Is Israel's military excesses the result of a finely scripted plot by conservative government?

by Don Alberts - Virginia Beach

Israel's PM Sharon was in Washington last week (5/7/02) and predictably a suicide bomb attack occurred back home.

The scene in DC was reminiscent of an earlier trip at the end of last year when Sharon was summoned by the Bush administration for a lecture. Two bombs went off in Jerusalem, Sharon
declared "...nobody can lecture us..." and departed early with a great deal of melodrama. Bush and his crowd were left flat-footed, mouths agape. Sharon had upstaged them.

Yesterday it was deja vu all over again. The visit was cut short and Sharon dramatically took off, successfully avoiding any lectures from his benefactors. Although he did have time for a news conference.

After the first incident, Sharon returned the U.S. in early February. I predicted in an editorial letter at the time, that the same scenario would occur. It almost did, a Palestinian with a bomb strapped to himself tried to board a bus in southern Israel. The quick thinking driver foiled the attempt by pushing the bomber off the bus, and the device malfunctioned.

This is an excerpt of what I wrote in February:

"...I'm in the tiny minority, no doubt, of those who have impure thoughts about the actions of the Israelis vis-a-vis the peace process. I am convinced that most of the terror incidents that have occurred in Israel, and in some of the surrounding countries, have been choreographed directly or indirectly by extreme elements of Israeli society, including the government. Heresy! You say?

"I used to think that the Palestinians were "the gang that couldn't shoot straight", for their apparent ability to conduct horrific terror attacks at the worst possible time, when world opinion was growing in their favor. Each incident seemed to occur almost on queue, just when Israel needed them to make it's case against the hapless Palestinians..."


So what's Sharon up to this time? Three things I believe: (1). To discredit and destroy any remaining Palestinian governmental infrastructure; (2). To create a pretext for assaults on the Gaza strip; and (3). To continue to stall on ending the 35 year occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

Pretext is a key word and recurring theme in Israel's history. Since 1948 it has used any "provocation" to react militarily in an overwhelming way to achieve its goals.

Israel violated UN ceasefires in the late 1940's to grab more land from the Palestinians and Bedouins. In an alliance with Great Britain and France, Israel created the pretext for the formers' Suez intervention in 1956, honoring the pledge the Zionists made to Great Britain to obtain the Balfour Declaration. Sharon used the attempted assassination of Israel's ambassador to Great Britain in 1982, to invade Lebanon - an action that was planned well ahead of the pretext.

What follows is a report from the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz two weeks ago, on Sharon's plan for Gaza and I quote:

Wednesday, April 24, 2002 Iyyar 12, 5762
Israel Time: 06:16 (GMT+3)

Gaza may still be in IDF sights, Sharon hints
By Gideon Alon

"Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and
Defense committee that he has not ruled out the IDF taking wide-scale
action against terrorism in the Gaza Strip.

"In response to a question by MK Uri Ariel of the National Union party, who asked why the IDF did not move into Gaza and Hebron during Operation Defensive Shield and whether there are plans to do so, Sharon said it would not be wise to reveal ahead of time where Israel will and will not act. But, he emphasized, "There is no place where terrorists will be immune." Sharon said that Israel did not harm the Palestinian security services in Gaza, "but nonetheless the terror attacks continue unabated."

What will be Israel's response to the May 7 bomb attack? Considering the statements of its military Chief of Staff  Shaul  Mofaz reported by Ha'aretz, how will Israel justify attacking the Palestinian civilian population again if the most likely source of future attacks will be from "lone terrorists", as Mofaz says?

The following contains excerpts from the Ha'aretz article:

Wednesday, May 08, 2002 Iyyar 26, 5762
Israel Time: 05:11 (GMT+3)

Mofaz: More Defensive Shields if terror continues
By Gideon Alon

"Speaking to the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Mofaz claimed that Defensive Shield brought about a major reduction in attempted terror attacks. There has been a complete cessation of terror strikes in past days, he added. Mofaz warned that the possibility remains of lone terrorists attempting suicide strikes. The IDF is making every effort to prevent Palestinian terror organizations from rebuilding, the chief of staff stated."

Once again, the dimwit in the White House reversed course. Yesterday in reply to a reporter's question, with Sharon at his side, Bush said Sharon is a democratically elected leader and he (Bush) "...won't tell him what to do..."! Green Light!

Israeli Jews and their Zionist supporters apparently fail to realize that the greatest danger to Israel's continued existence, doesn't come from out-gunned Palestinians clamoring for freedom and trying to hang on to what little land is left to them. Indeed, it is the grandiose and provocative vision of a "Greater Israel" pursued by a succession of right wing governments that provides the greatest threat. Extreme Jewish nationalism is Israel's Achilles heel.

If Israel continues on its current path, it would seem its future has already been scripted. Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and other dead Greeks provided the plot and format long ago:

A tragedy in three acts; Koros (excess), Hybris (arrogance and folly), and Ate (destruction).

Post Script:

Friday May 10, the IDF is poised at the gates to Gaza - on hold. The Israeli print media reports that the military intelligence group Shin Bet does not have definitive proof the May 7 bomber came from Gaza. Shin Bet says the expendee left Gaza sometime ago, and they say the explosives he used came from somewhere other than the Strip! One wonders - if they knew that much about the facts, why couldn't they have prevented the tragedy?

There's the hint of dissention in the Israeli gov't. about a Gaza incursion. When Sharon returned from the US he held an emergency cabinet meeting demanding approval for a military response, but would not allow the military to brief the ministers or even show maps of the locations. One minister told the media he didn't know why they called him. He said  ""...I felt like I was in a Fellini movie...".

Additionally, since Jenin many reserve officers are very concerned about the possibility of facing war-crimes charges - according to reports in Ha'aretz. In civilian life some are businessmen who travel alot, especially to Europe where "indictments happen".

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