I wrote this essay in 2004 and never sent it out. I was too young and Gulf War 2 was raging with Iraqi invasion by the West. As I revisit it now, looks like Sharon's govt. was right and Netanyahu is wrong when it comes to strategy. Also look at the West's position now as opposed to then. My friends ask me why the Arab and Islamic country govt. don't care about Palestine. Here is my answer - When did they ever care?
My article from 2004.
Blood on whose hands ?
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and now Rantissi's killing by the Israeli government has been widely condemned throughout the world as brutal, and senseless. While their killings were brutal, it is too simplistic to say it was senseless. In fact, this change of tactics by the Israeli government is a welcome departure from the previous indiscriminate bulldozing of houses filled with Palestinians and murdering Palestinian civilians in the name of “suspected” terrorists. It appears the Sharon Government has finally chosen to use the soft LoV (Locus of Values) option which in strategic parlance refers to the targeting masterminds of terrorist organizations instead of ordinary people themselves. This sort of tactics will reduce the death of innocent Palestinians as the target is clear and not fuzzy as before. One wishes the US-UK governments had chosen to go after Saddam Hussein in this fashion instead of waging wars on Afghanistan and Iraq that has resulted in the death of thousands of innocent civilians.
It is extremely hypocritical of the British government, especially the likes of Blair to cry foul at the murder of Hamas leaders when they chose to deploy troops and falsify evidence to go after one man, Saddam Hussein, which resulted in the death of thousands of innocent Iraqis and is still continuing to do so. It is even more hypocritical of the British people to condemn Yassin’s killing irrespective of whether they are Muslim, Christian, or Jew when during the invasion of Iraq, Blair’s popularity ratings shot up and the British have not demanded the withdrawal of troops from Iraq like Spain did. Despite the mounting death toll of Iraqis and maiming of several others, the British instead choose to target the Israeli government. Whose hands have more blood – the Israelis or the British?
What is even more hypocritical is the condemnation by Arab governments that chose to lend its own soil to the US-UK coalition during the Iraq invasion. It may do well to remember that the Israelis didn’t choose to send their own troops to aid the Iraqi invasion by the US-UK led coalition nor lend its soil unlike its Arab neighbors. How long will these governments continue to milk the Palestinian cow to divert their people’s attention from their own failures? How long will the Arab people allow themselves to be duped by their governments? The descendants of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and Syria have never been granted citizenship. That is a travesty, but certainly, it is an Arab travesty, not an Israeli one. Moreover, since the ostensible point of failing to naturalize Palestinians in Syria and Lebanon has been among other things helped keep the Israeli-Palestinian conflict red-hot. Of course, Syria and Lebanon will continue to deny citizenship to Palestinians born in those countries, even if and when a Palestinian state is established, for reasons that have to do with their own internal politics. In the case of Lebanon, Palestinians are a source of cheap labour and refugee status instead of citizenship helps Lebanon exploit Palestinians. We need to introspect if we are treating Palestinian refugees fairly in our own countries before blaming Israel.
It is absolutely true that there is illegal occupation by the Israelis of Palestinian land. In fact, it won’t be too far fetched to say Israel is the last remaining colonial power of the 20th Century. However, isn’t it time the rest of the world realised that terrorist organizations like the Hamas are destroying the legitimate freedom struggle of the Palestinians? It is important to remove the component of violence that comes in handy for the Israeli government to justify its own violence against the Palestinian people.
In this land of unending, eloquent rhetoric, the mentality of many people, especially the leaders is that the problem is always with the other side. End the occupation is countered by end the violence and vice versa. Almost every question is answered with another question. For example, how do you justify tank gunning down three kids on bikes whose father is a Palestinian bus driver in Israel? This question is answered with how can you explain away the death of your best friend who wanted to be a teacher for peace in a suicide bombing by a Palestinian? Dehumanize the "enemy", shoot your way out and kill them all seems to be the only consensus on both sides. This is a war in which both sides seem bent on annihilating each other. Amidst this, a chilling new generation of young people is growing up believing they'll die young anyway and espouse hate and vengeance on both sides
We, the people of rest of the world are fueling this vicious cycle of grief-anger-violence that has wreaked havoc on this ‘cursed’ Holy land by crying foul when a high profile leader of the Hamas is killed but not when innocent civilians on both sides get murdered. The civilians are statistics to most of us and the dead are exploited by organizations like Hamas and governments of the Middle East including Israel. World over, people talk about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and argue heatedly and then go about their daily routine and forget about it. This is slowly becoming more of a talking point for many than a real issue, especially governments all over the world and even the United Nations.
The whole approach to finding peace in the region has been wrong, and the road map will not succeed taking into account the present circumstances with the peace initiative forced from outside by the famous quartet, as it doesn't include the Arab League or the Israelis (okay there is the UN, as if it has a say in this). But a debate is essential if there is to be a peace process. A peace process would work only if there is prolonged civil society involvement that culminates in an Arab-Israeli peace summit. Pressure from outside never helps bring a permanent peace solution, at maximum a prolonged lull to a region. Sri Lanka is a good example of how forced solutions from the outside don’t work. Moreover, popular support on both sides is essential to overcome fringe pressure groups like Hamas and right wing Zionists on both sides that don't want to see the road map succeed because of doubts, fears and complete lack of trust/ belief that the other side can do anything right. If people in the region fail to recognize this is true for both sides and that mainstream politicians on both sides may seek to undermine each other by using these fringe groups, then searching for peace is like looking for the forest among the trees.
Every killing, house demolition and suicide bombing opens up old scars. It is untenable for Israelis to live in terror. It is unsustainable for Palestinians to live in occupation, squalor and fear. Maybe an Israeli Mandela or a Palestinian Gandhi is their only hope but where will he come from with such anger, politics of victim hood and mob mentality on both sides?
Let us wash the blood off our own hands first. It is time the rest of world stopped screaming foul and supported non-violent organizations like Grassroots International for Protection of Palestinians, People’s Voice, Netivot Shalom, Gush Shalom and the Joint Israeli-Palestinian Action Group for Peace. It is only by strengthening and supporting these organizations and the people who represent them as opposed to supporting violent organizations like Hamas, that this strife torn land will ever witness peace. Violence has been given a chance for over 50 years to bring about a settlement, now it is time to give peace a chance. To do this we need to support those who practice non-violence and peace, thus removing the only excuse that Israeli government has had in justifying its violence against the people of Palestine to the rest of the world.
© 2004 Deepa Kandaswamy
