Are there people in our government who still believe in Oslo?
Oslo is not the soloution, it's an immediate part of the problem.
Posted on 10/30/2002 12:15:58 AM PST by eclectic
Under intense American pressure, Israel has agreed to transfer to the Palestinian Authority two billion shekels due it under the terms of the Oslo agreements. Some think it is a mistake to provide funds for terrorist organizations such as this one. The obligation to do so has only questionable legality, since the Oslo agreements have been violated repeatedly by the Palestinian terrorists. Moreover, although the money is supposed to be used for humanitarian purposes, money is fungible. Any funds transferred to the Palestinian Authority will certainly improve the ability of the Palestinians to kill more Israelis, which will not improve prospects for peace. Finally, there are plenty of other uses for the money. Even if regarded as Palestinian money, it could be used to pay for expenses caused by Palestinian terror.
One thing we might do is to use the money to pay for the medical bills of the victims of the Palestinian Authority. A huge burden has been placed on the Israeli health system by the Palestinian Authority s use of violence against Israeli citizens, and it is only right that the Palestinian Authority pay for that.
Another thing we might do is to use the money to pay for the disability insurance for those victims who are permanently disabled by the wounds inflicted by the Palestinian Authority and its citizens. It is extremely expensive to support individuals and families for an indefinite period of time, and it is only right that the Palestinian Authority, which bears prime responsibility for this tragic situation, underwrite those expenses.
Another thing we could do with the money is to use it to pay the funeral costs of those who were killed in the war that Arafat started. Nothing that Arafat can do will bring back to us now the innocent victims whom he has killed indirectly and directly, but at the very least we could expect him to pay for the basic funeral costs of his victims.
Another option would be to use the money to pay for the expenses of bringing Palestinian officials, such as Marwan Barghouti, to trial. Legal proceedings are extremely expensive, and there is no reason why we should have to pay for them. These proceedings would not be necessary if the Palestinian Authority had not launched a terror-war on Israel. So let them pay for the legal expenses.
And then there are the prisoners. After convicting Barghouti, we will have to pay great sums of money to keep him off the streets. Those expenses arise only because of the unfortunate war that Arafat launched as an alternative to accepting a Palestinian state. In addition to Barghouti, this war has forced us to capture many hundreds of Palestinian terrorists, and to support them in our prison system. Who should pay for all of that? Why not the Palestinian Authority which launched this war?
But most importantly we should use the money to finance further actions in the war against terror. Until now, the Palestinians have done little or nothing to put an end to terror. Since the Palestinians have not proved willing or able to reign in terror on their own, that painful, difficult and costly effort, which has claimed the lives of so many courageous Israeli soldiers, policemen and security guards, has fallen into our hands. We can do the job, but who should pay for it? By using this money to pay for salaries, military equipment and weaponry that can be used to uproot terrorism in the Palestinian areas we will finally be able to see a way in which the Palestinians contribute to that effort. I can t think of any more appropriate use than that.
(Dr. Gabriel Danzig is a professor in the Deparment of Classics, Bar Ilan University.)
Are there people in our government who still believe in Oslo?
Oslo is not the soloution, it's an immediate part of the problem.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.