Still drunk with power
By Shulamit Aloni, Ha'aretz, December 15, 2002
The War of Independence ended in April 1949. Israel signed armistice agreements with each of the countries that fought against it, and the borders were set. The last to sign was Jordan, and the Green Line was set as the border. In the wake of the agreement, the right-wing parties in the Knesset assailed the prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, for ordering the Israel Defense Forces to stop and not "letting the IDF win" and conquer more territory. In his reply in the Knesset, Ben-Gurion stated that bringing an end to the war was the most important thing for the victor. Without compromise and concession there is no peace and no end to wars, however victorious. Criticism notwithstanding, there were of course achievements. Those who want proof need only compare the United Nations map of November 29, 1947 - the date of the vote on the plan to partition Palestine between Arabs and Jews - with the map of Israel after the agreement. In the wake of the great victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, we were drunk with power and intoxicated with the territories we had conquered. If we had succeeded in reaching peace agreements at that time based on the good conditions that accrued to the victorious side, we would have been spared wars and reaped very hefty fruits, even had it entailed returning most of the occupied territories.

What Is Going On?
By MIFTAH, December 12, 2002
Perhaps one of the toughest jobs imaginable is being a White House spokesperson, especially in the Bush administration. After all, the self discipline required to maintain a straight face while remarking that the US is deeply disturbed at the increasing rate of Palestinian civilian casualties at the same time that the US prepares a four billion dollar military aid package to Israel is nothing short of astonishing. US tax dollars, in the form of US military aid to Israel, are being used to fund Israel's oppressive policies and sustain their illegal occupation of Palestinian land as well as providing means for Israel to continue violating the human rights of Palestinians. Moreover, this is in clear violation of the US Arms Export Control Act, which prohibits the President from furnishing military aid or selling weapons to any country that consistently violates internationally recognized human rights standards. Yet, after every Israeli vicious killing of Palestinian civilians, White House spokespersons, hiding behind their podium, express their deep concern for the loss of innocent lives.

The Dying Truth in Nablus
By Rula Sharkawi, MIFTAH, December 13, 2002
In 1917, US Senator Hiram Johnson understood well the losses of those who fall silently in modern warfare. "The first casualty, when war comes, is truth." The West Bank Palestinian city of Nablus hardly makes the news anymore. A place once known for its vibrancy, its energy, its hospitality and generosity, its love for food and music, is now a ghost town, says Soraya, as she stands in the wreckage of what was once her home in the ancient Al-Qasabah (old city), now a pile of rubble amidst dusty furniture. In April of this year it was completely destroyed by missiles in the Israeli attack on Nablus. Nablus has seen many casualties in the last year, the economy which has all by collapsed, the education system that has effectively been shut down, the children whose lives as children have been stolen by Israeli military occupation, the troubled psychological well being of a whole population, the torn infrastructure, community centres, homes and businesses. But perhaps the greatest fatality, silently hidden and masked from sight and sound, is the truth: one that reflects the daily Palestinian realities and voices that are often drowned, buried and discredited by the Israeli propaganda machine. What is often unheard are Palestinian narratives from civilians that tell stories of Israeli war crimes, of collective punishment, of the destruction of homes and lives committed by Israeli occupation soldiers, hidden under the guise of "defense," "the war on terror" and "preventative security."

A World Wide Intifada? Why?
By William A. Cook, CounterPunch, December 7, 2002
A satellite view of attacks against western interests spotlights the reality that a world-wide intifada against the "developed" nations of the west and their allies is already underway. Russian apartment houses and, recently, a theater, the Twin Towers in New York, two Bali discos, a French super tanker blown up off the coast of Yemen, an Israeli hotel destroyed in Kenya, a failed missle shot at an Israeli passenger plane off the coast of Africa, and others too numerous to mention demonstrate the magnitude of the effort underway to wake up the west to the consequences of its dominance over the lives and interests of peoples throughout the world. Recent events, coupled with the investigations of Jean-Louis Bruguiere, the French Judge who has been tracking terrorist acts for two decades, forces us to grapple with why this is happening. Bruguiere recently warned that France is one of the two or three countries "most at risk of attack due to its historic links to Algeria." "Islamic extremism," he noted, "is breeding like a virus in Europe."(World-Rueters, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2002) What conditions prefigure the coming "Intifada" against the United States and the west? The first is misunderstanding of the deprived and displaced people of the world, a subject far too broad for this article. Let us concentrate on what Bin Laden told us was the most egregious cause: "You attacked us in Palestine. Palestine, which has sunk under military occupation for more than 80 years. The British handed over Palestine, with your (US) help and your support, to the Jews, who have occupied it for more than 50 years; years overflowing with oppression, tyranny, crimes, killing, expulsion, destruction and devastation" (Bin Laden, "Letter to America," 11/24/02). Harley Sorensen pointed out, tellingly, that Osama's letter had virtually no publicity in the American Press; America's corporate press does not want Americans to know why they are hated. (San Francisco Gate, Dec. 2, 2002)

A present for the daughter 
By Sergio Yahni, Alternative Information Center, December 16, 2002 
A month ago, in the basement of the ‘Ariana’ nightclub in Tel Aviv, Shoni Gabrieli presented his daughter, Inbal, to some aging friends. "She is my kid," he said, "and she wants to be a member of the Knesset." Inbal Gabrieli has no political experience, but does have a rich family networked in the Likud central committee. The people sitting in the Tel Aviv night club asked Ms. Gabrieli some questions. She made some right wing declarations, saying also that she wants to support the young generation and made some general comments on the status of women. Later, Yoel Labi, one of the guests and the mayor of Ramla, had a short personal conversation with her to make it clear that she shouldn’t talk about issues like the status of women with male Likud members. "She is ok, Labi said to her father, "she will be a member of parliament in the next Knesset." Yoel Labi, couldn't care less about the record of Inbal Gabrieli. If her uncle and her father want her as a member of the Knesset, he can do the trick. The Likud's primary elections in the central committee were about financial and power deals. If you have political force in the central committee you can be elected. If you don’t have, you can buy it.

Defend your rights, but don’t cross the limits set by Islam
By Reem Mohammed Al-Faisal, Arab News, December 16, 2002
A few days ago a friend in Ramallah called to wish me a happy Eid. As she talked about the daily horrors of life under military occupation, she told me about a group of Europeans who had come to Palestine to help with the olive harvest and to generally show their support. She explained that quite a number of Europeans had come to offer their services in various ways. I asked if any Muslims or Arabs had come and she said none that she knew of. We wondered why Muslims — even from states which have relations with Israel — haven’t volunteered to go and give personal help rather than simply sending money. Why don’t they risk more than the contents of their wallets? There are many ways to resist and if we can’t help militarily, we can give succor by other means. We Arabs as a nation have suffered greatly in the last two centuries at the hands of colonialists and it continues today. The worst example is Israel and its continuing brutality against the Palestinians; the world at large either approves the Israeli savagery or simply pretends not to notice. All that we have endured, however, should never push us from, or cause us to misuse, the tenets of Islam. Islam is a universal religion and it belongs to all humanity. Neither culture nor race should dictate the conduct of Muslims toward others — and surely never anger nor a desire for revenge.

Artificial alliance: The Ginossar case illustrates the destructive results of Israel-PA economic relations.
By Yoram Gabay, Globes, December 10, 2002
"The Ginossar case proves, perhaps more than anything else, the consequences of the artificial economic alliance we created in the territories with the Palestinian leadership. People got rich at the expense of the Palestinian population, which saw no economic benefit from the peace process." -- I took part in the economic discussions with the Palestinians in Paris in the period from October 1993 and May 1994. Until the summer of 1995 I was among those responsible for implementing the economic agreement with the Palestinians, as the official in charge of state revenues and as chairman of the tax committee in the Paris talks. During this period we saw the economic, political and social processes that led to the grim reality described in Ben Caspit’s articles, published last week in "Ma'ariv", on the Ginossar case. In the Paris talks the Palestinians defined their main economic objectives: setting up a liberal, open, transparent and competitive economic system, devoid of monopolies. They said they had learned from others’ mistakes, especially those of developing countries, and intended to act differently.