Monday July 16th 2007, 7:00 pm
According to Einstein’s observation, insanity is doing the same
thing over and over again and expecting different results. In regard to
Israel and the Palestinians, however, doing the same thing over and
over is not insanity but rather a calculated act on the part of Israel
designed to produce a predictable and long sought after result, namely
to submerge the Palestinians in formaldehyde. Recall Dov Weisglass,
former Ariel Sharon chief of staff and now "point man in the US,"
declaring that "disengagement" from Gaza supplied "the amount of
formaldehyde that is necessary so there will not be a political process
with the Palestinians," as the Israelis have no intention of allowing a
Palestinian state, let alone obeying international law and various
United Nations resolutions calling for an end to the occupation of
Palestinian land.
Note Bush’s call "for a Middle East peace
conference bringing together Israel, the Palestinians and some Arab
neighbors and led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice," supposedly
"to pave the way to a Palestinian state alongside Israel," according to
Reuters.
"Bush
reaffirmed his vision of a Palestinian state at peace with Israel and
said Palestinians faced a choice between the Islamist militant group
Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and the more moderate Abbas,"
never mind the Palestinians elected Hamas to represent them. Of course,
both Bush, or rather his neocons, and Israel under Olmert prefer the
CIA-infested Fatah and its leader, Mahmoud Abbas. Naturally, the point
here is to have yet another conference with a trusted toady
micromanaged by the CIA and Shin Bet, the latter diligent at making
sure any agreement between Israel and the Palestinians terminates
predictably (see Shin Bet Vetoed Secret Israeli-Palestinian Peace Agreement),
following yet another conference leading nowhere, or maybe to the same
place Oslo led, i.e., to the theft of even more Palestinian land. Any
new conference will, of course, produce likewise results.
It should be noted that Weisglass made his formaldehyde comment in the wake of the Herzliya Conference. Gabi Becker comments:
The
Herzliya Conference, attended by the likes of the Occupation’s military
generals, "Yesha" council representatives (West Bank and Gaza
settlers), Knesset members, government officials, university
professors, bank representatives (the list clearly overlapping), US
think tanks, members of the US Jewish "community," and this year’s
special guest former US President Carter who stopped by on his way to
"observe" the Palestinian Legislative Council elections, all take part
in the Conference to make a toast to the past and future of Israeli
expansionism. Herzl, the "Founding Father" of Zionism and author of The
Jewish State, would be proud. The Herzliya Conference, taking place in
Herzl’s namesake settlement of "Herzliya"—built on the destroyed
Palestinian village of Abu Kishk—resonates similarities to the World
Zionist Congresses, the first of which took place in 1897 in Basel,
Switzerland and chaired by Herzl himself. But, unlike the Zionist
Congresses that took place in Zionism’s homeland—Europe—this conference
takes place after the Palestinian displacement, and this time the plan
is not how to establish a Jewish State in Palestine, but how to bring
about the final annihilation of Palestine (under the very cynical
rhetoric of establishing a "state").
As Becker
notes, the template is Oslo and the outcome is to talk the talk but do
little else, as Israel plans to eventually and completely dispossess
what remains of the Palestinians, a long-term plan conceived well
before the "establishment" of the Israeli state (a state "established"
under British colonialism and signed off on by the United Nations at
the expense of Arabs).
Meanwhile, focus around
"negotiations," "final status," and "statehood" continue to be the
mainstay of Occupation under Oslo. While terms remain the same, so does
the colonial, expansionist reality on the ground. The various peace
proposals that surface remain within this framework, as their
distinctions are solely about shifting the borders in different areas
and in percentage of lands that would be "security zones" and annexed,
and not about the regime that is and will be established under the
bantustan state. Olmert also stated that, "We firmly stand by the
historic right of the people of Israel to the entire Land of Israel.
Every hill in Samaria and every valley in Judea is part of our historic
homeland. We do not forget this, not even for one moment…" another
reminder that "final borders" themselves are but a means and will
ultimately not be final, just as living in a ghetto is not living at
all.
Olmert’s declaration, quite prosaic for
Israelis, and those of us who have bothered to read the history of
Zionism, stands now as it did then, or for that matter as it did when
screamed from the rooftops by Ze’ev Jabotinsky, David Ben-Gurion,
Menachem Begin, Chaim Weizmann, and indeed Theodor Herzl, the latter
who may be considered old fashioned and quaint, as he advocated
spiriting "the penniless population across the border" and "gentle"
expropriation of the Palestinians (see Benny Morris, no slouch when it
comes to making excuses for the less kinder and gentler form of ethnic
cleansing currently in vogue; Righteous Victims, p. 21-22).
Meanwhile,
as should be expected, in order to set the stage for new discussions
the bankrupt Abbas arrived at Olmert’s office dressed like a welcome
mat. "Olmert and Abbas met for two hours at Olmert’s Jerusalem
residence. They discussed 'how they can see arriving at a two-state
solution’ to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Olmert’s spokeswoman
Miri Eisin said, although sources in Olmert’s office said they did not
discuss such divisive issues as the fate of Jerusalem, borders and
Palestinian refugees…. 'The Palestinians want to go a lot faster. The
average Israeli would like to go a lot slower. We have to find
something that is acceptable to both sides,’ Eisin said."
In
other words, the Israelis want yet another generation of Palestinians,
and no doubt the one to follow, ad infinitum, to wait for a "solution"
to the "Israeli-Palestinian conflict." Of course, there is but one
solution.
Israel must abide by Security Council resolution
242. In fact, as criminally flawed as the so-called 1947 "the Partition
Plan" is, it must be finally and fully implemented, as demonstrated by this map.
As it now stands, keeping in mind Olmert’s declaration, the
Palestinians are reduced to bantustans charmingly called "Arafat’s
Islands," now the CIA quisling Abbas’ islands (see this map).
Bush’s
"bilateral discussions and negotiations" will lead to more thievery and
genocide. Call it a holding pattern for brutality and eventual ethnic
cleansing, at present incremental. As should be expected, when Hillary
reigns supreme come November, 2008, the situation will remain the same,
as the Democrats, creatures of AIPAC who stumble over each other in
clownish effort to pledge American treasure and blood to the tiny
outlaw state of Israel, are no different than Republicans and neocons.
All that will be missing is that sickening neocon bravado stinking to
high heaven, as the Democrats like to do their betrayal and sellout by
cover of darkness.
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