Naqba Day Reflections From Hamas and Others
Ismail Haniyeh, the PM of Hamas and renewed partner of the Palestinian Authority as it pursues statehood for Palestine, addressed 10,000 people at Gaza City's al-Omari mosque today to commemorate Naqba Day. "Palestinians mark the Naqba with great hope of bringing to an end the Zionist project in Palestine," he said. "Palestinians have the right to resist Israeli occupation and will one day return to property they lost in 1948." He went on to implore worshippers to pray for an end to the state of Israel and reiterated that under no circumstances would Hamas ever recognize her right to exist.
The ever-reliable Saeb Erekat of the PA insisted that the problem of peace between our two nations is not his new partner's commitment to our total destruction, but the Israelis' persistent intransigence. "Netanyahu has closed the doors on negotiations," he said. "I want to hear the numbers 1-9-6-7 from Netanyahu. Until we don't hear that, we're not going to waste our time [sic]."
Meanwhile, the academics are weighing in. Dr. Daphne Richmond-Barak, an international law expert from the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, made clear that the penetration of the Israeli border by Syrian protesters today was "an unprecedented act in modern history and a clear violation of Israeli sovereignty as determined by article 51 of the United Nations Charter" (to quote The Jerusalem Post). With that said, she also noted that firing on civilians is a breach of international law, and Israel will likely be expected to defend her actions. “Most of the details surrounding the shooting are not yet known. Important considerations are whether the protesters were armed or not, whether they were an organized association of a paramilitary nature, whether the soldiers who fired felt they were in immediate danger and shot out of self defense and a series of other possibilities that are too vague to judge,” she said.
According to Professor Asa Kasher, one of the authors of the IDF’s code of ethics, “[t]he laws of war are not the appropriate framework for judging the events in the north. We are not talking about an attack by an invading army. It would be more appropriate to look to the US’s actions against Mexican infiltrators on its southern border to learn about legitimate use of force.”
Dr. Assaf Moghadem, also of the IDC and an expert on counterterrorism, believes the whole exercise may have been staged by Assad as a diversionary tactic. “What could be better for Assad than diverting the people’s anger from himself towards Israel? I wouldn’t put it beyond the range of the possible that he recruited people to cross the border in order to shift the pressure to Israel,” he said. He added that the ploy could backfire inside Syria, where much of the population is likely to recognize it for what it was.
By the way: there was also to have been a breach from the east today, but the Jordanian police prevented it. Hundreds of activists, joined by about forty Turks, came within a few hundred yards of the Israel border, but were dispersed by Jordanian tear gas before reaching the King Hussein crossing. Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994 in which it committed itself to preventing the use of its territory as a launching pad for hostilities against Israel.
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Sep '10
Re: Naqba Day Reflections From Hamas and Others
"I want to hear the numbers 1-9-6-7 from Netanyahu."
So,returning to the 1967 borders will miraculously bring peace? If I am not mistaken, they had the 1967 borders in 1967. How did that work out?
"At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you. I will rescue the lame; I will gather the exiles. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they have suffered shame." Zeph 3:19
Mar '11
Re: Naqba Day Reflections From Hamas and Others
Vance Richards: "I want to hear the numbers 1-9-6-7 from Netanyahu."
So,returning to the 1967 borders will miraculously bring peace? If I am not mistaken, they had the 1967 borders in 1967. How did that work out?
Twas a slip of the tongue - he really meant 1947. Or, maybe 1937.
Edited on May 15, 2011 at 2:34pmMay '10
Re: Naqba Day Reflections From Hamas and Others
Judith Levy
Dr. Assaf Moghadem, also of the IDC and an expert on counterterrorism, believes the whole exercise may have been staged by Assad as a diversionary tactic. ·
Gee, you think? I'm going to add "counterterrorism expert" to my resume, right below "constitutional scholar." Israel should send Assad a bill for their ammunition.
Dec '10
Re: Naqba Day Reflections From Hamas and Others
"According to Professor Asa Kasher, one of the authors of the IDF’s code of ethics, '[t]he laws of war are not the appropriate framework for judging the events in the north. We are not talking about an attack by an invading army. It would be more appropriate to look to the US’s actions against Mexican infiltrators on its southern border to learn about legitimate use of force.'"
So the crowd on the Syrian border presented themselves in an orderly fashion to Prof. Kasher for his verification that they had no concealed weapons or explosives?
One can compare Israel's treatment of Sudanese illegal border-crossers to America's treatment of Mexicans sneaking across our southern border, but no state of war exists between Mexico and the US, whereas Syria and Israel are at war, as are Lebanon and Israel.
Edited on May 15, 2011 at 4:09pmJun '10
Re: Naqba Day Reflections From Hamas and Others
I just wish that Israel had the same political latitude to kill all their local Osamas as the US had to kill its Osama. It would be a good start.
Apr '11
Re: Naqba Day Reflections From Hamas and Others
Isn’t this another example of why Israel shouldn’t even try to negotiate a peace deal? The problem is not ethnic but is religious. The Muslims in Palestine don’t seem remotely interested in living in peace with the Israelis, and the Muslims in the rest of the world (e.g. Syria) have no interest in accepting their fellow Muslims from Palestine as new citizens. Does anyone really doubt that Christian Palestinians would either find a way to live in peace with Israel or would emigrate to the West ? For the most part, they are doing so. Muslims are going to force non-Muslims to adopt extreme positions, or submit.
Re: Naqba Day Reflections From Hamas and Others
Ah, the fulcrum of the "but." It's so instructive.
"The Israelis should not have fired on those who were crossing the border, but the crossing itself was unprecedented and illegal."
"The crossing was unprecedented and illegal, but the Israelis should not have fired."
Same words, different worlds.
Mar '11
Re: Naqba Day Reflections From Hamas and Others
Seems to me that we, halfway across the world and in the comfort and safety of our homes, are urging the Israelis to take drastic measures not considering for a moment that the Israeli soldiers and their commanders are not necessarily particularly keen on shooting the illegal infiltrators and not necessarily because of political considerations but because they don't particularly like killing people, period. It is the values that one was brought up with that determine one's attitudes in these situations. Those in harm's way are best qualified to decide on the appropriate response; their trans-Atlantic friends can lend their support.