The chiefs of the three big parties in Israel – the Likud, the Labor Party and the army – weresitting on the stage. They were frustrated. They knew already that they had not succeeded inselling the great show that they had prepared with so much effort: the capture of a ship loadedwith weapons, commissioned by the despicable Arafat. A heroic action, indeed, a secondEntebbe.
In one respect they did succeed: in showing that the borders between these threepower-centers have disappeared. Their chief could be easily switched – say, Ben-Eliezer tothe Likud, Mofaz to Labor, Sharon to the officers – without causing any change at all. Like theChristian trinity, the three are one – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The capture of the ship was described as a sublime act of courage. The soldiers of an elite unit,using the most advanced technical equipment in the world, overpowered 13 sleepy sailors onthe high seas. That was less dangerous than the job of three Bedouin soldiers in a position nearthe Gaza strip. If General Mofaz needs to tell us that this was equivalent to the Entebbe raid – adaring and sophisticated commando action – it shows that under his command the norms of the IDFhave slipped a lot.
It is clear that the army knew all the movements of the ship. Since when? Good question. From themoment that the weapons were loaded? Already from the moment the project was decided upon?
It is also clear that the information was provided by agents installed close to the action. Butwhere? In the Hizballah headquarters? In Iran? Among the arms merchants? On the ship itself?And if there was a collaborator on the ship, who?
The captain’s behavior is strange, to say the least. He went out of his way to oblige the Israeligovernment. Full cooperation. When did that start? Only when he was captured? Or, perhapslong before that?
The captain was very happy to tell all to the Israeli reporters, the picked darlings of ArmyIntelligence, who played their part in the show. During the evening, I saw the captain on TVthree times. The first time I saw something that was omitted later. At the end of the interview,the captain requested: “Tell my daughter that I am a fighter!” Then he broke into tears and hidhis face between his hands. What caused this outburst? Is he afraid that his daughter mightthink he is a collaborator? A traitor?
The captain said that he had received the merchandize at sea, opposite the Iranian coast, andthat he was to turn it over at sea, opposite the Egyptian coast. If so, how could he possibly knowfor whom the arms were destined? Had he been told? That’s strange, considering that the ownersof the cargo did not confide in him. And if they told him something, how can we know that they toldhim the truth?
The ayatollahs have no interest at all in arming Arafat, a secular leader who they are trying toundermine. But they do have every interest in arming his Islamic opponents – Hizballah, Hamasand Jihad. It is logical to assume that the arms were intended for them.
But how? The short Palestinian coastline in the Gaza Strip is hermetically sealed. TheIsraeli naval blockade is impregnable. Could Gaza fishermen have found the arms beneath thesurface of the sea and dragged them to the shore, under the watchful eyes of the Israeli navy?Sounds pretty ridiculous.
The whole story does not make sense. It smells of improbability. The more so since all thishappened, of course, exactly on time, when Anthony Zinni was due in the country in order toimpose a cease-fire to which Sharon strenuously objects (because it would oblige him tofreeze all settlement activity). Hocus pocus – and here is a new pretext for continuing the waragainst Arafat.
It seems that the American suspected much the same thing. It took a major effort of the Israelipropaganda machine – by far the best in the world – to persuade President Bush to supportSharon’s version. In the end he was almost convinced. Almost.
But let’s assume for a moment that the whole story is true. Let’s assume that Sharon, after adelay of 50 years, is now fulfilling Ben-Gurion’s publicly expressed wish that he, please,stop lying. Let’s assume that Ben-Eliezer, too, has been converted to telling the truth, andthat Mofaz has become a real soldier again. Let’s assume that this was indeed Arafat’s ship.
So what?
Ehud Barak once said that if he had been a young Palestinian, he would have joined a terroristorganization. One could add: If Barak had been the leader of the Palestinian people at thistime, he would have done everything possible to bring in arms, more and more arms.
Like Balaam in the Bible ( Numeri 22 ), Sharon & Co. set out to curse and ended up praising – as faras the Palestinians are concerned. Arafat is sitting in Ramallah, surrounded by Israelitanks, their cannons aimed at the windows of his room from 300 meters away. And what is he doing?Instead of cringing or escaping, he imports modern anti-tank weapons to destroy the tanks (ashis fighters did in 1975 in the alleys of Sidon, when they destroyed a Syrian tank column.)
There are some Palestinian intellectuals, like Edward Said, who have been asserting thatArafat has become a collaborator, a sub-contractor of the IDF and Shin-Bet. Some good people,Palestinians as well as Israelis, have written millions of words about the rampantcorruption of the Palestinian Authority. They have asked again and again: Where does themoney go? Why is there no transparency? How come only Arafat and a tiny group of his confidantsknow about the secret accounts abroad? Now, along comes Mofaz and says: The millions werespent on arms. Soon Mofaz will publish the Palestinian balance sheets, and transparency willcome into its own.
Arafat is interested in a cease-fire, and therefore is making a great effort to enforce it. Atthis point in time, it is in the Palestinian interest. Many Palestinians say, quite rightly,that by breaking the cease-fire, Hamas and Jihad are only serving Sharon.
But Arafat knows full well that Sharon will not accept a cease-fire, and that, if he iscompelled to accept one, he will break it at the first opportunity, in order to continuebuilding settlements. Sooner or later, Mofaz will resume his all-out offensive. Towithstand such an attack Arafat needs arms, a lot of arms. Anti-tank and anti-aircraftweapons, as well as long-range Katyushas for deterrence. The Israeli contention that Arafatis buying exactly these weapons will raise his standing among the Palestinians sky-high andfortify his position as their uncontested leader. Never before has he been more “relevant”.
In the mid-40s, when ships bearing illegal immigrants were plying the seas and had become amajor weapon in our fight against the British government in Palestine, the poet NathanAlterman wrote a song that became a battle-hymn for a whole nation: “Here’s to the cold andsteadfast night, / The night of danger and hardship, / Here’s to the little ships, Captain, / Tothe ships that are on their way!” Perhaps some Palestinian poet is now penning a similar song.
That’s how it looks to the Palestinians. Israelis are, of course, glad that these arms did notreach their destination, wherever that was. But there is no power on earth that can prevent thesmuggling of arms by a people that believes it is fighting for its life, its very existence.Indeed, in our own war of liberation we smuggled arms into the country by all available means,especially during the periods of cease-fire.
No war is one-sided. Sooner or later, the Palestinians will find ways to destroy tanks and downattack helicopters and fighter planes.
It makes sense to make peace before that happens.