Palestinians need more negotiators, not arms
By: Camelia Entekhabi-Fard /Asharq Al Awsat
Wednesday, 30 Jul, 2014 .
Not long ago, perhaps less than a decade ago, I was one of those Iranians who viewed the Palestinians as terrorists and opportunists. As somebody who was born and raised in Iran, I can confidently tell you that this view is prevalent; there are many Iranians who viewed, and continue to view, the Palestinians in this way. Tehran is one of the biggest supporters of the Palestinian Hamas movement, and the same goes for Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia, and ultimately it is the Iranian government’s support for such organizations that creates this feeling among the Iranian public. Iran’s state media coverage regarding the Palestinian–Israeli conflict is characterized by propaganda. The Iranian people have not had the opportunity to hear the real story and to view what is happening to the Palestinian people from a moral standpoint. This gives rise to the prevalent view among the Iranian general public of Hamas as an opportunistic group that is coming to Iran for finances and seeking to embroil Tehran into the conflict.
The Iranian public are angered by the regime spending so much money on Hamas and Hezbollah when so many Iranian people themselves are living in poverty. Iranian society respects the principle of helping others, but there are other considerations that must be taken into account. Iran’s international prestige has been severely damaged by the Islamic Republic’s support of these militias, not to mention the sheer amount of money it has lost. I could tell you that when I was living in Iran, I was more sympathetic towards the Israelis than the Palestinians. The same goes for many other Iranians I was in contact with in Tehran during this period. The Iranian public’s knowledge about the Palestinian–Israeli conflict is miniscule; everything the Iranian people know about it comes directly from the regime. This represents Tehran’s interpretation of events, which they put forward to serve their own interests.
However, I ultimately changed my view about the Palestinian–Israeli conflict after I moved from Iran to the US. I studied International Affairs at New York’s Columbia University, and this brought about a change in my assessment of the situation. It’s interesting to see that the prevalent view among intellectual Americans is one of support for the Palestinians and condemnation of Israel. This support doesn’t have anything to do with Hamas or Fatah, but rather it’s a democratic call for Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories and abide by the UN Security Council resolution, which calls for Israel to withdraw to the pre-1967 borders. It was in the US that I learnt, and continue to believe, that the Palestinians are not a bunch of terrorists who represent a threat to Israeli peace and stability.
This brings us to the current round of conflict between Israel and Palestine, which has seen more than 1,000 Palestinians killed in the Israeli aggression against Gaza. As I write this op-ed, this conflict is ongoing, with all attempts to reach a lasting ceasefire ending in failure.
I am sure that many people in Iran are heartbroken by the sight of defenseless Palestinian women and children with no place to hide from the Israeli air strikes on Gaza. The one party that seems to be doing everything to bring about a desired ceasefire is US Secretary of State John Kerry, and not the Iranian side, unfortunately.
Speaking in late July, Iranian Supreme Guide Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared to call for the West Bank to follow the approach being taken by Hamas in Gaza—namely, to pick up arms and fight Israel. During a speech to university students on July 23, Khamenei said: “Our belief is that the West Bank should be armed like Gaza. Those who love the fate of the Palestinians, if they can do something, this is it. The people there [West Bank] should be armed. The only thing that can uproot the distress of the Palestinians . . .[is] to have the strongest hand. It is to show strength.”
Following Khamenei’s comments, the Iranian, Arab and international media ignited, asking whether it would be better to seek a ceasefire, or fight as Khamenei urged.
Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, truly sought to help the Palestinian people, and some argue that if he were not ousted by the 1979 Islamic revolution, he would have played a major role in ending this conflict. However the Islamic Republic of Iran has a different regional goal than that of the former Iranian monarchy. There has been no communication between Tehran and Tel Aviv; in fact, Iran and Israel are each other’s greatest enemy. If US President Barack Obama believes so strongly in the diplomatic approach, to the point that he has angered Tel Aviv—one of America’s closest allies—by making up with Iran over the nuclear dossier, then why can’t he enforce peace between Palestine and Israel? On the other hand, Iran has the financial and military resources to continue supporting Hamas and Hezbollah and play the role of spoiler in the Middle East if they so choose. However, how long will they continue to choose to do so?
Edward Said, one of the greatest Palestinian–American intellectuals of our time, focused on the lack of communication between Washington and the Arab world when dealing with the Palestinian Cause. Culture and Resistance: Conversations with Edward W. Said quotes Said as saying that “the absence of initiative” is “our greatest enemy.”
The Palestinians don’t need more arms, they need more negotiators. Communication is the key.
الياس بجاني/تعليق: فيديو ونص باللغتين الغربية والإنكليزية/المبادرة الفرنسية هي طوق نجاة لحزب الله وللطبقة السياسية العفنة/The French initiative In Lebanon Aims To Rescue The Terrorist Hezbollah and Revive The Rotten Political Class
الياس بجاني/تعليق: فيديو ونص باللغتين الغربية والإنكليزية/المبادرة الفرنسية هي طوق نجاة لحزب الله وللطبقة السياسية العفنة/
The French initiative In Lebanon Aims To Rescue The Terrorist Hezbollah and Revive The Rotten Political Class
المبادرة الفرنسية هي طوق نجاة لحزب الله وللطبقة السياسية العفنة الياس بجاني/20 تشرين الثاني/2020
إن تربيح لبنان واللبنانيين جميلي بالمبادرة الفرنسية غلط وتشويه للحقيقة مليون بالميي لأنها مبنية على أسس وقواعد وخلفيات كلها تصب في مصلحة حزب الله والطبقة السياسية المرتي والعفنة لأسباب كثيرة منها:
المبادرة تتم بالتنسيق مع حزب الله وقد استبعدت سلاحه واحتلاله ودويلته وحروبه ومرجعيته الإيرانية ولن تأتي على ذكر أي منهم.
المبادرة غيبت بالكامل القرارات الدولية الخاصة بلبنان كافة وهي اتفاقية الهدنة مع دولة إسرائيل وال 1559 وال 1701 وال 1680…الغريب هنا أن فرنسا تشارك في عديد قوات اليونيفل المكلفة تنفيذ القرار الدولي 1701…ورغم ذلك تجاهلته في مبادرتها.
المبادرة الفرنسية تلبننت كلياً وارتضت بأن تحتفظ الثنائية الشيعية بوزارة المال مما يعني أنها قبلت بإبقاء المال والسلاح والسلطة تحت هيمنة حزب الله، وبالتالي استحالة القيام بأي اصلاحات أكانت كبيرة أو صغيرة.
القيمين على المبادرة الفرنسية تجاهلوا عملياً الانتفاضة في لبنان ولم يحاولوا إشراكها في الحكومة الساعين لتأليفها.
القبول بتكليف سعد الحريري تشكيل الحكومة ودعمه القوي رغم معرفة المسؤولين الفرنسيين وفي مقدمهم الرئيس ماكرون بأنه فاشل وكسول وفاسد ومحاط بفاسدين ومرتهن لحزب الله وألعوبة بيد بري وجنبلاط وشريك أساسي في مؤامرة الصفقة الرئاسية.
ضرب الدور المسيحي في الحكم بإعطاء الحريري عملاً بالمبادرة الفرنسية مسؤولية اختيار الوزراء المسيحيين وترك لكل من جنبلاط بري وحزب الله اختيار وزرائهم.
من هنا فإن المبادرة الفرنسية كما انتهى حالها الراهن هي طوق نجاة لحزب الله الإيراني والإرهابي والمحتل والمجرم وللطبقة السياسية المرتي والعفنة والفاسدة والطروادية… وبالتالي هي مبادرة الفالج لا تعالج..!!! *الكاتب ناشط لبناني اغترابي عنوان الكاتب الالكتروني Phoenicia@hotmail.com رابط موقع الكاتب الألكتروني https://eliasbejjaninews.com
The French initiative In Lebanon Aims To Rescue The Terrorist Hezbollah and Revive The Rotten Political Class Elias Bejjani/November 20/2020 المبادرة الفرنسية في لبنان ولدت ميتة
It is a horrible mistake and a mere political miscalculation to hail and build any hope on the French Initiative that is endeavoring to form what is called a “Mission Cabinet”.
Sadly the initiative although it sounds glamorous, it is in reality a mere reviving SOS means for both the occupier Hezbollah and the Iscariot, rotten and corrupt “Political Class”.
The initiative as officially declared is based on the following distorted and biased basis:
*The initiative is carried out by the French officials in a bizarre and bold coordination with the occupier and the terrorist Hezbollah.
*The initiative does not overtly or covertly address by any means Hezbollah’s weaponry, occupation, Ministate, wars, terrorism or its total affiliation to the Mullah’s Iranian dictatorship regime.
*The initiative keeps a complete blind eye in regards to all the UN resolutions that address Lebanon, namely the Armistice Agreement with the State of Israel, UN Resolutions 1559, 1701, and 1680 .
In this regard it is really very suspicious and questionable how this initiative does not address the UN resolution 1701 in particular, while France is one of the major participates in the UNIFIL force that is assigned and entusted by the UN to safeguard the implementation of this resolution.
*The initiative in a dire bias has agreed that the Shiite Hezbollah and Amal Movement would retain their iron fist on the Ministry of Finance, which means that it has accepted to keep money, weapons and power under the control of Hezbollah, and thus blocking any reforms, no matter big or small.
*The initiative did not seriously call for any role for the uprising activists.
*The initiative supports strongly Mr. Saad Al Hariri in forming the new government despite the knowledge of French officials, especially President Macron, that this individual is a failure, lazy, corrupt, surrounded by crooked people, a servant to Hezbollah, easily manipulated by the House Speaker Nabih Berri and the Druze politician Walid Jumblat, and a key partner in the presidential deal plot that handed over the country to the terrorist Hezbollah.
*The initiative gave the Shiites (Hezbollah and Amal Movement) and the Druze (Walid Jumblat) the right to name their own representatives in the government to be formed by Al Hariri, while at the same time denied the Christians this right. It gave this right to Saad Al Hariri who is a loser and a mere corrupt politician.
*In conclusion, the French initiative, has ended from day one and apparently its main goal is not to help the Lebanese people, but to rescue and revive the roles of both the occupier Hezbollah as well as the rotten and corrupt “Political Class”.