On April 25 Egypt celebrated the liberation of Arish town from the Israeli occupation and the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from Sinai.

The event came at a time when Israel’s national security is passing through its second crisis. The crisis is result of Israel’s refusal to implement agreements signed with the Palestinians and its continued stalling on peace talks. The visit by Ariel Sharon to Al-Aqsa Mosque was the spark that ignited the current conflagration.

The first crisis of the Israeli national security was the direct result of the October 1973 war. The war forced Israel to end its occupation of Sinai and made the Israeli leadership to reconsider priorities for the security of the Jewish State.

However, the change introduced by Israel ran counter to the very principles and concepts of peace. The assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the inability of Shimon Perez to continue as prime minister led to a general election that brought the extremist Benjamin Netanyahu to power. Netanyahu put every conceivable obstacle on the path of peace. After him came Ehud Barak who was wrongly described as a moderate. Barak tried to hijack the Palestinian positions by playing on the nerves of then US President, Bill Clinton, who was falling under the influence of the mini-Zionist lobby at the White House. After the outbreak of the second intifada it became evident that the danger threatening Israel’s national security has returned. This led to the formation of a coalition government led by Ariel Sharon which embraced the same old Zionist theory that Israel’s security and survival depended on military force and hegemony and on Israel imposing its peace terms on the Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon.

 This thinking is wrong by all means because the Arabs will not accept the Israeli terms for peace, especially when it comes to Jerusalem.

There has been some optimism that Sharon’s coalition government will work for peace since it included the two largest political parties in the Jewish state in addition to the strongest and most extremist religious groups.

However, the composition of the inner cabinet, security council, is proof that Sharon’s government is made up of war mongers. It has three members from the Likud including some extremists who are the main proponents of the savage attacks against the Palestinian National Authority.

Add to these the prime minister himself whose background as a terrorist is too well known. The inner cabinet also includes three members from the Labor Party in addition to Perez, the foreign minister. Among the three are the general who led the military operations against the intifada and attempts to liquidate its leaders and another who served during the 1973 war as commander of the army special operations.

Out of eight members of the inner cabinet four are military officers three of who are from the Labor and they are the most militant in the party. The civilian members from the Likud are all ultra-extremists. There are three members from Shash religious party, all of whom are notorious terrorists.

This shows that in its present shape, the Israeli security council will never be interested in any peace plans. Its attention is focused on how to wage war and use force to achieve well-defined goals. It is capable of triggering crisis after crisis as exemplified by the current situation in the region. 

The political leadership in Israel would be committing a serious mistake if it chooses to continue its aggressive policy. by now it should have realized that Arabs will never be subdued by force, that resorting to the use of force will have a negative impact on the security of the Israeli citizen who is now living in a state of constant fear — fear of the unknown, the fear of being killed in an explosion.

What happened with Egypt should serve as an eye-opener to Israel. Israel lived in a dream world of its own after occupying Sinai. The picture will not be different with regard to the other occupied territories. Sharon promised peace and security to the Israeli people. They will know neither until and unless the Palestinians enjoy fruits of peace and security.