Media, UN, and NGOs yawn as Army destroys Arab homes

...What is interesting is the reaction. The people who live on the Egyptian side of the border in Rafah are not significantly different from the ones on the Gaza side. Apparently, it is acceptable for Arabs to defend themselves against terrorism by other Arabs. Just don’t try it if you are Jewish.

Army destroys Arab homes, expels residents

Vic Rosenthal..
Abu Yehuda..
30 October '14..
Link: http://abuyehuda.com/2014/10/army-destroys-arab-homes-media-un-ngos-yawn/

The army is destroying civilian structures and expelling residents en masse, claiming that the operation is necessary for security reasons.

The plan is to create a buffer zone on the border with Gaza, to evacuate some 10,000 Arabs in a few days. Ultimately a water-filled separation barrier will be built all the way to the Mediterranean.

Already dozens of homes have been destroyed by dynamite and bulldozers and more than a thousand men, women and children are homeless. The army warned residents to get out within 48 hours or homes would be destroyed whether not anyone was inside.

But for once the international community is not agitated. There are no calls for emergency sessions of the Security Council. It is not on the agenda of the UN Human Rights Council. There are no international activists lying down in front of the bulldozers, no demonstrations in American universities, no midnight phone calls from Barack Obama expressing his “red-hot anger.” Jen Psaki hasn’t condemned the action and John Kerry is not racing to the region.

Human Rights Watch hasn’t issued a press release. Amy Goodman doesn’t feature this assault on human rights on her Democracy Now website. Even Codepink ignores it while urging its supporters to boycott Israeli-made Ahava and Sodastream products.

The Sinai’s anarchic reality

...The number-one existential danger Israel faces doubtless comes from Iran and its nuclear ambitions. The Islamic State predations in both Syria and Iraq – and the threats they pose beyond – are probably second on the danger list for the immediate future. Yet, although largely ignored at the moment, the power-vacuum in the Sinai should rank right up there as well. Cairo’s ongoing campaign against the Sinai-based terror-mongers is nothing to sneeze at. In this context, Cairo’s current powers-that-be perforce oppose Hamas, which is an active and uncompromising Muslim Brotherhood offshoot. The implications for Israel are profound.

Sarah Honig..
Another Tack..
26 October '14..

For quite a few hours it was assumed last Wednesday that terrorists had launched the attack from Sinai on IDF troops patrolling, inside Israel, along the border with Egypt. It wasn’t far-fetched conjecture considering that the extremist Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis rushed to claim responsibility. Wounding an Israeli officer and her adjutant was a prestige-booster.

Later, however, it transpired that this was a drug smuggling caper gone wrong. Nonetheless, there is no cause for any sigh of relief here.

The undeniable fact of Sinai’s anarchic reality is that the lines between crime and terrorism are so blurred that they often become altogether indistinguishable. Sinai’s rampaging outlaws dabble in everything indiscriminately. All their diverse illegal pursuits are intrinsically intertwined and mutually beneficial.

Last week’s incident is a telling case in point. The drug-runners weren’t penny-ante operators. They rode in combat vehicles and were armed with anti-tank rockets. They had no hesitation to take the offensive and open fire once they understood that the Israelis had detected them.

Their battle-grade weaponry and equipment – along with the trigger-happy response by these drug-traffickers and their sophisticated ambush tactics – prop up the perception that they aren’t exclusively small-time Beduin felons in league with equally small-time Beduin accomplices in Israel’s Negev.

The symbiotic links between narcotics contrabandists and jihadist warriors isn’t new or surprising. We have known it for many years in Lebanon, where the Shiite Hezbollah has maintained a close partnership with local drug lords.

The need to insure that the integrity of the Sinai force limits not be undermined

...The Gaza Strip is inside Israel's security envelope. It is not hundreds of kilometers or even scores of kilometers away from Israeli civilian and military targets – it is meters away from them. It is absolutely critical that Israel has a clear and executable plan to insure that the integrity of the Sinai force limits are not be undermined.

Dr. Aaron Lerner..
IMRA Weekly Commentary..
03 October '13..




It is not simple.

Literally for the first time, Egyptian security forces are taking serious measures to shut down the smuggling tunnels between Sinai and the Gaza Strip.

Not photo ops.

Real action.

This is not a matter of Egyptian altruism.

The Gaza Strip is a primary source of forces and support for those engaged now in a bloody struggle against Egypt in the Sinai.

Israel faces a dilemma: we most definitely do not want the Sinai to be a terror enclave. On the other hand, it is vital to Israel's long term security interests that the integrity of the Sinai force limits not be undermined.

Is it still news if Israel can't be blamed?

...All in all, it's unlikely the violence in Sinai and the turmoil in Gaza are going to end quickly though we confess to wondering (despite the fingers pointed at Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Hamas regime) how long before it's all blamed on our side again.

Frimet/Arnold Roth..
This Ongoing War..
01 August '13..

Linda Gradstein, writing for The Media Line (and Ynet) describes a steadily growing shortage of fuel in the Gaza Strip, with serious and visible consequences. A Gazan economist she quotes says only about 25 percent of the required level of fuel is now available, and cars are lining up for hours at gas stations. Sewage treatment plants have been shut down, with untreated effluent being dumped into the Mediterranean. Naturally, this - along with the ecological mess it causes - is going to be blamed on the Israelis. But in reality the cause is Egypt and Hamas.

Gradstein says the Egyptians have shut down 80 percent of the tunnels, numbering in the hundreds, that run between Egypt and Gaza. An extensive security crackdown waged by the transitional Egyptian government is underway right now. It's directed at the Sinai-based gunmen and terrorists about whom we have written here frequently.

But, and this is new, it's also directed at Hamas, whom the new Egyptian rulers accuse of conspiring with the overthrown Morsi government to carry out attacks on Egyptian soldiers and police in Sinai.

The Egyptians say the weapons for those attacks come through the tunnels and the perpetrators can flee into the safety of Hamas-controlled Gaza. hence the crackdown. And Israel? Listen to this:

(Continue)

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The Sinai - Ongoing riddles

Frimet/Arnold Roth..
This Ongoing War..
08 September '12..

The Sinai desert is not what it used to be and probably never will be again. As it has gone from bad to catastrophic, including uncontrolled attacks on the Egypt to Israel gas pipeline which highlighted the Egyptian impotence in the area, we have posted here about the changes several times.

For instance, in a blog post called "17-Jul-12: Sinai used to be seen as a paradise" we noted that

Egyptian officials routinely blame Israel for "trying to spread panic with rumors and irresponsible statements" and making efforts "to impede the area's booming tourism industry" [source] But sober observers know it's far from being an Israelis-only concern.

Then came the huge August 5, 2012 attack on Egyptian security officers in Rafah. They were partaking of the post-Ramadan evening breakfast meal when unknown gunmen killed 16 soldiers and police, and Egyptian public opinion became enraged. The New York Times called it "the deadliest assault on Egyptian soldiers in recent memory" and added that, perhaps surprisingly, "there were no immediate claims of responsibility". The new Moslem Brotherhood-led government of Mohamed Morsi came under tremendous pressure to act, and they did in the traditional way: almost immediately, both Hamas and the Moslem Brotherhood publicly [source] blamed Israel for the killings.

So what's happened since then? We raised some questions last month about what is actually going on in Egypt's Sinai. See "10-Aug-12: Egypt is pouring forces into Sinai but does anyone know for sure what they are actually doing there?" and "28-Aug-12: About that major Egyptian armed offensive against Sinai terrorists: has it been called off?" It's clear that questions still need to be asked. Much of what is known tends to be confused and contradictory.

Arlene Kushner - From Israel: Not Pretty

Arlene Kushner..
30 August '12..

Really ugly, if truth be told. That's the situation in Migron. The High Court released its decision yesterday:

The residents -- all of them, including the 17 who re-purchased the land on which their homes are sitting -- must be evacuated by next Tuesday. By September 11, all buildings must be razed except for those on the plot of land that had been re-purchased.

Once again, if I am a bit vague on details it's not a reflection of insufficient effort on my part to secure information, so much as a function of garbled reports. This is in particular with regard to those 17 families. The court acknowledged that they did make the purchase legally, but chose anyway to deny them the right to live on that land that they own. This apparently has something to do with this ownership not complying with the original plans for that area -- which sounds terribly like legal double talk to me.

In fact there seems some internal contradiction in the ruling with regard to whether the homes of those 17 families will be razed.

See Michael Freund in "Tyranny Begins in Migron," on the rights of these people:

http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=283111

~~~~~~~~~~

This ruling is an outrage of considerable proportions. There are three aspects to it.

One has to do with the automatic assumption that the land on which the community was built is "Palestinian" land just because Peace Now came to court with an Arab making claims, even though the ownership by this Arab or his family has never been legally documented.

Two has to do with the re-purchase of some part of that land. Even though the legality of that purchase was documented and acknowledged as legitimate by the court, it still denied the owners the right to reside on their land.

From Israel - The Handle on Sinai

Arlene Kushner..
27 August '12..





I had hoped -- deeply hoped -- to be able to turn my attention to matters other than the situation in the Sinai. But the news there has loomed so large and seemed so ominous, that it merits on-going attention. And so, once again, I begin with this subject.

This time, however, I believe I will be able to provide a bit more clarity about what's happening.

The news has been utterly confounding and filled with contradictions: Tanks have been brought in by the Egyptians to combat the jihadists with the permission of Israel; Israel did not give permission. The Egyptian Defense Minister al-Sisi called Israeli Defense Minister Barak and the two came to an understanding; there was no such phone call.

And, most recently: An Egyptian general came into the Sinai to negotiate with the jihadists and the efforts to take out the terrorists is over; Egyptians say they are continuing their efforts against the terrorists.

~~~~~~~~~~

The information I have now secured is from a most reliable source -- an Arabic-speaking and very savvy Israeli academic with multiple connections. He is in no way an apologist for the Egyptians. This is what he explained:

The jihadist terrorists are hiding in caves in the mountains (I have written about this) and thus tanks are worthless against them. What is needed are infantry combat units and helicopters to bring them up to the mountain tops.

~~~~~~~~~~

The tanks were brought in as a PR ploy, to show the Egyptian people the army is tough and doesn't need to abide by Israeli demands. The intent here, however, is not to set up a situation that leads to war with Israel -- my source does not anticipate that Egypt will go to war with Israel, either in the short range, or even the "medium range" future. Rather, says my source, the Egyptian government is attempting to counter or deflate the demands of those who call for breaking the peace treaty with Israel.

One might argue that bringing in the tanks has broken the treaty. And technically, this would be the case if Israel had not approved the move. But the intent here apparently was not to break it in all its parameters but, quite the contrary, to enable it to be saved. The bravado was for internal consumption.

At the end of the day, will the tanks remain? This I cannot say. Might the situation shift so that the tanks would be drawn upon in a limited military action? I have no crystal ball and so can not definitively rule this out. But what I can report is that a source I consider highly reliable has told me that it is not the intention of the Egyptian government to break the peace treaty and move towards war with Israel.

Why did Amos Gilead try to give impression all under control with Egyptian force deployment?

Dr. Aaron Lerner..
IMRA Weekly Commentary..
23 August '12..

Yesterday Amos Gilead, head of the Defense Ministry Political and Security Division, could barely control his temper as he sparred with Israel Radio Arab Affairs Correspondent Eran Zinger yesterday over Zinger’s report that Egypt had deployed anti-aircraft missile batteries in the Sinai. [Even if you are not very fluent in Hebrew you can listen from 5:17 in the recording - http://youtu.be/-rXOVmFAbC0 to get the flavor].

Amos Gilead clearly believes that maintaining a public narrative that all is under control with regard to the Egyptian force deployments in Sinai serves Israeli interests.

This could be for one of many reasons:

1. Making the dispute public only makes it harder for Egypt to address Israel’s concerns and remove the problematic equipment and forces.

2. Third parties who have been drafted to help resolve the crisis asked Israel to tone down the talk.