WAKE UP -- WAR IS COMING
A Voice from Hebron by Gary M. Cooperberg Arafat has Given Netanyahu a New Year's Present Will he Accept it? September 25,
1998
In a democratic world it should not be surprising that the United Nations would vote to establish a Palestinian State. It also would
not surprise me if they voted to simply change the name of Israel to Palestine and hand the keys to Arafat. What surprises,
astonishes and angers me is the fact that a brilliant man like Binyamin Netanyahu, rather than accepting his role as Prime Minister
of the Jewish State, is acting like a disinterested mediator.
A defacto PLO state was established by Rabin and Peres, and like it or not, endorsed by Netanyahu. Bickering over the details as
to when, if and how it will be formally declared is merely academic. If we want to make a case before the world against the
establishment of such a state we haven't a chance to succeed. Does this mean that the establishment of a PLO state is an
inevitable fact and cannot be prevented? Of course not. But every day that passes without positive action on the part of the Jewish
State to stop this horror makes the effort to prevent the PLO from succeeding that much more difficult.
Countless opportunities have already been passed up and I will not waste the time to enumerate them here. But we now have a new
one. And this one can really be considered a New Year's present from the PLO. The PLO has clearly stated its intention to declare
statehood in May of next year. Rather than issue warnings of what we will do in such an event, this government has an obligation to
act now in reaction to that statement. Simply add this declaration to the countless other violations of Oslo on the part of the PLO
and declare the agreement null and void. Concurrently launch an all out and immediate attack against the PLO to liberate all the
Jewish lands given to them under false pretenses. No more negotiations. Just a swift, brutal and complete re-taking of our country.
Will this be easy or pleasant? Absolutely not. Will it unleash a war with the Arab nations? It may. And even if it does, at least we
will have the element of surprise on our side and not the other way around which is the only alternative. As abhorrent as this tactic
may sound to many, the fact is that more lives, both Arab and Jewish, will be saved by such an act then by sitting on our hands and
waiting for our enemies to decide when and where to start the next war.
Why do we refuse to recognize the fact that we are currently engaged in a limited war with our Arab enemies. Why does our army
feel the need to put a closure on the "territories" during our holidays? Why must every citizen be terrified every time he sees an
apparently ownerless paper bag at a bus stop or supermarket? Why do we see policemen and soldiers patrolling our streets and
shopping centers with dogs trained to smell explosives? And why are Jews not free to travel in all parts of our country, including
Gaza, Hebron, Jericho, Bethlehem, Shechem, and Ramallah? Why was a Jewish car riddled with bullets yesterday merely because
it was driving on a main road in suburban Hebron which is still under Israeli control? And why do we hear gunfire every night
throughout Judea and Samaria?
Am I angry that Arafat intends to declare a PLO state? Of course not. I would be amazed if he didn't. I am angry that no one in a
position of leadership in this country is willing to accept responsibility to as much as suggest that we take our homeland back from
our enemies! Yitzchak Mordechai, our current Minister of Defense, said, only a few months ago, that the IDF is capable of doing
this. He quickly added that we don't want to. And that, in a nutshell, is the problem. It is not that we have no choices, rather that we
consistently make the wrong ones.
Mr. Netanyahu, I have never agreed with the manner in which you have conducted your administration in reaction to the treasonous
act in Oslo. You have been given many opportunities to undo your mistakes and have refused to take any of them. Arafat, in
deference to Rosh Hashannah, has just given you a real present. You now have another golden opportunity to, on your own terms,
explain how hard you tried to make peace; were willing to and did, indeed, back down on basic national principles for this effort; and
now have reached the red line where it should be clear to all that Oslo has failed.
Now is the time to act. There is no point in waiting to react to a formal declaration of statehood by the PLO. The fact that they
formally declared their intention to do so is enough. In view of the fact that the PLO has abrogated both the letter and the spirit of the
agreement, you have no choice but to take back all that was given in good faith. There was no reciprocity and thus the PLO has
forfeited any rights to as much as one grain of sand on the Gaza beach.
A carefully planned evacuation of formerly PLO controlled areas should be immediately implemented. Not only will we take back our
country, we will remove our enemies from it. Those who cooperate will be bused to temporary detention centers until alternative
arrangements can be found for them. They will be provided with food and shelter until those arrangements are made. Armed
resistence will be swiftly and brutally put down. . . with real bullets. We do not want a war. But we will not surrender to our enemies.
This is our homeland. We were prepared to make adjustments for peace, but those efforts have failed. We now have no choice but
to take back our homeland or lose it. We are not about to lose it. |
