Israel cannot shirk its responsibility, UAE paper

The Israeli government cannot escape blame from the recent surge in attacks on Palestinian and Arab targets in both the occupied territories and within the pre-1967 war "Green Line." The attacks are blamed on Jewish settlers in the occupied territories and elements that support them within Israel, commented a UAE daily. "The latest assaults were against two cemeteries, one Muslim and the other Christian, in the town of Jaffa just outside Tel Aviv, and they bore all the hallmarks of previous attacks carried out by Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank. Headstones of tombs were smashed and racist slogans were spray-painted on graves reading "Death to the Arabs", and "price tag", said Sharjah based "Gulf Today" in its today's editorial. Last week, a mosque was burned in the Galilee bedouin village of Tuba-Zangariyya.. The mosque went up in flames, causing heavy damage, and holy books inside the mosque were burned. Graffiti with the words "price tag" was found on the wall of the mosque. "Price tag" is the term used by settlers to retaliate for any Israeli government action they deem to challenge their domination of the occupied West Bank. The latest attacks are seen linked to a reported Israeli government decision to remove "unauthorised" settlements or "wild outposts" as it calls them in the West Bank. Following the attacks on the cemeteries, a firebomb was thrown to the roof of a Jaffa synagogue but it did not cause significant damage. Israeli President Shimon Peres condemned the cemetery attacks calling the acts "a criminal act that dishonours us and is opposed to the ethical values of Israeli society." Peres called on law authorities to do "their utmost" to catch the criminals and bring them to justice as soon as possible. Such reactions are expected from heads of state and governments since it is in their interest to maintain law and order. However, it remains to be seen how far the Israeli authorities are serious in arresting the culprits and in bringing them to justice, the paper noted. "There are elements within the Israeli government and parliament who cannot bear even the thought of Arabs living in Israel and want to expel them. If they had their way, they would evict the 1.5 million Arab Israelis and the 2.5 million Palestinians living in the occupied territories to the east of the River Jordan. Short of that they would like to see the Arab Israelis moved to the occupied West Bank". The Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank have been pampered by the occupation authorities to the point that they roam around with machine-guns and other weapons and think nothing of assaulting Palestinians and destroying Palestinian property such as olive farms. "Israel bears the responsibility for protecting all those who live under its control regardless of their religion, particularly those who remain captive to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. The international community should take the initiative to ensure that Israel remains committed to its obligations as an occupying power pending a solution to the Palestinian problem creation of an independent Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, with Arab East Jerusalem as its capital", the paper concluded.