by Amotz Miller, Yisrael HaYom newspaper, translated by Hillel Fendel.
Instead of self-flagellation, we must unite behind our immediate common goal: The PA-PLO must not be allowed a foot in the door of Gaza rule.
Those of us who grew up in the mid-90's not only remember, but can still feel, their pain and even fury at the Lion King scene when cruel Scar - who had just dropped his brother the king off a cliff to his death - persuades his nephew, little crown-prince Simba, that he was actually to blame for his father's death.
Scar despicably offers his "generous" help in rectifying the situation, and Simba falls gratefully into his arms. Scar proposes that the newly-orphaned Simba run far, far away, and never return, and that he, Scar, would take upon himself the yoke of royalty.
The children of the 90's also bear other scenes of hurt and fury, but these are not taken from Disney movies. They remember buses that turned into giant balls of fire and restaurants that became death traps – a nightmare wrapped in pink cellophane, tied with a ribbon, and adorned with the festively-written words: "Peace Process."
The cruel implosion of the "peace process" surprised many – but not those who listened with even half an ear to the jihadist declarations of the bridegroom of the festivities: arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat, may his name be blotted out.
Yigal Carmon, a former senior Israeli Intelligence official and an expert advisor on anti-terrorism warfare, listened to and recorded the unsuspecting speeches of Arafat. He heard Arafat say clearly, shortly before the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, that the agreement with Israel was not a recognition of the Jewish state's right to exist, but rather simply a tactical move in the ongoing war of extermination against the Zionist entity.
Carmon tried to warn the public of the dangerous fraud being perpetrated upon Israel. He took his information to top journalist Nachum Barnea, who did nothing with it. Barnea later said he did not sufficiently understand the material; Carmon said he purposely covered it up in order not to sabotage the peace process. [Six months later, Arafat delivered his famous Johannesburg address, in which he called on the "Islamic nation" to "come and fight and start the Jihad to liberate Jerusalem," and in which he likened the Oslo process to a historical ceasefire agreement between Muhammad and the Quraysh tribe, which was meant to be only temporary.]
Home internet was just beginning, and social media were just a dream, such that the press was a closed clique, marketing Oslo almost unanimously as the "new Middle East."
Three Decades Later
Thirty years have passed, and the murderous PLO-Fatah-Hamas enemy, which never laid down its sword, pulled off the Oct. 7th massacre against unsuspecting civilians and unprotected soldiers in and around Israel's western Negev communities. The attack caught Israeli society in a period of extreme disunity, and actually led to a burst of brotherhood and cooperation. All parts of the society chipped in, whether in the reserves or in volunteering; whether presenting Israel's case to the world or giving of their money or time; whether praying or crying out.
However, the war has dragged on – prevented from reaching a successful conclusion by our many friends in the international community. While our hostages debilitate in the tunnels of Gaza and IDF soldiers endanger their lives in combat, cracks of disunity have become to emerge. One bitter feature thereof is the blame game, where accusations against everyone from the Prime Minister and his government, down through the military and intelligence establishments, and then to various sectors of society for their role, are furiously censured and denunciated.
And thus, the despairing and sad nation, bewildered by events and its Simba-like self-flagellation, searching for stability and hope, falls like ripe fruit into the blood-stained hands of the Palestinian Authority – which has so generously volunteered, with American encouragement, to take over the yoke of governing Gaza when the war ends.
But we are no longer in the 90's, and we are no longer blind to reality.
Israel's Regavim Association, which works to prevent illegal Arab use of state lands, very recently released a chilling report about top figures in the Palestinian Authority. The names, ranks, and official positions of bona-fide terrorists in the PA's security apparatus are listed. The report leaves no room for mistakes: The official leaders of the PA have nothing but praise for its shahid workers taking part in the violent struggle against Israel and its citizens.
And of course, its "pay for slay" policy – monthly salaries or pensions to terrorists and/or their families – is well-known to everyone in the West, which continues to pretend it doesn't know.
The truth is out in the open: The Palestinian Authority is no different than Hamas. We do not need exploding buses or another version of Oct. 7th to tell us the true murderous intentions of the PA, or to foresee the blood that will be shed if we allow it any part in the future government of Gaza.