(Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Alan Baker - In addition to the "Ten False Assumptions Regarding Israel," which addressed many of the widely-held and universally-disseminated false and mistaken assumptions regarding Israel, here are some additional false assumptions to address. "Israel is committing genocide, mass murder and ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian People" - Israel has never advocated, devised or entertained any plan, design or campaign, systematic or otherwise, to undermine or destroy the Palestinian people, or to act out of revenge or despair. Since 1967, the Palestinian Arab population has increased from 954,898 to 4,654,421 - by 387%. It was not Israel that massacred 15,000 Palestinians living in Jordan during the "Black September" war between Jordan and the PLO in 1970. It was not Israel that caused the displacement of 390,000 Palestinians in Syria since the conflict began in 2011. "The establishment of Israel was a catastrophe for the Palestinians" - The Arabs' original 1948 rejection and denial of the right of existence of the State of Israel has not changed and remains the central aim of their narrative. "Israel violates its obligations in the Oslo Accords" - Israel has implemented its obligations pursuant to the accords in good faith. The long list of fundamental breaches by the Palestinians includes active support, encouragement and financing of terror and violence against Israel and its population, and the maintenance of terror infrastructure despite obligations to dismantle it; wholesale acquisition and manufacture of illegal weaponry for purposes of terror; daily hate indoctrination and incitement to violence and terror; and attempts to unilaterally alter the status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip outside the negotiating process, through unilateral initiatives in international bodies. "Israel is denying the 'right of return' to millions of Palestinian refugees" - There exists no 'right of return' for refugees in international law or practice, and no international treaty imposes any such obligation on Israel. Ambassador Alan Baker, former legal adviser and deputy director-general of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, participated in the negotiation and drafting of the Oslo Accords with the Palestinians.
2017-01-11 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive