Yoram Ettinger, an expert on U.S.-Israel relations, has released a paper nixing the idea that the creation of a Palestinian state would solve the Middle East crisis.
In the latest of his periodic position papers, Ettinger negates the current US government theory that a Palestinian state is the crux of the Arab-Israeli conflict and that its formation would resolve the situation. He is former liaison for Congressional affairs in Israel’s Washington embassy.
Ettinger brings several proofs from recent history showing that Arab antipathy to Israel predates, and is irrelevant to, Palestinian concerns. The first example is the war for Israel’s independence in 1948-9, which the Arab countries conducted “at the expense of Palestinian aspirations.”
Ettinger notes that in that war, Egypt conquered the Gaza Strip, prohibiting Palestinian national activities and expelling Palestinian leadership. Jordan occupied both Samaria, which was transferred to it by Iraq, and Judea; not only did Jordan not grant these areas independence, but it actually annexed them and coined the term “West Bank.†Syria, for its part, occupied and annexed the Hama area in the Golan Heights, while the Arab League outlawed a provisional Palestinian government.
The 1956 (Sinai) War, Ettinger notes, had nothing to do with Palestinian aspirations, but was rather triggered by Egyptian-sponsored Palestinian terrorism that was intended to assert Egyptian control of the Negev, by the Egyptian-French-British conflict over the Suez Canal, and by Egyptian support of anti-French elements in North Africa.
Similarly, the Six Day War in 1967 erupted as a result of several factors, most famously the Egypt-Syria-Jordan Military Pact aimed at Israel’s destruction. It began following Egypt’s blockade of Israel’s southern oil and commerce waterway, Egypt’s violation of the Sinai demilitarization, the Syrian shelling of Israeli communities below the Golan Heights, and the Jordanian shelling of Jerusalem.
Ironically, the Six Day War actually led to increased Palestinian national activity, as Israel ended Egypt’s practice of nightly curfews in Gaza designed to prevent such activity.
The next war as well, the War of Attrition along the Suez Canal in 1968-70, also took place irrespective of the Palestinian issue. The same is true of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, which Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq initiated independently of the Palestinian issue.
Ettinger notes that the wars and battles since then have been between Israelis and Palestinian terrorist elements – and did not turn into Arab-Israeli conflicts! In 1982, Israel’s war with the PLO in Lebanon not only did not become an Arab-Israeli war, but the Arab League also “delayed its emergency session for 2.5 months until the PLO was expelled from Beirut! Arabs shed much pro-Palestinian rhetoric – but not blood – for Palestinians! ”
The intifadas and Palestinian terrorist wars against Israeli similarly did not see Arabs coming to Palestinian aid. Financial aid from the US and Western Europe financial to the PA has exceeded Arab aid, Ettinger points out.
“The Arab-Israeli conflict was not triggered by the Palestinian issue,” Ettinger concludes. “The Palestinian issue has not been the ‘crown Jewel’ of the Arabs. A Palestinian State would undermine vital US interests: exacerbating global terrorism, dooming the Hashemite and Persian Gulf moderate regimes, promoting radical regimes, providing a Mediterranean platform to Iran, Russia and China and intensifying oppression of Palestinian Christians.”
Delete Reply Forward
The Arabs nations have treated the Palestinians like a cursed pariah, giving them little aid and no comfort. If the Palestinians are the bane of the Arab nations’ existence then why in the world should they be be given all that which their Arab brethren denied them?
Its quite simple really.
The Arabs don’t want to have to pay for Palestinian aspirations. They only want to use the Palestinians in their quest for Israel’s destruction. They therefore demand that Israel pay for the life of Palestinians with Israeli blood and pieces of Israel.
The West, beholden to Arab oil, are bound and determined to keep the oil flowing at affordable prices. To do that, they do the bidding of all the Arabs who maintain their dream for the genocide of Israel. It is a small problem for the West because they get their oil and Israel pays the price for a stable world oil economy which is what the West needs.
A pox on all their houses.
Enclosed you’ll find the 205th issue of Straight From The Jerusalem Cloakroom, which has been disseminated � via fax � to some 3,000 movers and shakers in Washington, DC, in addition to its e-mail transmission.
The previous issue (#204) dealt with �The Impact of The Proposed Palestinian State on Vital US National Security Interests�, documenting that a Palestinian State and vital US concerns constitute a classic oxymoron.
For previous issues of the Jerusalem Cloakroom please visit The Ettinger Report at .
Straight From The Jerusalem Cloakroom # 205, August 10, 2007
PALESTINIAN ISSUE “THE CRUX OF THE ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT”
US policy-makers have contended that the establishment of a Palestinian State would resolve the Palestinian issue, which is � supposedly � the crux of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Really?
1. The 1948/9 War was conducted, by the Arab countries at the expense of Palestinian aspirations, in order to occupy the strategic sliver along the Mediterranean. Egypt conquered the Gaza Strip, prohibiting Palestinian national activities, expelling Palestinian leadership. Iraq occupied Samaria, transferring it to Jordan, which occupied Judea, annexing both Judea & Samaria to the Hashemite Kingdom, and coining the term �West Bank.� Syria occupied and annexed the Hama area in the Golan Heights. The Arab League outlawed a provisional Palestinian government.
2. The 1956 (Sinai) War was triggered by Egyptian-sponsored Palestinian terrorism (intended to assert Egyptian control of the Negev), by the Egyptian-French-British conflict over the Suez Canal and by Egyptian support of anti-French elements in North Africa.
3. The 1967 (Six Day) War erupted in response to Egypt�s blockade of Israel�s southern (oil and commerce) waterway, Egypt�s violation of the Sinai demilitarization, the Egypt-Syria-Jordan Military Pact, aimed at Israel�s destruction, Syrian shelling of Israeli communities below the Golan Heights and Jordanian shelling of Jerusalem.
Israel�s 1967 control of Gaza ended a nightly curfew in Gaza, which was imposed by Egypt, in order to prevent Palestinian national activity.
4. The 1969-70 War of attrition along the Suez Canal took place irrespective of the Palestinian issue.
5. The 1973 War (the most recent Arab-Israel war) was initiated by Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq, independent of the Palestinian issue.
6. The 1982 PLO-Israel War in Lebanon (pre-empting a grand scale PLO assault on northern Israel) was not transformed into an Arab-Israeli war. The Arab League delayed its emergency session for 2.5 months until the PLO was expelled from Beirut! Arabs shed much pro-Palestinian rhetoric – not blood – for Palestinians!7. The 1987-1992 First Intifada was not transformed into an Arab-Israeli war. No Arab military-financial support; only rhetoric.