Op-ed in official PA daily denies Israel’s legitimacy: "All of Israel, from beginning to end, is a settlement," denies Jewish history as "myths"
Headline: "Israel is the settlement"
Excerpt of an op-ed by Yahya Rabah, regular columnist for the official PA daily
"All of Israel, from its beginning to its end, is a settlement, a land [they] hold by force without any legitimacy. Whether by dividing the land of a sick man (Ottoman Turkey) [parentheses in source] in the days of [the] Sykes-Picot [Agreement], the wall and tower and laundry line phenomenon as a declaration of the establishment of a settlement, or using all the force of the British Mandate in order to obtain this land under the umbrella of the first sin – the ominous Balfour Promise (i.e., Declaration), whose 100th anniversary will take place [soon]. In addition to this, Britain is now increasing its aggression and moral degeneration by organizing a large celebration for this event and inviting [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to be a guest of honor at this shameful celebration.
Even when the world conspired to turn the folklore myths into Jewish history and issued [UN] Partition Resolution 181, the Zionist movement refused to be satisfied with the international decision and insisted on the logic of settlement, which is theft of our Palestinian land by force, the force of scheming, the force of deceit in many forms, and the force of the weapon, iron, fire, and abominable massacres. The Regularization Law ratified by the Israeli Parliament comes in the same context – imposing facts through force, an absolute attack against international law, the international bodies, and their explicit decisions, and a blatant attack against the latest [UN] Security Council Resolution 2334, the Paris [Peace] Conference declaration, the intentions of the international community and the UN, and the meaning of peace, which is the interest of everyone. Since the criminal always hangs around his first crime, and since Netanyahu knows that Israel, of which he is prime minister, does not want anything but ongoing aggression and theft, and blatant avoidance of international law, Netanyahu has thwarted the two-state solution, closed the door to negotiation, mixed in his personal crisis expressed by a number of corruption cases, and turned to the Regularization Law in order to steal the private and public land of the Palestinians, and thus impress the Israelis by playing on their heartstrings – the strings of ongoing theft and aggression. This lack of seriousness is the essence of the new political stage that the people of Israel has entered. We must prepare without retreating to empty shouts and the hymns of the despicable [Fatah-Hamas] rift. We must know that we have all reached a higher level of the comprehensive conflict, and our priorities are adherence to our basic principles, our national plans, the unity of our people, and our roots which are deeply embedded in this land, the land of our Palestinian state, even if the Israelis hate this.”
Sykes-Picot Agreement – A secret agreement between Britain and France negotiated by French diplomat François Georges-Picot and Briton Sir Mark Sykes and concluded in May 1916. The agreement had Russia’s approval and specified Britain’s and France’s proposed spheres of influence and control in the Middle East if the Ottoman Empire was defeated in World War I. The plan was revealed in 1917 in the Russian press, and subsequently in the British press, angering the Arabs as it contradicted promises of independence made to them - on the condition they helped fight against and bring down the Ottoman Empire. The plan caused lasting distrust on the part of the Arabs in relation to Western countries.
The Balfour Declaration of Nov. 2, 1917 was a letter from British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Baron Rothschild stating that “His Majesty's government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people” and is seen as the basis for later international commitments to establish the State of Israel.
Regularization Law: Israeli legislation to validate land registration in the West Bank, when a Palestinian claims to own the land upon which an Israeli community resides. The legislation only applies to communities that were established in good faith - i.e., without prior knowledge that the land was privately owned by Palestinians - or with Israeli government consent. The law validates the registration of the land for the Israeli community, and provides a mechanism to compensate Palestinian claimants if their claims are proven correct.
Compensation: Palestinian claims of ownership to land where an Israeli community exists will be heard by an Assessment Committee, composed of a representative of the Israeli Justice Ministry, the Israeli Defense Ministry, and the local Civil Authority. In cases of proven claims, the Palestinian owner will be entitled to compensation of up to 125% of the value of the land before the community was built, or alternative plots of land, according to his choice. The law does not apply retroactively to cases already heard by the Israeli Supreme Court. The law was ratified on Feb.6, 2017.
UN Resolution 2334 condemned the establishment of Israeli "settlements in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem," saying it "has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-State solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace." It demanded that Israel “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities” in the area. The resolution further said “it will not recognize any changes to the 4 June 1967 lines” other than changes made through negotiations, in reference to the 1949-1967 ceasefire line between Israel and the neighboring Arab countries following Israel's 1948 War of Independence.
The resolution called “upon all States… to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967.” It also called "to prevent all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror, as well as acts of provocation and destruction... and to clearly condemn all acts of terrorism," and noted the obligation of "the Palestinian Authority Security Forces to maintain effective operations aimed at confronting all those engaged in terror and dismantling terrorist capabilities."
The resolution was adopted during US President Barack Obama’s final weeks in office and reflected a change in the longstanding US policy of averting UN Security Council resolutions that prejudice or negatively influence direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
Paris Peace Conference - A peace conference was held in Paris on Jan. 15, 2017, attended by representatives from over 70 countries, but with no representatives from Israel or the PA. The conference issued a declaration calling for a negotiated peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians based on the two-state solution and praising UN Security Council Resolution 2334. Britain and Australia refused to sign the declaration, with Britain arguing that the declaration, which was made as part of the French Peace Initiative, might harden the Palestinian negotiating position, particularly given its timing right before the inauguration of US President Donald Trump’s administration. The following day Britain blocked the EU Foreign Affairs Council from adopting the declaration.
Excerpt of an op-ed by Yahya Rabah, regular columnist for the official PA daily
"All of Israel, from its beginning to its end, is a settlement, a land [they] hold by force without any legitimacy. Whether by dividing the land of a sick man (Ottoman Turkey) [parentheses in source] in the days of [the] Sykes-Picot [Agreement], the wall and tower and laundry line phenomenon as a declaration of the establishment of a settlement, or using all the force of the British Mandate in order to obtain this land under the umbrella of the first sin – the ominous Balfour Promise (i.e., Declaration), whose 100th anniversary will take place [soon]. In addition to this, Britain is now increasing its aggression and moral degeneration by organizing a large celebration for this event and inviting [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to be a guest of honor at this shameful celebration.
Even when the world conspired to turn the folklore myths into Jewish history and issued [UN] Partition Resolution 181, the Zionist movement refused to be satisfied with the international decision and insisted on the logic of settlement, which is theft of our Palestinian land by force, the force of scheming, the force of deceit in many forms, and the force of the weapon, iron, fire, and abominable massacres. The Regularization Law ratified by the Israeli Parliament comes in the same context – imposing facts through force, an absolute attack against international law, the international bodies, and their explicit decisions, and a blatant attack against the latest [UN] Security Council Resolution 2334, the Paris [Peace] Conference declaration, the intentions of the international community and the UN, and the meaning of peace, which is the interest of everyone. Since the criminal always hangs around his first crime, and since Netanyahu knows that Israel, of which he is prime minister, does not want anything but ongoing aggression and theft, and blatant avoidance of international law, Netanyahu has thwarted the two-state solution, closed the door to negotiation, mixed in his personal crisis expressed by a number of corruption cases, and turned to the Regularization Law in order to steal the private and public land of the Palestinians, and thus impress the Israelis by playing on their heartstrings – the strings of ongoing theft and aggression. This lack of seriousness is the essence of the new political stage that the people of Israel has entered. We must prepare without retreating to empty shouts and the hymns of the despicable [Fatah-Hamas] rift. We must know that we have all reached a higher level of the comprehensive conflict, and our priorities are adherence to our basic principles, our national plans, the unity of our people, and our roots which are deeply embedded in this land, the land of our Palestinian state, even if the Israelis hate this.”
Sykes-Picot Agreement – A secret agreement between Britain and France negotiated by French diplomat François Georges-Picot and Briton Sir Mark Sykes and concluded in May 1916. The agreement had Russia’s approval and specified Britain’s and France’s proposed spheres of influence and control in the Middle East if the Ottoman Empire was defeated in World War I. The plan was revealed in 1917 in the Russian press, and subsequently in the British press, angering the Arabs as it contradicted promises of independence made to them - on the condition they helped fight against and bring down the Ottoman Empire. The plan caused lasting distrust on the part of the Arabs in relation to Western countries.
The Balfour Declaration of Nov. 2, 1917 was a letter from British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Baron Rothschild stating that “His Majesty's government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people” and is seen as the basis for later international commitments to establish the State of Israel.
Regularization Law: Israeli legislation to validate land registration in the West Bank, when a Palestinian claims to own the land upon which an Israeli community resides. The legislation only applies to communities that were established in good faith - i.e., without prior knowledge that the land was privately owned by Palestinians - or with Israeli government consent. The law validates the registration of the land for the Israeli community, and provides a mechanism to compensate Palestinian claimants if their claims are proven correct.
Compensation: Palestinian claims of ownership to land where an Israeli community exists will be heard by an Assessment Committee, composed of a representative of the Israeli Justice Ministry, the Israeli Defense Ministry, and the local Civil Authority. In cases of proven claims, the Palestinian owner will be entitled to compensation of up to 125% of the value of the land before the community was built, or alternative plots of land, according to his choice. The law does not apply retroactively to cases already heard by the Israeli Supreme Court. The law was ratified on Feb.6, 2017.
UN Resolution 2334 condemned the establishment of Israeli "settlements in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem," saying it "has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-State solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace." It demanded that Israel “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities” in the area. The resolution further said “it will not recognize any changes to the 4 June 1967 lines” other than changes made through negotiations, in reference to the 1949-1967 ceasefire line between Israel and the neighboring Arab countries following Israel's 1948 War of Independence.
The resolution called “upon all States… to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967.” It also called "to prevent all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror, as well as acts of provocation and destruction... and to clearly condemn all acts of terrorism," and noted the obligation of "the Palestinian Authority Security Forces to maintain effective operations aimed at confronting all those engaged in terror and dismantling terrorist capabilities."
The resolution was adopted during US President Barack Obama’s final weeks in office and reflected a change in the longstanding US policy of averting UN Security Council resolutions that prejudice or negatively influence direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
Paris Peace Conference - A peace conference was held in Paris on Jan. 15, 2017, attended by representatives from over 70 countries, but with no representatives from Israel or the PA. The conference issued a declaration calling for a negotiated peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians based on the two-state solution and praising UN Security Council Resolution 2334. Britain and Australia refused to sign the declaration, with Britain arguing that the declaration, which was made as part of the French Peace Initiative, might harden the Palestinian negotiating position, particularly given its timing right before the inauguration of US President Donald Trump’s administration. The following day Britain blocked the EU Foreign Affairs Council from adopting the declaration.