ISRAEL (IINO) – 1/17/22
2. Why Israelis Voted for Right-Wing Parties by Bassam Tawil
January 17, 2023 at 5:00 am
- The main reason behind the rise to power of the far-right parties in the recent general election in Israel is that many Israelis believe that Israel has no partner for peace on the Palestinian side. This, in addition to the growing sense of dismay among Israelis as a result of Palestinian violence and terrorism, which saw a significant upsurge in 2022.
- The widespread belief in Israel that the Palestinian Authority and its leader, Mahmoud Abbas, are not partners for peace is not baseless. Moreover, the dismay is justified.
- Instead of welcoming the Israeli move [complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005, while asking nothing in return] the Palestinians responded with more terrorism against Israel. “The Israelis totally withdrew because they were being shot at?” went Palestinian thinking; “Great! Let’s keep shooting at them!”
- The Oslo Accords (Article XV) state that the Palestinians are supposed to “take all measures necessary in order to prevent acts of terrorism, crime and hostilities.” Instead, Palestinian cities such as Nablus and Jenin, which are fully controlled by Abbas’s security forces, have in the past year against become hubs for terrorism.
- In the past year, Abbas has demonstrated to the Israeli public that the Palestinians are determined to pursue the war against Israel on two fronts: on the ground, through terrorism, and in the international arena, through the United Nations and the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and other international forums.
- Both the Palestinian terrorism and the diplomatic warfare constitute a violation of the commitments made by the Palestinians in the “peace process.”
- In a September 1993 letter to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat stated that “all outstanding issues relating to permanent status will be resolved through negotiations,” rather than unilateral actions.
- When Israelis see Abbas paying the families of terrorists who murder or wound Jews, why should it be a surprise that many Israelis vote for “hardline” candidates? And when Israelis see Abbas and his associates inciting violence against them or vilifying Israel and prosecuting its leaders as “war criminals” at international tribunals, why should anyone be astonished that many Israelis are going to vote for a government they hope will protect them?
- If the Palestinians want to regain the confidence of the Israeli public, they might start by demonstrating that they are serious about making peace with Israel. They could stop violating the agreements they signed and begin acting like peace partners, not war partners. They could cease their incessant unilateral measures and efforts to delegitimize Israel in the international arena.
1. BIDEN TELLS ISRAEL TO GIVE MONEY TO TERRORISTS, NOT TERROR VICTIMS Daniel Greenfield
January 16, 2023 The Biden administration condemned Israel for giving $39 million in tax revenues to the victims of terrorism instead of the terrorists.
“It is morally just and important for the war against terror. There is no greater justice than using the funds for the victims of terror,” Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said of the move.
State Department spokesman Ned Price condemned Israel’s actions as a “unilateral response” that will “exacerbate tensions. and warned that the administration will raise the issue with Israel.
Price did not address whether the Palestinian Authority spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year to finance terrorist attacks against Israelis through the ‘Pay-to-Slay’ program raises any tensions. The ruling PLO body spending millions to kill Jews is not unilateral, but Israel refusing to finance the murder of its own citizens is a dangerous move that will make peace difficult.
Palestinian Authority PM Mohammad Shtayyeh claims that if Israel doesn’t give it $39 million, that “will promptly lead to its collapse.”
The terror organization has been claiming variations of the same thing for over two decades.
