is actually the contrary. I believe that such a move is likely to give the Israeli movements a push.

Regards

Shraga