Iranian storm hits Palestine
Posted on 8/20/2006
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times

THE Iranian storm, which destroyed Lebanon and killed hundreds of innocent Lebanese, is on its way to Palestine preparing the stage to complete its mission by eliminating the Palestinian Authority. Acting under the instructions of Tehran, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismael Haniya has started paving the way for the storm to impact the Palestinian Authority by refusing to form a national unity government until Israeli forces release abducted deputies, ministers and the Palestinian Legislative Council’s President, all of whom are members of Hamas.

Prime Minister Haniya has set these impossible conditions to weaken the National Authority and its leader. This will be considered one more victory for Iran, which is trying to strengthen its position in its confrontation with the international community and the United States over its nuclear program, at the expense of innocent Palestinians.

Such impossible demands cannot and should not be presented to leader of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas because he is not the one who kidnapped and jailed the Palestinian MPs and ministers. Those Palestinians were captured and jailed by Israeli forces and Mahmoud Abbas doesn’t have the authority to release them.

Haniya shouldn’t link these conditions to the formation of a national unity government. However, the Palestinian Prime Minister is creating problems under instructions from Tehran and Damascus, which are trying to form two governments, one to rule Palestine and the other for resistance. This will snuff out the Palestinians’ dream of establishing an independent political state.

The Palestinian resistance government suggested by Tehran and Damascus will be a duplicate of Hezbollah, which is responsible for the devastation of Lebanon and the sufferings of its people. While Hezbollah says it will pay $12,000 each to the victims of Israeli aggression, Iran has pledged to compensate Lebanon’s losses, estimated at $10 billion, by paying a mere $150 million.

It is unfortunate that men like Hassan Nasrallah and Ismael Haniya have been vested with the authority which they cannot handle. We cannot expect Nasrallah or Haniya to develop, secure or make their countries prosper as long as they continue to serve Iran’s interests.

Meanwhile, following the issuance of UN Resolution 1701 the Lebanese government has started deploying its armed forces at the northern and eastern borders with Syria to prevent infiltration and smuggling weapons. The Lebanese army, which has not been sent to southern Lebanon for over 40 years, must be aware of the feelings of the Lebanese, who are looking forward to independence and freedom.

We hope Haniya is watching how the people of Lebanon are welcoming their army’s return to the south. As long as Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad remain loyal to foreign countries and serve their interests, these organizations can never achieve any progress in building their own country.

e-mail: ahmedjarallah@hotmail.com