Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East.
(From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Sunday 6 April 2014

Deluded Kerry Urgently Needs To Realise What The Only Answer Is, Warns David Singer

In this, his latest article ("Palestine – Kerry Can’t Keep Kidding Himself"), Sydney lawyer and international affairs analyst David Singer continues to scrutinise and criticise the American Secretary of State's delusions.

Writes David Singer:

US Secretary of State John Kerry’s unshakeable belief that he could succeed in facilitating what had eluded former American Secretaries of State for the last 20 years – the creation of a 22nd Arab State in the West Bank and Gaza for the first time ever in recorded history - has been shattered following Israel cancelling the release of 26 prisoners convicted of terrorist attacks prior to the 1993 Oslo Accords.

Israel’s action followed the PLO lodging applications to join 15 UN international agencies in breach of its commitments not to do so whilst negotiations between Israel and the PLO were being conducted.

Kerry now needs to immediately focus his attention on Jordan – the last Arab State to have occupied the West Bank between 1948-1967 – and which together with Israel comprise the two successor States to the Mandate for Palestine 1920-1948.

Redrawing Jordan’s international boundary with Israel to restore the status quo existing before the outbreak of the 1967 Six Day War – as far as is now possible given the changed circumstances on the ground – provides a realistically achievable alternative to the doomed Israel-PLO negotiations.

Lorenzo Kamel, an historian at Bologna University and a visiting fellow at Harvard’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies, has published an error-riddled article attempting to distance Jordan from becoming involved in any such negotiations – which Kerry should unequivocally reject.

Kamel’s following misleading claims have been corrected by my bold-font responses:
1. “Whenever there is a concrete effort to push forward the peace process, talk about “a substitute homeland” for the Palestinians re-emerges. Most of those supporting this scheme claim that well before the partition suggested by the UN General Assembly in 1947, the Zionist movement suffered a mutilation of territory following the unilateral British decision in 1922 to separate Transjordan from the rest of the land subject to the Mandate for Palestine…
...” Transjordan was thus part of the Mandate for Palestine with the proviso that Britain might administer it separately and for a period which at best may be considered scarcely relevant.”
Transjordan remained subject to the Mandate for Palestine from 1920 until 1946.
It was only the provisions of the Mandate relating to the reconstitution of the Jewish National Home in Palestine that were “postponed or withheld” in Transjordan under Article 25 of the Mandate – as this Note presented by the Secretary General to the League of Nations clearly stated:
"In the application of the Mandate to Transjordan, the action which, in Palestine, is taken by the Administration of the latter country will be taken by the Administration of Transjordan under the general supervision of the Mandatory.
His Majesty's Government accept full responsibility as Mandatory for Transjordan, and undertake that such provision as may be made for the administration of that territory in accordance with Article 25 of the Mandate shall be in no way inconsistent with those provisions of the Mandate which are not by this resolution declared inapplicable."
The seeds for an independent Jew-free Arab State in 78 per cent of Palestine had thus been planted by Great Britain in 1922.
Transjordan achieved its eventual independence on May 25, 1946 – whilst the remaining 22 per cent of Palestine continued to be subject to the Mandate until 1948.
2. “Transjordan, unlike Palestine, was never occupied by British troops and during the mandatory period there was no “overlapping”, either at a legal or practical level, between the two areas.”
The Arab Legion was formed in Transjordan in 1923 and financed by Britain and commanded by British officers under Captain Frederick Peake.
Transjordan was always included in the annual Report for the Mandate for Palestine presented to the League of Nations Permanent Mandates Commission.
3. “A citizen of Transjordan was required to ask for official permission before being admitted to Palestine.”
Immigration from Transjordan was not illegal, and was not recorded as immigration at all until 1938.
4. “The awareness that Palestine was distinct from Syria and Lebanon is said to have always been present in the Arab and Muslim consciousness.”
An early nineteenth-century Egyptian historian, 'Abd ar-Rahman al-Jabarti, referred to the inhabitants of El Arish in the Sinai Peninsula as Syrians. Palestine was called Southern Syria first in French, then in other languages, including Arabic. …
…Indeed, from the moment Prince Faysal set up a government in Damascus in October 1918, he stressed that Palestine was a part of Syria. At the Paris Peace Conference, where the British, French and Americans sorted out their interests after the war, Faysal called Palestine his "right hand" and promised to work for it as he would for Syria and Iraq. "I assure you, according to the wishes of its people, Palestine will be a part of Syria." Three months later, Faysal wrote General Edmund Allenby that Palestine "is an inseperable [sic] part of Syria."
5. “Zionism certainly accelerated the general development of the region and the process of self-identification of the local majority, but never did the land beyond the Jordan have a religious, social or cultural value comparable to the land between the river and the Mediterranean Sea.
Kamel’s claim is refuted by article 2 of the PLO Charter which states that “Palestine with the boundaries it had during the British Mandate is an indivisible territorial unit.”
Negotiations between Jordan and Israel have now become the only answer to avoiding renewed conflict and violence between Jews and Arabs.

Kerry is kidding himself if he thinks otherwise.

6 comments:

  1. OT
    Julie Bishop praises Shorten while damning BDS
    http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/content/2014/s3979316.htm
    BARRIE CASSIDY: Well I do want to ask you too, and we're running out of time. Bill Shorten gave a speech to the Zionist Federation this week where he apparently said that some West Bank settlements might not be illegal. Now that's your view as well isn’t it?
    JULIE BISHOP: Well I'm pleased that Bill Shorten seems to be moving away from the anti-Semitic boycott, divestment sanctions campaign that parts of the union movement, the Labor Party, and, most certainly, the Greens embrace. But I don't think that Bill Shorten will be able to deliver any change in policy on the Israeli-Palestinian question. I don't think he has the authority within the Labor Party to do that.
    But my view has always been that the issue of settlements is fundamental to the peace negotiations. And that it's not helpful to declare all settlements illegal - that includes Tel Aviv in some people's minds.
    So my view is that the question of the settlements is going to be part of the political solution. It won't be a legal or judicial determination, it will come down to a political negotiation. And both sides of politics support a two-state solution where Israelis and Palestinians can live behind internationally defined boundaries. And they will be determined through the peace negotiations.

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  2. Replies
    1. Oops that should be "our friends in Canada".

      Another great video
      Technion Beyond Borders - Dr. Qanta Ahmed Interview
      Moslem physician, author and women's rights activist Dr. Qanta Ahmed visited the Technion and praised Israel’s academic freedom, plus its freedoms of expression and religion as unique in the Middle East.
      And the way to silence the BDS movement is to publicize Israel’s success.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9_hc-DFHpo

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    2. Thanks, Ian. Luckily, that video can be loaded here without mishap.

      Delete
  3. Has Israel got rocks for brains. I am now reading

    "Since Wednesday, when the talks last stalled, there has been a flurry of high-level meetings aimed at restarting talks"

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  4. This seems patently silly. There is no prospect, none in engaging MORE parties least of all more Arabs who want nothing to do with Palestinians or Jews. Jordan's own underclass management system was to EXPEL as many Palestinians as possible by cutting YESHA loose in the first place. They will never take part of YESHA back. Never. Moreover why would anyone want that? Create a newer bigger Jordan with a million angry squabbling Palestinians who are born to hate and kill everyone on the planet? Why would Israel need another Black September War on its borders in a replay of 1970?

    No perhaps the wisest course of action is to simply and quietly abandon any notion that any solution will ever exist and at the same time keep the non-talks, pre talks, former talks etc etc going on as a charade forever. The Palestinians only motivation is to have these stupid pointless talks periodically so that they can shout and scream and act offended, walk out and make more childish demands. This IS their goal. So Israel should entertain that. It doesn't lead anywhere - it's not designed to. And in 2 years or whatever when Abbas is dead and there's a 2 year low level mob war for his replacement we can start over. And so on. By the time Chelsea Clinton's clone gay Muslim Mexican grandson is President it will be the 22nd century and we'll all be where we started except now the UN will claim that approximately 11.67 Billion Palestinian refugees are clamoring for that one house in Ramat Gan.

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