Nakba attacks
The Nakba (or "catastrophe" in English) commemorating the defeat of the Arabs and the establishment of the State of Israel is becoming a major event in the Arab calendar. Unable to defeat Israel militarily they now rely on PR and international sympathy for their defeat.
Ironically, while the West Bank was relatively quiet, for the first time Arab mobs of demonstrators managed to successfully breach the Israeli border with Syria on the Golan Heights. Approximately 100 Syrian demonstrators managed to enter Israel illegally at the Druse village of Majdal Shams. But, the local Druse officials were not supportive of the attack. If the Assad regime needed anything to distract the Syrians and the world from his crack-down on his own people, the Syrian Nakba attack on Israel's border is it! Correspondingly, the relative quiet on the West Bank was thought to be due to the PA needing to show that it is indeed in charge of the area and is responsible, prior to their attempt to declare unilateral Palestine Statehood at the UN in September.
But, while Israel is being criticized for the deaths involved, only one person was killed on the Syrian border and another 10 more or so elsewhere, one should retain a sense of proportions, How does this compare with the shooting down of ca. 850 Syrians in the past two months by Syrian forces with tanks and the wounding of several thousand Syrian demonstrators. If the number of Syrian deaths is the sole criterion then Syria itself is far ahead of Israel. Also, on the Lebanese border there were no infiltrations, the deaths are likely to have been caused by Lebanese Army soldiers shooting at the rioters to prevent them breaching the border. Also, an Arab driver used his truck in south Tel Aviv to kill one Israeli and injure 18 others.
Many news reports stated that Arabs were killed at border crossing points, as if they were lining up to cross legitimately. But, in fact at none of the borders was there a legitimate border crossing point. These demonstrators directly attacked a closed border, as if say a few thousand Mexicans rushed the US border in the middle of the Arizona desert. Would US border agents let them cross without force, would they not have fired on them? This kind of thing cannot be allowed to happen, especially when the demonstrators are questioning the legitimacy of the State of Israel.
I say let us embrace the Nakba demonstrations and fight back with all the force available, let us legitimately defend our borders. If the number of casualties becomes too great they will stop these insane attacks and learn that we will defend our sovereign borders at all costs. If not, and they want to commit suicide, so be it. Dep. FM Danny Ayalon pointed out we had our own Nakba when hundreds of thousands of Jews were expelled from Arab Lands in 1948 and their wealth and property were stolen. We as Israelis don't make enough of the fact that the establishment of Israel was brought about partly by the repressive persecution of Jews by the Arabs over centuries. It was a mistake to underestimate the attacks on our borders, especially while Bashar Assad is under pressure domestically, anyone could have predicted this. The IDF will have to be more prepared with obstacles to rioters next year.
Ironically, while the West Bank was relatively quiet, for the first time Arab mobs of demonstrators managed to successfully breach the Israeli border with Syria on the Golan Heights. Approximately 100 Syrian demonstrators managed to enter Israel illegally at the Druse village of Majdal Shams. But, the local Druse officials were not supportive of the attack. If the Assad regime needed anything to distract the Syrians and the world from his crack-down on his own people, the Syrian Nakba attack on Israel's border is it! Correspondingly, the relative quiet on the West Bank was thought to be due to the PA needing to show that it is indeed in charge of the area and is responsible, prior to their attempt to declare unilateral Palestine Statehood at the UN in September.
But, while Israel is being criticized for the deaths involved, only one person was killed on the Syrian border and another 10 more or so elsewhere, one should retain a sense of proportions, How does this compare with the shooting down of ca. 850 Syrians in the past two months by Syrian forces with tanks and the wounding of several thousand Syrian demonstrators. If the number of Syrian deaths is the sole criterion then Syria itself is far ahead of Israel. Also, on the Lebanese border there were no infiltrations, the deaths are likely to have been caused by Lebanese Army soldiers shooting at the rioters to prevent them breaching the border. Also, an Arab driver used his truck in south Tel Aviv to kill one Israeli and injure 18 others.
Many news reports stated that Arabs were killed at border crossing points, as if they were lining up to cross legitimately. But, in fact at none of the borders was there a legitimate border crossing point. These demonstrators directly attacked a closed border, as if say a few thousand Mexicans rushed the US border in the middle of the Arizona desert. Would US border agents let them cross without force, would they not have fired on them? This kind of thing cannot be allowed to happen, especially when the demonstrators are questioning the legitimacy of the State of Israel.
I say let us embrace the Nakba demonstrations and fight back with all the force available, let us legitimately defend our borders. If the number of casualties becomes too great they will stop these insane attacks and learn that we will defend our sovereign borders at all costs. If not, and they want to commit suicide, so be it. Dep. FM Danny Ayalon pointed out we had our own Nakba when hundreds of thousands of Jews were expelled from Arab Lands in 1948 and their wealth and property were stolen. We as Israelis don't make enough of the fact that the establishment of Israel was brought about partly by the repressive persecution of Jews by the Arabs over centuries. It was a mistake to underestimate the attacks on our borders, especially while Bashar Assad is under pressure domestically, anyone could have predicted this. The IDF will have to be more prepared with obstacles to rioters next year.
posted by Jack Cohen at 7:22 AM
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