Both the Arab and Israeli press report that Hamas and Israel are on the verge of concluding a prisoner swap deal – which means that not only have Hamas and Likud been negotiating, but they’ve been negotiating successfully. Ironically, the negotiations to free Palestinians political prisoners have caused the illegitimate President of the American-Israeli Palestinian Authority (AIPA) Mahmoud Abbas to accuse Hamas of, well, negotiating with Israel.
Fortunately, one doesn’t have to read very extensively to understand what motivates the AIPA; one of the prisoners that Israel is likely to release in any deal is Marwan Barghouti, the charismatic, dynamic Fatah leader. The weak, ineffectual and unstable AIPA is on the verge of collapse. Evidence of its instability is abundant – this month alone has seen calls for Palestinian elections, then their cancellation; calls for a third Palestinian Intifada, and then a decision to suspend those calls; the threat of a unilateral declaration of statehood, and then a repeal of that threat.
Sixteen-years-old, the AIPA is just hitting puberty. Mr. Barghouti’s release will likely underscore Mr. Abbas’ redundancy and may result in General Keith Dayton’s retirement from Palestinian politics. His release will diminish the role of the AIPA in Palestine – we may hope for its total collapse.
Ahmed Moor is a 25-year-old Palestinian-American from the Rafah refugee camp. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, he now lives in Beirut.
thanks for giving this report space, Phil, especially since it comes from the inside and does not seem to have even a whiff of animus in it, just a cool tracing of the stress lines in Palestinian political life. Mr. Moor’s analysis also reveals that there are maturing political institutions in Palestine, belying the simplistic propaganda, “Hamas bad,” “no partner.”
Hezbollah grew to legitimacy in Lebanon. If the gods are kind, if young people like Ahmed Moor continue to analyse thoughtfully and write courageously, if people like Phil Weiss continue to bring those words to an expanding audience, if people like me send some money to Phil so he can keep doing all this…. then maybe two aggrieved parties, Israelis and Palestinians, can be talked back from angrily leaping off a cliff to their own destruction.
The so-called “deal” will certainly include Marwan Barghouti – the only person who can revive the pro-USrael Fatah movement. I have not heard any Hamas leader getting excited by this Egyptian rumour. This new Israeli Chutzpah, if materialized, is to put a wedge between Hamas and its Iranian and Hizbollah supporters – so that Saudi puppets could sell Palestinian people on a silver plater to Tel aviv via Tel Aviv.
Israeli Chutzpahs
link to rehmat1.wordpress.com
Rehmat: “The so-called “deal” will certainly include Marwan Barghouti . . . I have not heard any Hamas leader getting excited by this Egyptian rumour.”
The press accounts I’ve been reading indicate that Hamas has put Barghouti at the top of the list. From the Associated Press:
It is not in Israel’s plans to release Barghouti precisely because they want to keep the PA propped up and glued to the surrender table. Netanyahu has even declared his support for a “settlement freeze” that doesn’t include Jerusalem – framing this as a concession.
Never say never, but I really doubt that Israel will agree to release Barghouti.
Schmuel’s right. They’ll talk about doing it, refuse to do it, find and excuse and then a few months later go on and on about how the Palestinians “had a chance” to get him release and how they “never pass up an opportunity to pass up an opportunity.” More than likely, anyway.
Hell, I half-expect Hamas releases Schalit and Israel releases nobody.
link to haaretz.com
This will only cause Israel to balk harder.
Still, we now have two candidates for Palestinian president – Barghouti and Ray Hanania.
“Fatah strongman Marwan Barghouti” . . . “Shalit was kidnapped”
This article is dripping with hasbaric contempt. Barghouti is a “strongman.” What the hell is that? Would Benjamin Netanyahu be a “strongman?” Or is that some racist code that only Arabs and dictators can be a “strongman.”
Shalit is a soldier. In times of war, soldiers are captured, not kidnapped. Civilians are kidnapped. The IDF kidnaps hundreds, if not thousands, of teenaged civilian boys in the middle of the night in Gaza, terrorizing a civilian population, destroying families. Now that’s kidnapping.
Mondoweiss is devoted to “the war of words” in the Middle East. Challenge the MSM, let them know you’re not a stupid dupe that buys its propaganda hook, line and sinker.
Oscar, and what makes that unfortunate is that Ha’aretz is generally regarded as a left wing intellectual journalistic outlet. In other words, this is Israel objectivity and integrity at its very best.
Encouraged much?
Oscar, yes the “strongman” title is meant to imply that they “do not understand anything but force,” the constant Zionist orientalist refrain. Like they are brute beasts, savages, etc. It opens the door for many activities – they have to be constantly “beaten,” secondly it calls into question the ability to converse like a “civilized” human being (whatever civilized is supposed to mean).
People should not mistake the racist mentality behind this assertion, “they only understand force.” It is the old standby of the slave masters language in the South – “they only understand the whip,” or the idea that they are meant to always be a subjugated people. The connection dawned on me while I was reading Blackmon’s Pulitzer Prize Winner – “Slavery By Another name:
SLAVERY BY ANOTHER NAME
There was a public official waxing eloquent in ta statehouse, and he talked about the inferiority of the black man, and how he never understood anything but force – and suddenly it clicked for me, I realized that this was the racist motive for the language used for the Palestinians or the derogatory spitting out of the monolithic “Arabs” from the mouths of Zionists.
I assume its just the usual chain-yanking, but there is a small chance that the Israeli political establishment is rattled enough by concrete manifestations of their recent drop in popularity, e.g. Turkey/Anatolian Eagle, Egypt/Med Conference, no UN veto from GB, cracks in the wall of silence in the US MSM, to start making mistakes. If the Israeli government’s reputation for strategic political intelligence and decision-making was as good as is oft-touted, they wouldn’t now be in the mess they are in. /raise_brandy_glass “here’s to hoping they attempt to fix a past mistake by making another!”
Hamas history tied to Israel, By Richard Sale
UPI Terrorism Correspondent
Ahmed Moor’s reports are always insightful and compelling. Richard Witty may have been wondering (cynically) why there is no “Palestinian Gandhi.” As many others on this site have vociferously responded: because Israel imprisons them all.
Marwan Barghouti just may be the Palestinian Gandhi. No wonder MK Shlomo Silvan is throwing a temper tantrum in front of the Israeli media, shrilly caterwauling that Barghouti is NOT going to be released for Shalit. That’s news to Hamas, which has responded: No Barghouti, no deal.
Barghouti is the unifying force. Abbas is — as Ahmed points out — illegitimate. He’s a Western puppet. Can anyone believe he has any credibility left as a leader in Palestine after stupidly delaying the Goldstone report — or reportedly cheering on the Israelis to decimate Gaza during Operation Cast Lead?
And why is Hamas putting Marwan Barghouti at the top of its list? Isn’t that an expression of its desire to unite with Fatah and the West Bank, but not with the Abbas leadership?
Israel has punished Iran for over 20 years in attempts to gain the release of Israeli air force navigator Ron Arad, whose plane went down due to an equipment malfunction while Arad was on a mission to bomb PLO in Lebanon in 1986. That Arad was not rescued was due to another series of mistakes by the Israeli rescue team.
Somehow, this is laid at Iran’s feet. At least four Iranian diplomats and hundreds of other Iranians have been assassinated, captured, tortured, imprisoned by Israel in numerous ‘operations’ to retrieve Arad. He’s still missing, but then, Israel still has Iran in its crosshairs.
Reports that I’ve read most recently suggest that Israel is balking at the release of some names on the list, among them Barghouti.
But I think Israel will have to cave this time, as public expectations have been whipped up to a high pitch by leaked reports.
Barghouti has shared a prison with many Hamas supporters. They have been discussing a unity deal for years. I first read about this about 5 years ago.
If you recall Barghouti is one of the leaders that arose during the first Intifada. At that time the PLO was cooling its heals in Tunisia and provided no on the ground leadership. The US and Israel brought Arafat back to control the West Bank since it was clear that the Israelis couldn’t do it. The PLO sidelined the leaders of the first Intifada when they returned. In any case, Barghouti’s loyalty has never been to the PLO but to justice for the Palestinians. After the Oslo process was revealed as a fraud, these younger leaders backed intifada two.
To keep this short, both Hamas ‘sand Barghouti’s political influence grew as the PA lost legitimacy. It is quite natural for Hamas and Barghouti’s forces to enter into a coalition. They both matured in the same environment. However, it is quite premature to think of him as a Palestinian Ghandi — that is not his record — but it does sound like he intends to lead a non-violent struggle against the occupation if he gets out.
Thank you, Ahmed (and Phil), for a very interesting comment. If Hamas is really making Barghouti a deal-breaker, they are taking a calculated risk. On the one hand, they will be given credit for having secured the release of the most popular Palestinian leader, but on the other hand they will be helping a very serious rival. Again, assuming these reports are true, I’m guessing that Barghouti himself has been consulted and has agreed to cooperate with Hamas and restore sorely-needed Palestinian unity. Despite the Palestinian reputation for factionalism perpetuated in Israel and the West, an amazing degree of unity has been maintained – through two intifadas and extremely difficult conditions. The current split is artificial and was carefully engineered by Israel and the US, after the Palestinians voted the “wrong” way.
Shmuel, absolutely. There is a particularly obnoxious footnote in some of the press reports that the US administration doesn’t support the talks between Israel and Hamas. Apparently, it’s “negotiating with terrorists.” Is there anything more the US can do to sabotage peace in the Middle East??
What’s our nation’s definition of “terrorists” — a group that lobs non-exploding, crude bombs into a civilian population, or a group that uses US-funded smart weapons to incinerate children with white phosphorus?
From YNet:
So the holdup isn’t Marwan Barghouti after all, but a Hamas guy of that name.
Random thought: If Netanyahu is actually really serious about his “settlement freeze”, Abbas could demand Marwan Barghouti’s release as a condition for returning to the surrender table.
The Palestinian voters will determine if the PA is irrelevant or not.
It IS partisan, not solidarity, to discount Fatah and the PA. You also don’t have a clue how Marwan Barghouti would act if/when released.
So, you agree Abbas is correctly viewed as a puppet of USA-Israel?
Wittypocrisy:
Take the Israeli government at its word when they say they didn’t target civilians — in spite of the evidence on the ground, and the testimonies of “Breaking the Silence” soldiers — and continue to believe they intend to have a full and fair investigation after they have repeatedly stated that they have found absolutely nothing wrong and that they are one of the most moral militaries in the world;
Ignore what Palestinian voters have already indicated with regards to Fatah and Hamas. Ignore Fatah’s role — with aid and funding from Israel and the US — to take control fo the Palestinian government by military coup. Treat any prominent Palestinian in Israeli prison as a dangerous unknown quantity.
Hamas is impotent to accomplish anything substantive relative to Israel, or even relative to Palestine.
That Hamas, or Marwan Barghouti have been uninvolved in the greatest element of assertion of Palestinian sovereignty (the development of confident social, legal, and political institutions), can only be a tragedy for the Palestinian society if they do not get up to speed.
And, to get up to speed, they will have to accept critical philosophical and functional foundations of the effort, particularly that development is effective, while resistance is rarely.
Even using South Africa as an example, if the ANC determined that the prior basis of law (excepting the racially prejudicial features) was irrelevant and rejected, South Africa would have devolved to what everyone feared.
Anyone that pretends to solidarity with Palestine, MUST recognize and give credit to Fatah and Fayyad for that.
The cheap shots on Fatah are self-destructive, only good for vainly self-righteous anger.
Wonderful, and now the post spam starts.
I love it how you talk down to Palestinians about their own society and government. As if you’re more of an expert than they are on what goes on in Palestine.
You know the rest of us read stuff other than Zionist shill garbage, Witty. Keep telling us that it’s a bright, sunny day while the flood waters rise around your ankles.
“The cheap shots on Fatah are self-destructive, only good for vainly self-righteous anger.”
i suppose you are referring to all israeli commentary for the past umpteen years too…. how generous of you!
Hamas is impotent to accomplish anything substantive relative to Israel, or even relative to Palestine.
Hamas’ resistance to occupation, ethnic cleansing, and colonization was a key factor in convincing the Israeli political establishment of the wisdom of removing Jewish colonies from Gaza. That alone is more achievement than everything the collaborationist Fatah has accomplished during its entire existence. Calling Hamas impotent is at best wishful thinking, and more likely an expression of forlorn hope that Palestinians will continue to have collaborationist leadership who will allow Israeli ethnic cleansing and colonization to continue unopposed.
Good point, Colin.
Sometimes you just have to laugh. It is so obvious, especially in the context of the article we are all responding to, that the statement you quoted above is the exact opposite of the truth.
Hamas, through an act of armed resistance, is bringing about the liberation of actual kidnapped Palestinians. Fatah has achieved nothing in the way of Palestinian freedom, precisely because Israel acts in bad faith.
Like everyone, they respond to leverage. But they promise to reward non-violence and cooperation, while in reality exploiting those as weakness.
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We don’t have a clue how Marwan Barghouti would act if/when he is released (at least until Witty has one of his frequent epiphanies), but we do have the statements and actions of Barghouti himself:
Barghouti: Shalit abduction achieved what no dialogue could:
link to haaretz.com
Some excerpts from the article:
“Maybe Israel will finally understand that Hamas’ demands cannot be ignored,” Barghouti told the Milan-based Corriere Della Sera, adding that the main issue topping his agenda currently is achieving unity between rival Palestinian factions.
“Following a [unity] deal, I will be ready to submit my candidacy” for Palestinian president, he said.
Remarking on the Shalit prisoner exchange, Barghouti said “this time it is really happening, and some of the prisoners will finally be free.” He added that the capture of an Israeli soldier was directly responsible for progress that no dialogue has been able to achieve – the release of prisoners. “It appears that Israel had no choice but to yield to Hamas’ list of prisoners, of which I am one,” Barghouti told the newspaper, via his attorney.
If Barghouti is released in a prisoner exchange, it could have far-reaching strategic implications on internal Palestinian balance of power, and attempts to strike a peace deal with Israel.
Fatah officials say that Barghouti’s release could expedite the resignation of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, paving the way for Barghouti to assume the post.
Palestinian opinion polls show that Barghouti is extremely popular among the Palestinian public. Though Hamas is likely to gain popularity if it is able to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit, no single Hamas figure seems likely to defeat Barghouti in Palestinian elections.
….
Barghouti, who maintains exceptionally close relations with the Hamas leadership, has been trying to promote Palestinian unity for quite some time. In an interview from his prison cell last week, Barghouti voiced support for the idea of Palestinian “resistance” alongside peace negotiations with Israel.
Among Palestinians, the term “resistance” is an umbrella name for anything from terror attacks, which Barghouti has supported in the past, to non-violent demonstrations. In any event, it is clear that Barghouti has adopted a more hawkish line than Abbas.
Officials from the Palestinian Ministry for Prisoner Affairs convened in Jericho on Tuesday against the backdrop of a framed photograph of Barghouti hugging fellow prisoners from a range of Palestinian factions, among them Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Secretary General Sadat and two senior Hamas officials. That is Barghouti’s way – putting Palestinian unity above peace talks considerations. This stance has proven popular with the Palestinian public and has bolstered Barghouti’s position as the prominent leadership candidate.
Some of this feels like hasbaric propaganda meant to torpedo a deal.
Barghouti was improperly arrested and taken to Israel in violation of the Geneva Convention. He has been incarcerated for four years. Shimon Peres promised that if he was elected, he would release Barghouti. He never did.
Bruce, you’re correct — we don’t know what Barghouti would do as a leader of Palestine. But could he do ,any worse than Abbas? Unfathomable.
That was Witty’s words, “we don’t know what Barghouti would do as a leader of Palestine.”
Actually, Barghouti has had one of the most consistent lines of any Palestinian leader.
It may be hasbara trying to kill the deal, but I actually relish the idea that Netanyahu is in quite a quandary about what to do about Barghouti. Release him and Abbas falls. Hence, peace talks are off the table for awhile. But Barghouti can unite the Palestinians like no other credible Palestinian figure. His street cred gives him leverage against the authoritarian pro-US Arab leaders. Yet, he is not a rejectionist. His goal is a viable Palestinian state. But he is flexible about tactics. Pragmatic – whatever works – as Obama is so fond of saying. How much trouble will he cause the Israelis in the future?
What does the US want? Does Obama see a freed Barghouti as a blessing or a curse? All depends what his true intentions are.
Obama is empathetic to the Palestinian situation, sees Abbas as too weak to even be a puppet. It’s the neo-con establishment that see Barghouti potentially as a curse.
You say that as if there is much distinction between Obama and the neo-con establishment, policy-wise. Did you hear we’re going to be the only country with an established policy of rejecting the land mine prohibition treaty? Or how about that troop escalation Obama seems to want in Afghanistan?
Book Calls Jewish People an ‘Invention’
here is the new york times book review..
link to nytimes.com
Wow talk about a total irrelevant post.
Are you upset that he’s impinging upon your purview, yonira?
so irrelevant, you felt the need to respond!!
it is of interest as it was something discussed here at mondoweiss and many would be interested… obviously you aren’t which is fine too..
J-Street’s Jeremy Ben-Ami: pro-Israel means pro-Palestine
link to palestinenote.com
Thats fine James, I read the article and found it interesting, but what does it have to do with an Israel-Hamas prisoner swap?
Of greatest concern is what is happening on American campuses, which are slowly becoming pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli. That is dangerous because this is where America’s future leaders are bred. But our opponents are not motivated by anti-Semitism, as our political hacks like to claim. If patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel, then anti-Semitism is the last refuge of the occupier.
How we became a night unto the nations, Yoel Marcus, Haaretz
Goucher College bans speakers it deems anti-Israel
link to palestinenote.com
Iran takes Nobel Peace Prize from recipient:
link to newser.com
Smoke and mirrors.
I doubt very much that Barghouti will be released as part of a deal for Shalit.
Israel doesn’t want to release him preceisely because he is a popular smart and militant secular leader who is not so extreme as to scare off the rest of the world. He might actually make the Fatah and/or the PA effective.
Hamas does not want to release him preceisely because he is a popular smart and militant secular leader who is not so extreme as to scare off the rest of the world. He might actually make the Fatah and/or the PA effective.
Of course Hamas would like the Palestinian street to think it is demanding Barghouti’s release. Hence the dis-information, IMO.
I think what we have here is a failure to understand just what is the conflict between Fatah and Hamas, where it came from and why it even happened at all. Here’s a clue: link to vanityfair.com
I think this notion that Hamas and Fatah are going to behave toward each other in an idiotic, ineffectual, combative fashion with no regard for their respective electorates… is projection on our part. This isn’t like the Democratic versus Republican parties.
You all still diminish the importance of institution building.
Barghouti will have to function within a legal system. If he operates by revolution, he will destroy all the progress that has been made, and return the status to one of war, rather than increments in assertive reconciliation.
If he can be the additional lever that leads to a 67 based borders, based on the rule of law, and treaty, wonderful.
If he is the lever that returns Palestinian performance to political resistance only, by either BDS, terror, and/or verbal denial, it will be a tragedy.
Who knows if he would win? Everybody loves a militant. Israelis elect generals. One would hope that the Palestinians would be smarter.
Witty, what institution building?
Are you referring to the institution building that took place during the Oslo process? If so then you must be referring to the 40% of the West Bank that Israel has appropriated for itself, during what was supposed to be a peace process. While at the same time, stealing virtually all the water from the West Bank municipalities, destroying virtually all the police stations, fire stations, and implementing a system of check points that has virtually destroyed the entire economy of the West Bank.
If your referring to post Camp David, well then the situation has only gotten worse at a nearly exponential level.
Yes, Richard, there are Palestinian institutions, but these institutions are merely a facade. For example, the Palestinian water ministry cannot do anything to obtain more water for its own people, it has no ability to tap into the piping system, create new pipes, or even dig a new well. In effect, Palestinians don’t even bother going to the Palestinian water authority, they go straight to the Israeli one, and get the rejection stamp in a faster and more timely manner.
Even when it comes to building a home, Palestinians must go to an Israeli institution, and spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars to find out that the Israelis have given them a rejection stamp. This occurs about 95% of the time, and in some years 99% of the time.
Their are ZERO Palestinian institutions that work in an autonomous manner in the West Bank. The closest thing the Palestinians have to working institutions are the Hamas run charities, schools, and hospitals in the Gaza strip.
The only thing the PA does is dispense aid money, paid for by the American tax payer. Ironically, it is Israel that is responsible for the upkeep of the occupied territories, since Israel is the occupier, and occupiers have that responsibility. Instead the American tax payer is forced once again to make those payments on behalf of Israel. The only thing keeping the West Bank economy afloat is the patronage system set up by Abbashole and American tax payer dollars.
You cannot build native institutions when the occupier keeps bombing them to smithereens or, along with its friends, subverts the institutions whenever they get too independent.
When the overlord’s strategy is to constantly play one faction off against another, or infiltrate with collaborators and spies such that no individual can trust another, institutions have a short shelf life.
When nothing economically happens without greasing the local wheels of corruption, and the occupier insists on its cut of 10% or more, no sustainable economy is possible.
Just ask the Norwegians, who for ten years granted every Rabin and Peres request for money to build Palestinian infrastructure and institutions, how that turned out. It was all destroyed by the IDF, and then the Israelis had the nerve to ask the Norwegians to cough up the money for rebuilding.
The current PA is as oppressive as the earlier incarnations if not more so. The same corrupt strongmen are still around. When thugs such as Jibril Rajoub and Mohammad Dahlen are considered the next generation of leaders, institution building is a joke.
James, Bruce, you gotta realise that Witty has a little problem with words. He thinks the words he writes actually change the reality of a situation.
And they often can! Unfortunately, it’s a hard trick to work when people are being killed.
How much time is wasted here while we watch and grade Witty’s rhetorical gymnastics?
Anyway, to save time, here is every and any comment Witty will ever write, all of them, complete:
link to jewssansfrontieres.blogspot.com
Oh, don’t thank me, Richard, I should thank you for giving me another opportunity to post that link.
“When thugs such as Jibril Rajoub and Mohammad Dahlen are considered the next generation of leaders, institution building is a joke.”
Amen to that.
In any case I think when Richard refers to “institution building” hes referring to the “Praetorian Guard” built by American General Dayton for the Palestinian security forces.
Security forces, which in effect aid Israel its in brutal occupation of the West Bank. Just look at how they cracked down on Palestinians protesting against Israels bombardment of Gaza….
Actually, Witty, I think it’s Israeli bombs and prison camps that are diminishing the importance of institution building for Palestinians.
A lot of noise. Not much reading.
Have you read Fayyad recently?
You know if a bomb had been dropped on you, Witty, I dare say you’d consider it more than “a lot of noise.” I thought you gave up reading, yourself — or did you finally get around to reading that Goldstone report you keep criticizing, before having read?
“A lot of noise. Not much reading.
Ok, I’ll bite.
On the subject of Institution Building, I have been wondering:
Over the past 42-43 Years that Israel has been in charge of the West Bank, or even the 26 years prior to the Oslo accords, How many hospitals has Israel built in the West Bank or Gaza? Schools? Any infrastructure for the use of the population whatsoever? Roads? Bridges?
I thank you in advance for this information.
If he operates by revolution, he will destroy all the progress that has been made, …
What progress are you talking about, and for whom and towards what objectives? Ethnic cleansing and colonization continue in the West Bank, where peaceful protesters are imprisoned without charges or trial. The only place where Jewish colonies have been rebuffed is in Gaza, and the successful resistance there was rooted in violence, not words, the former unfortunately being the language colonial Zionists seem to understand most clearly.
It would be nice if the Israeli political establishment would actually deign to talk to people with whom they have conflicts, but the unfortunate reality is that unless an aggrieved party has some leverage, they won’t. Hamas and Hezbollah try to capture Israeli troops so they have a bargaining chip with which to inveigle Israel to release their own many thousands of POW’s languishing in Israeli prisons. You don’t seriously think its a coincidence that Israel is considering releasing political prisoners safely rotting out of the public eye, at the very same time Hamas is considering releasing Schalit?
A political revolution is exactly what Palestinians need to rid themselves of corrupt PA collaborationist ‘leadership’, and construct a new political establishment capable of unifying their people and disciplining their efforts to a new strategy to bring them freedom. This is very much in the AMERICAN interest if it helps put heat onto Israel to rein in their ethnic cleansing and colonizing Zionists, and reduce anger at America for our involuntary subsidization of these monsters.
…and return the status to one of war, …
The status is already one of war. [incredulously rolls eyes] I suppose that it may not seem that way from the Israeli perspective since large numbers of Israelis aren’t being killed while ethnically cleansing and colonizing stolen land. However, large numbers of Palestinians, AMERICANS, Iraqis, and others are being killed to support the level of Israeli hegemony necessary, not to defend Israel proper, but to perpetually expand, through violence against civilians, its borders and control over water and agricultural resources.
Israel is making war on Palestinians attempting to break their existence as a people and force them to abandon their ancestral lands. They are doing it at a slow pace to keep it under the radar of the international press, and especially the American people, and to avoid the crystallization of resistance, e.g. Intifada, that comes from pushing too hard too fast. It is not a traditional war against a state actor preceded by a now obsolete declaration, but a colonial war against an indigenous people.
Colin Murray: yes, yes, yes. Perfectly said.
To everyone: whenever you see the phrase “institution building”, remember to substitute “repressive internal security force” for the word institution.
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