-----Original Message-----
From: Jack Cohen <jcohen2@bezeqint.net>
Sent: Tue, Oct 22, 2013 10:06 pm
Subject: A third intifada?
In the past there have been two Palestinian "uprisings" or
intifadas. The first intifada was a rather spontaneous and
chaotic affair in 1987-91. The second intifada was a planned
and organized insurrection against Israel from 2000-2005 led by Yasir Arafat,
who had been allowed to return to "Palestine" by PM Yitzhak Rabin to head the
Palestine Authority. Arafat wanted to re-establish his control
over the terrorist forces after his years of absence (exiled in Tunisia) and
also to try to undermine Israeli control over the "territories" of Gaza and the
West Bank. In neither case were the intifadas successful in achieving
their main aims. Apart from the killings, the suicide bombings and the IDF
responses, Israeli control continued and the intifadas achieved nothing
substantive, they did not demoralize the Israeli people. They did however
prevent negotiations proceeding between Israel and the
Palestinians.
Now President Haniyeh of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip has
publicly called for a third intifada. He is doing this in
order to show his disapproval of the current negotiations between President Abbas of
the PA, Arafat's successor, and Israel. He says that he is also in favor
of a Hamas-Fatah reconciliation leading to Palestinian unity, but he can't have
it both ways. What he is really trying to do is to wrest control of the
Palestinian movement away from Abbas and the Fatah/PLO into the hands of Hamas,
the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood.
At this point in time Hamas is caught in a bind.
They strongly oppose any accommodation with Israel and support the formation of a
Palestinian State only as a replacement for Israel, in all of Palestine.
They also support the return of all Palestinian "refugees" and the release of
all Israeli prisoners. But, Hamas has a problem since the Egyptian Army
under Gen. al-Sisi removed Pres. Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) from power
and established an interim military government. They are currently
crushing the rebel Islamists in Sinai and have destroyed almost all of the
tunnels under the Egyptian-Gaza border that was the lifeline for Hamas. In
order to make common cause with the MB when it was in power in Egypt, Hamas cut
its ties with Shia Iran. Now it has no other potential allies. That
is why Haniyeh is trying to reassert his leadership of the Palestinian
movement. Israel must be careful to watch for a third intifada starting in
the West Bank and to crush it with all available means, particularly if the
current negotiations between Israel and the PA fail, as they are likely to
do.
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