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“I
Don’t Know Something Called International Principles: Sharon”
CAIRO,
April 1 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – "I don't know
something called International Principles. I vow that I'll burn every
Palestinian Child born in this area. The Palestinian Woman and Child
are more dangerous than the Man, Because the Palestinian Child
existence refers that Generations will go on, but the man causes
limited danger.
“I
vow that if I was just an Israeli Civilian and I met a Palestinian I
would burn him and I would make him suffer before killing him. With
One hit, I've killed 750 Palestinians [in Rafah, 1956]. I wanted to
encourage my soldiers by raping Arabic Girls as the Palestinian Woman
is a slave for Jews, and we do whatever we want to her and Nobody
tells us what we shall do, but we tell others what they shall
do."
This
is what Ariel Sharon said in an interview with General Ouze Merham in
1956, according to the Palestinian Chronicle. Forty-five
years later, Sharon’s draconic war plans still follow the same
theme.
Sharon’s
public pretext for his war on the Palestinians is to eliminate alleged
terrorist networks, but his real goal is to force the Palestinian
President Yasser Arafat to make concessions and to dismantle
Palestinian resistance groups, an Egyptian political expert said.
Speaking
to IslamOnline, Dr. Hassan Nafaa, the chairman of the political
science department in Cairo University said that they want Arafat to
enter a confrontation with the resistance movements. “If a political
solution was given that included returning to the 1967 borders,
dismantling the settlements for example, then Arafat may consider
putting an end to the resistance movements. Otherwise, it will be
political suicide for him to do so,” said Nafaa.
Sharon
is acting under complete political cover from the United States, said
Nafaa adding that both Powell and Bush accepted Israel’s right to
“defend itself.” “The U.S. obviously gave Israel the green
light. Even the 1402 Security Council resolution adopted a few days
ago, the United States did not even try to formulate a mechanism to
implement it,” he said.
The
real test to Sharon’s policy is time. “The more time that passes
and the more martyr operations are conducted, Sharon’s policies
start to be questioned. He will be embarrassed and will be under
further international pressure as well as domestic pressure to go back
to the negotiation table and find peaceful solutions,” he said.
The
pretext of being after Arafat is only for media consumption. “The
real target is the Palestinian people. If they kill or harm Arafat,
there will never be peace.”
Answering
a question about the possible Arab governments’ response, Nafaa said
that there are many demands that the people are calling for, including
the complete termination of relations with Israel, recalling of the
ambassadors in Israel and the United States and use of the oil weapon.
“However, the Arab government’s ability to respond to these
demands are very weak,” he said.
On
Monday, Israeli daily newspaper, Ha’aretz, said that
even if Sharon’s plan of achieving stability in Israel after a
resounding Israeli victory, his government will offer the Palestinians
“a long term interim solution.” This, the paper said, will destroy
the Oslo accord with its principle of two states for two people.
“They
[the Palestinians] will sign an agreement to forego forever any claim
to Jerusalem or to the right of return, and to leave control over
border crossing and air space to the IDF. And, of course, Jews will be
entitled to expropriate land and receive special consideration on any
site in Judea and Samaria,” said Ha’aretz.
This,
the paper said will deepen the despair over the prospects of a just
political solution among many in the Palestinian elite who advocate
peace.
The
Palestinian Chronicle said that Sharon’s pledge not to
harm Arafat should not be taken seriously. “This is the same Sharon,
who assured Menachem Begin and President Reagan that he has no
intention of invading Lebanon as Defense Minister in 1982 and only
wants to secure 40 kilometers of southern Lebanon,” the paper said.
Yet,
at the time, Sharon took his invasion all the way to Beirut destroying
villages and people in his path, which he besieged for 3 months
indiscriminately annihilating buildings, hospitals, schools, mosques,
churches, ambulances, electrical plants, orphanages, and killing
20,000, including 2000 massacred Palestinians in the refugee camps of
Sabra and Shatila, failed to kill Arafat.
The
paper compared Sharon’s strategy of completely “unfinished
business” in killing Arafat, to U.S. President George W. Bush’s
endeavor to kill Saddam Hussein, his father’s “unfinished
business.”
William
Safire, a writer for the U.S. daily newspaper the New York Times,
spoke to Sharon about his military plans and what he hopes to achieve.
"We
are creating a buffer zone, of some depth, along what used to be the
green line. We are acting in this buffer zone already," Sharon
told the paper.
Sharon
said he does not know the details of the Saudi plan and that they only
accept the U.N. Resolutions 242 and 338, calling for “secure and
defensible borders.”
“As
far as I know, the Saudi plan doesn't include that. Israel cannot
return to the '67 borders. … Israel would not be able to exist,”
said Sharon adding, “Do you imagine, for one minute, we could accept
what the Palestinians call the right of return? It would mean the end
of Israel as a Jewish democratic state.”
Dr.
Mousa Abu Marzouk, member of the political office of the Islamic
Resistance Movement Hamas said Arafat’s siege aims at forcing him to
sign agreements that will paralyze the Palestinian people.
Israeli
daily newspaper, Yediot Aharanot, reiterated Marzouk’s
fears and said that the Israeli military operations aims to bully the
Palestinian Authority to make concessions to Israel that they would
otherwise not agree to.
The
plan aims to gradually occupy Palestinian cities and to stay in them
for a long time and will be limited in its geographical range
initially and perhaps later on expand, the paper said.
Ha’aretz
reported that the Israeli forces were also operating in
Tulkarem as they tightened the blockade over the city and in Beit Jala
and other areas near Bethlehem.
In
Ramallah, they maintained round-the-clock confinement of Palestinian
President Yasser Arafat, pinned down in his office.
The
Israeli occupation army was getting ready to conduct operations in
other Palestinian population centers as well with military sources
saying that all cities of the West Bank would gradually “be taken
care of,” as well as the Gaza strip, reported the paper.
Ha’aretz
said that these operations are likely to resemble what has
been done up to now in Ramallah. “The brunt of the work will be done
by regular infantry units, though top-notch reserve units are to be
deployed in some areas.
Reservists
will hold positions in various Palestinian cities after the regular
infantry soldiers complete their assignments there,” said the paper.
The
paper quoted army sources saying that U.S. pressure could cause the
activities to be terminated ahead of what has been planned. “The aim
is to carry out as many major initiatives as possible before Israel is
forced to order a withdrawal of its troops,” the paper said.
With
additional reporting by Lamya Tawfik, IOL Staff Writer
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