‘The election of Netanyahu is the best thing for the Palestinian people':An audience w/ K. al-Batsh

[Jefferson23]

Full title:‘The election of Netanyahu is the best thing for the Palestinian people': An audience with Khaled al-Batsh the leader of Islamic Jihad


KIM SENGUPTA Author Biography
Tuesday 24 March 2015

The four-storey sand-coloured building where the political chief of Islamic Jihad in Gaza has his headquarters is surrounded by evidence of the war and siege the territory has endured.

Homes and businesses have been shattered by Israeli air strikes, some collapsing into the street, while many of those still standing are pockmarked by shrapnel, their shattered windows patched up with plastic sheets.

Yet, sitting in his sparsely furnished office, Khaled al-Batsh declared yesterday: “The election of Benjamin Netanyahu has been the best outcome for the Palestinian people. It means there is no confusion. We are seeing the true face of Israel, a face that does not want peace, and we know at least what to expect.”

The alternative election outcome, a victory for the centre-left coalition of Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni – which would have suited the Obama administration and many European governments – would have sent false signals, said Mr Batsh in an interview with The Independent. “They would have made noises about agreements and kissed Abu Mazen [the Palestinian President also known as Mahmoud Abbas], yet they are no different from Netanyahu. Their Labour Party has started many wars.”


Mr Batsh is a key ideologue for the Iranian-backed organisation that has its main office in Damascus, reaches across the Middle East and is considered a terrorist group by the US and European governments. Islamic Jihad refuses to recognise Israel and its core aim is the creation of a Palestine stretching throughout the territory that was partitioned to form Israel in 1948.

in full: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-election-of-netanyahu-is-the-best-thing-for-the-palestinian-people-an-audience-with-khaled-albatsh-the-leader-of-islamic-jihad-10131398.html

[guillaumeb]

1. or the best thing for Islamic Jihad?

And are the two things identical in the eyes of Khaled al-Batsh? Will some uncritical supporters of Israel use this statement to attempt to "prove" that the Palestinians are not willing to negotiate?

When I read:
"Mr Batsh is a key ideologue for the Iranian-backed organisation that has its main office in Damascus, reaches across the Middle East and is considered a terrorist group by the US and European governments. Islamic Jihad refuses to recognise Israel and its core aim is the creation of a Palestine stretching throughout the territory that was partitioned to form Israel in 1948."

I read that Khaled al-Batsh represents a group that explicitly refuses to recognize Israel as a legitimate state. When I listen to Benjamin Netanyahu I hear a man who has explicitly rejected the legitimacy of a Palestinian state. While there is equivalence in outlook here, the difference is that al-Batsh does not speak for the Palestinian people and Netanyahu is the Prime Minister of Israel.

[Jefferson23]

4. They're in a better position unified, if they were. If they saw the reality of a deal that

involved a viable state, I doubt they would not be behind that and you're right, he
does not speak for the Palestinians..that is Abbas. But Abbas is responsible for
a lot of corruption and at 80 years old, not sure what he will do to set this right,
if he can, at all.

[BillZBubb]

2. The sad thing is he might be almost right.

Netanyahu's win certainly showed the West the real face of Israel, not the phony one that has been projected here. Israel doesn't want peace unless it is totally on their terms alone and the result of a complete Palestinian surrender. Netanyahu's win made that clear.

Was that the best thing for Palestinians? Not unless the West, and America in particular, vastly change the way they deal with Israel. The odds of that happening aren't good.

[Jefferson23]

3. Yes, the outlook is bleak and their approach is not a united front in the grander sense where

they mobilize every Palestinian, collectively, in civil disobedience...one voice. It is a fractured system
yet he is correct, there would be no change regarding the land swaps, one only needs
to read what Herzog has said on the issue. The mutually agreed part is bullshit, what they
mean is, how much strong arming they can get Abbas to agree to, despite those decisions
may very well translate to them ending up with a non viable state as a result. With a Herzog
win it would look good for appearances, but that is about all it would have accomplished.
Livni is on the record via the Palestine Papers that although she is a lawyer, she rejects the
law, especially international law.