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*ALARMING NEW EDITORIAL TECHNIQUES AND TOOLS TO BE USED BY ARABS AND PALESTINIANS AGAINST ISRAEL AND THE JEWS.
The Arab media and the Arab Palestinian Media Watch group are getting prolific and visibly aggressive in their editorial efforts and media campaigns against Israel and the Jewish people. Palestinian youngsters and adults still throw rocks at Israeli tanks. Arab terrorists keep on kidnapping and murdering innocent foreigners. Arab governments influenced and monitored editors and journalists in the Arab world keep on telling lies and deceiving public opinion, etc., but, there is now, a new strategy and an innovative way, Arabs, Muslims and Palestinians are using to...Link
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*Arab World and Arab Media Justification of Acts of Violence
What usually, Arab heads of states, politicians, scholars, moderate leaders and reporters tell the American public, IS NOT what they tell their own people and state in the Arab media.
Most recently, the Arab media including AL AKHBAAR and Al AHRAM, two leading newspapers in Cairo presented a very "special" Arab point of view and scenario of the Sinai bombings. It is intriguing and amusing to learn how editorials in leading Arab publications interpret and explain terrorism and bombings caused by their compatriots. Publicly, and in English, the editorials appear to be siding with the United States, and encouraging perpetual peace with Israel. However, if we read the texts in Arabic, the whole story and whole intentions of the Arabs change drastically. According to AL AHRAM, the Sinai bombings presented Sharon with an opportunity to further marginalize the Palestinian cause. The Egyptian media reports that Sharon will exploit the bombings with relish. Furthermore, Arab editorials argue that Israel's Gaza rampage was not just a response to the firing of Qassam missiles. It does not mean that Arabs have to subscribe to claims that Israel needs no excuse for its actions. Arab Media Commentaries: " You cannot impose a unilateral solution to a conflict without recourse to extraordinary levels of violence." A verbatim translation of selected articles and comments in the Arab media goes like this: " The latest Israeli incursion into Gaza was not unrelated to the rudimentary weapon -- missile is perhaps too grand a term for these devices -- Gazans have developed to fight the situation into which they have been thrust, a situation, unprecedented in modern history, that essentially locks a million and a half people into a prison with two gates. Israeli violence in Gaza, in Jenin and Nablus, is structurally integral to the problems of disengagement -- you cannot impose a unilateral solution to a conflict without recourse to extraordinary levels of violence. And this is alarming, for, despite all the peace efforts deployed by Israel to bring peace to the region, Arab media, constantly undermines those efforts and Israel's intentions and the possibility of peace negotiations with Arab countries, particularly Syria. The October's general message conveyed by the Arab Media in Egypt, Syria, Sudan, Yemen and Lebanon as published on the very front page of their leading publications goes like this: "Unlike the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon where a sovereign state claimed control and responsibility on the evacuated areas, the issue in Gaza is not just one of unilateral withdrawal, but of redeployment on conditions Israel believes will consolidate its control over areas of the West Bank. It hopes to control Gaza with less friction from the outside and annex parts of the West Bank while at the same time improving its international standing and alleviating international pressures to engage in a settlement process Israel neither wants nor can engage in given its current leadership and the state of public opinion." Several commentaries and articles appeared in AL AHRAM stated that it is the Qassam missiles, though, that have thrown into relief Israel's threadbare justifications for the construction of the security wall and unilateral disengagement. The wall cannot hold even against such a primitive weapon. Israel is perfectly aware that after the redeployment of the Israeli troops the occupants of Gaza will never accept their fate as prisoners, will not accept an occupation at arm's length from the other side of a wall, certainly not in the absence of even the promise of a just settlement and a resolution to the question of Palestinian national sovereignty. "Conducting a survey among so-called moderate Arab scholars and political leaders, the common Arab belief is that Israel is not taken in by its hollow demagoguery about the culture of "terrorism". It is perfectly aware of the causes and knows exactly what to expect. It will make every attempt to minimize the possibility of Palestinian reaction, by using all its military capacities to produce a climate of fear.
THE TWO FACES OF ARAB MEDIA AND POLITICAL LEADERS
While, publicly, and in speeches in English given by President Mubarak and members of his cabinet urging the United States to enhance the peace process in the Middle East and welcoming Israeli's "sincere" initiatives, contradictory statements in Arabic are regularly printed in the Arab press. For instance, one of the commentaries of AL AHRAM stated: "The brutal assault against Gaza is, then, an attempt to provide an answer to a knot of intertwined problems. There are, for example, domestic political issues, raised by those who question the feasibility of suppressing Palestinian resistance by brute force. The Israeli government's answer is to move from one kind of violence to another, from one phase of escalation to the next, hence the military incursions into poor residential areas and targeted assassinations in Damascus. There are also strategic questions over how to inhibit the development of the Palestinians' capacity to resist following unilateral withdrawal. " Another chocking statement was recently published in the AL AHRAM newspaper: "Israeli efforts in this regard have been greatly facilitated by the Sinai bombings, the first operation that has allowed a link to be made between international terrorist networks and the Palestinians, and the first time international terrorist operations have been mounted around the borders of Palestine.
DENIAL AND HYPOCRISY
Quite often, Arab leaders and especially the Egyptians publicly wash their hands from violent measures taken by the Palestinians. Even, the Palestinians upon meeting with high level aides at The White House, denounce terrorism acts. But their public statements as published in the Arab media are quite different. Some messages and commentaries are regularly reinforced and elaborated upon by editors in the Arab media. For instance, political analysts at AL JAZERRA, AL AKBAAR, AL SAFIR and AL AHRAM stated that regardless of their positions vis-à-vis the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, the Palestinian factions maintain good relations with Egypt and want to keep it that way. If asked, the factions would all reply that only harm could come from attempting to rock the economic or political stability of Egypt. More importantly, Palestinian political organizations have made it clear that they will not target Israeli citizens abroad. Disengaging from violence of any sort against civilians in nations outside Palestine was a wise decision, in spite of the fact that the Israelis have not responded in kind. The editorial included this irrational interpretation of political analysis. It goes like this: " The Sinai bombings offer Sharon an historic opportunity to promote tighter security coordination in the region and provide a justification for linking security coordination with economic and political interests. The response of Egyptian public opinion to the Luxor attacks of 1994 was sufficiently vehement to alter the course of fundamentalist violence, compelling many organizations to modify their thinking. If this was the case when the perpetrators were Egyptian, imagine the reaction when such attacks are linked to non-Egyptian groups?
HOW THE ARAB MEDIA EXPLAIN THE REACTION OF ARABS AND EGYPTIAN PUBLIC
According to the Arab media, it would be impossible to misconstrue the reaction of Egyptian public opinion to the Sinai operations and, in spite of the Egyptian government's attempts to play down the magnitude and causes of the bombings in order to prevent panic in the tourist industry, you can be sure that it is taking the matter very seriously. In addition, the Arab media , intentionally misinterprets facts and brings constants complaints against Israel in public gathering, forum, discussions and editorials. The latest unconceivable Arab explanation of the Sinai bombings and Israel security cooperation as published in numerous Arab newspapers confused the Arab readers and encouraged them to distrust any peace effort by Israel. One of the most illustrative editorials contained illogical analysis of what really happened in Sinai and what really the Israeli intentions are. It goes like this: " The first reaction of Israeli ministers was to hurl criticism at Egypt for being slow to allow in Israeli rescue workers. Such inanities and fictions are concocted for media consumption in times of public hysteria. Sharon quickly put a cap on that, reproaching his ministers for their pettiness and reiterating his opinion, and that of "experts", that had the victims all been Egyptian the Egyptian authorities could not have acted more competently, this is their capacity. Here was an opportunity for Sharon to extend his embrace to Egypt over the matter of security coordination in the fight against terrorism. He told his ministers to swallow their knee-jerk responses and keep their opinions about Egypt to themselves. Israel, as we all know, uses terrorism as a blanket term. And now, acting on Sharon's directives, Israeli ministers are suddenly singing Egypt's praises in the hope of flattering Cairo into closer security cooperation, even if that means meeting the Egyptian demand to amend the Camp David peace treaty to permit for a stronger Egyptian military presence in Sinai. Whether or not Egypt responds to these overtures, Israel has seized upon the Sinai bombings to step up its drive to establish a network of bilateral security cooperation links in the region, while simultaneously sustaining its brutal assault on Gaza."
CLIMATE OF WEARINESS
Some Arab newspapers kept the subject off the front page on the first day of the operation while others placed it towards the bottom of that page. Political commentators in leading Arab newspapers and Arab news agencies explain: "This suggests a drive to manufacture a climate of weariness over the Palestinian cause, to engineer fatigue among Arab public opinion. The only non-wearying items that appear newsworthy these days are discussions within the Palestinian leadership, or about the Palestinian leadership and possible candidates. This, for some reason, seems a perennially exciting subject. And it allows the Palestinian cause, and Israeli crime, to be reduced to a constant focus on the role of the Palestinian leadership and the need to change it. Those who would advise the Palestinians have tired of everything but harping on this crisis. They remain doggedly persistent. The core of the Arab editorial is basically and essentially to portray the Israelis as constant aggressors. This month, the Arab media placed a strong emphasis on "Israeli crimes" which according to editorials published in AL SAFIR, AL AHRAM and in AL JAZEERA Arab news edition on line " They appear nothing but a secondary detail, Israeli declarations that they will wreak vengeance on Palestinian society as a means to pressure the factions into halting their military operations fall on deaf ears. The official American definition of terrorism, as defined in the Patriot Act, holds that terrorism is "to subject American civilians to acts of violence with the intent of influencing the policy of their government". Well, Tel Aviv has made it abundantly clear that it is bombarding Palestinians in order to influence the policy of their leadership. But the US vetoed a security council decision condemning Israeli aggression in Gaza. And what is the Arab stand on this? You won't find out in the Arab press."
PRAISING THE US AND ISRAEL-ARAB PEACE EFFORTS IN OFFICIAL MEETINGS, WHILE ATTACKING THE US AND ISRAEL IN THEIR ARAB NEWSPAPERS
Several editorials in the Arab press in Lebanon, Syria and Egypt wrote that there was a time when Arabs spoke about American phases in the region. There was a Truman phase, a Kissinger phase, a Carter phase and a Baker phase. Perhaps Arabs should now talk of a Sharon phase, a phase of Israeli schemes and projects. Its most salient features are to be found in the military and political structures and operations required to marginalize the Palestinian cause, even in the Arab world, making the disengagement plan the only available alternative, with no roadmaps or even detours. The Arab media is placing a strong emphasis on the so-called "Israeli phase". Several commentaries on the front page of major Arab newspapers characterized the "Israeli Phase" as a series of attempts to internationalize the Congress approved boycott of Syria.
ARAB FALSIFICATIONS OF FACTS AND INTENTIONS OF ISRAEL
The overwhelming number of articles published in the Arab media between October 1st and October 18Th, and geared toward distorting the intention of Israel added more confusion in the mind of ordinary Arab citizens. Editorials and articles in Arab Gulf area and Middle East newspapers claimed that Israel has no intention -whatsoever- to bring peace to the region. One particular statement caught my attention. It was published in Al AHRAM newspaper and posted on their website. It goes like this: " If Syria really wants peace, Israel says, it must demonstrate this "in deeds, not in words". At the same time, and without batting an eyelash, Israel refuses to negotiate with Syria because negotiations could only result in Israel withdrawing to pre-June 1967 borders. Israel puts about the false claim that Syria is begging on its knees for Israel to negotiate, then turns up its nose at the imagined entreaties, all the better to swagger and strut and play the bully shoving aside pedestrians on the sidewalk. But Syria has made no new overtures of any sort: it has merely reiterated its commitment to previously stated positions on a settlement and on the negotiating process.
UNDERSCORING THE BALANCE OF POWER
In concocting this image of a groveling Syria Israel is underscoring the balance of powers in the region. The US hasn't changed one iota. It is still breathing down Syria's neck and it will go on breathing down Syria's neck until Syria does its bidding. But because there are no justifications, not even according to US-Israeli logic, for declaring war on Syria the only course open to them is to do everything in their power to weaken Syria, undermine its sovereignty and encourage others to do the same. These are just some of the traits of the new phase Israel is seeking to usher in to the region. Of course, the going will not be so easy. Apart from the political map inside Israel, there are structural problems Israel will face. The only power at present capable of occupying other nations is embroiled in the war it engineered in Iraq. It has found itself incapable of controlling the pace and the logic -- or lack thereof -- of this war. Israel, in its attempt to inaugurate its own phase in the region, is certain to encounter obstacles next to which those that America is facing in Iraq will pale. So wisdom requires from Israel to get acquainted with its real size in the region. It will also not be harmful for the Arabs to have some knowledge about it so they do not get intimidated so easily."
FROM THE RECORDS
Explaining Sharon's plan: The essence of the withdrawal
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is determined to evacuate approximately 8,000 Jewish settlers from 21 heavily-fortified enclaves/settlements in the Gaza Strip, which Israel has built up since occupying the Arab territories during 1966 six day war. This will also include the withdrawal of the large numbers of Israeli troops who are currently guarding the settlements, which are constantly under fire and attacks from armed Palestinian groups, militias and civilians in the Gaza trip. Mr. Sharon explained to the Israeli government, as well as to thousands of protesters in the streets of Jerusalem that the withdrawal is the best way to reach and achieve total security for the Israelis in the absence of meaningful peace negotiations with the Palestinians and the Syrians who are a major key player in frequent Palestinian Intifadah movement in Gaza and neighboring areas. The withdrawal will be regionally large, however the Israeli forces will keep complete control of Gaza's land and sea borders and airspace. The Israeli forces will also maintain the capability and legal right to renter Palestinian territory when they want. The withdrawal will include four isolated Jewish settlements to be evacuated in the northern West Bank, but Israel will cement its grip on dozens of other settlements there. Mr. Sharon made it clear to the Israeli people and his political opponents that under a separate initiative, most Palestinian residents will be enclosed behind Israel's West Bank barrier. It will be the first time Israel has remove state-sanctioned settlements since it gave the Sinai peninsula back to Egypt in 1982.
What dilemma does Sharon face?
Mr. Sharon's own Likud party has twice rejected his withdrawal plan, but the Prime Minister has pledged to soldier on, because Israelis in general support his plan, which has been already approved by the Israeli Cabinet, although some right-wing, pro-settler ministers resigned in protest. The next stage is for the plan to be presented to the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, on 25 October, with MKs to debate and vote on the plan in principle the following day. Although he has lost his majority in the Knesset - because of pro-settler dissent - and faces a rebellion in his own party, Mr. Sharon is still expected to win. Foreign observers believe that The Israeli Prime Minister can count on the opposition Labor party for support and the anti-religious Shinui party which has stayed in the coalition.
Where does this leave the Palestinians?
They are in a difficult position. They welcome any removal of Israeli settlements which cause great disruption in the lives. But they are also furious that Israel has left them out of consultations on disengagement. They want a return to the internationally-backed peace plan know as the roadmap. However, Israel refuses to deal with the current Palestinian leadership. Many Palestinians fear that disengagement from Gaza is simply a smokescreen to allow Israel to hold onto as much territory as it can in the West Bank while sacrificing the small and pretty insignificant Gaza Strip. These fears appeared to be well grounded when Mr Sharon's top advisor described the plan as "formaldehyde... so there will not be a political process with the Palestinians". Although he later claimed to have been quoted out of context, Dov Weisglass told Haaretz newspaper: "The significance of the plan is the freezing of the peace process... all with a [US] presidential blessing."
What is the current situation in the Gaza Strip?
The Gaza Strip has been occupied by Israel since it captured the territory from Egyptian control in the 1967 war. Under the Oslo Accords signed in 1993, Israel handed over control of about 80% of the territory to the Palestinian Authority to administer. Israel was to retained control over 20% of the territory as well as the border crossings, whose status was to be determined by final status negotiations. Since the Intifadah began in autumn 2000, the Israeli army has made repeated incursions into Gaza, killing hundreds of people and destroying swathes of houses and infrastructure. Palestinian militants have repeatedly attacked the settlements and military outposts and launched numerous rocket attacks into a nearby Israeli town killing a number of Israelis. The 1.3m Palestinian population of Gaza has meanwhile been hit by crippling economic, social and developmental crises, with an estimated one-third of workers unemployed, and almost two-thirds living below the poverty line, according to the International Labor Organization.
ARABS AND PALESTINIAN AUTHORITIES REMAIN SKEPTICAL
Raji Sourani: Sharon is just deceiving the world. He's not putting an end to the occupation. He's just deploying his troops in a different way
Although Palestinians welcome the Israeli withdrawal, a considerable number of political leaders and Arab activists in the west remain skeptical. And Mr. Raji Sourani, an important Palestinian figure who is heading the Palestinian Center for Human Rights is waging a campaign of distrust for all the efforts of the Israeli Prime Minister. However, the majority of the Palestinian population in Gaza are rejoicing the Israeli withdrawal. Mosques in Gaza and Syria are welcoming the Israeli move. Aran cars and trucks horns blare loud in the Palestinian streets. Yet, incomprehensibly, many Palestinians in Market Street, say that they do not believe the Israelis will really leave, despite the fact that the Knesset votes on Monday on Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan. It is typical Arab and typical Palestinian.
The withdrawal will give away 8,000 Israeli homes
"The Israelis don't mean what they say," said Khalil Mahfouz, a shopkeeper in Gaza. Selim Tabbah, a teacher in the Gaza trip is telling his students: "If the Israelis want to withdraw, that is fine, but we know very well, the Israelis don't stick to their word." Tabbah, even protested in the Market and summed up the mood on Market Street. Many protesters joined him at the market, including those who live and work in Jerusalem. Palestinians find it hard to believe that Israel may really be about to step back. "We never trust Ariel Sharon. Never. He's bitten us one thousand times. He plays games with us. There is no way in the world we can trust the Zionist" said a 65-year-old Ahmad Bashiri a butcher in Gaza. The withdrawal will give away approximately 8,000 Israeli homes. The press in Great Britain seems to side with the Palestinians in their concerns about effective global Israeli withdrawal. They claim that the space is badly needed by the 1.3 million Palestinians who are crammed into the rest of Gaza - making it one of the most crowded places in the world.
The Israeli occupation will continue
Palestinians are demanding that the total Israeli forces of occupation should leave all the Palestinian lands and evacuate their watchtowers and checkpoints that cut the strip in two at Abu Houilly. But Palestinians say that even if all that happened, it would not mean that the occupation was over. Palestinians remain suspicious. "Sharon is just deceiving the world," says Raji Sourani, of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, in Gaza City. "He's not putting an end to the occupation. He's just deploying his troops in a different way. "The Israelis will continue to control the land, sea and air. There will be no port, and no airport. The Israelis will have full control of the movement of the people here, and their connections with the outside world." He says he sees Mr. Sharon's plan as a means of derailing the Palestinian dream of establishing a viable state in the West Bank and Gaza.
ARAB ORGANIZATIONS: ISRAEL IS STILL THE OCCUPYING MILITARY POWER
The Palestinian points of view of the legal issues pertaining to the proposed Israeli withdrawal are shared by the United States S-based organization, Human Rights Watch. The organization claims that Israel intends to maintain military control over Gaza and the Palestinian people, which would mean that Israel shall remain the occupying power in the eyes of the law. Arabs and Palestinians are worried, for they strongly believe that Israel will economically control Gaza. In addition to their serious concerns and continuous suspicions, Palestinians believe that people from Gaza who need to work in Israel will be cut off. Their biggest fear come from the possibility that Israel will close the roads to Jerusalem, this depriving the Palestinian workers from making a living. Mobs in the markets of Gaza were shouting :"We will die from hunger. We won't be able to do anything. We'll be in Allah's hands." Many Palestinians used to work in Israel as workers, clerks and bus drivers. Yousef Summan, a Palestinian bus driver said: " I used to earn good money as a bus driver in Israel. But now, everything came to an end. " The reason for possible closing the roads to Jerusalem is justified by the Israeli government. Israeli fears that suicide bombers will slip into Israel among the workers. It has drastically reduced the number of commuters from Gaza.
REACTION IN ISRAELThe Knesset's vote marks the first time ever, an Israeli parliament has authorized the removal of Jewish settlements. The withdrawal issue has split Mr. Sharon's Likud Party and his allies throughout Israel. Also, it prompted fierce opposition from thousands of Jewish and Israeli settlers who lived for years in the area. Thousands of angry settlers gathered outside the Israeli parliament and Prime Minister Sharon's residence. Security was at its highest level. Army troops and police unites were everywhere, controlling the streets of Jerusalem during the vote. Under the plan, Israel will withdraw all the settlers, including the troops who were in charge of their protection. However, Israel retain full control over Gaza's borders, coastline and airspace.
THE WHITE HOUSE BACKS UP SHARON'S PLAN
Four additional West Bank settlements are also to be evacuated, as an indivisible part of the original withdrawal plan as proposed by Prime Minister Sharon. The White House, who has always backed Sharon's daring initiative toward a complete regional peace plan known as the roadmap, said Sharon's withdrawal plan was in the right direction and an important step toward the safety and security of Israel and the Palestinians. In Gaza itself, the Israeli army has ended a two-day operation in which 17 Palestinians were killed. It was reported by the western press that the raid on the Khan Younis refugee camp wounded more than 80 people and caused serious damages in the area, leaving rubbles and full destruction behind. Following series of mortar attacks by Palestinian militants on nearby Jewish settlements, the Israeli army stepped up incursions to try to crush fierce Palestinian resistance before any withdrawal.
"The man who helped us... is betraying us now."Talk of betrayal: "This is the first time the Israeli Knesset has been able to vote on the plan and security around the building is tight, reported" an official spokesman of the Israeli government. Foreign correspondents covering the events in Gaza reported that schools in Gaza settlements were closed for the day so children could show their opposition to the proposals. Despite the family atmosphere outside the Knesset, there is no mistaking the seriousness of the settlers' opposition, our correspondent says. Religious settlers believe the whole of the West Bank and Gaza Strip was given to the Jews by God. Talk of civil war and betrayal have followed the prime minister, who has received threats, our correspondent adds. "When you push someone into a corner, you cannot predict what he will do," settler Aharon Tzur told Reuters news agency. "The man who helped us... is betraying us now."
Israeli legislators have voted in favor of the controversial Sharon's plan to pull Jewish settlers from Gaza
On Monday, Prime Minister Sharon urged the Knesset to support and approve his plan. In an emotional and historical address to the Knesset, the Prime Minister acknowledged acknowledged the very difficult decision he had to take. Sharon stated: "I know the implications and impact of the Knessets decision on the lives of thousands of Israelis who have lived in the Gaza Strip for many years, who were sent there on behalf of the Governments of Israel, and who built homes there, planted trees and grew flowers, and who gave birth to sons and daughters, who have not known any other home. I am well aware of the fact that I sent them and took part in this enterprise, and many of these people are my personal friends." But he said the evacuation would "decrease hostility" and lead Israel "forward on the path to peace with the Palestinians". Later, the chairman of the opposition Labor Party, Shimon Peres, reaffirmed his support for the plan. Labor's backing was expected to carry the vote. A further bill on compensation for Jewish settlers is expected to follow. Israel has occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip since capturing them in the 1967 war. It has settled about 400,000 Jewish citizens there, among a 3.5-million-strong Palestinian population. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, although Israel does not accept this.
SHARON'S HISTORICAL SPEECH TO THE KNESSET
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Address to the Knesset - The Vote on the Disengagement Plan
25 Oct 2004
Mr. Speaker, Members of Knesset,
This is a fateful hour for Israel. We are on threshold of a difficult decision, the likes of which we have seldom faced, the significance of which for the future of our country in this region is consistent with the difficulty, pain and dispute it arouses within us. You know that I do not say these things with a light heart to the representatives of the nation and to the entire nation watching and listening to every word uttered here in the Knesset today. This is a people who has courageously faced, and still faces the burden and terror of the ongoing war, which has continued from generation to generation; in which, as in a relay race, fathers pass the guns to their sons; in which the boundary between the frontline and the home front has long been erased; in which schools and hotels, restaurants and marketplaces, cafes and buses have also become targets for cruel terror and premeditated murder.
I have never faced so difficult a decision.
Today, this nation wants to know what decision this house will make at the end of this stormy discussion. What will we say to them, and what message will we convey to them? For me, this decision is unbearably difficult. During my years as a fighter and commander, as a politician, Member of Knesset, as a minister in Israels governments and as Prime Minister, I have never faced so difficult a decision. I know the implications and impact of the Knessets decision on the lives of thousands of Israelis who have lived in the Gaza Strip for many years, who were sent there on behalf of the Governments of Israel, and who built homes there, planted trees and grew flowers, and who gave birth to sons and daughters, who have not known any other home. I am well aware of the fact that I sent them and took part in this enterprise, and many of these people are my personal friends. I am well aware of their pain, rage and despair. However, as much as I understand everything they are going through during these days and everything they will face as a result of the necessary decision to be made in the Knesset today, I also believe in the necessity of taking the step of disengagement in these areas, with all the pain it entails, and I am determined to complete this mission. I am firmly convinced and truly believe that this disengagement will strengthen Israels hold over territory which is essential to our existence, and will be welcomed and appreciated by those near and far, reduce animosity, break through boycotts and sieges and advance us along the path of peace with the Palestinians and our other neighbors. I am accused of deceiving the people and the voters because I am taking steps which are in total opposition to past things I have said and deeds I have done. This is a false accusation. Both during the elections and as Prime Minister, I have repeatedly and publicly said that I support the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel. I have repeatedly and openly said that I am willing to make painful compromises in order to put an end to this ongoing and malignant conflict between those who struggle over this land, and that I would do my utmost in order to bring peace. And I wish, Mr. Chairman, to say that many years before, in 1988, in a meeting with Prime Minister Yitzchak Shamir and with the Ministers of the Likud, I said there that I believe that if we do not want to be pushed back to the 1967 lines, the territory should be divided. As one who fought in all of Israels wars, and learned from personal experience that without proper force, we do not have a chance of surviving in this region, which does not show mercy towards the weak, I have also have learned from experience that the sword alone cannot decide this bitter dispute in this land.
We were attacked and stood firm, with our backs to the sea.
A long time has passed since then. This land and this region have known more wars, and have known all the wars between the wars, terror and the difficult counter-actions undertaken by Israel, with the sole purpose of defending the lives of its citizens. In this ongoing war, many among the civilian population, among the innocent, were killed. And tears met tears. I would like you to know that we did not seek to build our lives in this homeland on your ruins. Many years ago, Zeev Jabotinsky wrote in a poem his vision for partnership and peace among the peoples of this land (and I quote): There he will be saturated with plenty and joy, the son of the Arab, the son of Nazareth and my son. We were attacked and stood firm, with our backs to the sea. Many fell in the battle, and many lost their homes and fields and orchards, and became refugees. This is the way of war. However, war is not inevitable and predestined. Even today, we regret the loss of innocent lives in your midst. Our way is not one of intentional killing. Forty-eight yeas ago, on the eve of our Independence Day in 1956, against the background of the return of the bodies of ten terrorists who committed crimes in Israel, murderous acts in Israel, and who were delivered in wooden coffins to the Egyptians at a border crossing in the Gaza Strip. On this, the Hebrew poet, Natan Alterman wrote the following: Arabia, enemy unknown to you, you will awake when you rise against me, My life serves as witness with my back against the wall and to my history and my God, Enemy, the power of whose ra