TRIGGERS READY
WAR CLOUDS ON HORIZON
MID-EAST REALITIES © - www.MiddleEast.Org - Washington - 6/04:
Despite the lull, there are many ominous signs of impending major attacks against the occupied Palestinians about to take place; and there is a real possibility of regional war. The Israelis have their fingers on the triggers and have forced Arafat to either defy his own people by capitulating to their ultimatums or face Israel's wrath, including his own possible demise.
International Airlines, including two of the biggest, Air France and Delta, have canceled flights to Israel. Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, now Secretary of State Colin Powell, has cancelled foreign travel plans to remain at his command post now on the 7th floor at Foggy Bottom. Foreign diplomats and U.N. officials are fleeing Palestinian areas. And the Israelis are planting stories that all the planes overhead and military convoys on the ground are just a "scheduled exercise" going to last "a few days".
For purposes of world public opinion the Israelis are orchestrating a campaign about their "restraint" and "giving Arafat a last chance" and how "reasonable" they are being under such provocations. Of course the actual realities are pretty much just the reverse. It is the Palestinians who have been repeatedly and severely provoked; not to mention it is they who are being constantly tortured, mercilessly repressed, and economically strangled -The now apartheid-like occupation has never been more savage nor more ruthlessly bold.
Whatever the actual realities historically, and whatever the political theatrics of the moment, furious Israeli war preparations are actually underway, at both the military and the propaganda levels. Indeed, after a period of diplomatic to and fro the Israelis may well strike first maybe even beyond the Palestinians areas as they did in 1967 -- claiming this or that provocation. Certainly they have put everybody in the region on warning -- if you raise any arms against us we will destroy you.
It is not too far-fetched to even suggest that should they get the excuse and be able to maneuver Washington behind-the-scenes, the Israelis could in fact strike both near and far -- they have been wanting, and at times threatening, to take out weapons of mass destruction as far away as Iraq and Iran, even Pakistan if they could possibly get their Indian ally to seize the moment. And if the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan should in the end rise from the smoke and ashes to find itself transformed into a Palestinian State, that would in fact be the fulfillment of Ariel Sharon's long ambition to force the Palestinians out and force them to find political expression elsewhere.
AIR FORCE LAUNCHES MASSIVE AIR EXERCISE
By Ariel O'Sullivan
JERUSALEM (June 4) - The IAF launched a major air
exercise yesterday, and apologized to the public for
expected supersonic booms over the next few days.
The exercise, held every few years, puts nearly the entire
IAF in the sky in a simulated war scenario, military
sources said.
Aircraft, among them fighters, transport aircraft, and
helicopters are testing their readiness for battle.
The IDF Spokesman said the exercise would take place
"for the next few days" in the skies over the country.
"During the exercise many aircraft will fly, and there are
certain to be sonic booms," an IDF statement said. "We
apologize for the unpleasantness that may be caused by
the noise, and are convinced that this will be accepted
with understanding."
There were reports that the Palestinians had heard the
sonic booms and had feared it was the Israeli retaliation
for Friday's suicide bombing.
While the exercise is planned years in advance, its
proximity to the rising tensions in the region are sure to
put neighboring states on alert.
The air exercise also includes various target placements
on the ground, and the public may observe bizarre
convoys of military trucks that appear to be towing
surface-to-surface missiles.
RUNNING OUT OF TIME
ISRAEL AND PALESTINE MUST FIND A WAY OUT
The Guardian - Monday, 4 June:
In the immediate aftermath of a shattering explosion comes a moment of silence, before the screaming begins. Those who have experienced it say it is akin to being stunned, muted and deafened, to being mentally and physically immobilised. For a few split-seconds, the shocking awfulness of what has occurred seems to stop the world in its tracks. Then the momentary pause ends, sound and fury return in a torrent, and reaction, both rational and irrational, ensues.
So it is now in the Middle East, following Friday night's terrible suicide bombing outside a Tel Aviv nightclub. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict teeters momentarily in suspension between action and counteraction, between one vicious, pitiless gesture of revenge and a probably even more destructive and violent response. Those in Syria and elsewhere who in the past 48 hours have attempted to justify this latest massacre of innocents deserve only contempt. Those in Israel who cry "Death to the Arabs!" and demand a "decisive" vengeance are every bit as repulsive. Both are the victims of the same hate-fed
delusion.
Once more we say: there is no victory, no decision, and no honour for Palestine to be had in the random butchering of teenage Jewish girls.
There is no security, no solace, and no future for Israel to be found in endless iniquities in the Occupied Territories or in the current ratio of almost five dead Palestinians to each dead Israeli. Just how many times has this been said before? And just how much longer before the majority for peace and justice, on both sides of the divide, is heard?
Perhaps now, at this moment of stunned silence, in the fleeting
vacuum after the blast, amid a horror that repels and appals all
humanity, these voices will be listened to. Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, known as a man of violence and elected on a vow to give no quarter, has shown uncharacteristic restraint so far. No doubt a swingeing Israeli military reprisal is planned; it could come at any time. But it awaits Mr Sharon's order and, rightly, that order has not yet been given. Israel must hold back - because the blood of yet more innocents will not strengthen its cause; because with US diplomacy finally re-engaged, there is just a glimmer of a way forward; and most of all, because Israel's greater strength gives it a greater responsibility.
Yasser Arafat, too, must stop, pause and listen, or risk the
destruction of all his dreams. He has rightly, if belatedly,
proscribed further attacks inside Israel. He pledges to "exert our utmost efforts ... to do all that is needed to achieve an immediate and unconditional, real and effective ceasefire". He must realise that this may be his last chance. If he can calm his people, he will finally rebut those who claim he is not really in charge - and vitally boost the Mitchell process on which so much now rests. If he cannot deliver this time, his credibility will be shredded and his plans for statehood exploded, perhaps permanently.
Colin Powell, the US secretary of state, the UN's Kofi Annan,
Russia's Igor Ivanov, and the EU's Javier Solana spent much of the weekend sending the same message to Mr Sharon and Mr Arafat: stop shooting, start talking. That unanimity of purpose, too, is welcome.
Now the world waits to see if the line oh-so-shakily drawn between these two furious nations can hold. If not, the extremists on the fringes of both camps will slam shut the window that has briefly opened in the past fortnight and shattering the lull, and all faint hope of peace, will fill the air once more with the screams of the maimed and dying and the bitter laments of those who love them.
BEN-ELIEZER: ISRAEL HAS ITS 'FINGER ON THE TRIGGER'
By Margot Dudkevitch and Arieh O'Sullivan
JERUSALEM (June 4) - Security forces continue to
maintain a high state of alert, focusing on the Green Line
border and crowded urban areas in Israel.
Yesterday morning, the international border crossings at
the Allenby Bridge and Rafah were closed until further
notice, in addition to the closing of the Dahaniye Airport
and the seaport in the Gaza Strip, and the general closure
on Judea, Samaria and Gaza Strip, that remain in effect.
The IDF has also barred Palestinian vehicles from
travelling on Judea and Samaria roads and highways, and
has tightened its grip on Palestinian towns and villages in
the West Bank, increased road patrols, and set up
additional roadblocks. IDF officials noted yesterday that
the restrictions would not apply to humanitarian
assistance.
The IDF, Border Police, and police have beefed up their
presence along the Green Line in order to enforce the
closure and thwart Palestinian terrorist attempts to cross
into Israel. Since Friday night's suicide-bomb attack in
Tel Aviv, police have arrested scores of Palestinian
workers from the territories, and have taken action
against their Israeli employers.
In order to ensure that law and order prevails, police
yesterday deployed forces to guard mosques in Tel Aviv
and Jaffa to prevent any possible confrontations. After
coming under heavy criticism regarding the handling of
demonstrators at the Hassan Bek Mosque on Saturday,
Tel Aviv police chief Cmdr. Yossi Sedbon said he was
satisfied with how forces had handled the situation, noting
that the increased police presence remained.
"Tel Aviv police, assisted by forces from other districts,
are patrolling the areas and guarding the mosques,
securing the funerals of the suicide-bomb attack victims,
and cracking down on Palestinians found inside Israel,"
he said.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said
that Israel had its "finger on the trigger," but for the
moment was giving the Palestinians more time to impose
a cease-fire on all groups in the territories.
Nevertheless, reports have surfaced that the IDF has
begun operations against Hamas and Islamic Jihad
terrorists.
The Islamic Jihad claimed yesterday that Israel had
attempted to assassinate former Hamas member Ahmed
Mohammed Bisharat in the village of Tamoun in the West
Bank, saying that a remote-controlled bomb exploded
along the road as he drove past. Bisharat, who was freed
from a Palestinian Authority prison eight months ago, was
unhurt. It was the first reported attack on an Islamic Jihad
member since Israel declared a unilateral cease-fire 11
days ago.
Ben-Eliezer said yesterday that since then, 34 Israelis
have been killed and over 100 injured. He said that the
Palestinians have fired hundreds of mortars and carried
out numerous roadside shootings.
So far, Israel is holding off acting on its announced
decision to retaliate for Friday night's suicide bombing by
a Hamas terrorist in Tel Aviv, in which 19 Israelis, mostly
teenage girls, were killed.
"From the moment of the [Friday attack] we have to put
our finger on the trigger to ensure the security and safety
of every Israeli citizen," Ben-Eliezer said. "If we must
open fire, we will immediately." But up until now, the IDF
has been kept from pulling the trigger, as it appears that
the Palestinians are drastically reducing their shooting
attacks.
"I think it is too early to judge. You need time to realize
and understand that [PA Chairman Yasser Arafat] is
imposing it," Ben-Eliezer said.
Speaking during a tour of Jerusalem's Gilo neighborhood
yesterday, Ben-Eliezer said he expects clear orders to be
issued to all Palestinian groups, including the Hamas,
Islamic Jihad, Force 17, the Tanzim, and the Palestinian
Preventive Security Service.
He also said he was waiting to see a reduction in
incitement, as well as arrest of terrorists. "That is the
test," Ben-Eliezer said.
Various proposals for the Green Line are being examined
by security officials. Channel 1 reported last night that
Ben-Eliezer is considering declaring the area a closed
military zone, stationing a permanent IDF battalion there
and increasing security patrols.
----------------------------------
MiD-EasT RealitieS - http://www.MiddleEast.Org
Phone: 202 362-5266
Email: MER@MiddleEast.Org
To subscribe email to MERLIST@MiddleEast.Org with subject SUBSCRIBE
To unsubscribe email to MERLIST@MiddleEast.Org with subject UNSUBSCRIBE
