Mondoweiss 19 Dec — …In recent days PA spokesmen have accused Kerry of
“appeasement” and of failing to be “a neutral mediator”. The criticism
looks more than justified. Under cover of a vision for peace, the US
secretary of state is offering an Israeli security plan at the expense
of meaningful Palestinian statehood.That is not entirely surprising
given that the plan was drafted by John Allen, a general formerly in
command of US forces in Afghanistan, who has spent months quietly
liaising with Israeli counterparts. The main sticking point is the
Jordan Valley, an area that was expected to comprise nearly a quarter of
a future Palestinian state. Allen has indulged an Israeli demand that
it be allowed to continue a long-term “military presence” in the Jordan
Valley, of at least 10 years. Not only this but, according to a memo
sent by Abbas to Obama, which the Haaretz newspaper revealed this week,
the US plan would condition an eventual Israeli withdrawal on the
Palestinians meeting a “test of implementation.” Abbas rightfully
believes that this would give Israel an effective veto on ever leaving
the Jordan Valley. That is a big retreat from Washington’s earlier
commitment, made at the Annapolis talks of 2007, that no Israeli
soldiers would be stationed in the West Bank following an agreement.
Security guarantees were to be provided instead by Nato troops, under US
command. The new proposal should be a deal-breaker. The valley is a
vital resource for the Palestinians, one they have been effectively
stripped of for decades by Israel’s exaggerated “security needs”. The
Jordan Valley offers the only land border in the West Bank that would be
potentially under Palestinian control. It is one of the few remaining
undeveloped areas, making it a possible site to which hundreds of
thousands of Palestinian refugees could return. And its lands are
fertile and warm all year round, making it highly productive and a
likely engine for the Palestinian economy. According to Allen’s plan,
Israel’s security also requires that Palestinian security forces be only
lightly armed, that Israel has control over the airspace and all
borders, and that the US install spying technology – euphemistically
called “early warning systems” – throughout the West Bank. In other
words, the US vision of a Palestinian state looks remarkably like the
model Israel has already implemented in Gaza.
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Let him "Gazaficate" all he wants. There is a new correlation of forces on Israel's northern border that is going to make life difficult for the Zionist entity. As a north american military intelligence expert notes: A month ago I predicted that there will be much greater interoperability and trust between Hizbollah and Syrian forces along Israel's northern border in the future. I see Syrian forces, or at least a sizable portion of those forces, gaining the capability and the intent to defend Syria in a similar way that Hizbollah defends Lebanon. It won't be an offensive force capable of overrunning Israel, but it will make Israeli military action against Syria more difficult and costly. In effect, Israel will have a second Hizbollah on its border. Freeing the Golan Heights could become a rallying cry for this new force further complicating Israeli calculations.
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