Another point is where the norther entrance to the tunnels lies. The tunnel now empties into the heart of the "Muslim Quarter" of the old city, where thousands of Arabs own shops. Most Jews do not enter this area of the city out of fear. But now that the tunnels are open, all the tourists that visit them will also pass through the area where Arab shops are open, and tourist dollars will begin finding their way into Arab pockets as well. There is nothing wrong with this idea. Why shouldn't an Arab store keeper make an honest living? And Israel is helping them out by delivering the tourists of the tunnels to the Arab shops near the northern entrance. But instead of appreciating this gracious gesture, the Arabs of Israel have initiated an all-out assault on Israel's citizens. In a three-day offensive, so far, ten Israelis have been killed, and tens more wounded by the gunfire of angry Arabs throughout the country. Indeed, one of the first incidents was sparked by the Palestinian Authority themselves, when several Palestinian policemen opened fire on Israeli soldiers near Ramallah two days ago.
The opening of the tunnels was a step that had been agreed upon by the PLO and Shimon Peres when he was Prime Minister earlier this year. But the Arab response to the opening shows in full colour just what the Arabs think of their agreements with Israel. As long as Israel gives the Arabs everything they want and demand nothing in return, all is fine. But once Israel starts making its own moves, even ones agreed to by the PLO, all hell breaks loose. Prime Minister Netanyahu was forced to cut short a trip to Europe in order to come home and restore order in the country.
I am finally able to come out with hard and fast proof to what I and others have been saying for the past four years. The Peace Process with the PLO has no chance of producing peace. Instead, by raising Arab expectations and providing them with arms and financial backing, the spectre of war is now greater than it was four or five or ten years ago. And let there be no mistake about it: the blame for this war, which has in effect already begun, is to be laid squarely at the feet of Shimon Peres, Yossi Beilin, Yitzchak Rabin, and the rest of the Israeli and Jewish left.
When will the Jewish and Israeli left finally wake from their reverie. The truth about the Arabs is today what it always has been. They hate Jews, and they will stop at nothing to make certain that their hatred is given vent and their campaign ends in ultimate success. Every day that passes with some leftist Jewish dreamer still holding out hope that this is not the case only gives further support to the murderous aims of the Arabs that would have us all killed rather than uphold their agreements.
If any further proof is needed to this point, one need only look at the other partners to this false peace: Syria and Egypt. Syria, which is the primary focus of mediation efforts these days, has mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops on the Israeli border, even pulling tens of thousands of them out of Lebanon to accomplish the mobilization. These maneuvers from Lebanon to the Mt. Hermon slope should set off alarm bells from Jerusalem to Washington and back. Syria has long attached great importance to its occupation of Lebanon. That it is now moving many of its troops out of Lebanon to take up positions against Israel is an important development indeed.
Egypt was Israel's first partner in peace. Anwar Sadat was brave where other Arab leaders were, and still are, cowards. Sadat came to Israel and spoke to the people and offered peace. No other Arab leader, not even Arafat, has yet to do that. Israel and Egypt have shared cool relations, but relations nonetheless, for more than seventeen years. In that time, not a single border incursion, not a single troop movement, not a single offensive measure of any kind, has taken place along the Israel-Egypt border.
But for the past two weeks, Egypt has undertaken war-games on a scale never before matched since the Yom Kippur War. Egypt's government-run and opposition presses have launched co-ordinated vitriolic attacks against the Netanyahu government, and even senior members of Egypt's government have taken part in the taunts and barbs thrown in Israel's direction. According to a report in yesterday's New York Times, if a poll were taken today, most Egyptians would likely favour breaking off relations with Israel and initiating a new war.
So much for peace in the Middle East. Yet Peace Now, long the agitator for a true and lasting peace in Israel, continues to lead (not just to participate in) demonstrations against the opening of the Kotel Tunnels' northern entrance. We can now see that Peace Now wants nothing of the sort. The only thing they are interested in is promoting their agenda of self-hate and submission to the wishes of the Arabs, even including a Jewish bloodbath. Thank Heavens Israel no longer has a government dominated by these idiots.
It is time for Prime Minister Netanyahu to keep his biggest campaign promise. Hundreds of times, he repeated the mantra "Peace, but not without security." Now, he has been shown as plain as day that security does not exist if it is left up to the Arabs. Peace as conceived by Peace Now and their affiliates in the Knesset is dead. Netanyahu must now ensure the security part of his promise.
Break of negotiations with the PLO until they lay down their weapons (i.e. return them to the Israelis). The PLO cannot be trusted to keep any sort of peace with Israel, as they showed two days ago in Ramallah, and ever since throughout the country. Netanyahu should understand this violence for what it is -- a declaration of war -- and act accordingly. Clean out the terrorists from Israel, and re-assert Israeli presence throughout the country.
Copyright 1996. Reproduction in electronic or print format by permission only.
