Newsletter No. 329
News-Analysis
July 15, 2006

 

KOIZUMI BACKS ISRAEL AND ABBAS

Over the past week things have gone from bad to worse in regard to the Arab-Israeli issue, and into the middle of this utter mess, clueless Koizumi pranced right on in.

The crisis began on June 25th, when elements of Hamas attacked an Israeli military outpost, killing two soldiers and capturing a third. This was a highly provocative act that made a tough response from Israel inevitable. Still, the options taken by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert were not merely tough, but almost off the seismic scale of chutzpah. A large-scale invasion of Gaza was launched, complete with attacks on the civilian infrastructure like power plants. Additionally, there were missile attacks on the Palestinian Ministry of the Interior. Beyond that -- and most outrageously -- Israeli warplanes buzzed a palace of Syrian President Bashar al-Asad in Latakia. Explained an Israeli government spokeswoman, this was done "because the Syrian leadership supports and harbors terrorist leaders, among them Hamas, the kidnappers of the soldier."

Having thus struck at such highly symbolic targets of Palestinian and Syrian authority, and expanded the conflict beyond Israel and Palestine, the Arab sides were given little choice but to up the ante. Why this was not fully apparent to Prime Minister Olmert is not clear -- unless one assumes that provoking a major regional conflict was precisely what he was aiming at all along.

At any rate, the next major move came from Hizballah of Lebanon, probably with a green light from Damascus and possibly Tehran. They opened a new front in the conflict by attacking a northern Israeli outpost. The initial attack was remarkably effective, with eight Israeli soldiers killed and two more captured.

Then Prime Minister Olmert did an encore performance, attacking Beirut airport, aiming threats in multiple directions, and making a full scale attack on the leadership of Hizballah. The New York Times quoted two Israeli officials who made it clear that their goal is none other than the complete destruction of Hizballah. From Isaac Herzog, member of the Israeli security cabinet: “We’ve decided to put an end to this saga and to change the rules of the game whereby a terrorist organization that is part of the Lebanese government can push the region to the abyss.” And from Brigadier General Ido Nehushtan: “We want to put Hizballah out of business.” We can therefore extrapolate that the Olmert government’s current goal is to utterly destroy both Hamas and Hizballah.

There can be no doubt that the destruction of Hamas and Hizballah is a goal that would be popular with the Israeli public, as well as the more rabid elements within the Bush Administration and elsewhere. But -- come now -- wake up and smell the napalm! It ain’t gonna happen that way, and it’s simply astounding to me that this isn’t perfectly apparent to the Israeli leadership, especially in light of their own history in Lebanon (i.e. where did Hizballah come from in the first place?)

Is the Arab world going to silently stand by and watch the destruction of organizations that many of them regard as representatives of a legitimate struggle against an oppressor? Even if Israel succeeds in partially destroying Hamas or Hizballah, do they expect the next generation of Arab leaders to simply forgive and forget the way this is going down? Doesn’t this play perfectly into the hands of al-Qaida and likeminded groups? Basically, the issue is this: How do the Israeli leaders really think that this escalation serves their medium and long-term interests? How does Israel come out of this better off? It’s not clear to me at all.

Well, in any case, traipsing into this disaster zone was one Junichiro Koizumi.

Photo: Junichiro Koizumi and Ehud Olmert
Source: Kantei

He probably should have called off his visit at this time, but having been cheated by fate several times before, he was no doubt determined to take advantage of his final chance to walk the Holy Land as Prime Minister of Japan.

Koizumi did make some useful statements during his visit: "I understand the anger of the Israeli people wanting an eye for an eye, but over the longer term, co-existence and co-prosperity is important. A restrained response is desirable." Olmert is said to have politely rejected Koizumi’s advice.

Much more problematic are both Koizumi’s and MOFA’s recent comments about support for Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas. In January, the political parties associated with Abbas were defeated in elections that almost all independent observers agree were free and fair. However, both the Israeli government and many in Washington have been reluctant to accept the democratic legitimacy of the Hamas cabinet because they feel that Hamas should be obligated to recognize the legitimacy of Israel as a precondition for any talks. This has led to a campaign to bolster the unilateral powers of Abbas in order to contain the political power of Hamas.

Problem is, this is in clear defiance of the results of the most recent Palestinian elections. Since the “wrong” people won the vote, it is basically an attempt to roll back Palestinian democracy. To his own shame, Abbas has become a willing agent in this game. The situation in Palestine resembles that of many other Arab states since the 1950s or 1960s, with Washington coming to support incipient dictators in order to facilitate American political control in the region. For all of Bush’s talk of “democratization,” the facts tell a different story about the real goals of US policy.

As for Tokyo, they now seem to be basically on board with this US-Israeli strategy of bolstering Abbas and undermining Hamas. If it were only Koizumi’s own statements, then one could explain it away by his lack of genuine understanding of the situation, but these statements are also coming from the professionals in MOFA as well -- and that is of more concern.

To sum up: On the one hand, Japan’s desire to gain a higher profile in Arab-Israeli peacemaking is generally to be welcomed by all sides. On the other hand, Tokyo is drifting into a partisan position that will ill-serve Japan’s own interests in the region, as well as the interests of peace.

Prime Minister Koizumi was perfectly right to declare, "Our wish is for the coexistence and co-prosperity of Israel and Palestine." But Koizumi was dead wrong for saying, "My visit here demonstrates Japan's support for President Abbas." What he should have said was, "My visit here demonstrates Japan's support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people." Neither Japan nor anyone else -- other than the Palestinian people themselves -- have the right to choose Palestinian political leaders.

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JAPAN’S ASSISTANCE TO THE PALESTINIANS ON THE OCCASION OF THE VISIT OF PRIME MINISTER JUNICHIRO KOIZUMI
July 13, 2006

On July 13 (Thu), Mr. Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister of Japan, on the occasion of his visit to the Palestinian territories, announced Japan's assistance to the Palestinians, comprising assistance to President Mohmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, humanitarian assistance, and projects for mid and long-term regional development and cooperation.

Assistance to Strengthen the Function of the Presidential Office

In support of President Abbas in his unwavering resolve for peace through dialogue, Japan is extending a total of 3.1 million US dollars in assistance including an additional assistance of 1.6 million US dollars, which has been decided on this occasion, with a view to strengthening the function of the Presidential Office through, for example, reconstructing and furnishing, and also employing specialists.

Emergency Assistance to Improve Medical Care, Public Health and Job Creation

Assistance of a total of about 25 million US dollars will be extended to improve the worsened medical, hygienic and employment situation, by providing medicines and medical equipment, repairing medical and hygienic facilities, improving water supply, and creating jobs. The concrete projects are as follows:

(1) UNDP (Emergency Water Supply & Rehabilitation Programme in the Gaza Strip)

(2) UNDP (Improvement of Solid Waste Management in the West Bank)

(3) UNDP (Employment Generation Through Emergency Response to Solid Waste Management in the Gaza Strip)

(4) UNRWA (Emergency Health Project in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank)

(5) UNRWA (Public Health Improvement and Employment Generation Project in the West Bank)

(6) UNICEF (Improving the Control of Infectious Diseases and the Nutritional Standard of Palestinian Children and Preventing Inner Hospital Infection of Newborn Babies)

(7) Grass Roots and Human Security Grant Project (Project for Deploying a Mobile Clinic in Isolated Areas)

These projects are expected to create jobs for about 340,000 working days (approximately 2,000 people/day for four months)

Japan regards also as important mid- or long-term efforts (listed as follows) to generate hope for the peoples in the region for co-existence and co-prosperity.

(1) Japan proposes a concept called the "Corridor for Peace and Prosperity" which aims at creating a prosperous region through regional cooperation in the Jordan River rift valley.

(2) In the region centering on Jericho, placing much importance on the regional development of the area, Japan implements such programs as improvement of maternal and child health.

(3) Japan contributes two million US dollars for the feasibility study for the construction of a Red Sea - Dead Sea water conveyance to develop the Jordan River rift valley and to secure water resources.

Since 1993, Japan has been actively extending assistance to the Palestinians to help them establish a Palestinian state that will co-exist and co-prosper with Israel. Japan will continue to assist the peace efforts of the parties concerned.

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MOFA STATEMENT ON THE SITUATION ON THE ISRAEL-LEBANON BORDER
July 13, 2006

1) The Government of Japan calls on Hezbollah to immediately release the two Israeli soldiers who were abducted on 12 July.

2) The Israeli military operations on 13 July that have caused many civilian casualties and the destruction of airport facilities in Lebanon increases tension in the region and never contributes to the solution of the problem.

3) The Government of Japan calls on the Government of Lebanon to make every effort to secure the release of the Israeli soldiers and to bring an end to the violence by the militias. The Government of Japan also strongly calls on the Government of Israel to exercise its self-restraint.

4) The Government of Japan is deeply concerned that these events may negatively affect the future efforts towards peace in the region. The Government of Japan renews its call on all parties concerned to exercise their utmost self-restraint to prevent further deterioration of the situation.

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KOIZUMI CABINET E-MAIL MAGAZINE

Visit to the Middle East

Junichiro Koizumi here.

On July 11, I left Tokyo and arrived in Jerusalem, Israel. This is my first visit to Jerusalem, the city known for its rich history where lies the holy sites for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In the evening as I admired the beautiful cityscape decorated harmoniously with stone buildings and abundant greenery from the hotel balcony, I felt as if I could hear from somewhere the evening prayers of various religions.

Early in the morning yesterday, I visited the Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial which preserves the memory and story of the Jewish people during the Holocaust period. I offered flowers with a strong recognition of the importance of peace and a deep conviction that such tragedy must never be repeated.

At the memorial there was a tree planted in honor of Mr. Chiune Sugihara, who continued to issue visas necessary for Jewish people to flee the country during his tenure as Vice-Consul at the Japanese Consulate in Lithuania.

That same day Hezbollah forces in Lebanon attacked northern Israel. Despite the tense situation, I met Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel as scheduled.

Prime Minister Olmert and I frankly exchanged our views on the cooperative relations between Japan and Israel, as well as issues affecting the peace and stability of the Middle East and of the world, such as North Korea's missile issue and Iran's nuclear issue.

There may be a limit to what Japan can do in its capacity, but we can still provide cooperation that is unique to Japan for the peace and prosperity of the Middle East. I have proposed the Corridor of Peace and Prosperity, an initiative which will contribute to the peace and stability of the region through such measures aimed at enhancing the living standards of the people in the region. Prime Minister Olmert and I agreed that Japan, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan would start a four-party talk on this initiative.

Today, I am scheduled to meet President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority. Japan's support for the development of Palestine and promoting peace in the Middle East are on the agenda of our talks.