The Gulf Crisis and New World Order — Page 227
The Gulf Crisis & The New World Order withdraw completely from the Golan Heights or vacate the West Bank of the Jordan River and that, as a result of this negotiated change of heart by Israel, they would be able to bring peace and reconciliation in this region. In my opinion, one thing should be taken as a certainty: Israel would never vacate all the occupied areas of the Golan Heights at any cost. I am also sure that Israel would never give up its control over the West Bank of the Jordan River. On the other hand, all pro-U. S. Arab states would consent to the above arrangements and become a party to the agreement in the manner I have mentioned earlier. The reason is quite obvious: the political damage resulting from the pennanent Jewish control over the West Bank affects only the poor Palestinian Muslims and the residents of East Jordan and not the oil rich Arabs. It is inconceivable that the U. S. would displease the Jews for the sake of poor Palestinians and East Jordanians. The other reason is that there exists a long-standing plan to bring the Jews from outside and settle them in Israel. In fact, this plan has already been implemented to a considerable extent, and pennanent Jewish settlements have been erected. Therefore, even if the U. S. requires so, Israel would never be prepared to give up these occupied areas. THE NATURE OF U. S. - ISRAEL RELATIONS The close ties between Israel and the U. S. clearly indicate that President Bush can never afford to displease Israel. When Iraq fired scud missiles at Israel, President B ush repeatedly phoned the Prime Minister of Israel, pleading with him personally as well as sending his top officials to Tel Aviv, to persuade Israel to refrain from taking spontaneous retaliatory action. This behaviour reflects the nature and degree of their close relationship. A few scud attacks have claimed the lives of only two elderly women and no more than two to three hundreds people are said to have been injured, which stands in no comparison to what the U. S. has brought on the Iraqi people. A few scud missile attacks have been widely publicised by the Western media as gruesome and unilateral acts of aggression by Iraq, but the earlier unprovoked and unjustified bombing and destruction of the Iraqi nuclear plant by Israel does not appear to them as aggression, as if it has been accepted that Israel has the right to commit invasions, overfly other countries and bomb them with impunity. When the 227