Influential Israeli National Defense & Security Group and Israeli Professor School Blinken on 'Day After' in Gaza

'Green Prince' Gives His Take on Hamas

Illustration: PeterHermesFurian

Key Points:

·       Blinken is a political animal.

·       Israel Defense & Security Forum pens letter to White House.

·       Prominent professor promotes “Emirates Solution” for Gaza.

·       Green Prince gives insider-look at Hamas.

·       Israel won’t yield in opposition to two-state proposals.

In the wee hours of February 24, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released his plan – perhaps better described as a listing of principles – for what he wants after the Israel Defense Forces completely annihilate Hamas in terms of armed terrorists, its leadership and the Hamas infrastructure in Gaza.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who some describe as a political operative dressed in diplomatic regalia, was quick to put the kibosh on Netanyahu’s rejection of an independent Palestinian state and his plan to begin ceding some power in Gaza to “local officials.”

Meanwhile, the incessant calls in the U.S. and Europe for a two-state solution deserve to be unequivocally consigned to the repository of bad ideas – at least in the eyes of a major and growing Israeli grass-roots national security movement, a prominent Israeli scholar and a much-heralded Palestinian man known as the Green Prince.

Blinken’s One-Track Thinking

Over the years, Antony Blinken has been touted as a key architect of President Biden’s foreign policy. His career as a foreign policy guru hit high gear in 2002 when he served as Biden’s top aide on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee which was chaired by Biden. At that time, Blinken’s extensive foreign affairs expertise must have come from his undergraduate studies at Harvard, his time at Columbia Law School and a stint at the National Security Council (possibly courtesy of the political status of an uncle).

According to an October 20, 2021, New York Times article, Blinken “helped craft Mr. Biden’s proposal in the Senate to create three autonomous regions [Shiastan, Sunnistan and Kurdistan] in Iraq, partitioned by ethnic or sectarian identity, which was widely rejected, including by the country’s prime minister at the time” The plan actually made it into the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008.

Since Blinken had once been a strong advocate of creating three “Stans” in Iraq, why then would he not take a serious look at a proposal to have post-Hamas Gaza governed on the model of five self-governing “emirates” based on clans?   

IDSF Gains Netanyahu’s Ear

Israel’s Defense & Security Forum is a growing 20,000 plus member grassroots movement, with no ties to any political party, which features a hefty listing of retired and reserve senior military, intelligence and security officers. Its ranks are continuing to swell in the aftermath of the October 7 bloodbath.

On February 19, in response to a proliferation of calls from prominent former American officials, mainstream news media and Deep State operatives for a two-state solution to the Israel-Arab conflict, the IDSF fired off a letter to Biden. It did not beat around the bush.

“The establishment of a Palestinian state as proposed, is a direct threat to the existence of the State of Israel,” the IDAF letter stated. “The recognition of a Palestinian state in the immediate aftermath of the October 7^th massacre will be interpreted by Hamas, global terrorist organizations, Iran and other rogue states as a reward for violence, and will encourage them to view terrorism as an effective mechanism to achieve political goals.”

The letter explained how the Palestinian Authority, “by its own actions, statements, and orientation” remains a threat to Israel in numerous ways, including:

·       Its continued policy of “Pay to Slay,” doling out $370 million annually to acknowledged terrorists, despite the Taylor Force Act. This law, named in memory of a touring U.S. military veteran murdered by a Palestinian terrorist while strolling of the Tel Aviv beachfront promenade, makes certain foreign assistance for the Palestinian Authority (PA) dependent on certifications by the Secretary of State that the PA has ended payments to individuals who commit terrorist acts against Israeli and U.S. citizens and taken other steps to reduce violence.     

·       The PA has refused to condemn the October 7^th attack and will be paying out some $2.7 million monthly to the perpetrators of the massacre.

·       The PA supports terrorism. Under its watch, “if not with its active support,” the PA has not acknowledged there have been more than 3,000 terrorists arrested by the IDF who operated under its nose as well as the creation of an “immense military infrastructure” for the purpose of attacking Israel.

·       The PA has declared that it considers Hamas, which would likely prevail in any future elections, a legitimate organization that is worthy of taking part in the Palestinian political arena and conceivably rule a Palestinian state.

The IDSF, due to the participation of an impressive number of senior military officers and top-level intelligence and security officials, as well as its nonpartisan activities, has earned the attention of Netanyahu, who has been briefed by the group on several occasions since October 7.

Brigadier General (reserve) Amir Avivi, the chairman and founder of the IDSF, described a recent briefing he and his colleagues gave to Netanyahu that was replete with charts and maps of a military nature and absent the usual top-heavy political content of most briefings.

Commenting in the immediate aftermath of one such briefing, Avivi quipped in a serious way: “At the conclusion of our briefing, the prime minister probably felt as it he had spend the last 90 minutes in a health spa.”

Kedar’s “Palestinian Emirates Plan”

Dr. Mordecai Kedar holds a Ph. D. in Arabic from Bar-Ilan University and is affiliated with the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. His areas of specialization include Arabic Political Discourse, Mass Media, Islam and Politics, The Syrian Domestic Arena, Legitimacy of Arab regimes, Arab Societies, State and Society in Arab Countries.

Kedar has been promoting what he has dubbed the “Emirates Solution” which, he says, is based on the reality of governance in the Middle East rather than western liberal ideology.

According to Kedar, there are two kinds of states in the region. The successful model is based on the homogenous makeup of a society governed by existing clans (eg. Kuwait, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Dubai). The unsuccessful model, which often results in chaos, is found in societies that are highly fragmented (eg. Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan and Libya).

Keeping the focus on Gaza, the professor says “emulate the clan system.” There would be no Hamas and Mahmoud Abbas would be out of the picture.
The Palestinian Authority, created by Israel as part of the Oslo agreement, “had no hold on people.”

Any participation by Hamas would be a fool’s choice. “The reason for the hatred of Israel generated by Hamas was to galvanize the people,” Kedar said during a recent webinar.

Kedar’s viewpoint provides a segue to a recent visit to Israel by an Arab who has personal knowledge of the ideology and workings of Hamas.

The “Green Prince” Speaks

Mosab Hassan Yousef is not a household name in the U.S. or Europe, but he is heralded in the Jewish quarters of Israel. His father, Sheikh Hassan Yousef, is a co-founder of Hamas.

After a number of incarcerations in Israeli prisons, Yousef was dubbed the “Green Prince” by the Shin Bet when he became a highly-prized informer about the inner workings of Hamas.

In a May 2021 interview with the New York Post, Yousef commented on his mid-1990s stint in Megiddo Prison: “During that time, Hamas tortured and killed hundreds of prisoners. Many, if not all, had nothing to do with Israeli intelligence. I will never forget their screams. I started asking myself a question. What if Hamas succeeded in destroying Israel and building a state. Will they destroy our people in this way?”

The interview took place near the end of two weeks of hostilities in Gaza and, while commenting on the conditions prevailing at that time, Yousef was actually prophetic about what would take place in Gaza in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre. “Hundreds of children have paid the price. These types of people cannot get away with what they did. They should not feel safe for a day,” he said. “Hamas hates Israel more than they love their own children.”

Yousef gave two interviews while in Israel which can be viewed here and here. It is best to hear his own voice.

The U.S.-Israel Divide

Israel is under extreme pressure from the Biden administration, led by Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Blinken and his Arabist State Department are hard at work generating support for the two-state solution which a vast majority of Israelis consider an existential threat. The 2024 presidential election is foremost on Blinken’s agenda and the increasingly leftist Democratic party is no longer a friend of the Jewish state.

Also keep in mind that Blinken was the operative who produced the infamous letter signed by 51 former intelligence officers that declared the Hunter Biden laptop article published by the New York Post was based on Russian disinformation.

On February 21, 99 of 120 Knesset members voted in support of a resolution that rejects any imposition of a two-state solution and after which the prime minister sent a clear message to Blinken and the White House.

“The Knesset came together in an overwhelming majority against the attempt to impose on us the establishment of a Palestinian state, which would not only fail to bring peace but would endanger the State of Israel," said Netanyahu.

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