Apartheid-like Rule of Palestinians under Occupation?

Map showing the West Bank and Gaza Strip in relation to central Israel (situation of 2007) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Israel is not an apartheid state within the Green-Line. This cannot be stated in areas occupied by Israel after the June Six Day War of 1967. The whole issue of Israel slipping into an apartheid-like regime resembling apartheid South Africa from 1948 until 1994 is, unfortunately, becoming a reality despite the many denials of Danny Danon, Israel’s representative at the UN. We have not reached there yet but with the repressive laws including laws legalizing takeover of Palestinian lands for illegal Jewish settlement and the attempted interference of Justice Minister, Ayelet Shaked, with Israel’s Courts of Law, and Culture and Sport Minister, Miri Regev, trying to muzzle cultural activities that are not in accordance with her party agenda we unfortunately are moving in that direction.

The guidelines are...in conformity with the EU's longstanding position that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and with the non-recognition by the EU of Israel's sovereignty over the occupied territories, irrespective of their legal status under domestic Israeli law.1

Official Israeli and Palestinian population statistics indicate that Jews have been a minority in the territory Israel controls for several years now, and with no repercussions: A majority of the world's nations still speak of undemocratic rule by a Jewish minority as a hypothetical future, not an unacceptable present.2

We must not forget that Israel is faced with a very severe security problem that threatens her citizens, the source of which originates in the occupied territories. Israel is also faced with a Palestinian leadership, especially Hamas, which refuses to negotiate any form of peace treaty or agreement with Israel. It is also doubtful whether President Mahmoud Abbas has a mandate from his people to negotiate with Israel let alone sign a peace agreement with Israel. He has been ruling for over 10 years and there have been no elections. The maintenance of human rights for the Palestinians under Israeli occupation and the security risks that Israel has faced since the occupation of June 1967 is a tremendous challenge facing Israel. Some 5.6 million Palestinians now live in this area, which is divided between the State of Israel, and the West Bank and Gaza; these latter areas were captured and occupied by Israel in 1967.3

We must also bear in mind that the Palestinians and the Arab States, even prior to June 1967 with Egypt at the helm were never prepared to recognize Israel’s right to exist and were determined to destroy Israel. Israel fought a war of survival and occupied territories in the process. There were no “occupied territories “prior to the June 1967 war. The severe threat to Israel’s existence then was the reason for the war. On the other hand, Israel’s biggest mistake was the colonisation of territory captured in the June 1967 war rather than declaring it a closed military zone and using it as a bargaining chip for peace negotiations that would result in a settlement ending the conflict. The ramification of the occupation as we all know is the rule of Israel over the Palestinians.  

“Israel maintains a regime of apartheid over Palestinians” — UN report. It identified the four sets of Palestinians as Palestinian citizens of Israel; Palestinians in East Jerusalem; Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; and Palestinians living as refugees or in exile.4

Report by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) 2017.Palestine and the Israeli Occupation, Issue №1

Israeli Practices towards the Palestinian People and the Question of Apartheid

“The report concludes that the weight of the evidence supports beyond a reasonable doubt the proposition that Israel is guilty of imposing an apartheid regime on the Palestinian people, which amounts to the commission of a crime against humanity, the prohibition of which is considered jus cogens in international customary law.”

The mantra that all Israeli Governments had and still do have to this day is the fear that granting human rights to the Palestinians under occupation will compromise Israel’s security. There is a strong belief in Israel that if the Palestinians are granted human rights in the territories under occupation, they (the Palestinians) will view this as Israel’s weakness and they will increase their terror activities against Israel.

The right wing Israeli Government Coalition maintains its power by playing on the fears of the Israeli Electorate. They view the left wing opposition to the occupation as traitors and NGOs such as B’tzelem and Breaking the Silence as a plague on Israel. They do all in their power to prevent overseas donors from donating money to these organizations that safeguard Palestinian human rights.

On the other hand, right-wing organizations receive money from overseas supporters unhindered. The biggest challenge that Israel faces today vis a vis the Palestinians under occupation is a balance between Israel’s security and basic human rights that the Palestinians are entitled. The present government is doing everything in its power to prevent any meaningful negotiations on a two-state solution. The extreme right wing flank - Habayit Yehudi of Naftali Bennett opposes the Two State Solution and has threatened to leave the coalition if any negotiations begin to initiate the Two State Solution.

The other options are a bi-national state which will be dominated by Israel and the Palestinians will remain in a quasi-apartheid situation inferior to Israelis and be forced to live in separate enclaves within the Jewish State. Needless to say, they will remain without basic human rights and a disenfranchised group subjected to abuse and exploitation. This will be far from the dreams of Israel’s founding fathers. The settlers that have occupied Palestinian lands will remain on these lands forever.

The situation on the ground is such that the increase in settlement activity encroaching further on Palestinian-owned land by right-wing religious Zionist Jews is making the two-state solution less and less a viable option.

A  list of obstacles Palestinians face as a result of the occupation is not exhaustive — there are a number of other human rights concerns and restrictions imposed on non-Israelis in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.5

EU grants, funding, prizes or scholarships will only be granted if a settlement exclusion clause is included, forcing the Israeli government to concede in writing that settlements in the occupied territories are outside the state of Israel to secure agreements with the EU.6

According to Benjamin Pogrund, a South African journalist, who had suffered under the apartheid government for opposing it, is the right person qualified to state that

“Israel has many injustices. But it is not an apartheid state”.

What remains is for both sides to the conflict is to get their act right and move towards a Two-State Solution based on dual respect for both sides with a desire to end this tragic conflict. Ending the Israeli "occupation" of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and achieving a negotiated two-state outcome, is the only way to lay the foundations for enduring peace, the UN secretary-general stressed.7

Israel must refrain from building settlements and proclaim a total freeze on this illegal activity as starters. The Palestinian leadership must cease their hateful rhetoric and demands for Israel's total destruction and be willing to sit down and negotiate an end to this conflict. Trust-building measures on both sides must be initiated on both sides with the mediation of a neutral third party. Only in this way can a solution be found and a just end to the occupation.

The above YouTube clip is true within the Green line.Unfortunately, in the occupied territories, this is not the case.  However, in the occupied areas conquered during the Six-Day War, the Palestinians do not have the freedom to move around and are subject to human rights abuses. As mentioned in this article, the security situation that has to come to terms with Palestinian terrorist groups harming and killing innocent civilians by stabbings, suicide bombings and car rammings, has created a situation that resembles apartheid in the territories. The right-wing Jewish extremists, such as the "Hilltop Youth" and the messianic, religious Zionist settlers are not blameless for this situation either and the police hardly make any arrests of those responsible for violence against Palestinians.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli-occupied_territories. Accessed 26 Jun. 2017.
2.  2 Jun. 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/02/opinion/sunday/the-past-50-years-of-israeli-occupation-and-the-next.html. Accessed 24 Jun. 2017.
3. http://www.merip.org/primer-palestine-israel-arab-israeli-conflict-new. Accessed 24 Jun. 2017
4. 16 Mar. 2017, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-report-idUSKBN16M2IN. Accessed 26 Jun. 2017.
5. 29 Dec. 2016, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/things-palestinians-cant-do_us_586554d4e4b0eb58648895bc. Accessed 24 Jun. 2017.
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli-occupied_territories. Accessed 24 Jun. 2017.
7. 5 Jun. 2017, http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/UN-chief-denounces-50-years-of-Israeli-occupation-on-Six-Day-War-anniversary-494924. Accessed 26 Jun. 2017.

Also, see:

1. Israel and the apartheid analogy
2. Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign 

The above two links are not necessarily the writer's opinion. I have inserted them for the reader to draw his own conclusions.

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Occupation has Two Faces - Israeli and Palestinian

The occupation mantra has two faces. We are all familiar with the Israeli Occupation that is opposed by many Israelis, (including Yours Truly,) and the world. The big question is how do we end it when partners on both sides have no interest in negotiating ending the occupation.

On the Israeli side, there is PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s lip service to a Two State solution but in reality, this is not the case. This would mean the demise of many illegal settlements in the occupied territories. The heavy pressure of his extremist right wing flank would never support uprooting these settlements under any agreement.

On the Palestinian side, there is no partner to negotiate with Israel on ending the occupation. President Mahmoud Abbas is weak and has very little support from his people and Hamas will not recognize Israel’s right to exist and refuses to negotiate with Israel. As mentioned many times in my articles, Hamas views the occupation as Israel’s establishment in 1948. Only Israel’s demise is acceptable in the Hamas Covenant (Revised Version 2017). This revised version has not negated  Israel’s demise as many people believe.

Abbas can never sign any agreement with Israel as he knows that his life will be endangered and he will be viewed as a traitor by Hamas. Apart from that, the PA and Hamas are at loggerheads. The Palestinian territories are divided into two entities, Gaza 1. and the West Bank. The former is ruled by Hamas 2. and the latter by the Palestinian Authority (PA) 3. Both Hamas and the PA are “occupying” their people. Both rulers have not had general elections for over 10 years. Both parties are not democratic and rule their people with an iron fist.

Opposition to the PA and Hamas is not tolerated or permitted in the territories where they rule. The Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and the Hamas de facto administration in the Gaza Strip continue to restrict freedom of expression by arresting and detaining critics and political opponents 4.

There is no press freedom, transparency, and accountability in the occupied territories. Both Hamas and the PA are corrupt and their leaders are extremely wealthy. Funds earmarked for rehabilitation of Palestinian needs in Gaza have landed in the pockets of the corrupt Palestinian leaders, who have foreign bank accounts and live the good life. Their lifestyles are reminiscent of the deceased Communist dictator of Romania, Nicolae Ceausescu, who was assassinated by the Romanian opposition in 1989.

Bearing all this in mind, apart from complaints and international PA antics of Palestinian suffering, the occupation is a source of enrichment for the Palestinian leadership. If the occupation ends and the international community starts monitoring for transparency in funding the fledgling Palestinian State-To-Be, if by some miracle does occur, the Palestinian leaders will not be able to enrich themselves at their peoples' expense as is the case at present.

The Hamas and PA leadership are responsible for hate propaganda against Israel and the Jewish People in their education systems, poisoning the minds of young, impressionable schoolchildren. This is their strength as a new generation of Palestinians will grow up with their minds full of hate for Israel and Jews generally. These corrupt and wealthy leaders of the Palestinians will continue to cry crocodile tears over Palestinian suffering under Israeli occupation while at the same time pocketing money donated to Palestinian rehabilitation projects by the EU, USA and other world bodies. Transparency, checks, and balances are not in the lexicon of the two divisive groups ruling the Palestinians today. Is this not also “occupation” by Hamas and the PA?

                                        
Its members were briefed by senior intelligence officers about the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, which will be greatly exacerbated by the Palestinian Authority's decision to stop paying Israel for the power it sells to Gaza. The Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip may be at war with each other, but the two rival parties seem to be in agreement over one issue: silencing and intimidating their critics 5.

Both sides to the conflict are demonizing each other. The stabbing attacks against Israel's Security Forces continues. This clip will give some idea as to the source of motivation of Palestinian terror.

1.  (n.d.). Does Israel actually occupy the Gaza Strip? - The Washington Post. Retrieved June 16, 2017, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/07/02/does-israel-actually-occupy-the-gaza-strip/
2.  (n.d.). Debunking Israel's 11 Main Myths About Gaza, Hamas and War Crimes. Retrieved June 16, 2017, from http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mehdi-hasan/gaza-israel_b_5624401.html
3. (n.d.). President of the Palestinian National Authority - Wikipedia. Retrieved June 16, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_Palestinian_National_Authority
4. https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/palestine-state-of/report-palestine-state-of/. Accessed 16 Jun. 2017.
5. https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/. Accessed 16 Jun. 2017.

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Palestinian Aspirations and PM Netanyahu’s 2016 UN Speech

We all heard the waffle of President Mahmoud Abbas’s address to the UN General Assembly could hardly be called a speech but rather a diatribe of fantasy, lies and frustration. Many years have passed and the UN members still do not wish to come to terms with the fact that Mahmoud Abbas does not represent the Palestinian People. He has no power base  and is a weak leader, who has been misleading rather than leading his people. There have been no Palestinian Elections since 2006. Like his counterparts in Hamas, he has amassed a great personal fortune under the occupation.

The Palestinian People have no leaders representing their aspirations apart from those expressing the eternal mantra of seeking Israel’s destruction. Both Hamas and the PA have done nothing to improve Palestinian infrastructures. Both parties are so involved in enriching themselves at their people’s expense as well as at the expense of many EU and other countries, who donate large sums of money to improve Palestinian quality of life, educational and health projects.  Instead of these goals, the money is used in hate for Israel propaganda, terrorist activity, including building of infiltrating, terrorist tunnels from Gaza into the south of Israel, and in filling the pockets of Hamas and PA leaders.

Yes, we all want a Two-State Solution and an end to the occupation. However with the various scenarios on the ground and the mindset of the Hamas-PA leadership, this is just not going to happen. Hamas will never recognize Israel’s right to exist as they have stated this ad nauseam. The occupation in their world view is Israel’s establishment since 1948. The most they are prepared to accept is a thadiya or temporary truce with Israel.  This means that once Hamas is able to gain enough strength it will break the truce and destroy Israel. We must remember that PA agreements (and Hamas agreements if that does occur by some miracle) are modeled after Muhammad's Treaty of Hudaybiyyah . It is very significant to bear this in mind in order to gain a greater understanding of the mindset of the present Palestinian Leadership towards peace with Israel and why peace with the Palestinians is unattainable, apart from their ulterior, corrupt motives of self-enrichment at their people’s expense. A “partner” dead set on Israel’s total destruction as a condition for a permanent peace can never be a partner.

The memory of many UN Palestinian pundit members is short or at best very selective. Prior to the 1967 June War, there was no Israeli occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza and Golan Heights; it was Palestine that was occupied by Israel in 1948, including Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Haifa and Acre. This is the true occupation in their world view. The 1967 occupation is just the cherry on top of the “occupation cake” that has become a mantra.

PM Benjamin Netanyahu delivered an excellent speech at the September  22 2016 UN General Assembly Circus. I am not a supporter of PM Netanyahu and his coalition partners, but he said what had to be said very well. It is not the “illegal settlements” that is an obstacle to peace. Israel’s very existence and history has proved that since Israel’s establishment.

The hatred for Israel and Jews is so engraved in the minds of young Palestinians by the education system as Netanyahu had expressed so vividly in his speech whether it is social media, culture, Islam (according to their view) and the school system.

There is no Palestinian Leadership that is democratic, human rights- oriented as well as being transparent. A leadership that is corrupt and wealthy at the expensive of their people can never be a liberation movement when lining their pockets is top priority. Does the UN fail to see that?

Palestinian pundits claim that so much is being said that is destructive from the Israeli side discouraging solutions to this tragic conflict by not ending the occupation.

The question is whether anything is coming from the Palestinian side that is constructive?  The suicide bombings, lone stabbing attacks on innocent people, ramming cars into pedestrians, as well as shooting of innocent people from passing cars, education aimed at brainwashing young Palestinians in the social media as well as educational projects encouraging shuhada  (martyrs or martyrdom)) by killing Jews, are what  we witness on an almost daily basis for many years now.

The solution, apart from Israel’s destruction and a replacement by Hamas or a Caliphate ISIS-Style is all what we hear from Palestinian street. Surely with a Palestinian mindset like this there is no hope of achieving peace for many years to come.

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The Occupation suits the Palestinian Leadership no less than Israel

The time has come for everybody to cease the hypocrisy over the two-state solution. Both the Israeli and Palestinian leadership are against the Two-State Solution, (despite their statements to the contrary) for different reasons, yet the lowest common denominator is there - stalemate and no progress for a solution.

Settlement expansion and building in the West Bank occupied since the 1967 Six Day War is part of the right wing government coalition policy. Apart from cosmetic halting of settlements in certain areas, building and expanding existing settlements continues. This suits the present Israeli Government and its settlement enterprise. It also suits the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. It gives them something to cry about as their coffers fill up with more Palestinian pundit donations. Their propaganda machine against the settlements as well as Israel’s existence is very successful in international forums such as the UN and the disintegrating EU. These various bodies contribute billions of dollars to the ever-suffering Palestinians as their leadership uses this as an excuse to receive millions of dollars for funding. Nobody talks about transparency concerning these funds reaching projects to rehabilitate Gaza, or improve infrastructure and quality of life for Palestinians in the West Bank.

The reality is different. The financial donations go to terrorist projects of various kinds and the enrichment of the Palestinian leadership, who siphon the money into their own pockets. President Mahmoud Abbas’s net worth is over a $100 million, while his predecessor, Yasser Arafat had amassed $1 billion. Khaled Meshaal, leader of Hamas, personal assets is $2.6 billion, while in exile in Qatar living the good life. The rest of the leaders of the Palestinians are multi-millionaires. If the occupation ends so will their millions. If a Palestinian state by some miracle is declared, law and order as well as transparency will be part of the deal for it to be viable. The crocodile-tears shed by these corrupt leaders over the occupation bring them more money to enrich themselves. These false tears drops onto the hearts of human rights Palestinian pundits, who quickly blame Israel for Palestinian suffering under the occupation but do not care a damn for Palestinians in Yarmouk Camp, who are slaughtered like flies by Arab Islamist groups. They also do not care a damn for victims of ISIS terror in the Middle East or terrorist acts they commit in France, Belgium and Germany. Knifings of innocent Israelis have their full backing as well as the backing of Israel’s Daesh – Hamas!

Transparency, democracy, human rights, women’s rights and dignity is not part of the Palestinian Leadership’s lexicon whether the PA or Hamas. Absence of these values is a guarantee for the Palestinian leadership to remain corrupt and unaccountable to the Palestinian People they claim to represent. Distribution of wealth does not exist.

Wealth will remain in the hands of the Palestinian leaders of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority as long as the occupation remains. They know it as well. All their mantras of Israel’s destruction and Palestinian suffering – imagined and otherwise, are the best insurance for these leaders to maintain their incredible wealth.

Below is an article by Amira Hass of Haaretz about Palestinian corruption under occupation:

Corrupt Palestinian Officials Too Comfortable to Resist the Israeli Occupation April 11th 2016

Palestinians don’t need the Panama Papers to expose what they see as corruption in the ranks of their leaders — there is visible concrete evidence of it everywhere.

The Palestinians are the last to be surprised over the recent Panama Papers revelations that indicate a connection between money and power among their leadership or, what in popular parlance, falls under the broad heading of “corruption.” There is nearly no daily conversation where allegations of corruption are not expressed, whether referring explicitly to individuals by name (cabinet ministers, senior members of the ruling Fatah party or NGO directors) or their institutions.

In conversations with Palestinians, they speak of a broad range of corruption that they believe is present at top levels of society: Outright theft of public funds, receiving of bribes and other favors in return for services, hugely inflated salaries and favors paid to senior NGO officials and high-level political interference in the replacement of senior civil servants.

Then there are the allegations of partnership interests of senior figures from the ruling party and government ministries in private businesses, the provision of public land to senior officials and the payment of huge sums from the political organization level for construction of homes, for medical care or to attend conferences abroad. There are allegations of relatives being appointed to government ministries (and one of the most common allegations is that every minister fills his ministry with locals from his own home region). People speak of officials drawing two salaries at the same time (for example, a senior official in a political organization, a former legislator). And this is just a partial list of allegations that render almost every senior figure or public official into a corrupt suspect, who is therefore untrustworthy.

The animosity raging between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and former senior Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan also includes regular mutual recriminations of corruption. Last year a court in Ramallah dropped an indictment filed by the Palestinian prosecution against Dahlan over major embezzlement charges and ruled that the stripping of the immunity from prosecution that Dahlan had enjoyed as a legislator was not carried out according to the law.

Dahlan’s associates regularly mention Abbas’ sons’ global business interests. They probably would have welcomed the Haaretz Panama Papers reporting by Uri Blau and Daniel Dolev regarding Abbas’ son Tareq and his hefty interests in a private company with links to the Palestinian Authority, but they would certainly not have been surprised.

In a shtetl-like society, which the Palestinian one is, namely small and with extended families whose members are at almost every rung of the social ladder, everyone is exposed to some kind of incriminating morsel of information, in his own view, about senior people or what would fit the popular definition of corruption.And in contrast to the sparsity of written documents that may be exposed to bolster the allegations, there is other visible, concrete evidence of what is perceived as corruption: the ornate large private home or second home purchased by someone who is not known to hail from a wealthy family (meaning where the source of wealth is no longer questioned); the snazzy new car; the time spent at fancy clubs; and the use of official vehicles for personal purposes.
The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research regularly asks if people think there is corruption at the institutions of the Palestinian Authority. In the most recent poll, published at the beginning of the month, 79 percent answered that there is, and this response has been more or less constant for years.

In the interest of fair disclosure, in this writer’s opinion, the occupation (including the allocation of land on both sides of the Green Line to Jews alone) is the mother of all corruption, but that should not let the Palestinians off the hook easily. On the contrary, as part of a people fighting a despotic and fraudulent foreign occupation, the Palestinian leadership (the Palestine Liberation Organization, Fatah and Hamas as well) is more highly obligated than anyone else to act with integrity. And they are failing the test.

Under circumstances of occupation, it is natural the definition of corruption would be wide. When the newly-minted head of Israel’s Civil Administration in the territories, Munir Amar, was killed in a plane crash, several senior Fatah and Palestinian Authority officials, including political associates of Abbas, went to pay a condolence call. The Civil Administration is not a neutral Israeli entity. It should be remembered that it is the operational arm of a policy of land theft, water theft, home demolition, settlement, etc. Are their narrow personal interests (currying the favor of the overlords who issue the travel permits) the reason for the typical disregard that they have demonstrated towards their own people?

The senior Palestinian Authority officials continue to securely remain in their posts, not as representatives of the people but rather under the auspices of international support for continued negotiations with Israel in advance of the “establishment of a Palestinian state.” That means continued support for a lie: the status quo of Israeli domination, accelerated colonization, a stable security situation that is undermined from time to time and pockets of Palestinian self-rule.

In these pockets, one finds many senior officials and those linked to them who owe their personal and family wellbeing to that same status quo. In other words, they are incapable of turning the tables and imagining and developing a new and inclusive form of struggle (that does not necessarily require arms) against Israeli domination since that is liable to harm their economic status and that of those around them. And this is corruption.

This is an incredible admittance of Amira Hass concerning Palestinian leadership corruption. She is very sympathetic to Palestinian issues. 

The ‘human rights” Palestinian pundits and BDS activists will continue in their hypocritic fight against Israel’s existence using the occupation to justify their cause. These “human rights” Palestinian pundit xenophobes (anti-Semites) and their ilk, including BDS wish to replace Israel with a totalitarian Palestinian State oblivious of human rights and dignity, based on sharia law that must be Judenrein (free of Jews).

Ending the occupation is against the interests of the Palestinian Leadership.

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A Possible Scenario if the Occupation Would End

ISIS and the Nazis have similar ideology

We all wish that the occupation would end. The occupation is unacceptable morally. Unfortunately, the reality is different and if the occupation goes, the alternative for both Israel and the Palestinians will be far worse. The conflict has become more radical and the element of religion has become part of the conflict which is not only a dispute over land. We must also take into account the various players, including the Islamist terrorist groups such as Hamas, ISIS (Daesh), Salafis, Islamic Jihad and others. The right wing Jewish terrorist movements are also a factor that cannot be overlooked.

 Israel's successive Governments have often expressed their desire not to rule over another people. This would make Israel into a colonizing country. Since the June War of 1967, this has become the situation. We must bear in mind that Hamas has stated that Israel has occupied Palestinian lands on 14 May 1948 when it was established. Therefore as far as Hamas is concerned, Israel is occupied territory and in order to achieve peace, Israel must cease to exist and a Palestinian State must replace it. There is no room for any negotiations with the Palestinian leadership while the mindset of Hamas is to achieve Israel's total destruction, even though Israel is accused of not being a partner for peace talks. Is Hamas a partner for peace talks? Is the weakened PA a partner? President Mahmoud Abbas and his PA have no support from his people and if elections were held in the West Bank tomorrow, he and the PA will be replaced by Hamas. The latter unfortunately holds the cards as to whether there will be recognition of Israel's right to exist or to negotiations for a peace treaty. 

While this mindset of Hamas non-recognition of Israel remains, there will never be a peace partner on the Israel side. In the most unlikely scenario that Israel does decide unilaterally to withdraw all settlements in the occupied West Bank, and the occupation is ended, there will still be no peace until Israel ceases to exist for the reasons mentioned at the beginning of this article. 

Hamas will still support and justify terror against Israelis and will even take it a step further. It will not only be stabbings by lone-wolf Palestinians but also a return to suicide bombings, Qassam missiles and the like fired into Israel cities and towns as was the case in Gaza. 

From the Hamas Charter:

Hamas and ISIS will compete to rule Palestine and threaten Israel.
It will be hell for the Palestinians whoever rules.

 Peaceful Solutions, Initiatives and International Conferences:

Article Thirteen:

Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement. Abusing any part of Palestine is abuse directed against part of religion. Nationalism of the Islamic Resistance Movement is part of its religion. Its members have been fed on that. For the sake of hoisting the banner of Allah over their homeland they fight. "Allah will be prominent, but most people do not know."

Now and then the call goes out for the convening of an international conference to look for ways of solving the (Palestinian) question. Some accept, others reject the idea, for this or other reason, with one stipulation or more for consent to convening the conference and participating in it. Knowing the parties constituting the conference, their past and present attitudes towards Moslem problems, the Islamic Resistance Movement does not consider these conferences capable of realizing the demands, restoring the rights or doing justice to the oppressed. These conferences are only ways of setting the infidels in the land of the Moslems as arbitrators. When did the infidels do justice to the believers?

"But the Jews will not be pleased with thee, neither the Christians, until thou follow their religion; say, the direction of Allah is the true direction. And verily if thou follow their desires, after the knowledge which hath been given thee, thou shalt find no patron or protector against Allah." (The Cow - verse 120).

There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors. The Palestinian people know better than to consent to having their future, rights and fate toyed with. As in said in the honorable Hadith:

"The people of Syria are Allah's lash in His land. He wreaks His vengeance through them against whomsoever He wishes among His slaves it is unthinkable that those who are double-faced among them should prosper over the faithful. They will certainly die out of grief and desperation."

The Three Circles:

Article Fourteen:

The question of the liberation of Palestine is bound to three circles: the Palestinian circle, the Arab circle and the Islamic circle. Each of these circles has its role in the struggle against Zionism. Each has its duties, and it is a horrible mistake and a sign of deep ignorance to overlook any of these circles. Palestine is an Islamic land which has the first of the two kiblahs (direction to which Moslems turn in praying), the third of the holy (Islamic) sanctuaries, and the point of departure for Mohamed's midnight journey to the seven heavens (i.e. Jerusalem).

                                 Mind set of Hamas is identical to these xenophobic
                                          racist radical Muslims. This is Muslim Brotherhood stuff that
                                          Hamas adheres to. 

"Praise be unto him who transported his servant by night, from the sacred temple of Mecca to the farther temple of Jerusalem, the circuit of which we have blessed, that we might show him some of our signs; for Allah is he who heareth, and seeth." (The Night-Journey - verse 1).

Since this is the case, liberation of Palestine is then an individual duty for very Moslem wherever he may be. On this basis, the problem should be viewed. This should be realized by every Moslem.

The day the problem is dealt with on this basis, when the three circles mobilize their capabilities, the present state of affairs will change and the day of liberation will come nearer.

"Verily ye are stronger than they, by reason of the terror cast into their breasts from Allah. This, because they are not people of prudence." (The Emigration - verse 13).

The Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine is an Individual Duty:

Article Fifteen:

The day that enemies usurp part of Moslem land, Jihad becomes the individual duty of every Moslem. In face of the Jews' usurpation of Palestine, it is compulsory that the banner of Jihad be raised. To do this requires the diffusion of Islamic consciousness among the masses, both on the regional, Arab and Islamic levels. It is necessary to instill the spirit of Jihad in the heart of the nation so that they would confront the enemies and join the ranks of the fighters.

It is necessary that scientists, educators and teachers, information and media people, as well as the educated masses, especially the youth and sheikhs of the Islamic movements, should take part in the operation of awakening (the masses). It is important that basic changes be made in the school curriculum, to cleanse it of the traces of ideological invasion that affected it as a result of the orientalists and missionaries who infiltrated the region following the defeat of the Crusaders at the hands of Salah el-Din (Saladin). The Crusaders realised that it was impossible to defeat the Moslems without first having ideological invasion pave the way by upsetting their thoughts, disfiguring their heritage and violating their ideals. Only then could they invade with soldiers. This, in its turn, paved the way for the imperialistic invasion that made Allenby declare on entering Jerusalem: "Only now have the Crusades ended." General Guru stood at Salah el-Din's grave and said: "We have returned O Salah el-Din." Imperialism has helped towards the strengthening of ideological invasion, deepening, and still does, its roots. All this has paved the way towards the loss of Palestine.

It is necessary to instill in the minds of the Moslem generations that the Palestinian problem is a religious problem, and should be dealt with on this basis. Palestine contains Islamic holy sites. In it there is al- Aqsa Mosque which is bound to the great Mosque in Mecca in an inseparable bond as long as heaven and earth speak of Isra` (Mohammed's midnight journey to the seven heavens) and Mi'raj (Mohammed's ascension to the seven heavens from Jerusalem).

"The bond of one day for the sake of Allah is better than the world and whatever there is on it. The place of one's whip in Paradise is far better than the world and whatever there is on it. A worshipper's going and coming in the service of Allah is better than the world and whatever there is on it." (As related by al-Bukhari, Moslem, al-Tarmdhi and Ibn Maja).

"I swear by the holder of Mohammed's soul that I would like to invade and be killed for the sake of Allah, then invade and be killed, and then invade again and be killed." (As related by al-Bukhari and Moslem).

 It is clear that on reading Article 13, 14 and 15 of the Hamas Charter, we can see that their mindset is not on peace with Israel but on waging war by various means of terror acts blessed by their religious leaders (Imams) and their tycoon "exiled" leadership in the fleshpots of Qatar, the claim that Israel is not a partner for peace is ludicrous as they are no partners for peace by their own admittance according to their charter. 

 The Hamas Charter and the goals of ISIS are similar. This similarity will only increase in the near future. The Middle East neighborhood around Israel with the ISIS savages in the shadows awaiting the end to the occupation.

 If in the event that the occupation ends, they will then step in and compete with Hamas to establish a Muslim Caliphate in the area that was known as the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights,  the north of the latter is in a state of anarchy with various Shiite groups and Islamist warring factions killing each other. Its status is still unclear as President Assad's position is weakening and Russia is now involved in trying to prop him up. 

ISIS (DAESH) and Hamas have the same goals in establishing a Caliphate. There will be a war between them as to who will rule the former occupied territories. The situation of the Palestinians in the "newly liberated" territories will become untenable. Hamas or ISIS will rule depending on who wins the struggle for power. The settlers will not be there and the whole area will become a killing field against the infidels, ISIS-style. There will be no democracy or human rights. There will be beheadings, raping of women and non-Muslims (Jews and Christians as well as Muslims, who are considered apostates), will be mercilessly slaughtered using the worst form of cruelty imaginable. We are seeing this wherever ISIS takes control. This will happen in the areas that were once under Israeli occupation. 

Israel will be more involved in preventing ISIS and Hamas terrorist incursions and the threat to Israel's security will increase manifold as attempts to destroy Israel and include it in their Palestinian State plans will increase. Many Palestinians will lose their lives under Hamas or ISIS rule. The two warring terrorist factions may even form a coalition after the feud with the common desire to establish a Caliphate under strict sharia law. There will be no free Palestine! It will be an area of chaos similar to that of Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. It will be a state where Palestinians will be fleeing as is happening in Syria. 

Is this scenario preferable to Israeli occupation? Israel will not agree to sign an agreement that will compromise its security or legitimize its destruction as Hamas would desire. If these are the conditions for peace then Israel will definitely not be a partner. 

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