september 2004

the israel Government's new "propaganda" exercise
Beit Hanoon totally destroyed and the million bullets that burned into consciousness

"Our fighters will terminate your colonisation," a Hamas leader told demonstrators in Jabalya refugee camp, Gaza, a few days ago. "We demand that Sharon withdraw his forces from Beit Hanun"

Jews in USA protest:

In January, American rabbis representing the four major streams of Judaism in this country went to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC on behalf of one of their Israeli peers, a leader in Israel’s human rights movement.

Along with Rabbi Gerold Serotta, who co-chairs Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR) North America, RHR advisory council members Sidney Schwartz, Marc Gopin and Jack Moline brought with them a letter with some 350 signatures by North American rabbis. Other activists delivered a copy to the Israeli Consulate in New York.

According to the Jan. 15 Washington Jewish Week, “The missive called for dismissal of the charges against Rabbi Arik Ascherman, who faces charges of interfering with police for protesting home demolition in Beit Hanina and the village of Issawiyah, north of Jerusalem. Ascherman, 44, is the executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights in Israel...If convicted,the U.S.-born Reform rabbi who now lives in Jerusalem could face three years in jail and fines. But Rabbis for Human Rights is hoping that it will be Israel’s policy of demolishing illegally built Arab homes that will really be on trial.”

Noted the letter delivered by the American rabbis: “These prosecutions will never lead to the kind of Israel we want and desire: a Jewish state that celebrates the prophetic voice which has animated our people for centuries. True democracies protect minority rights, and cherish and listen to their critics, to those who stand with the poor and powerless.”

In the opinion of Rabbi Schwartz, who directs the Washington-based Panim: The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values, backers of Israel must also stand ready to point out policies that need changing. “The best expressions of our love for Israel,” he argues, “is not only to support her against her enemies, but also to help the society live up to its own aspirations, as stated in the Israeli Declaration of Independence.”

The document delivered to the embassy contends that the destroyed houses posed no security threat to Israel: “None of the people in these homes engaged in violence or harboring terrorists. They were demolished because of a violation of zoning regulations in the context where it is almost impossible for Palestinian families in those parts of the West Bank under Israeli civilian control or in Jerusalem to legally obtain building permits.”

Gaza, Aug. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Palestinian Minister for Foreign Affairs Nabil Shaath asserted Sunday that the families of the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun will receive supports and relieves soon.

   Shaath made the promise while he and a number of foreign ambassadors and consuls visited Beit Hanoun Saturday, who expressed astonishment at the destruction of the town brought by the Israeli Army.

   The once green town was reduced into a desert, denounced Shaath.

   The Israeli army raided Beit Hanoun in a large-scale operation lasting for five weeks since July. Thousands of cultivated hectares of lands were bulldozed and razed.

   The Israeli Army said that the aim of the military operation in the town was to prevent Palestinian militants from firing al Qassam homemade rockets at southern Israeli cities and towns. 

UPDATE August29th:

Meanwhile, in Gaza Strip the Israeli occupation troops erected two military posts in Abu Safyia area south west of Beit Hanoon.

Locals inhabiting close to the two newly established military posts said that the two posts were as high as ten meters and fortified the two posts with cement barriers, embankments, and razor fences.

More than a million bullets
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/444992.html

By Reuven Pedatzur

The key to the mystery that is at the core of the important argument between former Military Intelligence commanders may be found in an anecdote told by former MI head Amos Malka to Akiva Eldar (Haaretz, June 11). It turns out that during the first few days of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, soldiers in the territories fired 1,300,000 bullets. This astounding statistic embodies the entire story. This massive firepower is the operational translation of an argument between Malka and Amos Gilad.

In the conflict with the Palestinians, at the end of September 2000, senior IDF commanders adopted Gilad's assessment, which was based on his own perspective, and according to which Yasser Arafat's foray into negotiations was a scheme aimed at leading to Israel's destruction, and that he in no way plans to reach an agreement. This explains what took place once the intifada broke out, and the unrestrained shooting that ensued.

The Chief of staff Shaul Mofaz, with the support of his senior aides, had not planned to bring about the end of the conflict at its very onset. But having adopted Gilad's approach, he had an opportunity to finally "beat" the Palestinians, to "vanquish" them and lead them to negotiations in a weakened and exhausted state. This is the origin of the "burned into their consciousness" thesis, which became a cornerstone of the Israel Defense Forces' policy in the territories. We'll hit the Palestinians until the recognition of their weakness vis-a-vis Israel's might is burned into their consciousness. This is the only way they will understand that they are best off coming to terms with their inferiority and accepting Israel's demands.

This gave rise to the objective defined by Mofaz, his successor Moshe Ya'alon, and their colleagues in the general staff: achieving military victory in what was at first described as a war with the Palestinians. This explains why the IDF began to use such massive firepower when the uprising broke out in the territories. This also explains why over a million bullets were fired in the first few days, even though there was no operational or professional justification. The intent was to score a winning blow against the Palestinians, and especially against their consciousness. This was not a war on terror, but on the Palestinian people. IDF commanders projected their viewpoint regarding Arafat's intentions onto the entire Palestinian society.

When the intifada began, chief of staff Mofaz bragged that the IDF, which had predicted the outbreak of violence in the territories, declared the year 2000 as "the year of preparedness," and when the violence did indeed break out, that the army was ready for it. But this was not a preparedness for alleviating the violence, but rather for escalating the conflict. Soldiers were given a free hand to shoot without limit. In the first three months of the intifada, the number of Israeli casualties was low, at which time the IDF proudly cited the large number of Palestinian casualties as evidence of the military victory and the correctness of the policy of massive use of force.

Maj. Gen. Malka states that the policy of use of military force caused a flare-up of the fire. In other words, the IDF contributed to the escalation. The Palestinians did not expect such a harsh response by Israel. They hoped that the "model" of the 1996 Western Wall tunnel riots would repeat itself. In other words, a brief outbreak of violence, followed by negotiations, in which they would win another few concessions by Israel. Yet it seems that the IDF actions thwarted the possibility of the violence ending quickly, since the events spun out of the Palestinian leadership's control.

The failure of the senior command level has to do with adoption of Gilad's perception and the unwillingness, or inability, to examine the events from the perspective of the Palestinian public. Senior IDF commanders disregarded, or did not understand, that the unrestrained firing of so much ammunition has implications at the strategic level, and its outcome was liable to spin the violence out of control. The escalation was by this time unavoidable. It was obvious that as long as the IDF high command clung to the idea of the "military victory," it would have to step up military activity and use tanks, helicopters and F-16 jets, which are not the most effective means of waging war on terrorists.

After nearly four years of warfare, one can state with certainty that the IDF indeed succeeded in "burning into the consciousness." Not that of the Palestinians, however. Rather, of the Israeli public, which has adopted without dissent the worldview that has guided commanders of the IDF in their policy in the territories. Amos Gilad beat Amos Malka, and the State of Israel apparently lost.