By Ted Belman
Axios reported, U.S. urges Israel to take steps to stabilize Palestinian Authority
It’s an old story; the Arabs cause trouble and Israel is blamed.
Two examples of this pattern are;
- After the intifada in 2001 in which 1038 Israelis were murdered, Pres Bush sent Sen Mitchel to Israel on a fact finding mission. He produced the Mitchell Report in April 30, 2001 which recommended, inter alia, the freezing of Israel settlement activity … and other Israeli confidence-building measures, and
- Every time Hamas fires rockets by the hundreds at Israel civilians, Israel is blamed. The solution demanded was that Israel negotiate a ceasefire and make concessions.
The same applies to the situation in Israel and Judea and Samaria.
The Government of Israel has documented the Wave of Terror 2015-2022.
This year alone it records: 1328 attacks, 19 deaths and 51 injured.
The Oslo Accords provide that in Area A, the Palestinian Authority (PA) is entirely responsible for security, in Area B, the PA and Israel have joint responsibility and in Area C, Israel is solely responsible.
As IDF Major General (res.) Gershon Hacohen explained on the Mideast News Hour this week, over the past year, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) has transformed the Jenin area into a Gaza-like terror enclave in northern Samaria. It exerts control over Jenin and all areas of the region. Recently, Iran has funded the formation of joint PIJ, Fatah, PFLP and Hamas terror cells throughout Judea and Samaria.
Khaled Abu Toameh wrote on this situation a few months back. Jenin: Despite economic prosperity, PA failed to disarm militiamen :
Since then, (2002) the armed groups in the camp and other places in the Jenin area have managed to rebuild a vast network of terrorist infrastructure. The PA was not eager to combat the phenomenon and often chose to look the other way.
The PA leaders did not want to be accused by Palestinians of cracking down on “the fine men of the revolution,” especially in a place like the Jenin refugee camp, which became a symbol of the Palestinian “struggle” against Israel.
Although most of the incitement is taking place on social-media platforms, it is also coming straight from the horse’s mouth: Palestinian leaders in Ramallah, the Gaza Strip, Qatar and Lebanon.
Axios Report above noted:
The Biden administration urged the Israeli government to take urgent steps to stabilize the Palestinian Authority,
U.S. officials are deeply concerned that the deteriorating situation in the West Bank and an increase in violence could lead to a major crisis.
At the same time, an economic crisis has made it hard for the PA to pay salaries, further eroding its legitimacy and control in major cities like Hebron, Jenin and Nablus.
And true to form, Biden sent Barbara Leaf, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern affairs, to Israel to address the developing crises with Israel and the PA.
No one cares more about the developing crises than Israel, so why doesn’t the US stay out of it. Instead they micro-manage the situation to make sure Israel does what the US wants.
As for the “economic crises”, it is all due to the PA’s making.
The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) reports:
“The Palestinian Authority’s legislation and allocations of monthly salaries and benefits rewarding imprisoned and released terrorists, and the families of “Martyrs,” amount to $300 million annually. This financial reward clearly demonstrates the PA’s institutional commitment to sponsoring terror against Israel.”
To deal with this policy, The US Congress passed into law the Taylor Force Act in 2017, which withholds US aid to the PA until:
“the Secretary of State certifies in writing to the appropriate congressional committees that the Palestinian Authority, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and any successor or affiliated organizations—
(A) are taking credible steps to end acts of violence against Israeli citizens and United States citizens [..]
(B) have terminated payments for acts of terrorism against Israeli citizens and United States citizens to any individual, after being fairly tried, who has been imprisoned for such acts of terrorism and to any individual who died committing such acts of terrorism, including to a family member of such individuals;
(C) have revoked any law, decree, regulation, or document authorizing or implementing a system of compensation for imprisoned individuals [..]
(D) are publicly condemning such acts of violence and are taking steps to investigate or are cooperating in investigations of such acts to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Why isn’t Barbara Leaf tasked with forcing the PA to comply with this US law? Instead she is tasked with getting Israel to stabilize the PA which is increasingly weakening and losing its control in Area A.
The Axios Report above noted described the situation in detail:
“that the PA President Abu Mazen has accused Israel of being responsible for undermining his ability to control his territory due to both the economic hardships caused by Israeli incursions to thwart terrorist attacks, as well as the incursions, themselves.
“The PA claims that they are unable to pay the salaries of their Security forces due to the economic crisis associated with the night time Israel raids which he claims are “eroding its legitimacy and control in major cities like Hebron, Jenin and Nablus”.
”Shin Bet director Ronen Bar, who leads the Israeli domestic security service in charge of gathering intelligence in the West Bank and Gaza, told Leaf he is highly concerned about the PA’s situation and the ability of the Palestinian security forces to function, Israeli sources briefed on the meeting said. Palestinian leadership blames Israel for the weakened security forces.
“The situation on the ground is worse than it seems,” Bar told Leaf, according to the Israeli sources. He claimed that Israel doesn’t want to send the military for incursions into Palestinian cities, but has no choice due to increased violence.
“Leaf also met with Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, the head of COGAT, the Israeli Ministry of Defense agency in charge of civilian affairs in the West Bank, who also painted a dark picture of the situation.
“Israeli sources said Alian told the U.S. senior diplomat that he is doing everything in his power to stabilize the situation but thinks it might not be enough “to stop the snowball.” He added that more significant steps require political decisions.
Leaf then met with Israeli national security adviser Eyal Hulata for what Israeli sources briefed on the matter said was a tough meeting.
Leaf stressed that the PA could collapse and “the ball is in Israel’s court” when it comes to strengthening and stabilizing it, the Israeli sources said.
To make matters worse, The Biden Administration is demanding that Israel “closely review its policies and practices on rules of engagement”. It not only tells Israel what to do but how to do it.
The US policy is not dictated by the desire to achieve peace. It weds itself to the unworkable and unattainable two-state solution (TSS). Underneath it all is the goal of weakening the State of Israel.
Caroline Glick, in her Mideast News Hour interviewed Major General Gershon Hacohen on the subject of the terrorism in Judea and Samaria. He blamed it all on the Oslo Accords which was intended to achieve separation of Jews and Arabs. This is otherwise known as the TSS thought the Accords never called for same. Hacohen said that this solution is based on six assumptions all of which have been proven false.
- Separation is the solution. We separated from Gaza and Jenin and got terror in return.
- Separation is reversible or so the late PM Rabin advised but the US won’t allow it.
- Withdrawal gains Israel international legitimacy. Not true. Every time we enter Areas A to apprehend terrorists or Gaza we lose international legitimacy. The world claims our intervention is the problem not the terrorism.
- Can achieve demilitarization. Demonstrably false. Look at Gaza or Jenin.
- Prosperity brings peace. Not true, Jenin is the richest city in Judea and Samaria but is the center of terrorism and the most deadly
- Israel and PA will be partners. On the contrary, the PA is promoting terrorism not fighting it.
It is time to abandon the TSS.
Caroline Glick just wrote Biden’s Pro-Iran Alignment in which she makes a very strong case for Biden’s real agenda.
“Abu Akleh (Arab journalist recently killed) was seized on by the administration as a means to force Israel to effectively cede control over Judea and Samaria to Iran’s terror proxies.
“Rather than walk away from the talks (between Lebanon and Israel in which US is mediating) in response to Hezbollah’s threats, the U.S. has used them as a means of forcing Israel to make more concessions to Hezbollah.
“This realignment has moved into high gear as the administration works overtime to entice Iran to agree to a new nuclear deal.
“Finally, the deal endangers Israel’s survival because it is a testament to the Biden administration’s betrayal of the U.S.-Israel alliance on behalf of Iran.”
Israel must stiffen its resolve to act in its own best interest. It is not enough to say “no” on the big things like the impending US Iran Deal, but also on the little things like how to manage the Palestinians. In short, it should crush the Palestinian resistance in Judea and Samaria and in Gaza. It should liberate itself from the Oslo Accords and the TSS. Once done it should extend sovereignty to at least 30% of Area C as envisioned by Trump. It should refuse to give Lebanon what it has no right to demand
Not mentioned in this article is the fact that both Europe and the US are complicit in enabling illegal Arab construction in Area C contrary to the Oslo Accords.
According to Regavim, there are “80,000 illegal Palestinian structures in Area C of Judea and Samaria, the area ostensibly under Israeli civil and security jurisdiction.”
They must be destroyed with or without the approval of the High Court.
I should have said that Israel’s hip is tied to the US ankle. Yet, the US benefits much more than Israel, except that Israel feels more secure because of the US .
MICHAEL-
I believe you are wrong about Israel-US relations. With Israel, their internal politics are directed towards security as much as they are ALLOWED. Israel is, more likely an undeclared semi-autonomous country which has to get permission from the US to put certain needs into practice. They are “tied at the hip”.
Israeli elections, whilst ostensibly purely local matters, have the propensity to radiate outwards and reach most influential International bodies , each of whom has it’s own axe to grind with Israel.
If Israel were to be a juggler it would need a dozen hands to keep everything flowing successfully.
This is where Netanyahu shines , a statesman unique, in this modern era. But now in his mid 70s he’s recently had a pacemaker installed, so he seems to be completely dedicated to “consensus”.
( Look at the negligence which has allowed the Arabs to take over Area C in just a few years).
We don’t know how effective he can be with with an out-of-control leftist opposition. They are travelling abroad and making inimical statements about their own country, a phenomenon once forbidden .
Once, Israeli Opposition politicians would never run down Israel even their government, except in the very mildest manner, and mostly not even that.
It was a sort non legal understanding. “we are all Jews and brothers”. But, NO MORE
Just my opinion.
I see Republican leader McCarthy is issuing articles of impeachment against Biden and his (profitable?) dealings with his son.
Damned well long past time.
This means that the RINOs are finally detaching themselves from the Democrats’ coattails. If Trump wins the REPUBLICAN nomination they’ll HAVE to support him.
Biden had better have a sub basement constructed quickly.
@Ted good article. Only solution is victory and complete control of Judea/Samaria. Applying sovereignty to Area C of Judea/Samaria.
San Remo Res gave all of Palestine to the Jews. The Mandate reduced that right to only the land west of the Jordan. Neither Res 181 or Res 242 or the Oslo Accords, reduce the right of the Jews to sovereignty over all the land west of the Jordan.
The international community lead by the US ignore the San Remo Res and keeps the pressure n Israel to reduce those rights.
The USSD/the West in general condone the occupation of Jewish land by fanatical Islamists.
@Michael The title reads (Except for
The Trump Administration) and the article is completely accurate. Actually, this latest round of auto-biographies indicates that the Trump administration was blaming the Netanyahu for “rushing” sovereignty and disloyalty to Trump. Trump was one of the the friendliest presidents (as were LBJ and Nixon) to Israel but he also sought to restrain Jewish settlement and sovereignty in the liberated territories.
Steven,
I like Daniel Pipes. I agree with him concerning Israel:
is required: The “Pals” need to realize that they are beaten, thoroughly and forever, and come to terms with reality. Unfortunately, there are too many Jews who don’t even believe this.
Not so many years ago Daniel Pipes strongly recommended that a total defeat of the “pal” in the WB and Gaza was an absolute necessity! the pal!
Ted,
I’m glad you made this topic a “sticky”, so it stays at the top. I think your title, and the response it naturally arouses, is a key to understanding the world political situation, at least as far back as WWI.
The political reality is that although the American people have not been Bolsheviks, nor Nazis, nor Maoists, nor Islamists, nor Putinists, all of these enemies of the American people have been massively aided and abetted by American banks, businesses, entrenched bureaucrats and politicians — even when these malefactors have been opposed by US presidents like Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan. The history of all this is a sickening litany of avarice and betrayal:
https://www.frontpagemag.com/glazov-gang-ukraine-and-american-betrayal-frontpagemagcom/
Hi, Ted
A nasty habit, that. Right now, we have a Chief Executive who was installed in office by the most flagrant cheating, allowed by a cowardly Chief Justice of the SCOTUS, a traitorous RINO VP, an entrenched National Security apparatus (and State Dept.) that has turned the guns around against the American people and a Mainstream Media literally owned by the Fascist “corporation” of the Gates’s, etc. It represents America, like Al Capone represented Chicago.
My prayer is that after November 3, all of the above will be under investigation, then indicted and arrested, tried and imprisoned.
@Michael
When I say the US, I mean the State Department and the Execuitive, not the people..
I know that Evangelicals support us but most Jews vote Democratic.
My original title stated the rule. You chose to emphasize the exception to the rule. Trump was an anomaly. When writing the article, it never occurred to me to cite the exception. All the editors who approved of the article did not raise the Trump anomaly.
Hi, Edgar. You said,
“…but not in time for the election”? I assume you mean the Israeli election. I’m somewhat at a loss, how the US electing MAGA candidates will affect the way Israelis vote. Israel has a reputation in the US, at least in my generation, of pursuing its own sovereignty and security at all costs, regardless of what the rest of the world says or does.
Maybe this has changed over the years. So very much has changed — in the US, in Israel, in Canada, in Australia. Sometimes I wonder if I even know many of these people anymore. Concerning Israel, one thing is certain: Israel HAD BETTER see to its own sovereignty, though the rest of the world be damned.
I’ve been following Israeli politics for some 25 years, from a distance. When I started, Bibi Netanyahu was PM — challenged by personal rivals in Likud, such as Ariel Sharon, by a rump Labor Party, and by two orthodox religious parties who seemed to put their own private interests above any consideration for the Israeli people. Add to this the religious nationalists, who NEVER are able to get their act together, flash-in-the-pan “new” parties that all turn out to be same-o same-o, etc. Over 25 years, I haven’t noticed anything significantly changing politically, while Israeli society has probably gone through much the same metamorphosis as American society.
For the US, a MAGA victory in November is important; though there is so much DEEP corruption in this country, I’m skeptical about long-term meaningful change coming through politics and other externals. The change has to happen internally and permanently, or it will ultimately fail. Israel has its own problems, and we have ours.
Hi, Ted
I apologize for getting too emotional. Of course, I still cannot agree with your title. Donald Trump is joined by a clear majority of Americans, in backing Israel and condemning the PLO terrorists. Only the Uniparty elite are the exception, and always have been.
I feel honored to be an American and a Christian, more now than ever. The more people unjustly criticize us, the more we are vindicated by our actions.
@PELONI-
Well, calling a spade a spade seems to be out of fashion; Too much “Tikkun Olom”, and PC rubbish diluting the human spirit.
Fortunately (for preservation of my sanity), I am old fashioned and forthright enough to ignore all this “progressive” rubbish.
I’ve read that the Earth is “progressing” to the extent that it will eventually dive into the Sun../… but not for about a trillion years.
{I’ve also read that the Earth is receding from the S|un by .4% every 5 billion years}.
I can’t wait that long,…… as Jimmy Durante (The Great Schozzola-which really was just an ordinary nose.) once pointed out..
.”I only have 2 changes of underwear”….
Very well stated Edgar!
@TED-
Every man-and-his-dog, can see, even with major myopia, that when the US inserts it’s presence into Israel affairs (are they ever out of them??) It always results in requests, either implied or explicit, that Israel MUST make ‘”concessions”, to those dogs who were born with their hands out.
There has never been any time when the illegitimate Arab infiltrators, have been asked to reciprocate. Perhaps “lip-service”, abandoned before the agreement ink had dried..
The US has constantly encouraged the Arab blackmail, every administration except for Trump’s, which went in the opposite direction, causing bowel cramps amongst the RINOS and their Democrat allies.
His tenure, under heavy attack every moment, was a disgrace against human morality and the US Constitution, both heavily abused. Perjury reached unheard of heights. But look at the massive amounts of good changes he made even so. And the lawfare is still going on, exacerbated by the approach of the mid-terms. Since the heyday of Tammany Hall I don’t think that the Justice Dept has been so openly misused to the extent of criminal use against citizens. Thug-fare seems an appropriate name for it.
If MAGA candidates are voted in, there will be a sea-change causing ripples which will reach Israel; but not in time for the election, although evidence of MAGA impending success may have a positive effect.
@Michael
What’s with the emotional outburst and the ad hominem.. Perhaps I should have written that Trump was an exception to the rule. I never disputed this.. Would have agreed with me had I wrote “With one exception, the US always blames Israel when the Arabs cause trouble.”
This rule applied to the Carter, Reagan, Bush, Bush Jr, Clinton and Obama administrations.
Do you not think that, except for Trump, the Us has always pressured Israel to give in to the PLO. Have they not championed their cause since the Carter administration?
Ted, please name ONE INSTANCE where the US President, Donald John Trump, blamed Israel for troubles caused by the Arabs. You are, frankly, a bald-faced liar in saying that the US ALWAYS blames Israel.
America is suffering under the illegal Biden junta; but we are working to overthrow it. You have your own political problems to deal with, most of them problems which don’t even involve the Arabs, much less the Americans.
TED, AS USUAL FOR YOUR ARTICLES ON THIS MATTER, THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS!
You are trying to blame me, as an American, for all your problems. Knock it off! Start taking personal responsibility for your own life.
Both INN and Amer Thinker published it today and Jihad Watch will publish it tomorrow.. Israel Unwired will also publish it.
This is a very important read. Very well done Ted!