Israel Using Oslo Accords to Steal West
Bank Land
11 April 2012By
Stephen Lendman
In 1993, Edward Said minced no words denouncing the
Oslo Accords and Declaration of Principles,
explaining:
"the fashion-show vulgarities of the White House
ceremony, the degrading spectacle of Yasser Arafat
thanking everyone for the suspension of most of his
people's rights, and the fatuous solemnity of Bill
Clinton's performance, like a 20th century Roman
emperor shepherding two vassal kings through rituals
of reconciliation and obeisance, (and) the truly
astonishing proportions of the Palestinian
capitulation."
It was unilateral surrender, a Palestinian Versailles.
It affirmed a vaguely defined negotiating process. No
fixed timeline or outcome were specified. Israeli
officials obstructed and delayed. They refused to make
concessions, and continued stealing Palestinian land.
They never stopped.
Colonization is policy. Israel wants all valued Judea
and Samaria areas, as well as Jerusalem for its
exclusive capital. At most, Palestinians will get
worthless cantonized scrubland.
They got nothing for renouncing armed struggle,
recognizing Israel's right to exist, and agreeing to
leave major unresolved issues for later final status
talks. They're still waiting.
Major issues include an independent sovereign
Palestine free from occupation, the right of return,
settlements, borders, water rights, and East Jerusalem
as Palestinian territory and future capital.
A new Palestinian Authority (PA) was established.
Arafat agreed to enforce Israeli authority.
Subsequent agreements followed. The West Bank was
divided into three parts. Each has distinct borders,
administrations, and security rules. They include
Areas A, B and C, plus a fourth for Greater Jerusalem.
A complicated system works as follows:
- Area A under
Palestinian control for internal security, public
order, and civil affairs;
- Area B under
Palestinian civil control for 450 West Bank towns
and villages; Israel retains overriding authority
for settler safety and its own interests; and
- Area C, its water
resources, and settlements under Israeli control on
the West Bank's most valuable land; they're
connected by special by-pass roads for Jews only.
Besides besieged Gaza,
Israel controls the West Bank and Jerusalem. When
Separation Wall construction's completed, its
settlements, military areas, no-go zones, nature
reserves, commercial areas, by-pass roads, tourist
sites, checkpoints, and other barriers will comprise
well over 50% of West Bank territory and Palestinian
East Jerusalem
A longtime collaborator, Mahmound Abbas took credit as
Oslo architect. Israel, of course, controlled
everything. Arafat ran Palestine's side. Instead of
driving a hard bargain, he capitulated. So did Abbas.
Israel took full advantage. Things keep getting worse.
A previous article explained Israel's planned theft of
10% more West Bank land.
On April 10, Haaretz headlined, "Netanyahu is using
Oslo Accords to annex more West Bank land," saying:
Israel's grabbing all it can get. An unnamed IDF
officer defines Areas A, B and C as follows: "A is for
Arafat, B is for bollixed up, and C is ours."
It's actually worse than that. Area C alone comprises
over 60% of the West Bank. Israel considers it
sovereign territory. Said knew a sellout when he saw
it. The chickens keep coming home to roost.
"The division into three areas of control, meant as a
temporary, transitional stage on the way to a final
agreement, turned into a 'legal' repository for the
settlement enterprise."
Land theft is official Israeli policy. Palestinians
living in Area C believe land they're on belongs to
them. They have documents proving it, but Israel
steals what it wants anyway.
All sorts of schemes are used. In January, Netanyahu
established a committee to examine West Bank land.
"Headed by former Supreme Court Justice Edmond Levy,
the panel has invited testimony from several human
rights organizations, including Peace Now, B'Tselem
and Yesh Din."
Yesh Din won't let its members cooperate. It considers
what's going on illegitimate. It bypasses and
challenges Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein's
authority. He has final say.
Yesh Din believes the committee was set up without his
knowledge. Weinstein told Netanyahu that committee
recommendations won't be binding on him or his office.
Former Attorney General Michael Ben-Yair sits on Yesh
Din's board. He said if still in Weinstein's post,
he'd "have announced at the outset that he does not
require the committee's advice even it turns out to be
close to his own position. He said the committee's
establishment infringes on the standing of the 350
employees of the Attorney General's Office."
No matter. Israel works its way around everything for
what it wants. Palestinians are ruthlessly exploited
and persecuted. They lose title to their own land. It
took Israel 45 years to steal over 40% of the West
Bank. It's heading toward well over 50% en route to
over 60%, then more, plus all East Jerusalem.
A Final Comment
PA UN envoy Riyad Mansour submitted letters to
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security
Council. Their content urged condemnation of Israel's
lawless settlement project, as well as "other illegal
Israeli policies in the occupied Palestinian
territory."
PA Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said Israel's
actions "not only inflame tensions but further
underscore the dubious nature of the occupying power's
claims of readiness to negotiate a peace settlement."
It's part of its wider scheme to steal all valued
Palestinian land, solidify occupation control, subvert
peace, and prevent a viable two-state solution.
Maliki wants Israeli settlements topping UN
priorities. In fact, they barely register at all.
Israel knows it has a free hand. It takes full
advantage. Ban Ki-moon's on board. Washington's
support goes without saying.
Rhetoric aside, Abbas collaborates willingly.
Palestinians are denied. Liberating justice depends on
getting it on their own. It's been that way for
decades. Nothing changed. Palestine's struggle
continues with no end so far in sight.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached
at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book is
titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized
Banking, Government Collusion and Class War" http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html Visit
his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to
cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on
the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive
Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and
Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are
archived for easy listening. http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour.
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