In Memory of the 2,000+ victims of Sabra & Chatilla who died when the Zionists set the Fascist Phalange on unarmed and defenceless women and children

The Night that Arik Sharon and the Zionists set the fascist wolves onto Palestinian women and children

Perhaps the most haunting memory I have concerns the visit I made to Lebanon in the summer of 1979 at the invitation of the PLO. We were refused visas by the London Embassy of Lebanon and instead had to travel via Syria across the land border. I was on a delegation from the British Anti-Zionist Organisation.

At that time Lebanon was still in the throes of a civil war. In June 1976, with the United States and Israel having given the green light, Syria invaded Lebanon in order to ensure that the Phalangists and their Maronite allies weren’t defeated by the combined forces of the left in the Lebanese National Movement, which the PLO supported, somewhat reluctantly at first.

The remains of Tel al-Zataar  refugee camp which was destroyed, along with its inhabitants in 1982 after the Phalange besieged it, with the support of Syrias Baathist government

There are still some fools who have illusions in the Syrian Ba’ath Government.  But when the Palestinians and their allies were on the brink of power in Lebanon Syria, with the full blessing of Saudi Arabia and the Arab League, invaded Lebanon to prevent their triumph.

In 1979 there was a vacuum in Lebanon. No group held power. The leftists, Druze, Palestinian, Shi’ite and Murabitoun, the Sunni Nasserist militias held power in West Beirut. The Phalange and Christians occupied East Beirut.

Ariel Sharon, Defence Minister and mass murderer who was personally responsible for the massacre at Sabra and Shatilla.  He was also best friend of Shimon Peres, leader of the Israeli Labour Party

The remains of Tel al-Zataar  refugee camp which was destroyed, along with its inhabitants in 1982 after the Phalange besieged it, with the support of Syrias Baathist government

A member of our delegation and myself decided to visit what remained of the refugee camp Tel al-Zatar in East Beirut. It had been subject to a 3 month siege from June till August when it fell to the fascist forces aided by Syria. Up to 50,000 lived in the refugee camp and an estimated 4,000 Palestinians were massacred by Syria’s ‘Christian’ allies.  To this day thousands of the dead remain unaccounted for.

Our delegation to the PLO in 1979

In order to see what remained of the camp it was necessary to cross the border, a veritable no-man’s land with the Lebanese Army dug in, between West and East Beirut and we had to get 2 taxis as no taxi would cross into hostile territory.  On our way back we were detained by the Lebanese army because we had no visas in our passports.

Beirut synagogue at Wadi Abu Jamil which I visited in 1979 - during Lebanon's civil war it came under siege from Israel's Phalangist friends - it was relieved by troops of the PFLP

We explained to them that we had come to Lebanon at the invitation of the Syrian occupying power, which was technically true! After about an hour or so we were released since the Lebanese army was de facto under the control of the Syrian military.

The remains of Tel al-Zataar  refugee camp which was destroyed, along with its inhabitants in 1982 after the Phalange besieged it, with the support of Syrias Baathist government

Whilst in Beirut we were given tours of the camps including sewing and woodwork workshops. There are a couple of photographs here.  It is a sad and sobering thought that most of those we met would have been butchered just 3 years later because of the utter stupidity of the PLO and Arafat in leaving the camps undefended and taking the word of the Zionists and their American backers to protect the camps. It was criminal irresponsibility not to ensure that if they had to leave, that sufficient arms weren’t left behind to ensure that the camps would remain protected.

children playing in the streets and alleways of the refugee camps - 3 years after this photo was taken most if not all of them would have been slaughtered by Israel's Phalangist allies

On 6^th June Israel invaded Lebanon. The pretext was the attempted assassination of the Israeli Ambassador in London, Shlomo Argov.  In fact the assassination attempt had nothing to do with the PLO and was the work of the Abu Nidal group, which had been expelled by the PLO and which was the creature of Iraq’s Ba’athist government. In any event it was a pretext and Argov himself later condemned the invasion.

The remains of Tel al-Zataar  refugee camp which was destroyed, along with its inhabitants in 1982 after the Phalange besieged it, with the support of Syrias Baathist government

Israel's invasion of Lebanon began June 6, 1982. Following the assassination of the Lebanese President Bashir Gemayel on September 14^th, whom Israel had imposed on Lebanon and who Syria is widely suspected to have assassinated in a car bomb, Israeli troops entered and occupied West Beirut, contrary to all its previous promises.

The remains of Tel al-Zataar  refugee camp which was destroyed, along with its inhabitants in 1982 after the Phalange besieged it, with the support of Syrias Baathist government

A deal was reached between the PLO and Americans whereby the PLO troops left for Tunisia by ship and the US promised to defend and protect the Palestinian refugee camps. Once again the PLO believed American promises although of course their position by then was extremely weak.

The remains of Tel al-Zataar  refugee camp which was destroyed, along with its inhabitants in 1982 after the Phalange besieged it, with the support of Syrias Baathist government

On September 16, 1982, the Phalangists, fascists who were known to harbour a deep hatred for the Palestinians, entered the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in West Beirut. The excuse for allowing the Phalange to enter the camps was that the PLO had left hundreds of ‘terrorists’ behind. The Phalange massacred an estimated 2,000 civilians.

The Israelis fired flares throughout the night to light up the killing fields - thus allowing the militiamen to find their way through the narrow alleys of the camps. The massacre went on for two days. When the massacre had Israel supplied the bulldozers to dig mass graves. Refugees who had escaped to the perimeter of the camp were turned back by the Zionist soldiers.

Israel in the form of its Prime Minister, Menachem Begin tried to excuse their behaviour by blaming it on the ‘Christians’ but it was like putting a rattlesnake in a baby’s cradle. It was inevitable that the Phalange would perpetrate a massacre. 

The remains of Tel al-Zataar  refugee camp which was destroyed, along with its inhabitants in 1982 after the Phalange besieged it, with the support of Syrias Baathist government

Israeli troops surrounded the camps to prevent the refugees from escaping. In Israel a 300,000 demonstration was held to protest the massacre and the government set up the Kahane Commission. In 1983 Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Defense Minister, was held to bear "personal responsibility" for the slaughter. However this was a whitewash.  The decision to invade Lebanon and then Beirut was a collective decision of the Israeli cabinet, not least its Prime Minister Menachem Begin.

Many people thought that Sharon’s career was over but I predicted, and unfortunately I was right, in an article in Tribune, that Sharon would sooner or later come back as Prime Minister. I was right and this most bloodthirsty of monsters came back in time to trigger of the Al Aqsa Intifada.

It is worth reminding ourselves that all the Israeli Zionist parties, from Likud to the ‘leftist’ Mapam and what became Meretz, supported the invasion of Lebanon. Only Israeli anti-Zionists were opposed from the start though, as the Lebanese resistance took its toll, more and more people began to oppose what happened. 

Dov Yermiyah, dissident Israeli Colonel who was dismissed for his criticisms of the Zionists' barbarity

Perhaps the most famous opponent of the war was Dov Yermiya, a reserve Lieutenant Colonel who openly condemned Israel’s bombing of Ain al Hilweh refugee camp.  He said it reminded him of World War II. Because of his open criticisms of the war he was dismissed and he later wrote a War Diary of describing what he had seen. Dov died aged 101 and shortly before his death he announced that he had rejected Zionism. He said of Israel that ‘we have become a nation of savage thugs.’

For further information see Sabra and Shatila:  New Revelations on America’s complicity in what happened.

Below is a personal testimony as to what happened by Dr Alfout Mahmoud.

Two Palestinian women walk past the dead bodies

Continuous Terror

by Dr. Olfat Mahmoud

It was 10 am on Wednesday, September 16, 1982 and I was on duty at Accra Hospital, one of the Palestinian hospitals for Palestinian refugees in Beirut, Lebanon. The Israeli occupation of Lebanon was ongoing and the camps were surrounded by Israeli troops. Throughout the night we had heard stories of terrible things happening in Sabra and Shatila camp just adjacent to us but did not believe them.

“Suddenly we were interrupted by the sound of intense gunfire at the hospital entrance. The foreign nurses urged us all to leave immediately as they were not in danger and could care for the patients. The Lebanese militia were attacking from the position the Israelis had just vacated. Several other nurses and I were on the ground floor. We ran to a window at the back of the hospital, with seconds to spare we clambered out and ran into the garden of a villa behind the hospital. The front gate of the villa was locked; the only way out was over the fence. Once over this, we ran for our lives towards the bridge and then scattered.

We heard that Lebanese militiamen had also killed nurses at Gaza Hospital located inside Sabra and Shatila camp. The foreign nurses and doctors there testified on the Saturday morning, as militiamen were marching them down the camp's main street, they saw hundreds of mainly women and children under guard sitting by a large and recently dug pit. Soon after this, they heard repeated shooting for 10 minutes or more, accompanied by screams and cries.

For two days and nights after the massacre, I slept as if in a coma. I had nightmares filled with the people who'd been slaughtered, all the people I'd known and loved and who were no longer there. When I finally woke up, I found a black cloud of grief and despair had settled around me. Nothing could shift it. It was shot through with flashes of terror that at any moment soldiers would come crashing through the door to kill me and my family. I couldn't bear to listen to the news, and I would cry easily. I just wanted to run away from everything, but my limbs felt too heavy to move. My body was like lead. And my throat was constricted constantly.” *

This is part of my memory of the massacre that took place in the Sabra and Shatila camp in Beirut, Lebanon 38 years ago. Over 2,000 women children and old men were massacred. I can never forget this and nor can all those who witnessed it and were survivors like me.

The tragedy of Sabra and Shatila was and still is a powerful reminder of the occupation of Palestinian land. It is a powerful reminder of the failure of international efforts to find a peaceful settlement to Israeli illegal occupation and to the Palestinian refugees’ endless cycle of displacement. This massacre is only one of the terrible massacres that have affected Palestinians but for me it was and is still an unforgettable traumatic event. Many survivors continue to live in Sabra and Shatila, struggling to make a living and haunted by their memories of the slaughter. To this day, justice has not been served for the war crimes that took place there despite efforts to take this massacre to the International War Crimes Tribunal. It serves as a powerful and tragic reminder of the vulnerability of Palestinians and Palestinian refugees.

On August 4, 2020, the Beirut port suffered from a terrifying and devastating blast that killed over 200 people, made homeless around 300,000 and caused extensive damage to the city. I have been through wars and the massacre but as I heard the shattering of glass, and the movement of the house, I was truly terrified and initially thought that the house was collapsing around me. Just few weeks after that, a new fire erupted in the port. All what happened and is still happening, brought back the painful memories of Sabra and Shatila massacre.

When Sabra and Shatila massacre happened and the killing and slaughter ended, its effects lived on. People were terrified and children would scream whenever they saw the army passing by. Now, after these recent tragic events in Beirut the consequences remain. The sound of breaking glass causes my heart and others to stop with fear. When the fire erupted in the port last week, we all started to open the windows and doors hoping to minimize damage from an expected blast. Many left their houses in terror. Even though we were still under the pressure of widespread cases of COVID-19 and the streets were crowded.

As years pass people in Lebanon, including us Palestinian refugees, continue to witness tragedies that bring back terrifying and tragic memories. I always ask myself, why are innocent people dying because of greed, negligence, corruption, brutality, and lack of humanity? In the face of this ongoing and overwhelming despair my solace comes through my humanitarian work to fight for justice and dignity for Palestinian refugees. I call on people everywhere to fight for justice in whatever way what they can. I have also found strength in prayer and my religious beliefs and so I pray daily for peace and justice for my people and for the other 80 million of refugees and displaced people in the world.

*This is an excerpt from Tears for Tarshiha by Olfat Mahmoud

Even Israel’s Court Arabs are Humiliated and Insulted by the Racists who are Employed at Ben-Gurion Airport

However Servile and Loyal Israel’s Druze Citizens Are  they are Still Arabs and they Cannot Expect Equality with Jews

Ben-Gurion airport is notorious for racial profiling.  If you are an Arab or Black you can expect to be stopped, harassed and abused and sometimes assaulted. It goes with the territory. It's what they call ‘security.’

Israel has always singled out the Druze population for special treatment compared to the rest of Israel’s Arab population. It is part of the colonial divide and rule tactic.  Druze citizens of Israel (not those in the Golan) are drafted to serve in the army and receive extra benefits and privileges because of this.

That is why it came as a rude shock to them when Netanyahu pushed through the Jewish Nation State Law last year which made it clear that however ‘loyal’ they were, Israel was a state of the Jewish people not its non-Jewish citizens even if they are the worst collaborators.

Being collaborators and court Arabs made no difference.  The simple fact is that however loyal to the state the Druze are, and many are members of Zionist organisations and parties, they are still not part of the master race.

At the April 2019 elections this meant that instead of the Druze voting for Likud and even further right-Zionist parties, they voted in large numbers for Meretz, the left-Zionist party.  Without this support Meretz would not have had representatives in the Knesset.

Ben Gurion Airport

Obviously this was not a situation that could continue. No Zionist party can expect to rely on non-Jewish votes to remain politically viable so Meretz merged into the Democratic Camp with right-wing former Labour Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Druze votes transferred to the Blue and White party and I suspect the Joint List.

There has been a radicalisation in recent years in the Druze community as it has become more and more evident that Zionism does not have a place for them.

Ayub Kara, a very right-wing Druze member of the Likud party, fell out with Netanyahu and in the recent elections failed to gain a seat in the Knesset.

Passport Control

The experiences of Reda Mansour, Israel’s Ambassador to Panama, speak volumes about the contempt and disdain that Israel has for its Arab collaborators.  He was treated in the same way as any Arab would be at Ben-Gurion airport. 

However it is his own fault and one should not have sympathy for him. He has to understand, as the spokesperson for the airport made clear, that it is very difficult for the authorities at Ben-Gurion airport to distinguish between collaborators and people with principle.

Although it would be helpful if collaborators carried the Mark of Cain, unfortunately the Lord is no longer willing to oblige. In any case, most of those who carry out security work at the Airport are of the view that all Arabs are the same and that the only good Arab is a dead Arab.  Not being politically sophisticated Zionist liberals, they make no distinction between the corrupt and servile and leftist activists!

One can see and understand Reda Mansour’s pain and anger and indeed sympathise.  As he says, the town he comes from

‘Isfiya is not a town in the [Palestinian] territories, but a home to the main military cemetery for fallen Druze soldiers who died during their service in the Israel Defense Forces."

What can be more insulting than to treat him as if he was just another Arab living under Occupation or, even worse, as a Palestinian.

The reaction of the Israeli Airport Authority’s spokesman, Ofer Lefler, is priceless.  It is difficult to understand those who accuse security bureaucrats of not having a sense of humour. She said that the reason for the harassment is that ‘the security guard is doing everything she can to protect her and the State of Israel."

The good Ambassador should know that harassment of Arabs is clearly integral to if not essential to the security of the Jewish state. Even more amusing is Lefler’s statement that ‘security checks are performed “regardless of religion, race or gender and equitably.” ‘

Racial profiling at Israel’s Ben-Gurion airport, not just of Arabs but Black people is legendary. One must take one’s hat off to an official spokesman with such a droll sense of humour laced with a biting sense of irony.

Mansour is of course used by Israel to show that even Arabs can become Ambassadors. Of course he is Ambassador to the non-state of Panama, which is kind of an extension to the United States. It is really Trump’s side office and so although, for purposes of diplomatic niceties Mansour is called an Ambassador in reality he is little more than an errand boy to Israel’s US Ambassador Ron Dermer. Britain has an Ambassador (& even a Deputy Ambassador who I once knew!!) to the Vatican but no one pretends that this is the most sought after diplomatic post.

Tony Greenstein

Israeli Ambassador to Panama accuses Ben Gurion Airport of racial profiling

i24NEWS

August 03, 2019, 5:28 PM - latest revision August 14, 2019, 12:29 PM

“Thirty years of humiliation and you still haven't finished,” Mansour lamented in a Facebook post

Israel's Ambassador to Panama lashed out at Ben Gurion Airport security via social media on Saturday after he and his family were abruptly stopped for questioning.

Dr. Reda Mansour, a Druze diplomat who has been working for Israel's Foreign Ministry for decades, uploaded a lengthy Facebook post recalling his latest experience including “thirty years of humiliation” suffered at the transportation hub.   

Mansour claims that airport security officials began questioning him outside the entrance of the building after over hearing he and his group were from Isfiya, a Druze-majority village located in northern Israel near Haifa. 

Mansour said that one security official began barking out demands to see their passports and travel destination before letting them onto the premises. 

After security had let them through, Mansour recalled the conversation he had with his daughter walking to their terminal, who complained that “It's so upsetting to see how (the security guard) talked to you while you were smiling the whole time and politely replying to her!”

Mansur wrote that he finally began going over the incident while he and his family were traveling through the air.

"During the night, I thought to myself while on the plane: Go to hell Ben Gurion Airport. 30 years of humiliation and you are still not done. In the past, you would beat us at the terminal, today you've progressed to treating us as suspects at the checkpoint at the entrance [to the airport]."

“Thirty years of humiliation and you still haven't finished," he continued. "Isfiya is not a town in the [Palestinian] territories, but a home to the main military cemetery for fallen Druze soldiers who died during their service in the Israel Defense Forces."

Mansour concluded his post by stating: "I advise that that you take your security guards and those in charge of their training to visit this cemetery and teach them about self-sacrifice and respect. Until then, I have only this to tell you: You make me sick."

In response to Mansour’s Facebook post, Israel Airports Authority spokesman Ofer Lefler said in a statement that security checks are performed “regardless of religion, race or gender and equitably.”

"When we encounter more than 25 million passengers a year, there will be those who'll choose to be offended by a security guard who is merely doing her job. Even before an inquiry had been launched and only from reading the Facebook post, [I can say] there is nothing wrong with the security guard's conduct."

"My best friends, as well as your friends and relatives are buried in military cemeteries. I suggest that the respectable ambassador tell his daughter that the security guard is doing everything she can to protect her and the State of Israel," Lefler added.

Israeli Diplomat Says Humiliated by Racial Profiling at Ben-Gurion Airport: 'Makes Me Sick'

Ambassador Reda Mansour, a Druze, says he and his family were treated as suspects upon arrival at Tel Aviv airport.  Spokesman says 'nothing wrong,' arguing he 'chose to be offended'  Foreign minister 'won't let it happen again'

Noa Landau

Aug 04, 2019 6:46 PM

Israel's Ambassador to Panama Reda Mansour, who is Druze, harshly criticized on Saturday the treatment he and his family received during an inspection at Ben-Gurion Airport, saying they were humiliated and treated as suspects by security guards.

Mansour described the incident in a Facebook post, claiming he was asked to pull over and wait as he arrived at a checkpoint at the airport entrance, after the security guards were told he and his family came from the Druze-majority village of Isfiya.  

Israeli Ambassador to Panama Reda Mansour.Mfclemos

"During the night, I thought to myself while on the plane: Go to hell Ben-Gurion Airport. 30 years of humiliation and you are still not done. In the past, you would beat us at the terminal, today you've progressed to treating us as suspects at the checkpoint at the entrance [to the airport]," Mansour wrote.

He added that "Isfiya is not a town in the [Palestinian] territories, but a home to the main military cemetery for fallen Druze soldiers who died during their service in the Israel Defense Forces.

"I advise that that you take your security guards and those in charge of their training to visit this cemetery and teach them about self-sacrifice and respect. Until then, I have only this to tell you: You make me sick."

The Israel Airports Authority spokesman was the only official to respond to Mansour's claims the same day, saying "the security inspection at Ben-Gurion Airport is carried out regardless of race, religion, and sex. When one meets more than 25 million passengers a year, there will be those who'll choose to be offended by a security guard who is merely doing her job. Even before an inquiry had been launched and only from reading the Facebook post, [I can say] there is nothing wrong with the security guard's conduct."

"My best friends, as well as your friends and relatives are buried in military cemeteries. I suggest that the respectable ambassador tell his daughter that the security guard is doing everything she can to protect her and the State of Israel," Lefler added.

Mansour, who was born in Isfiya, is an Israeli diplomat and poet. He held a number of senior posts in the Foreign Ministry in addition to publishing poems and prose.

Most Druze men in Israel join the Israeli army, and the community as a whole has traditionally set itself apart from the general Arab public in its alliance with the state. However, the Druze minority in Israel is still discriminated against in many ways.

Some Israeli lawmakers also commented on the accusations of racial profiling on Saturday and a groupd of Foreign Ministry retirees expressed their solidarity with Mansour in a letter published Sunday, but it was only later on Sunday that the Foreign Ministry, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin released any statements about the incident.

Netanyahu said only he spoke with the ambassador after the incident, adding in a statement that he has "great appreciation for the way he represents the State of Israel in Panama."

"The Druze community is dear to our hearts and we would continue to act in every way to strengthen the brotherly bond with them," Netanyahu added.

The Foreign Ministry released a statement saying it "would examine the incident, in coordination with Israel Airport Authority and Ambassador Mansour.

"We believe that the main encounter that takes place between public servants, including those who are in charge of security, and visitors departing Israel or arriving in the country must be carried out with professionalism while maintaining mutual respect," the statement read.

Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz added that he was sorry for the incident. "I cherish the work you have done, hug you and your family and the entire Druze community," he said in a statement.

"I will act to make sure cases like this will not happen again," Katz added.

Foreign Ministry retirees wrote a letter supporting Mansour. "Dear Reda, we've decided to write to you personally and express our sorrow for the experience you endured," the letter read.

"We were appalled by the treatment you, your daughter and the rest of your family received during the security inspection at Ben Gurion Airport as well as the condescending statement issued by the Israel Airport Authority spokesperson following the incident, which ignored your feelings.

"Throughout the years, we've seen you invest your heart and soul in the representation of the State of Israel in the world. You are an excellent ambassador and a pride to all of us. Please express our support to your daughter and the rest of your family.

"We are convinced that our friends at the Foreign Ministry will later find the way to show you their support," the letter said.

Rivlin: 'What matters is that you felt hurt'

President Rivlin said Sunday that although he was confident a serious investigation was underway, "what matters is what you feel, and if you felt so hurt, then we have to give it due consideration."

Saluting Mansour's diplomatic work, Rivlin also had a special thought for the relationship between Jews and Druze in Israel. "The alliance between us and the Druze is an alliance built in life, not just in death. We need to make sure we keep building it every day, every hour, and not just in times of crisis and battle," the president said.

On Saturday, Meretz chairman Nitzan Horowitz said in a statement that "Ambassador Mansour is not alone. The Netanyahu regime brands first and second-class citizens."

Meretz lawmaker Mossi Raz added that "the arbitrary [security] inspections at Ben-Gurion Airport are the best Hasbara campaign for those opposing Israel in the world," while fellow party member Tamar Zandberg said "the racist profiling at the airport must stop. It has nothing to do with security."

Israel & Saudi Arabia Seek the Partition of Syria

Good friends - Israel's Defence Minister Moshe Ya'alon and Prince Turki al-Faisal, former ambassador to the US and the former head of Saudi's intelligence agency

An interesting article in YNet – the on-line version of Israel’s most popular newspaper, Yediot Aharanot, is copied below.

Israel is pushing, with its Turkish and Saudi partners, for the partition of Syria into its confessional components – Sunni, Alawite, Druze and Kurd.  It serves Israel’s  purposes to fragment Syria, the better to control her and to conquer more territory in the future.

Pinhas Lavon, Israel's Defence Minister & Chief of Staff (later Defence & Foreign Minister) Moshe Dayan

I have copied below extensive tracts from Livia Rokach’s Israel’s Sacred Terrorism, which contain extracts from the Diaries of Moshe Sharrett, Israel’s second Prime Minister.  Sharrett, who was felled in 1955 by a combination of the Kasztner trial and the come back of Israel’s first Prime Minister and hawk, David Ben-Gurion, found himself surrounded with plots by his subordinate ministers and the Chief of Staff, Moshe Dayan, to conquer more territory and interfere in the neighbouring countries in order to for example control the water sources that Israel required.

David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first Prime Minister and architect of Expansion and the Expulsion of Palestinians in 1948

The Diaries demolish the myth that is sustained in the West to this day, that Israel was a state looking for peace surrounded by war mongering Arab states.  On the contrary Israel’s leaders looked continually for pretexts for war and sought, through terrorist operations in states like Egypt, where Zionist agents planted bombs and created the appearance of destabilisation, to deliberately manipulate the truth.  The operation in Egypt became known as the Security Mishap or the Lavon Affair, after the Defence Minister who initiated it.  Israel, engaging in the usual hasbara, portrayed itself as the victim in situations where it was the aggressor.

Moshe Sharrett - Israel's second Prime Minister and its only dove

Below we see the attempts to take advantage of the situation in Syria following the fall of its leader Shishlaky.  So the Defence Minister, Lavon, urged an invasion of Syria because he alleged Iraq had ‘practically moved into Syria’.  In fact it had done nothing whatsoever.

What Israel is doing today is to fulfill the dreams of Ben-Gurion, Lavon and Dayan.

Moshe Sharrett and David Ben Gurion -  Israel's first and second  Prime Ministers

Livia Rokach – Israel’s Sacred Terrorism

Chapter 4      "A Historical Opportunity" to Occupy Southern Syria

Pinhas Lavon - Israeli Defence Minister responsible for terrorism in Egypt and Iraq - deposed by Ben Gurion

On January 31, 1954 Moshe Dayan went on to outline his warplans. Sharett's note for that day continues:

The second plan-action against the interference of the Syrians with our fishing in the Lake of Tiberias. . . .The third-if, due to internal problems in Syria, Iraq invades that country we should advance [militarily, into Syria] and realize a series of "faits accomplis." . . . The interesting conclusion to be drawn from all this regards the direction in which the new Chief of Staff is thinking. I am extremely worried. (31 January 1954, 332)

On February 25, 1954, Syrian troops stationed in Aleppo revolted against Adib Shishakly's regime. After lunch Lavon took me aside and started trying to persuade me: This is the right moment to act this is the time to move forward and occupy the Syrian border positions beyond the Demilitarized Zone. Syria is disintegrating. A State with whom we signed an armistice agreement exists no more. Its government is about to fall and there is no other power in view. Moreover, Iraq has practically moved into Syria. This is an historical opportunity, we shouldn't miss it.

… I asked if he suggests to act immediately and I was shocked when I realized that he does. I said that if indeed Iraq will move into Syria with its army it will be a revolutionary turn which will ... justify far reaching conclusions, but for the time being this is only a danger, not a fact. … He repeated that time was precious and we must act so as not to miss an opportunity which otherwise might be lost forever. Again I answered that under the circumstances right now I cannot approve any such action. … I saw that he was extremely displeased by the delay. However, he had no choice but to agree. (25 February 1954, 374)

The next day the Shishakly regime actually fell. The following day, February 27, Sharett was present at a meeting where Lavon and Dayan reported to Ben Gurion that what happened in Syria was - "a typical Iraqi action." The two proposed again that the Israeli army be put on the march. Ben Gurion, "electrified," agreed. Sharett reiterated his opposition, pointing to the certainty of a Security Council condemnation… The three objected that "our entrance [into Syria] is justified in view of the situation in Syria. This is an act of defense of our border area." Sharett closed the discussion by insisting on the need for further discussion in the cabinet meeting, scheduled for the next morning:

Shimon Peres - Labour Prime Minister and later President - Ben Gurion protegy and famous for plotting against all and sundry - Trusted by no-one - responsible for developing Israel's nuclear weapon

Lavon's face wore a depressed expression. He understood this to be the end of the matter. (27 February 1954, 377)  

On Sunday, February 28, the press reported that no Iraqi troops had entered Syria. The situation in Damascus was under the complete control of President Hashem Al Atassi. The cabinet approved Sharett's position and rejected Lavon's vehement appeal not to miss a historical opportunity. Lavon said "The U.S. is about to betray us and ally itself with the Arab world." We should "demonstrate our strength and indicate to the U.S. that our life depends on this so that they will not dare do anything against us." The premier's victory, however, was to be short-lived….  

On December 12, 1954, however, a Syrian civilian plane was hijacked by Israeli war planes shortly after its takeoff, and forced to land at Lydda airport. Passengers and crew were detained and interrogated for two days, until stormy international protests forced the Israelis to release them. Furious, Sharett wrote to Lavon on December 22:  

It must be clear to you that we had no justification whatsoever to seize the plane, and that once forced down we should have immediately released it and not held the passengers under interrogation for 48 hours. I have no reason to doubt the truth of the factual affirmation of the U.S. State Department that our action was without precedent in the history of international practice. ..... What shocks and worries me is the narrow-mindedness and the shortsightedness of our military leaders. They seem to presume that the State of Israel may or even must-behave in the realm of international relations according to the laws of the jungle. (22 December 1954, 607)  

Sharett also protested to Lavon against the scandalous press campaign, which he suspected was inspired by the security establishment and which was aimed at convincing public opinion that the Syrian plane was stopped and forced down because it violated Israeli sovereignty and perhaps endangered its security. "As a result, the public does not understand why such a plane was released and naturally it concludes that we have here an unjustified concession on the part of the government" - (ibid.)  

On December 11 five Israeli soldiers were captured inside Syrian territory while mounting wiretapping installations on the Syrian telephone network. A month later, on January 13, 1955, one of them committed suicide in prison. The official Israeli version is, once again, that the five had been abducted in Israeli territory, taken to Syria, and tortured. The result was a violent emotional upsurge in Israel, all the more so as this news arrived shortly after the condemnation in Cairo of members of an Israeli terrorist ring which had been described to public opinion as an anti-Jewish frame-up. The prime minister confided to his personal diary:  

A young boy has been sacrificed for nothing.... Now they will say that his blood is on my hands. If I hadn't ordered the release of the Syrian plane [we would have had our hostages and] the Syrians could have been forced to free the five. The boy . . . would have been alive ... our soldiers have not been kidnapped in Israeli territory by Syrian invaders as the army spokesman announced .... They penetrated into Syria and not accidentally but in order to take care of a wiretapping installation, connected to a Syrian telephone line ... I have no doubt that the press and the Knesset will cry about torture. On the other hand, it is possible that the boy committed suicide because he broke down during the interrogation and only later he understood what a disaster he has brought upon his comrades and what he did to the state. … Anyway, his conscience probably caused him to take this terrible step. (3 January 1955, 649)  

….It is clear that Dayan's intention ... is to get [Syrian] hostages in order to obtain the release of our prisoners in Damascus. He put it into his head that it is necessary to take hostages, and would not let go. (10 February 1955, 714)  

CHAPTER 7 The Lavon Affair: Terrorism to Coerce the West

To Aharon Barkatt, then secretary general of Mapai, Sharett painted the following picture of Israel's security establishment:

Dayan was ready to hijack planes and kidnap [Arab] officers from trains, but he was shocked by Lavon's suggestion about the Gaza Strip. Maklef [who preceded Dayan as Chief of Staff] demanded a free hand to murder Shishakly but he was shaken when Lavon gave him a crazy order concerning the Syrian DMZ. (25 January 1955, 682)

He [Lavon] inspired and cultivated the negative adventuristic trend in the army

and preached the doctrine that not the Arab countries but the Western Powers

are the enemy, and the only way to deter them from their plots is through direct actions that will terrorize them. (26 January 1955, 685)

Peres shares the same ideology: he wants to frighten the West into supporting Israel's aims.

APPENDIX 5 Israeli Newspaper Reveals Government's Attempt to Stop Publication of Israel's Sacred Terrorism

1.Retaliation activities Quotations from Sharett show that these activities were never carried out in revenge or retaliation, as the were presented to be, but that they were the product of the premeditated policies of David Ben Gurion and Moshe Dayan. These policies aimed at heating the borders, as a preparation for war, and as a pretext to vacate and disperse Palestinian refugees who lived in camps close to the borders. Quotations from Sharett's book also reveal that President Yitzhak Ben Zvi hoped for an Egyptian attack to justify lsrael's occupation of half of Sinai. Sharett reveals, furthermore, that the incidents on the Syrian border were also a result of an Israeli initiative. Sharett details at length the reasons behind the blood-bath committed by the 101 unit, under the command of Arik Sharon, in the village of Kibya, where fifty-six innocent Arab villagers were killed. He also recites how the government decided to publish a false communique, in which this event was portrayed as a partisan action carried out by civilian "settlers."

2.The plan for the occupation of Southern Syria Sharett reveals that Ben Gurion, Dayan and Pinhas Lavon requested in February 1954 to exploit the toppling of the Syrian dictator, Adib Shishakly, by occupying southern Syria and annexing it to Israel. They also requested to buy a Syrian officer who would acquire power in Damascus and establish a pro-Israel puppet government. These things seem more actual today in light of the deteriorating position of Hafez al-Assad and Israeli declarations in this regard.

3.The intention to partition Lebanon Sharett reveals that already in February 1954 Ben Gurion proposed a large Israeli operation to dismember the Lebanese state and to establish a Maronite-Christian state in one of its parts. Extended discussions were held as a result. Ben Gurion explicated the plan at length in a letter to Sharett, and Sharett answered in a long letter in which he opposed the plan vehemently, Ben Gurion was ready to invest large sums in bribing Christian leaders in Lebanon. Sharett also revealed that the chief of staff supported the plan of buying a Lebanese army officer who would be used as a puppet, and who would make it seem that the intervention of the Israeli army would be in response to his call for the liberation of Lebanon from Muslim subjugation. In the eyes of today's reader this plan seems an accurate blueprint for what took place in Lebanon after that- the civil war, the establishment of the Maronite enclave of Major Sa'd Haddad and labeling it "free Lebanon."

5. See Ha'aretz of' 29 June 1979, commenting on a recent wave of terrorist actions in Syria attributed to the Muslim Brothers: "If Syria assumes its Sunni character again, as it was prior to the rise of the Ba'ath and the Alawites to power, new and varied opportunities may open up to Israel, Lebanon and the whole Middle Fast. In view of such a possibility, Israel must keep vigilant and alert: It must not an opportunity which might be unrepeatable". A quarter of a century later, The same formula is being used. In general, a close refilling of the Israeli press through 1979 suggests that Israel is again deploying efforts in various directions to bring about the fall[ of Assad's regime, and to install a Damascus regime which would go along with Israeli policies. "Israel is aiming at installing a Sadat in Damascus," one Israeli political figure told us in September 1979.

Israel skeptical of Syria ceasefire, eyes partition

Israeli officials at Munich conference: Unrealistic to believe Syria can become united anew, partition 'only possible solution'.

Reuters

Published: 02.14.16, 12:29 / Israel News

Israel voiced doubt on Sunday that an international ceasefire plan for Syria would succeed, suggesting a sectarian partition of the country was inevitable and perhaps preferable. [to whom?!]

While formally neutral on the five-year civil war racking its neighbor, Israel has some sway among the world powers that have mounted armed interventions and which on Friday agreed on a "cessation of hostilities" to begin within a week.

Ruins in Homs, Syria, seen from a Russian drone

The deal, clinched at a Munich security conference, is already beset by recriminations between Russia, which backs Syrian President Bashar Assad militarily and wants to see his rule restored, and Western powers that have called for change in Damascus involving select opposition groups.

Addressing the conference after he met European counterparts and Jordan's King Abdullah, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said he was "very pessimistic" about the truce's prospects.

"Unfortunately we are going to face chronic instability for a very, very long period of time," he said. 

"And part of any grand strategy is to avoid the past, saying we are going to unify Syria. We know how to make an omelette from an egg. I don't know how to make an egg from an omelette."

Referring to some of the warring sects, Ya'alon added: "We should realize that we are going to see enclaves - 'Alawistan', 'Syrian Kurdistan', 'Syrian Druzistan'. They might cooperate or fight each other."

Damascus (Photo: AFP)

Ram Ben-Barak, director-general of Israel's Intelligence Ministry, described partition as "the only possible solution."

"I think that ultimately Syria should be turned into regions, under the control of whoever is there," he told Army Radio, arguing that Assad's minority Alawite sect had no way to heal its schism with the Sunni Muslim majority.

"I can't see how a situation can be reached where those same 12 percent Alawites go back to ruling the Sunnis, of whom they killed half a million people there. Listen, that's crazy."

Helped by Russian firepower, Syrian government forces and their allies have been encircling rebel-held areas of Aleppo. That would give Assad effective control of western Syria, Ben-Barak said, although much of the east is dominated by Islamic State insurgents.

An Assad victory in Aleppo, Ben-Barak said, "will not solve the problem, because the battles will continue. You have ISIS there and the rebels will not lay down their weapons."

While sharing foreign concerns about Islamic State advances, Israel worries that the common threat from the insurgents has created a de-facto axis between world powers and its arch-foe Iran, which also has troops helping Assad.

"As long as Iran is in Syria, the country will not return to what it was, and it will certainly find it difficult to become stable as a country that is divided into enclaves, because the Sunni forces there will not allow this," Ya'alon said in an earlier statement.

At the conference, Ya'alon also met with Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former ambassador to the US and the former head of Saudi's intelligence agency, and the two shook hands.

Ya'alon said that Israel had channels of communications with neighboring Sunni Arab countries [i.e. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf statelets]. "Not only Jordan and Egypt. I speak about the Gulf states and North African states too ... For them, Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood are the enemy. They are not shaking hands (with Israelis) in public, but we meet in closed rooms."