West Bank and Gaza Arabs need to be rescued from PLO and Hamas

The first Arab elections to be held in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and Gaza on 22 May in more than 15 years — to be followed by a presidential vote on 31 July — in theory gives the long-suffering Arab residents in these areas the opportunity to get rid of their failed rulers — the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza.

The remote chance of this happening however will require a citizens’ grass roots movement to contest the elections — promising a different way forward in reconciling their differences with Israel.

This seems extremely unlikely to happen.

Both the PLO and Hamas remain implacably opposed to making peace with Israel—as their respective constitutions make abundantly clear.

Article 11 of the 1988 Islamic National Resistance Movement (Hamas) is unequivocal:                           

“The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Moslem generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up. Neither a single Arab country nor all Arab countries, neither any king or president, nor all the kings and presidents, neither any organization nor all of them, be they Palestinian or Arab, possess the right to do that. Palestine is an Islamic Waqf land consecrated for Moslem generations until Judgement Day.”

Article 13 is uncompromising in attaining Hamas’s goal:

“There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors. The Palestinian people know better than to consent to having their future, rights and fate toyed with.”

The 1968 PLO Charter is also clear in its intentions — with Article 9 declaring:

“Armed struggle is the only way to liberate Palestine. This it is the overall strategy, not merely a tactical phase. The Palestinian Arab people assert their absolute determination and firm resolution to continue their armed struggle and to work for an armed popular revolution for the liberation of their country and their return to it. They also assert their right to normal life in Palestine and to exercise their right to self-determination and sovereignty over it.”

The last Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006 saw a Hamas landslide victory.

The polls resulted in a brief unity government but it soon collapsed and —in 2007 — bloody clashes erupted in the Gaza Strip between Hamas and the PLO — with Hamas ultimately seizing control of Gaza — leaving the PLO governing 95% of the West Bank Arab population who reside in Areas A and B of the West Bank — the remaining 5% living in Area C being governed by Israel.

Numerous attempts at reconciliation between Hamas and the PLO — including a short-lived coalition government in 2014 — have failed to end the internecine power struggle between Hamas and the PLO.

No independent grass roots movement with a platform totally differentiating itself from the platforms of Hamas and the PLO is in the process of formation or likely to emerge — offering voters a real choice by including in its platform its readiness to seek an accommodation with Israel on the allocation of future sovereignty in the West Bank and Gaza. 

Replacing the current leadership in Hamas and the PLO cannot wipe out the Hamas and PLO Charters nor their sinister objectives.

The long-suffering Arab residents of the West Bank and Gaza will once again have to choose between Hamas and the PLO — if the long-overdue elections actually happen.

No knight in shiny armour is on the horizon.

Author’s note: The cartoon—commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators – whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog

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Action - not platitudes - required from Jordan’s King Abdullah

 

Jordan’s King Abdullah continues to engage in platitudes - rather than concrete action - as he pontificates but does nothing to help resolve the 100 years-old Arab-Jewish conflict.

Jordan — called Transjordan between 1922 and 1949:

• Comprises 78% of the territory of the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine
• Is the key to resolving the long-running conflict.

Abdullah recently repeated one of his favourite mantras - insisting that peace should be:

“based on the two-state solution that guarantees the establishment of an independent, sovereign, and viable Palestinian state on the 4 June 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living in peace and security alongside Israel, in accordance with international law, recognized terms of reference, and the Arab Peace Initiative.”

This solution could have been implemented at any time between 1948 and 1967 after Transjordan had conquered and occupied East Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria (renamed the West Bank in 1950):

• Driving out all the Jews living there and refusing to allow their return and
• Unifying those territories with Transjordan into a single territorial entity - renamed “Jordan”.

That 19 years window of opportunity was squandered after Jordan lost those territories to Israel in the 1967 Six Day War. That opportunity is not going to return — no matter how many times Abdullah continues to repeat it as the solution.

Abdullah also asserts:

“The Palestinian cause is central to Jordan, and we continue to stand alongside our Palestinian brethren with all our power and capabilities as they seek to gain their just and legitimate rights. We are constantly communicating and coordinating with them in this regard”

Talk is cheap — action is necessary.

Abdullah could with the stroke of a pen — preferably with Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) approval - restore Jordanian citizenship to his “Palestinian brethren” living in the West Bank — a status they enjoyed from 1950 until Jordan revoked their citizenship on July 28, 1988 under article 2 of the Jordan: Disengagement Regulations for the Year 1988:

“Every person residing in the West Bank before the date of 31/7/1988 will be considered as Palestinian citizen and not as Jordanian.”

Restoring Jordanian citizenship to West Bank Arabs opens the way to a far more realistic and attainable solution than creating another Arab State between Jordan and Israel: The territorial subdivision of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) between Israel and Jordan as the two successor States to the Mandate for Palestine.

This solution would accord with the policy of the PLO enunciated in its founding 1964 Charter:

“Article 24. This Organization does not exercise any regional sovereignty over the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, on the Gaza Strip or the Himmah Area. Its activities will be on the national popular level in the liberational, organizational, political and financial fields.”

The present special role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Muslim Holy shrines in Jerusalem under Article 2 (3) of the 1994 Washington Declaration signed between Israel, Jordan and the United States would become permanent.

Distinguishing between Arabs living in the West Bank and Arabs living in Jordan is an artificial construct that has no basis in history, geography or demography. They are one and the same people—not two separate nations.

Abdullah should stop sermonizing, roll up his sleeves and continue the work of Arab-Jewish reconciliation which has now seen Peace Treaties or diplomatic engagements between Israel and:

• Egypt
• Jordan
• United Arab Emirates
• Bahrain
• Morocco
• Sudan

Compromise between Israel and Jordan on the future sovereignty of the West Bank is the achievable way forward. The finishing line could be coming into sight if King Abdullah keep his eyes — and mind— open to this solution.


Author’s note: The cartoon—commissioned exclusively for this article—is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators—whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog

The 'State of Palestine' remains a United Nations mirage

 

The International Criminal Court (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber 1 decision that the ICC has jurisdiction to investigate alleged war crimes committed in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem has infuriated Israel — but should bring no joy to Hamas, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) or the United Nations which continues to support the PLO’s claim for the creation of a second Arab State in former Palestine — in addition to Jordan.

The ICC Prosecutor believes:

"there is a reasonable basis to believe that members of Hamas and Palestinian armed groups […] committed the war crimes of: intentionally directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects (articles 8(2)(b)(i)-(ii), or 8(2)(e)(i)); using protected persons as shields (article 8(2)(b)(xxiii)); wilfully depriving protected persons of the rights of fair and regular trial (articles 8(2)(a)(vi) or 8(2)(c)(iv)) and wilful killing (articles 8(2)(a)(i), or 8(2)(c)(i)); and torture or inhuman treatment (article 8(2)(a)(ii), or 8(2)(c)(i)) and/or outrages upon personal dignity (articles 8(2)(b)(xxi), or 8(2)(c)(ii))’ (para 94)

The Prosecutor further concluded in para 94 that these potential cases would be currently admissible for prosecution once jurisdiction was established.

The Court noted:

“The identification of potential cases by the Prosecutor and her evolving investigation, which is likely to be protracted and resource-intensive, entails that the question of jurisdiction under consideration has concrete ramifications for the further conduct of the proceedings. The initiation of an investigation by the Prosecutor also means that States Parties are under the obligation to cooperate with the Court pursuant to part 9 of the Statute. It is, therefore, all the more necessary to place the present proceedings on a sound jurisdictional footing as early as possible.”(para 86)

The PLO and Hamas will be kept very busy answering the ICC Prosecutor’s enquiries regarding those Palestinian war crimes identified in para 94.

The Court further emphasised that:

“the present decision is strictly limited to the question of jurisdiction set forth in the Prosecutor’s Request and does not entail any determination on the border disputes between Palestine and Israel. The present decision shall thus not be construed as determining, prejudicing, impacting on, or otherwise affecting any other legal matter arising from the events in the Situation in Palestine either under the Statute or any other field of international law.”(para 60)

Any expectation Israel will return to the negotiating table after the PLO’s flirtation with the ICC is hard to visualise.

The 163 page partly dissenting opinion of Judge Péter Kovács’ dwarfs the Court’s actual 60 page decision. It is complicated and breathtaking in its scope and incredible research.

In it Judge Kovács’ made the following observations: 

“To sum up, no conclusion can be drawn that the ‘Non-Member Observer State’ status in the United Nations should be construed in abstracto to mean that its holder is a sovereign State.” (para 219) 

“Palestine is a State Party 9 (under the ICC Statute—ed) despite its current and perhaps peculiar international legal situation. As a State in statu nascendi, Palestine may also perform its rights and obligations. However, this does not mean that its ‘statehood’ has been achieved, that the issue of its territory as ‘territory of the State’ has been settled, or that its ‘borders’ can be conceived as State boundaries.” (para 267)

“Although Mr. Mahmoud Abbas is the Head of State of a State Party, Palestine has not yet achieved a full-fledged and sovereign State status” (Para 303)

His Honour also listed the recent statements (below) of leading Palestinian personalities on the ‘State of Palestine’ as an ‘aim to achieve’ and not as an existing, sovereign and independent State.

The State of Palestine remains a United Nations mirage based on fiction—not fact.

Author’s note: The cartoon — commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators — whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog

Jordan and Israel now the only viable two-state solution

 

The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) has unequivocally confirmed its rejection of an independent demilitarised State proposed by President Trump in:

• Gaza
• About 70% of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and
• Parts of Israel’s sovereign territory

PLO representative - Riad Malki - told the Security Council on January 26, 2021

“It is our collective responsibility to salvage the two-State solution on the pre-1967 borders before it is too late.”

Malki was blatantly lying to the Security Council.

There were no “pre-1967 borders” - only “1949 Armistice lines” - the Armistice Demarcation Lines negotiated after the 1948 attack on the newly declared State of Israel by Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon— as designated in agreements between:

• The Government of Egypt and the Government of Israel dated February 24, 1949
• The Government of the Hashemite Jordan Kingdom and the Government of Israel dated April 3,1949—(Armistice Agreements

Article VI (9) of the Jordan/Israel Armistice Agreement provided:

“The Armistice Demarcation Lines defined in articles V and VI of this Agreement are agreed upon by the Parties without prejudice to future territorial settlements or boundary lines or to claims of either Party relating thereto.”

Article V (2) of the Egypt/Israel Armistice Agreement provided:

“The Armistice Demarcation Line is not to be construed in any sense as a political or territorial boundary, and is delineated without prejudice to rights, claims and positions of either Party to the Armistice as regards ultimate settlement of the Palestine question.

Armistice Demarcation Lines are not borders.

That the UN Security Council accepted the repetition of this drivel by Malki – without seeking its correction - is indicative of the Security Council’s continuing bias against the Jewish people.

Furthermore the PLO was only created in 1964 – when article 24 of its founding Charter declared:

“This Organization does not exercise any regional sovereignty over the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, on the Gaza Strip ... Its activities will be on the national popular level in the liberational, organizational, political and financial fields.”

This wording was dropped when the PLO Charter was revised in 1968 – after Jordan had lost Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and East Jerusalem and Egypt had lost Gaza – territories they were both respectively occupying under the Armistice Agreements prior to their entering the 1967 Six Day War.

The revised article 24 read:

“The Palestinian people believe in the principles of justice, freedom, sovereignty, self-determination, human dignity, and in the right of all peoples to exercise them.”

Sovereignty in the territories covered by the Armistice Agreements was amazingly being claimed by the PLO – when it was not in 1964.

Malki’s plea to the Security Council further falsified the historical and geographical facts:

“Israel’s goal has always been the same: grabbing maximum Palestinian geography with minimum Palestinian demography."

It was Jewish geography not Palestinian geography – recognition having been given by the League of Nations in 1922 to the right of the Jewish People to reconstitute the Jewish National Home in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and Gaza – their ancient and biblical homeland - pursuant to Article 6 of the Mandate for Palestine – a right preserved until today by article 80 of the United Nations Charter.

The PLO and the United Nations “two-state solution” has reached a dead end.

The only viable two-state solution to ending Jewish and Arab claims in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and Gaza are direct negotiations between Israel and Jordan – the two successor States to the 1922 Mandate for Palestine and the two signatories to their 1949 Armistice Agreement.

A two-state solution based on fiction can never beat a two-state solution based on fact.


Author’s note: The cartoon – commissioned exclusively by the author —is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators – whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog.com