Message to Mr. Kerry: Recognize existing agreements before promoting new one
Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA 13 July, 2014

Dear Mr. Kerry,

Once again you want to come to the plate and pitch your ideas for an
arrangement. This time between us and Hamas.

But before you can legitimately do this you have to bite the bullet and
actually say something about how this all fits into the
photo-opportunity-White-House-Lawn-signing-ceremonies that we have already
had.

I am referring specifically to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on
the West Bank and the Gaza Strip signed in Washington, D.C., September 28,
1995.

This agreement was witnessed by the United States, Russian Federation,
European Union, Kingdom of Norway and the Arab Republic of Egypt.

And here is what the Agreement says:

CHAPTER 2 ARTICLE XIV 4. Except for the arms, ammunition and equipment of
the Palestinian Police described in Annex I, and those of the Israeli
military forces, no organization, group or individual in the West Bank and
the Gaza Strip shall manufacture, sell, acquire, possess, import or
otherwise introduce into the West Bank or the Gaza Strip any firearms,
ammunition, weapons, explosives, gunpowder or any related equipment, unless
otherwise provided for in Annex I.

And here is the Annex - rockets are not in the list:

THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN INTERIM AGREEMENT ON THE WEST BANK AND THE GAZA
STRIP
Annex I ARTICLE IV 5. c. In the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Police will
possess the following arms and equipment:
(1) 7,000 light personal weapons;
(2) up to 120 machine guns of 0.3" or 0.5" caliber; and
(3) up to 45 wheeled armored vehicles of a type to be agreed on between the
two sides, and of which 22 will be deployed in protecting Council
installations.

It is absolutely clear to anyone who goes to the trouble to read these few
sentences is that the commitment is that rockets are not in Gaza.

Again: the commitment is not that rockets aren't FIRED from Gaza. It is
that rockets do not EXIST in Gaza.

Mr. Kerry - when Mahmoud Abbas announced the unified PA your office
welcomed the development, citing the 2 June 2013 remarks of Mahmoud Abbas
at the ceremony establishing the unified PA government "stressing the new
government's commitment to the obligations of the Palestinian Authority and
all previously signed agreements".

American support for the unified PA, hinged on "the new government's
commitment to the obligations of the Palestinian Authority and all
previously signed agreements".

That's also the case for the European Union and for many others.

And yet, Mr. Kerry, you haven't said a word demanding that the rockets be
removed from Gaza.

You, the EU, the UN and everyone else is ONLY talking about the rockets not
being fired.

To be clear: The commitment not to have rockets in the Gaza Strip is not
some obscure, arcane and insignificant commitment.

It's a core commitment.

Your silence on this matter is the strongest possible message and warning to
Israel regarding just how much it is possible to rely on a deal that you
broker.

It is indeed a dark day that the problem we have with a senior American
official is that he effectively refuses to recognize the existence of an
agreement signed with great fanfare on the White House Lawn.

Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis)
(Mail POB 982 Kfar Sava)
Tel 972-9-7604719/Fax 972-3-7255730
INTERNET ADDRESS: imra@netvision.net.il
Website: http://www.imra.org.il