Arafat's Tomb Reminds of Disquiet

President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas completed a tomb for former leader Yasser Arafat in the city of Ramallah in the West Bank.

Palestinians claim Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, as a result, leader like Arafat want to be buried in Jerusalem but can't under current political conditions. The tomb built by Abbas is temporary until Yassar Araft can be buried in Jerusalem.

Once again the unfortunate dual importance of Jerusalem rears its ugly head. It is one place on Earth where people who do not agree must get along. They must get along because complete separation is impossible. Both claim the land as their own, both claim holy sites in Jerusalem and want political authority over it. Jerusalem is at the center of the problem.

One possible solution is to make it a commonly governed, international city. UN peacekeeping forces from Muslim nations would be deployed on the Palestinian side and peace keepers from western countries could patrol the Israeli side. This would improve the security condition dramatically and make political reconciliation possible. I liken it to a genuine and full-blooded "surge". Having the seat of both their governments in the secure city will allow the two countries to more fully embrace each other diplomatically in an effort aimed at full reconciliation. Al-Aqsa Mosque would be fully granted to Muslim authority, neither country would have sovereignty, but each would have authority over their section, along the 1967 borders. Their security concerns would be common, their territory would be common, and their trade policy could be easily coordinated.

I read this story to my Jewish (heritage only) girlfriend, she thought the following passage:

“The tomb also includes a minaret which shines a laser beam towards Jerusalem”

referred to an attack laser, pointed at Israel, in the theme of a super villain like Dr. Evil. She’s just worried about her family that lives there, but when I explained it was just a light show, she quickly grew disinterested. Perhaps creating the political pressure domestically to implement that kind of solution would be impossible.

Mistrial In High Profile Terror Case

In yet another case of President Bush’s justice department overreaching in terrorist prosecutions, a mistrial was declared in the case of Mohammad el-Mezain. He used to run the largest Islamic charity organization in the US, the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development.

The charity was accused providing aid in the name of Hamas in an effort to build good will and support for the terrorist organization in the West Bank and Gaza. Understandably, this would be a difficult case to prove, in this case the government failed. As part of their case they used recorded phone conversations where members of the charity expressed sympathy for extremist actions. This was supposed to act as “evidence” that the charity knowing supplied material assistance to the terrorist organization.

One juror said,

"I thought they were not guilty across the board," said Neal, 33, an art director from Dallas. The case "was strung together with macaroni noodles. There was so little evidence."

This is a good result; it shows the Juries can resist the temptation to convict every terror suspect, regardless of evidence. Once again law enforcement mechanisms prove to be sufficient at coping with international terrorism.