T H E R O A D O F C O L
L A B O R A T I O N
by Prof. Tanya Reinhart, Tel Aviv University (Translated from Hebrew in Israeli daily,
Yediot Aharonot, 4/7/97) .Now they are talking about a Camp-David style summit, and the
final agreement. One can forget about the horrors of occupation, seen on (foreign) tv. At
the level of words, the occupation is (said to be) long gone. What we have now is
symmetric negotiations between two empires. Like Egypt, in Camp-David, the Palestinian
empire carries on tough bargaining with Israel on the final details.
The power of analogy is that it can blind the eyes. In Camp-David there were indeed
negotiations between two independent states. The agreement included withdrawal, returning
lands and evacuating settlements. But the Palestinian state is an Israeli invention -
nothing but a word. What we have in practice is a new form of occupation, assisted by
brutal collaborating-services, which were trained by the Israeli secret services to do the
job of oppression.
For the Israeli left, it is difficult to criticize Arafat, since for years he has been
the symbol of the Palestinian struggle. It is also difficult for the oppressor to denounce
the oppressed for his defeat.
Nevertheless, ignoring the facts only helps the fraud called 'peace- process': At the
eve of the Oslo agreement, the PLO was in a serious crisis, whose center was a growing
resentment of Arafat's leadership, There were many reports in the press of public
gatherings in the West Bank denouncing the lack of democracy, the dissociation of the
Tunis group from the reality of occupation, and, especially, the complete control Arafat
had over the budget and the finances. Arafat may have felt that the way to regain control
is a sweeping agreement with Israel. Today it is already a public knowledge that in the
circles of Rabin, the idea was formed that under these circumstances, it may be possible
to extort Arafat into a complete surrender.
The process in which a brave national leader becomes a pathetic collaborating ruler,
like Lahad of South Lebanon, is complex, but with a fixed script of pressure and bribery.
Some details of how this happened in just one area were exposed lately.
"WHAT WE HAVE IN PRACTICE IS A NEW FORM OF OCCUPATION, ASSISTED BY BRUTAL
COLLABORATING SERVICES...TRAINED...TO DO THE JOB OF OPPRESSION."
In April 1994, when the air was still full of the Oslo euphoria, the economical
agreement between Israel and the Palestinian authorities was signed, in Paris. The
agreement was astonishing: It guaranteed the full control of Israel of every aspect of
Palestinian economy: Import is subject to all of Israel customs and taxes; export is only
permitted through Israeli mediators. The only future left for the Palestinians was serving
as cheap labor for Israeli investors. In the Israeli press, there were some who wondered
how come the Palestinians signed such an agreement, but they answered, as always, that if
Arafat agrees, then all must be fine. Now it turns out that the chief was simply bought
there - The prize that he got for his cooperation was all the profits of the oil-taxes.
And oil is big money.
'Haaretz' of 4.4.97(1) discloses that Mohammed Rashid, the Kurd millionaire who serves
as an economical counsellor of Arafat, agreed in Paris, that the taxes which Israel
collects on oil-imports to the territories will return in full to a private account in
'Bank Leumi' in Tel Aviv which is accessible only to Arafat and to Rashid. It is reported
that the money is reserved for "the evacuation of Arafat, his family, and some senior
officials, in case of an upturning", and to cover some secret services designed to
guarantee Arafat's rule until then.
"THE PROCESS IN WHICH A BRAVE NATIONAL LEADER BECOMES A PATHETIC COLLABORATING
RULER...IS COMPLEX...WITH A FIXED SCRIPT OF PRESSURE AND BRIBERY."
AS REPORTED, IN THE GANGSTERS UNION FORMED IN PARIS, RASHIDCLOSED HIS DEAL WITH NO
OTHERS BUT THE PAST HEADS OF THEISRAELI SECURITY SERVICES: THE MEDIATOR WAS YOSEPH
GINOSAR,WHO WAS THE HEAD OF THE 'INTERROGATION' SECTION OF THEISRAELI SECRET SERVICES
(SHABAK), WHICH IS IN CHARGE OF THETORTURE OF PALESTINIAN PRISONERS. THROUGH HIM,
RASHIDPROMISED THE MONOPOLY ON OIL SALES TO THE TERRITORIES TODOR COMPANY, ONE OF WHOSE
DIRECTORS IS SHMUEL GOREN, WHOWAS THE 'MILITARY COORDINATOR' OF THE TERRITORIES.
The occupier and his servants know how to milk the Palestinians. Together they will
make sure that those who pay the price for their deals will believe that it is all for the
benefit of the Palestinian state. As for those who won't believe that - the combined
security -services will take care of them..
To make things even more macabre, IT TURNS OUT THAT YOSEPHANTWERG, WHO SIGNED THE
AGREEMENT OF THE DOR-COMPANYWITH RASHID, IS THE PRESENT CANDIDATE TO HEAD
THELAND-ADMINISTRATION OFFICE OF ISRAEL - THE OFFICERESPONSIBLE FOR THE APPROPRIATION OF
PALESTINIAN LAND. ONECAN TRUST ARAFAT AND RASHID THAT THEY WILL HELP HIMTRANSFER THE
REMAINING LANDS QUIETLY.
THE PRIZE THAT ARAFAT GOT FOR HIS COOPERATION IN THE PARISECONOMICAL SUMMIT OF 1994 WAS
ALL THE PROFITS OF THEOIL-TAXES. BIG MONEY, BIG CORRUPTION.
But before we blame the Palestinians for going along with that, we should remember that
Arafat and his corrupt administration could not have stayed in power, if not for the
Israeli army that has never left the territories.
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(1) Roenen Bergman and David Ratner, "The man who swallowed Gaza", Haaretz
Supplement 4.4.97
