Annulling Oslo a foolish idea, will force Israel to take responsibility for millions of Palestinians
Dov Weisglass, YNET (FIRST PUBLISHED IN AUG 2011)
It has recently been reported that Israel is currently mulling the annulment of the Oslo Accords as a means of retribution against the Palestinian Authority, should it indeed go to the UN with a bid to recognize a Palestinian state in line with the 1967 borders. Before Israel finds itself entangled in yet another act of folly, we would do well to examine the practical implications of the proposed move.
Annulling the Oslo Accords means terminating the Palestinian Authority, as the agreements featured a gradual diplomatic process destined to culminate in the establishment of a Palestinian state. The PA was established based on the same agreements: A temporary government system meant to run the lives of Palestinians until a state is established. The PA was assigned various authorities and given areas in Judea, Samaria and Gaza where it can exercise civilian control.
Objectors to the Palestinian state viewed the Oslo Accords as the beginning of destruction. Yet for those who seek a Palestinian state or believe that its establishment is inevitable, the agreement constituted a sort of advance payment: Alongside the self-government arrangement, it included Palestinian recognition of the State of Israel within the 1967 borders.
Almost 20 years have passed since. The “transitional period” goes on and on, yet the Palestinian Authority is still running the affairs of Arab civilians there. Yet now, so we are told, Israel is mulling the option of punishing the PA by annulling the agreement.
Before the PA’s establishment, Israel managed day-to-day life in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza region, as it was obligated to do under international law pertaining to military occupation. Israel maintained all systems of civilian life in Gaza: Internal security, economy and finance, education, health, banking, communication, electricity, water, medicine, transportation, planning and construction, infrastructure, and all other services required by a population of millions.
As income revenues in the Palestinian areas are meager, Israeli taxpayers funded the huge sums requires for managing Palestinian civilian life. The Civil Administration in the territories was not only expensive, but worse, bothersome and at times corrupt. Just like any military administration that manages civilian lives, it caused Israel terrible public relations damage.
It is therefore difficult to fathom why the current government – whose governing abilities prompted protests and tent cities nationwide – would risk a move that may impose on it the management of millions of Palestinian lives. Where will this government draw the billions of shekels required to do so? Where will it recruit the manpower for the job? Moreover, at this day and age the whole world is monitoring developments in the territories, so Israel will have to provide superb service there.
Irresponsible ideas may prompt negative developments involuntarily. Will the annulment of the Oslo Accords and dismantlement of the PA indeed constitute a punishment for the Palestinians? This is highly doubtful. Quite a few Palestinian spokespeople are calling for the annulment of the agreements and PA because of the practical and diplomatic advantages they granted Israel: In the framework of agreement, the Palestinians recognized the 1967 borders, and the creation of the PA, they say, was a mistake; a transitional agreement that perpetuated itself.
Under this state of affairs, they say, Israel enjoys the best of both worlds: It is the occupier, the military sovereign in Judea and Samaria, ruling the area and exercising its authority in all areas of life – while the PA bears the responsibility for the day-to-day life with its meager means, mostly acquired through global donations.
One Palestinian, a very serious man, told me that in his view the limited self-government enjoyed by the PA is not worth the burden of responsibility imposed on it, and hence “it would be better to have full occupation, where Israel runs life.”
As the government continues to toy with the foolish notion of annulling the Oslo Accords, it may find itself, heaven forbid, finding Palestinian agreement to do this. The Palestinians will then “learn the lesson,” while we shall be back to mopping the streets of Ramallah.
The Oslo Accords were signed in 1993 on the White House Lawn before Pres Clinton. Two years later Israel and the PLO signed the Interim Agreement, Together these agreements were like a constitution giving certain powers to Israel and other powers to the PA which was given birth by these agreements. The territories were to be divided into Areas A, B and C. and administered according to them
What accords ????????
@ honeybee: To read a little more see the following for a broader understanding. One of my friends had been sent all the way to Uganda by the British to jail him (he belonged to the Irgun).
@ Bear Klein:
Thank you ,I need to know the truth.
@ honeybee: When the Brits were in charge of Palestine the Jews had finally had enough of them and their atrocities (jailing of Jews, killings, keeping Jews from coming to Palestine thereby dying), and decided to needed to rid ourselves of the Brits, including blowing up the King David Hotel. The King David was used as British Military Headquarters still in 1946. To read a first hand account from a person who was involved see the link below.
http://www.thejc.com/arts/arts-features/69886/my-part-attack-king-david-hotel
Never forget with whom you are dealing. The Palis are incorrigible reprobates:
@ yamit82:
@ Bear Klein:
@ Sternlight:
I watch a UK mystery program about the bombing of the King David Hotel. I remember vaguely the incident disgusted and embarrassed my Father greatly . Can you shed any light on the subject ? Was it the Shama my Father be lived it to be ?
Thank you.
@ Bear Klein:
Then all that fasting helped!
I am in moderation?????
Dov Weissglass is one of the main reasons we are no longer in GAZA. This man should be shunned (literally). Under no circumstances should his opinion be considered on any present or future policy matter.
As long as there is a sufficient mass of “Islamists” there will be no acceptance of Israel.
Without the constant supervision of PA by Israel, Judea and Samaria would be another Hamas controlled area.
So what seems to be the solution for Israel.
Dov said,
Exactly, Dove! Bidiuch! Yes! Cancel the accords, and terminate the PA. Then Israel’s enemies will be OUTSIDE Israel, instead of INSIDE. It makes sense to me.
LT COL HOWARD says:
I agree of course, but most of the stupidity of our politicians is aimed at we Israelis and is for domestic political consumption but it’s even worn thin here and few Israelis buy this ploy anymore. “You can’t fool all of the people all of the time”
Israel Hits Murderous Office in Gaza
ISL – Gaza Read the original with links to other relevant satire!! Here
In another great military victory for the Israeli Defense Forces, an entire office, belonging to PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh from the Hamas, was obliterated. Fortunately, the office was empty so no innocent terrorists were hurt in the daring, pre-dawn raid.
Minister of Defense Ehud Barak praised the Israeli Air Force which managed a direct hit at the terrorist office without damaging any other nearby innocent offices, “In accordance with international law Israel takes great care in preserving the lives of innocent buildings,” Barak said, “Even though in this case, as in many others, the vile terrorists hide their offices among many other, civilian offices”.
PM Haniyeh himself said that he was glad that the Israel destroyed his office, “I hated it – the color scheme was terrible and the view of Gaza city was even worse.”
The Palestinian PM also said that he already has prepared the plans for a new office which will be done in the Bauhaus style – I am a great fan of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe,” said the PM, “And I’m really excited about the new décor.”
Israeli PM Ehud Olmert praised the decisive action and especially pointed out the diligence of the forces in sparing the lives of Haniyeh and his henchmen, “Sooner or later we will have to talk with Haniyeh or someone like him so there is no point in killing him, in fact, it will only make matters worse,” said Olmert,
“‘Better the genocidal maniac you know’ is our policy,” said the PM.
The PM’s office is already preparing the Next Great 10-Year Peace Plan which will deeply involve the radical Hamas, “Nobody likes to be left out, especially dedicated anti-Semitic murderers and criminals like the Hamas so, in this respect, it is obvious that we have to bear some of the responsibility for the situation in Gaza,” Olmert said.
Olmert added that he hopes that the ritual hostilities will be over as quickly as possible so that the Peace talks between the parties can resume, “I need at least one Peace Conference a week or else I’m just not myself,” Olmert admitted.
OK, really, can someone tell me why destroying an office is news? Did the office kill anybody? Did it organize attacks? Was it a genocidal office? Have we sunk so low we are now attacking holes and offices?
In my humble opinion, we are the victims of a state of mind and until we change this state of mind, nothing will really change.
Related:
The original report which made the front page of both INN and Jpost – Haniyeh’s Office Hit by IAF
I congratulate Yamit, not that he needs approval from me, for a very interesting discussion with Howard and a minimum of personal attack.
I didn’t know that the shift was attributable to “the Americanization of the IDF” but if it was, that might be worth a book. Before the shift, Israel well understood “Middle East rules”: “Step on my toes and I’ll drop a house on you.”
@ alan:
Greed wins out
LT COL HOWARD says:
I know, I was TDY’d from Korea to Nam and into Laos. We trained and fought with the Hmong. We used to tell them that if the commies don’t get them the Bandits would. It was true. 🙂 We tried to do better than 5 to 1 and usually did. Having served in Two distinct armies, I think I know a little about what we should do and we did it at one time before the Americanization of the IDF we used to kill POWs, and a lot of them. It wasn’t just some rogue group of right-wingers—the commanders were all leftists—but mainstream Jewish soldiers who killed scores of Syrian and Egyptians POWs.. Don’t anyone tell you a BS story in cast lead we laid down massive fire and our boys were told to shoot anything that moved. That’s why we had near zero body counts. Lesson from second Lebanon war. My dad fought under patton and was in the first American recon platoon into Germany.
The problem with the IDF is the Politicization of our senior Officer corp. Have no clear military mission, can’t determine if the Arabs are peace partner or enemies. The politicians have muddied the military options for the IDF. Senior officers are on good terms with their Arab counterparts especially the Shabak and military Intel. Give an order to the IDF to crush the Hamas and the PA, they will do it in less than a week. Reminds me of the political restraints we had in Nam. Today is a different world and different constraints but they are nevertheless constraints.
Power is respected in every society. The Russians were feared and the Americans not so much because the Russians have demonstrated a ruthlessness the Americans haven’t. No country fears American Nukes but they did the Russians. What good is possessing massive military power if it is constrained? That’s why I have always advocated Israel nuking Iranian oil fields, a small one to demonstrate we have them and will use them. I don’t believe we can stop them from nuclearization but we can send multiple messages, both to the Mullahs and the west, if we go we take them all with us. If the Arabs can threaten to withhold oil from them so can we deny them what they value most.
It is only now that Jews can put the sun to shame. In Mahabharata’s words, we can light thousands of suns. With a push of a red button.
@ yamit82:
Dov was a proponent of Gaza withdrawal. even a fool knew that would lead to a terrorist camp. Now he thinks he can placate the arabs, still, by not calling the oslo accords by an honest name…failure.
@Yamit82 You may be surprised, but I agree with your post and with the statements made in the links you provided (and their links). To me, the problem is how to package and implement. The major criticism I have of Israel is that they threaten a lot and then don’t deliver thus losing their credibility with those that they threaten. I mentioned that my Egyptian associates believe that operation cast lead should not have been necessary. They said Israel should have taken harsh and escalating action as soon as the 1st rockets were fired from Gaza. They advocated very strong actions to squelch it at the beginning, rather than threatening and then attacking empty buildings at night. In Vietnam before Kennedy escalated we were fighting a CIA war. (This means we weren’t there, at least for the record.) our method of operation was very simple, you kill one of ours, we kill 5 of yours and then we have Adli Stevenson speak at the UN deploring all violence. Teams go up north and wherever else it takes to track down the offenders. Also, we were careful to work with everybody but to align with nobody. This is because in that part of the world governments are power struggles between self enriching groups. The people see government as those who take their crops, take their sons for the Army, and take their daughters for “wives”. Power is respected. Weaknesses not. Thank you for your response and for your links.
LT COL HOWARD says:
I took your suggestion as rhetorical, since I don’t believe any of the readers or commenters have a direct link to Weissglass, although I could be wrong. There are plenty of his interviews available most in Hebrew that may or may not answer your questions to him though. Since he is a pathological liar I’m not sure if you would get what you are looking for. I think though the posts I have presented will give you enough information on Weissglass for you to form an objective opinion as to what his replies would be if asked and responded to.
Since you are no novice on our internal and geopolitical situation and I’m sure you are well read on the subject in combination with your many sources I don’t think it was untoward to ask you for your valued opinion.
I don’t think one needs an in depth study, to form an opinion! Credible opinions can be made even if it is based just on superficial data with proper caveats that it is based only on information in hand.
For all practical reasons the Palis already have a state. They have an executive, a parliament, a legal system with courts, judges and laws. They have a police force, education and health services, banks, financial services , telecommunication services, importers, exporters,universities, think tanks, an army, a flag, an anthem, embassy’s, diplomats and are recognized as a sovereign nation by around 100 countries. They are Israels 2nd or third largest trading partner and Israel is the largest donor nation that supports their regime.
BB has already recognized their rights to self-determination and statehood. What’s left? UN recognition?
As I see it Israel has only 3 choices. All of them negative. Since anything the Israeli government does will be the wrong decision maybe it’s best just to do nothing. “Bismarck weaved the most excellent policies, but they laid the foundation for two world wars. The League of Nations was a great idea, but it legalized the inaction which allowed Germany to re-arm. Partitioning states to satisfy both political camps seemed a viable strategy, but partitioned Vietnam fought a bloody war, and other cases proved equally unsustainable. Bleeding the communists in Afghanistan was a nice thing to do, but the aid to the mujahedeen created the Islamic terrorist threat. It is not an over-generalization to say that all policies are wrong.”
Best thing may be just being flexible and adapting to what is handed to us with contingencies for each potential scenario.
@ LT COL HOWARD:
OK. Here is a positive comment. Don’t bother worrying about Oslo Accords. Open up wide the floodgates of Jews behind the greenlines to build homes in Judea and Samaria. Flood Judea and Samaria with Jews. And where the Jews build communities in Judea and Samaria there Israel will follow by incorporating those areas into Israel with civil laws and with the security of Israeli police protection and IDF posts established in those areas. Want to rid the cancer of PA rule in Judea and Samaria? Then the flood of the ‘Jewish antibiotic or Jewish chemotherapy’ eating away at this cancer in the core of the Jewish heartland is the answer (best analogy is petri dish with disease colonies being eaten away by the antibiotics). Make NO mistake, Islam is the disease, Judaism the cure.
Anything Weissglass says must be viewed within the context of his financial interests with the PA, past and present. His personal contribution in the crafting of the “Road Map” forced on Israel by Bush and Condi! I would think that in most normal countries ruled by law Weissglass would be by now behind bars and the key lost for ever.
Dov Weissglass to be Bezeq Chairman
Guy Hadass
Globes Business Newspaper – May 1st, 2006
[Weissglass’s appointment was facilitated by Ronald Cohen who is also the financier of PORTLAND TRUST, whom Weissglass, as the former director of the office of PM Sharon, invited to be the primary investor in Gaza following Israel’s expulsion of the Jewish residents from Katif. The CEO of Portland Trust in Israel, Eival Giladi, was the man who worked under Weisglass to facilitate the expulsions.- Read more
June 7, 2004 – THE SECRET WAR AGAINST THE SETTLERS
Check out all the links and you will get a picture of the deep rot of corruption of Israels leaders and why this corruption is more dangerous to our survival than anything else.
@ yamit82
My posting was: “Ask Dov Weinglass for a positive proactive Program to head off the Palestinian Authority from its threatened actions and reactive program to implement. after they take certain actions in response to these actions. Specifically, What Israel should do rather than what Israel should not do.”
if you have anything positive to offer I’m sure every reader of this website, all Israelis, and every American would welcome productive input.
I cannot offer any ideas until they have been thoroughly evaluated. That was how I was trained both academically (Harvard PhD) and militarily (command and Gen. staff college, National Defense University, etc.).
Thus, I would want to hear from you––something positive that might contribute to Israel’s positions and policies.
had three relevant comments on Weissglass Blockeded. Pls Choose one and Post. One was from Fri!!
LT COL HOWARD says:
What would you do LT COL HOWARD?
MEET DOV WEISSGLASS!!
Weissglass Represents P.A. Firm With Casino Interests In Southern Gaza
Dov Weissglass, who recently resigned as head of Prime Minister Sharon’s Office, is still listed as part-owner of a law firm representing PA business interests who wish to build a casino in southern Gaza.
Published: 25/05/04, 2:35 PM / Last Update: 25/05/04, 3:41 PM
Dov Weissglass, who recently resigned as head of Prime Minister Sharon’s Office, is still listed as part-owner of a law firm representing PA business interests who wish to build a casino in southern Gaza. So reports investigative journalist David Bedein of Israel Resource News Agency in the most recent edition of the Makor Rishon weekly.read more
Ask Dov Weinglass for a positive proactive Program to head off the Palestinian Authority from its threatened actions and reactive program to implement. after they take certain actions in response to these actions.
Specifically, What Israel should do rather than what Israel should not do.
Does not Mr. Weisglass enjoy financial rewards as a direct result of Oslo? It is my understanding that his law firm is deeply entrenched in business affairs between Israeli concerns and those of some Arabs doing business in essentially Judenrein areas of the West Bank. I am not suggesting that his opinion is to be totally disregarded, but perhaps one should look upon his views with a jaundiced eye.
What was the main reason for Gaza withdrawal?
Weissglass Represents P.A. Firm With Casino Interests in South Gaza
Dov Weissglass, who recently resigned as head of Prime Minister Sharon’s Office, is still listed as part-owner of a law firm representing PA business interests who wish to build a casino in southern Gaza. So reports investigative journalist David Bedein of Israel Resource News Agency in the most recent edition of the Makor Rishon weekly.
According to the P.A. tourist publication This Week in Palestine, plans are well underway to build a new casino and tourist resort in Southern Gaza. “Is it a coincidence,” Bedein asks, “that this is where the Jewish communities of Katif now reside?” Read more