Let me begin with soon-to-be-former secretary of state Antony Blinken. This is a man who has infuriated many Israelis over the last four years with his embrace of the Palestinian Authority. He has regularly offered us drivel regarding the “right” of Palestinian Arabs to the same freedoms and self-determination as Israelis – without ever holding the PA responsible for its actions. His was a pro forma statement delivered without end. I cannot speak for others, but it rather nauseated me.
Now only four days remain before he leaves office and, as I write, there is no hostage deal yet finalized, although it is apparently very imminent.
In a major speech to the Atlantic Council that he delivered very recently, Blinken sought to lay out plans for “the day after” – that is, what will follow when Israel is out of Gaza (Heaven forbid that this might happen).
The plan he envisions is one in which the Palestinian Authority would play a major role. The PA, he said, would invite international partners to assist in running an interim administration, with a “reformed” PA taking over “as soon as it’s feasible.” Obviously, the metamorphosis of the PA into a full state is part of what he projects here.
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In spite of all we are dealing with at the moment (and please continue reading for scathing comments on the situation, below), I want to take this opportunity to take a brief but hard look at the PA, which is a terror entity. It should never, ever become a state and never, ever be handed control of Gaza. At this juncture, an understanding of the situation is critical:
The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was founded by Egypt in 1964, in order, obviously, to “liberate” Palestine. In 1964, Egypt controlled Gaza and Jordan controlled Judea & Samaria; the PLO was not talking about “liberating” those areas of Palestine; they were talking about driving the Jews from Israel within the Green Line and securing all of Palestine. Let us not forget this, for this primary goal remains on their books.
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In 1993/4, Israel signed with the PLO on the Oslo Accords, actually bringing Yasser Arafat and his PLO cohorts from Tunisia. This was an enormous mistake. Oslo was envisioned as a “peace process,” but Arafat, who headed the PLO, never renounced terrorism or his goal of defeating Israel. He was an inveterate terrorist all of his days.
A PLO policy had been set in place that permitted a façade of moderation (and thus the possibility of negotiations with Israel if they were seen to weaken us). The face of the PLO was changed, but it was no more than a pose.
As part of Oslo, a temporary administrative authority – the Palestinian Authority – was established for areas which were being placed under PLO control; it too was headed by Arafat. The arrangement was for the PA to function for five years, during which time negotiations were to be completed for a final status agreement. Let it be noted that Oslo did not guarantee the PA a state; what it would become was to be determined by those negotiations.
Such negotiations were never completed (for which fact we must be endlessly grateful). Twice Arafat was offered deals that were, from the PA perspective, incredibly generous. First by former prime minster Ehud Barak, and then by former prime minister Ehud Olmert. Arafat turned them both down. He is on record as saying he knew he would be killed if he signed an agreement that left Israel standing.
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Mahmoud Abbas, who took over when Arafat died in 2004, is no less a terrorist than Arafat had been; he was Arafat’s protégé. He simply abandoned the keffiyeh for a suit and tie.
Over the years, Abbas has promoted terrorism: inciting it and funding it. Terrorists are venerated and supported. A Pay for Slay program provides funds to terrorists who are in Israeli prisons for having killed Jews or to their families – Abbas will not, cannot, abandon this practice because his people want it. Those who perpetrate terror acts are very often from PA villages, so that the IDF must do regular forays into places such as Jenin, a terror hotbed. Additionally, there are a growing number of incidents in which those perpetrating terror attacks were found to be members of PA security forces.
In the last couple of years, there has once again been calculated pretense in the PA, as a so-called “reform” was set in place. This consisted in the main of putting new people (not necessarily moderate people) in key positions. There was no revamping of policies or practices. And yet, Blinken was quick to promote what Abbas had done as indication that there was a “new” PA.
Abbas has NEVER publicly renounced the Hamas massacre of October 7. Just recently there was a failed attempt by the PA to consolidate with Hamas.
So much for PA moderation.
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I think one single fact most powerfully reveals the nature of the PA: The young people who joined Hamas in Gaza had been educated in UNRWA schools, where they learned to hate Jews and came to understand that Israel, which was really theirs, would have to be taken by violence.
The young people of the PA areas have been educated utilizing the same UNRWA curriculum. It would take at least a generation of education for peace to genuinely moderate the PA. A large percentage of the Palestinian Arabs in PA areas were proud of the October 7 massacre.
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In 2005, with Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, administrative control was given to the PA. By 2007, Hamas had violently driven the PA from Gaza and assumed control.
Now Abbas is demanding the “right” to again assume control of Gaza. In order to demonstrate their current moderation and their readiness to come into Gaza, the PA security forces have been taking on terrorists from other entities such as PIJ in places such as Jenin.
But there is another reason why the PA forces are doing this: they do not want to lose control to those other terrorist entities.
At the same time that the PA is attempting to demonstrate “moderation,” the PA security forces are sometimes identified as carrying weapons of a greater caliber than is permitted by the regulations, and these forces have been known to enter, carrying weapons, into Area C, which is under full Israeli control. If a terrorist flees into Area C, they are supposed to notify the IDF.
This situation merits a closer look in another post. But what we see is that Blinken is endorsing PA control in Gaza in spite of these issues.
And he has, in my opinion, unmitigated gall in criticizing Israel for not including the PA in its plans going forward.
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And then, speaking of unmitigated gall, let me turn to Steve Witkoff, the multi-millionaire real estate mogul who is Trump’s Middle East envoy. Witkoff met with Netanyahu and coerced him into concessions in the hostage negotiations.
Information came to me today (with thanks to my associate Goldi) that rendered me decidedly uneasy about Witkoff’s role in this situation.
I have checked this information with several sources. This is from Lee Smith, writing in The Daily Scroll, which is a newsletter from Tablet Magazine (emphasis added):
“[Witkoff] may turn out to be the greatest Middle East envoy ever, but the fact that he sold the Qataris a hotel for more than $600 million means he shouldn’t be in the same room with them on this issue… when it comes to hostage situations, Qatar’s motives and methods are dubious, at best. So, it puts a very bad spin on reports that Witkoff was not just involved, but allegedly strong-arming Netanyahu over the deal.”
https://thedailyscroll.substack.com/p/jan-14-trump-embraces-biden-ceasefire
From The Jewish Press there was this:
“Last May, Witkoff participated in a panel at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, where he discussed the future of cities alongside Khalid Ahmed Al-Obaidli, president of Qatar’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority, and others.
“During his remarks, Witkoff expressed optimism about investment opportunities in Qatar…
“Last November, Jewish Insider noted that Witkoff’s previous financial dealings with Qatar, a country that has sought to influence him through its lobbying efforts, have raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest.”
“…this is not good news, with Netanyahu’s complete capitulation over the absurd number of terrorists with blood on their hands being released, as well as his acceptance of a partial list of hostages to be freed alongside the IDF’s withdrawal from large swaths of Gaza.
“It turns out that when Trump warned there would be ‘hell to pay’ in Gaza – he didn’t mean Hamas would be making the payment.” (Emphasis added)
Then, from the same dailyscroll item noted above, there is this, which has me livid:
“Haaretz reports that Bibi’s aides initially declined the meeting, saying the prime minister was observing the Sabbath, only for Witkoff to explain in ‘salty English’ that ‘the Sabbath was of no interest to him.’”
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What is clear, and what we Israelis must internalize, is that Trump has an agenda that he assumes serves his interests, and presumably America’s, but that those interests do not necessarily dovetail with Israel’s interests, nor should we necessarily expect them to.
Most unsettling is the suggestion that Trump’s conception of what is in his, and America’s, best interests may not be the same as it was during his first term.
I do not regret casting my vote for Trump, for the prospect of a far-left Kamala in the White House was terrifying. But I do not think my mood will be celebratory when he is inaugurated on Monday. My attitude, at best, will be more one of “wait and see.”
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I will, of course, comment extensively on the hostage deal if it goes through
Now I ask for prayers for Israel’s wellbeing – for the strength of our leaders and the safety of our hostages.
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©Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by independent journalist Arlene Kushner. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.
