Is Time Running Out for Israel? Netanyahu in a Panic

Counter Punch – by Robert Fantina

It seems that Israeli Prime Murderer Benjamin Netanyahu is all in a dither because much of Europe seems on the verge of recognizing Palestine. At a meeting in early December with French President Francois Hollande, Mr. Netanyahu asked him to put a stop to a proposal being initiated by France’s Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, which calls for a two-year timetable for the establishment of a Palestinian state within the agreed-upon 1967 borders.

Mr. Netanyahu said this: “Such a move is contrary to a peace agreement, it will thwart all future negotiations and bring about an escalation.”  

He is probably right on two out of three counts. If there is such an agreement, the nonsensical ‘negotiations’ that have been ongoing for years, and have only delayed any real international action while Israel commits incremental genocide, will cease. The United States will no longer be able to support Israel’s land grabs and other atrocities through the guise of ‘negotiations’. Palestine will exist as a free and independent country, and there will be nothing to negotiate.

The second assertion, that such a move will “bring about an escalation” should be seen as a threat by Israel. If a proposal to grant Palestinians the right of self-determination, and the ability to live on their own land, is accepted, Israel will, in all likelihood, escalate its terror against Palestine. The Gaza Strip may be bombed again, there will be an increase in house-demolitions in the West Bank, and more men, women and children in the West Bank will be arrested and held indefinitely without charge. All this is, of course, in violation of international law, but Israel and its financier, the United States, care nothing for international law. Oh, both countries trot out international law when it suits them, but when it inconveniences them, as it certainly would Israel if that rogue nation were to abide by it, they are happy to ignore it.

But Mr. Netanyahu’s assertion that ‘such a move is contrary to a peace agreement’ is only true when peace is defined on his terms, which is the complete annihilation of Palestine. The proposal being prepared by Mr. Fabius would bring about peace, although it does include land swaps, which are unnecessary. Palestine should not have to ‘swap’ any land. All land that was taken in violation of international law for settlements should be vacated and returned to its rightful owner, which is Palestine.

After his conversation with Mr. Hollande, Mr. Netanyahu refused to say how receptive the French president was to his demands. This is not a good sign for his apartheid regime, but that is not all the bad news he received. He also spoke with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, called by some the top U.S. diplomat, and by others the understudy for Bozo the Clown, requesting or demanding assurance that the U.S. would, as is its custom, veto any bid that Palestine makes for statehood at the United Nations. Similar to the conclusion of his meeting with Mr. Hollande, Mr. Netanyahu wouldn’t say if he received the desired assurances from Mr. Kerry.

On Monday, an unnamed Israeli official told reporters that “what is at stake now is a resolution at the UN Security Council to try to force Israel to accept the creation of a Palestinian state unilaterally and within a certain time frame.” One forgets one’s history if one doesn’t remember that the U.N. forced Palestine to accept the creation of an Israeli state unilaterally and within a certain time frame, and no one in the world except the Palestinians seemed too upset about that at the time.

The same official continued: “International support for such a unilateral measure would open the door for Hamas to enter the West Bank. Such a step could be destructive for Israel and the Palestinians.”

So Israel is concerned that support for Palestinian recognition would enable Hamas, the democratically-elected government of the Gaza Strip that recently united with Fatah, the puppet government of the West Bank, a unification that caused Mr. Netanyahu to have such a deadly temper tantrum over the summer, to enter the West Bank. He claims that this would be destructive to Israel and Palestine, again threatening Palestine with increased violence.

His final sentence is the most puzzling. “Demands are being made of Israel without being made of the Palestinians, and that is why we will oppose [such an initiative].”

One might think that Palestine has already met far more demands than Israel would ever even consider. Palestine surrendered over half its land mass during the Nakba, or Catastrophe, when Israel was formed and 750,000 Palestinians were violently driven from their homes within a matter of months. Palestinians have continued to lose their homes, farms, fishing boats, livelihoods and their lives for over 60 years. They suffer horribly today, with Israel exercising brutal control over all Gaza’s borders, and occupying the West Bank. No further demands should be made on Palestine. Israel has given nothing, and the world is finally coming to terms with that fact.

What has caused this change? Where did Mr. Netanyahu finally misstep? Why are so many countries, once timid in any criticism of Israel, now appearing ready to recognize Palestine? While it has been a long time coming, as indicated by the increased success of the BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanction) movement, one can argue that this past summer’s unspeakably cruel and barbaric bombardment and invasion of the Gaza Strip, coupled with the increased violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, combined to be Mr. Netanyahu’s undoing. Graphic photos of hospitals, mosques, homes and U.N. refugee centers being bombed, and of children and adults being shot by snipers, may have finally proved to be more than most of the world was willing to tolerate. Articles in U.S. newspapers by Israeli writers endorsing the genocide of the Palestinian people also seem too much for most people to bear.

Israel, much like its puppet, the U.S., creates its own reality. The citizens of those two countries tend to believe the fairy stories they are told about their nation, but the rest of the world is not quite so gullible. U.S. citizens may proclaim, as government leaders do, that theirs is the greatest country in the world, but the rest of the world recognizes the corruption, racism, poverty and injustice that is so much a part of U.S. society. Israelis may believe that theirs is the only democracy in the Middle East, but the institutional racism against Arabs and Africans belies that idea, and is clear to the rest of the world. U.S. citizens may believe that their soldiers are only sent into the world to protect freedom and democracy, but there have been too many innocent victims of that ‘protection’ for that farce to be believed outside of U.S. borders. Israel often proclaims that it has the most moral army in the world, but pictures of Israel soldiers kidnapping and abusing small children, bombing homes and families, denying medical care to needy Palestinians, and daily committing other atrocities are readily available, and may be ignored in Israel but are seen throughout the rest of the world.

It is possible that Mr. Netanyahu received the assurances he sought from Mr. Hollande and Mr. Kerry; only time will tell. But time is one thing, along with justice, that the Israelis don’t have on their side. If current efforts toward Palestinian statehood fail, they will be followed by others. Israeli land grabs will not be fast enough to gobble up all of Palestine before those efforts succeed. Israeli violence will continue until the United Nations demands a return to the 1967 borders, and provides an international peacekeeping force to protect Palestine from further Israeli violence. That day has been slow in coming, but recent events indicate that it is accelerating.

Robert Fantina’s latest book is Empire, Racism and Genocide: a History of US Foreign Policy (Red Pill Press).

http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/12/17/netanyahu-in-a-panic/