Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2002 10:39:56 -0800 (PST) From: "S. w." <chemicalis-AT-yahoo.com> Subject: Fwd: Humiliating and Exiling Arafat and the Palestinians --- Mid-East Realities <MERL-AT-MiddleEast.Org> wrote: > Reply-to: "Mid-East Realities" <MER-AT-MiddleEast.Org> > To: "MER" <"Mid-East Realities" > <MER-AT-MiddleEast.Org>> > From: "Mid-East Realities" <MERL-AT-MiddleEast.Org> > Subject: Humiliating and Exiling Arafat and the > Palestinians > Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2002 09:31:19 -0500 > > _______ ____ ______ > / |/ / /___/ / /_ // M I D - E A S T R E > A L I T I E S > / /|_/ / /_/_ / /\\ Making Sense of the > Middle East > /_/ /_/ /___/ /_/ \\ > http://www.MiddleEast.Org > > News, Information, & Analysis That Governments, > Interest Groups, > and the Corporate Media Don't Want You To > Know! > IF YOU DON'T GET MER, YOU JUST DON'T GET IT! > > ==========================> Choose Options Easily From MER Homepage - > www.MiddleEast.Org > MER FORUM - Make Your Own Comments and Read > those of Others > MER WORLD - Latest articles and commentaries - > check daily > MER CHAT - Chat with others concerned from > around the world > MER SUBSCRIBE - It's easy, free, and essential! > ==========================> > > > > THE GOAL IS TO SYMBOLICALLY STRIP AND HUMILIATE > ARAFAT, > SYMBOL OF THE PALESTINIANS, AND > EXILE HIM > IN VERY WEAK AND POLITICALLY DESTITUTE > STATE > > MID-EAST REALITIES - MER - www.MiddleEast.Org - > Washington, DC - 4/02/2002: > The Israelis are not planning to martyr Yasser > Arafat, rather they are planning to grossly > humiliate and weaken him, while at the same time > crushing all Palestinian resistance and arresting > key members of the Arafat regime -- except for those > like Nabil Shaath, Abu Mazen, and Abu Alla, who have > been playing ball with the Americans and the > Israelis for a long time now and are conveniently > not around these days (plus a few others like Rajoub > and Dahlan and Erakat who might still be useful to > meet with General Zinni now and then). > The likelihood is the "plot" to do this to > Arafat, and to the Palestinians, was finalized at > the White House, the Pentagon, and the CIA last > month when Sharon and entourage visited Washington. > > At the moment the Americans, working in tandem > with the Israelis no matter what they say in public, > are trying to convince Arafat to personally go into > exile in Morocco. And then when the inevitable > American arranged "peace conference" takes place > down the road, one more time, it won't be Arafat and > the PLO at the table and the Palestinians will have > been sufficiently crushed and collectively tortured > so that some new dastardly even more repressive > apartheid-style arrangement can be forced down their > collective throats...one more time. > > > > HUMILIATING SURRENDER FOR PALESTINIAN > POLICE > Israeli army in campaign to destroy > security forces > By Suzanne Goldenberg > in Ramallah, West Bank > > The Guardian - Tuesday April 2, 2002: Cornered and > hopelessly outgunned, the Palestinian policemen tore > off their uniforms and stripped to their underpants, > filing out one by one in the now familiar drill of > surrender to the Israeli army. > > As the Israeli army swept into three more West Bank > towns, a disturbing picture emerged yesterday of a > systematic campaign to destroy and dismantle the > Palestinian police. > > The capture of the 22 policemen at the Darraghmeh > apartment buildings in Ramallah offered a prototype > for the Israeli army's expanding offensive: raids on > residential and commercial buildings, hospitals, > private homes and television stations and round-ups > of Palestinian men, punctuated by fierce gun battles > and, Palestinians say, summary executions. > > In many instances, the raids have focused on the > Palestinian police, who are entitled to bear arms > under the Oslo peace accords, and who are Yasser > Arafat's main instrument for the ceasefire Israel > and the US are demanding. > > The soldiers are also making use of civilians as > shields, forcing men to march ahead of them at > gunpoint as they shoot their way into suspected > hideouts of armed Palestinians. > > It is unclear how the 22 Palestinian policemen made > their way into the Darraghmeh buildings, past the > Israeli tanks prowling the deserted city. But by > Sunday night, some two dozen Israeli forces burst in > on them in an abandoned third-floor flat, tossing in > a grenade which pitted the walls like a rash. > > The Israeli soldiers retreated to a stairwell, > spraying the door of the flat with gunfire for 20 > minutes, neighbours said. They pulled back to a > neighbouring building and seized an architecture > student, Nader Mansi, 22, setting him the dangerous > task of returning to the building to coax the > policemen to surrender. > > "The officer said he wanted all the Palestinian > soldiers to come out of the buildings first, and to > take off their boots, their trousers, and their > jackets," Mr Mansi said. > > The stairwell of the building yesterday provided > evidence of the policemen's humiliating surrender, a > jumble of boots, khaki trousers, and insignia in the > colours of the Palestinian flag. > > They were discarded before the policemen emerged > from the building, spinning around to show they were > unarmed, before they were handcuffed, blindfolded, > and bundled into an armoured personnel carrier. > > A splash of blood stained the doorway, where one man > was shot dead at the start of the raid. "The first > one who came down was stupid or inexperienced," said > Randa al-Zeer, who watched the drama from her > second-floor flat. "He came downstairs with his gun > in his hands above his head. So they shot him." > > The Israeli army said the dead man was a suspected > suicide bomber. > > Another policeman, who was shot in the back during > the firefight, was left to bleed to death. "I went > and checked his pulse. He was barely alive," said Mr > Mansi. "I asked the officer to bring an ambulance, > and he said: 'They are terrorists, they shoot at us, > the policemen'." > > The rest of the raid passed without further > bloodshed, unlike Saturday when five uniformed > policemen were shot dead in a windowless room of a > nearby building, apparently at close range. > > After the surrender of the policemen, civilian male > residents of the flats stripped, marched down > stairs, and sur rendered. Then came the women, > pulling their shirts up above their waists, > residents said. > > Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, has described > the broad military offensive in the West Bank as a > war on terror: that is, against the Palestinian > suicide bombers who have launched a relentless > campaign inside the Jewish state. > > But in Ramallah at least, the focus appears to be > the main Palestinian police agency: the national > security force, whose commander in the West Bank, > Haji Ismail, is one of Yasser Arafat's most trusted > aides. > > Unlike other senior Palestinian officials, who have > scattered, Mr Ismail is said to be hunkered down in > Mr Arafat's crumbling headquarters, vowing to fight > to the last alongside his leader. > > Mr Ismail's men are the most professional of the > Palestinian police forces - which were trained by > the CIA during the 1990s - and their targeting by > the Israeli army sits uneasily with Israel's demands > that Mr Arafat use the security forces to crack down > on the suicide bombers. > > Yesterday, such doubts were beginning to emerge > inside Israel as well. "Even if we stay on a long > time, we will not be able to smash the terror > infrastructure," said Danny Yatom, the former chief > of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. > > · Four Britons and a Japanese student from Bradford > University suffered shrapnel wounds yesterday after > Israeli tanks fired warning shots near international > "peace volunteers" in the Bethlehem suburb of Beit > Jala. A woman who asked to be known only as Kate > suffered a serious stomach wound but was said to be > out of danger in hospital. > > > > > ARAFAT'S KEY AIDES TARGETED > Emphasis on Arrests Reflects Policy Shift > By Lee Hockstader > > Washington Post - Tuesday, April 2, 2002 - > Jerusalem) -- With its military sweep of Palestinian > cities and camps, Israel has set out to hunt down > hundreds of suspected militants and terrorists, > among them some of Yasser Arafat's political and > security lieutenants, a senior Israeli security > official said today. > > The determination to take in ranking officials from > Arafat's Palestinian Authority represents a shift in > Israeli policy, which until now has granted what > amounts to immunity from arrest or assassination to > Arafat's inner circle, the official said. > > The official's remarks, coupled with similar > comments in the Israeli media, constituted the most > detailed attempt Israel has made to lay out the > goals and scope of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's > five-day-old military thrust into > Palestinian-administered territory in the West Bank > and Gaza Strip. > > The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, > said some of the suspects sought by Israel have > taken refuge with Arafat, the Palestinian leader, in > his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. > Others, he said, were among hundreds of Palestinians > in the sprawling hilltop headquarters of the > Palestinian Preventive Security Service, a powerful > agency that is one of Arafat's main points of > contact with the CIA and is Israel's negotiating > counterpart in attempts to coordinate security > agreements. > > The Preventive Security headquarters, near Ramallah, > was surrounded by Israeli forces determined to > arrest all the wanted men inside. A spokesman for > the Palestinian security force, Samir Rantisi, said > Israeli troops launched an attack on the > headquarters complex early this morning, using heavy > machine guns and other weapons. Israeli helicopters > also fired missiles at the building, the Palestinian > officials said, engulfing it in flames and causing > many casualties. Palestinian sources said the battle > ended before daybreak and that the fire had > subsumed. > > "Most of the important activists of Ramallah are now > in these compounds," a senior Israeli security > source said. "They are not going to get away. We are > going to arrest all of them." > > Among the most pronounced changes in its policy, > Israel has also decided to track down and arrest > Arafat's top political lieutenant in the West Bank, > Marwan Barghouti, the Israeli security source said. > Barghouti, 42, an electrifying speaker and > charismatic street leader, is often mentioned as a > possible successor to Arafat. Despite identifying > him as a key figure in terrorist and other attacks, > Israeli until now has exempted Barghouti from arrest > on the grounds that he is too popular, too > influential and too close to Arafat. > > "We're going to arrest him, of course," said the > source. "Our big mistake is we used to respect the > [Palestinian] VIPs too much." > > He also said Israel is studying the possibility of > arresting a number of top Palestinian security > officials, most of whom have been in close contact > with the CIA since Arafat established the > Palestinian Authority in 1994. > With the goal of building Palestinian agencies > strong enough to rein in militant Islamic and other > groups, the CIA provided extensive advice, equipment > and training to Arafat's security chiefs, with > Israel's knowledge and approval. Over the years, > U.S. officials based in Tel Aviv developed > reasonably close relations with their Palestinian > colleagues. > > These include Tawfiq Tirawi, Arafat's intelligence > chief in the West Bank, and Rashid Abu Shbak, the > No. 2 man in the Preventive Security force in the > Gaza Strip. According to Israel, Tirawi has been > involved in planning attacks on Israeli targets > since the outset of the current Palestinian uprising > in September 2000, and Abu Shbak is the key figure > in the manufacture of Palestinian rockets and > mortars in Gaza. > > In widening its list of wanted men to include some > of Arafat's top aides, Israel faces a dilemma. > Israeli officials have often said they would like to > somehow exile or remove Arafat in the hopes that the > next generation of Palestinian leaders would be more > "moderate" and "pragmatic." But it is precisely that > group of Palestinian leaders -- men in their forties > with growing power bases -- whose arrests Israel is > now contemplating. > > Israeli officials acknowledge that the dilemma goes > deeper, and includes the question of whether to > expel Arafat. Sharon, who calls Arafat a "bitter > enemy" and has publicly wished him dead, has favored > expulsion, despite opposition from the United States > and its Western allies. > > Israel's security and intelligence agencies appear > to agree with only part of this assessment. On the > one hand, the agencies contend Arafat would > represent a greater threat to Israeli interests if > he were overseas, with free access to the world's > leaders and television cameras, than he does caged > up in his Ramallah headquarters surrounded by > Israeli tanks, Israeli newspapers have reported. > > On the other hand, the agencies have warned that > Arafat's likely successors include militants who > made their names organizing attacks on Israel, but > lack the prestige and power to exert near-term > control over Palestinian areas, rein in radical > groups or make political compromises with Israel. > > Staying "with [Arafat] is a very hard alternative, > and without him is also a very bad alternative," > said the security source. > > For the time being, Israel is keeping its hands off > some of Arafat's most senior security chiefs, > apparently hoping to preserve some infrastructure > that might corral militant groups and would-be > terrorists in the future. > > Chief among them is Jibril Rajoub, chief of > Preventive Security in the West Bank, who Israeli > officials believe has not joined the Palestinian > militants and others who have taken refuge inside > the Security Service headquarters. They also include > Mohammed Dahlan, Arafat's security chief in the Gaza > Strip, who has close ties with the CIA and is > regarded as a pragmatist by Israelis and Americans. > > As Israeli officials describe it, the current > military campaign, in scale and ambition, goes well > beyond any previous offensive in the conflict. > Israeli forces have already entered four of the > eight largest Palestinian population centers in the > West Bank -- Ramallah, Tulkarm, Qalqilyah and > Bethlehem -- and are preparing to enter more. About > 20,000 military reservists have been called up for > duty in what the army has dubbed Operation Defensive > Shield. > Speaking Sunday evening, Sharon defined the > operation's goal as to "wipe out terrorist > infrastructures from their foundations," suggesting > a long and arduous campaign. For the time being, > there is substantial support for the Israeli policy > from the Bush administration, Israel's main > strategic ally. > > But there is a growing tension between the ambition > of Sharon's goals -- which many Israelis say are > virtually unattainable -- and the constraints of a > world worried about instability in the Middle East, > especially the Arab world. Some Israeli officials > are mindful of international criticism and suspect > Israel will be forced to curtail operations within a > few weeks. > > "Every additional day of occupation [of Palestinian > territory], every additional day of pictures of > tanks opposite women and children increases the > international pressure on the government," wrote > Nahum Barnea, a columnist for the Israeli newspaper > Yedioth Aharonoth. "Sharon knows he is living on > borrowed time." > > Shimon Peres, the foreign minister, played down the > idea that Israel might have set too broad a goal for > itself or was in effect planning to reoccupy the > territories it ceded to the Palestinians in the > mid-1990s under the Oslo agreements. "We will be > staying weeks at the most, not months," he said. "We > are not fighting a war of prestige here, we are > fighting a war of existence. Our first concern is > not our image but our lives." > > Correspondent Daniel Williams in Ramallah > contributed to this report. > > > > > > -------------------------- > MiD-EasT RealitieS - > http://www.MiddleEast.Org > Phone: (202) > 362-5266 > Fax: (815) 366-0800 > > Email: > MER-AT-MiddleEast.Org > > To subscribe to MER with our compliments email to > MERList-AT-MiddleEast.Org with subject SUBSCRIBE > > To unsubscribe email to MERList-AT-MiddleEast.Org with > subject UNSUBSCRIBE > > ====SW __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax http://http://taxes.yahoo.com/ --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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