Watching Israel
(Signs of the Time - May 2000)
The current on again off again Israeli - Syrian peace talks are off again and the principal sponsor of the peace negotiations, the United States, is currently upset with Israel. America is also attempting to block Israel’s sale of military hardware to China.
Weapons to China
During the past several months, Israel has decided to boost her economy at the expense
of the peace process. In particular, Israel has recently announced plans to sell high-tech
armaments to China, going directly against the wishes of the United States’
government. The April 4, 2000, New York Times reported that during a meeting
between U.S. Defense Secretary, William Cohen, and Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak: "Mr.
Barak did not give Washington the assurances it wanted for Israel to cancel plans to sell
conventional and high-technology weapons to China including early-warning AWACS planes.
Israel has been selling weapons to China for more than a decade. But it has come under
increasing pressure from the United States to cancel the deals."
The United States has been pressuring Israel to abandon the weapon sales to China "because of the potential of changing the strategic balance in that region, with the tensions running high as they are between China and Taiwan."
Mr. Barak responded that Israel would "take into account" American concerns. But he indicated that Israel expects to proceed with the promised sale of at least the first radar-equipped aircraft.
"We are aware of the sensitivity in the United States with regard to China," he said. Then he quickly added, "We are, of course, aware of our commitments in the contracts that we signed."
China’s president to Israel
During April, Chinese President Jiang Zemin broke new ground by becoming the first
Chinese leader ever to visit Israel. The visit was planned to help ensure Israel would
deliver the weapons that had been ordered by China.
According to Israeli military officials, Israel notified the United States four years ago of its intent to offer airborne radar surveillance systems for sale to China. It was reported in the New York Times that the "Pentagon officials reviewing the proposed contract determined then that Israel would not be providing China with proprietary American military technology." However, since then, there has been a new government installed in Taiwan that has strained relationships with China, resulting in the U.S. changing its tune.
For their part, the Americans have indicated that, should the sale be concluded, the support for the huge $17 billion military-aid package Israel is seeking in connection with an eventual peace treaty with Syria will be jeopardized.
It will be difficult at best, however, for Israel to back down on the China deal. The sale of the radar system will provide Israel with a much needed $230 million, but more importantly, it will set the groundwork for future military sales. In addition to this sale, Israel has been laying the groundwork for the past ten years to bring in additional revenue through the sale of four AWACS-type planes. This sale, if realized, will be its largest sale to China yet, estimated as a several billion-dollar order.
Since the 1990’s, China has embarked on a major program to modernize its military. By far its biggest arms supplier has been Russia, which sold it MIG fighter jets, warships, submarines and missiles. Since 1997, when Israel first established diplomatic ties with China, it has quickly become China’s second largest supplier and is looking to move into the number-one position.
Many peaceful advances
Not all is negative on the peace front. Since the right-wing government was replaced
last summer by a broad coalition including several leftists and human-rights advocates,
crucial policy changes have been made helping facilitate the peace process.
The torture of Palestinian suspects has been banned. The practice of stripping Palestinians of their residency rights in East Jerusalem has all but ended. The equal right of Arabs to land allocated by the state has been affirmed. And for the first time in Israel’s history, land long considered part of a Jewish town was taken away and returned to the Arab village from which it was expropriated decades ago. The number of Palestinian administrative detainees, those imprisoned without charges, has plummeted to 9 from 66 last April and hundreds in previous years. In April, Israel released one of 16 remaining Lebanese who are being held, in contravention of international law, as "bargaining chips" for captured Israelis.
Other changes, even unofficial ones, reflect a fundamental relaxation of Israel’s security-conscious attitudes toward territory and the use of force. The demolition of illegal Arab homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, for instance, has declined sharply since Barak took office in July, according to statistics kept by the Btselem human-rights organization. In East Jerusalem, all the demolitions since November were done by the municipality, which is run by a right-wing mayor, and none by the national government.
More land exchanged
In March, Israel and the Palestinians agreed on the next area of West Bank territory
to be handed over to Palestinian control. This agreement removed a persistent stumbling
block to resuming negotiations on a permanent peace. The latest handover will put another
6.1 percent of the West Bank under full Palestinian control. In March negotiators for
Israel and the Palestinians agreed on maps delineating the areas to be handed over, and
the transfer is expected to take place shortly, leaving the Palestinians in full or
partial control of 42.9 percent of the West Bank.
It’s difficult at best to ascertain whether or not this government will be successful in negotiating a broader peace. Although steps are being taken to move toward peace, we realize that lasting peace will only come with the return of our Lord Jesus Christ to set up his kingdom on earth when Jews and Arabs will dwell peacefully under his righteous rule.
George Rayner