Summer
Rain Over Gaza
By Alice Gray
09 July, 2006
ICH
Consider
this: an 8 km wide by 23 km long strip of arid land by the Mediterranean
Sea containing a population of one and a half million people. This is
Gaza, one of the most densely populated regions in the world, and the
one of the most water poor, second only to Kuwait. Over half of the
population are refugees, expelled from Israel following the 1948 and
1967 wars.
The Strip bears the scars
of 40 years of military occupation. The economy is in crisis, with over
30 % unemployment (PCBS, 2005) and over half the population living below
the official poverty line of less than $2 per person per day (PCBS,
2004). Despite efforts by the Palestinian Authority and international
donors, infrastructure is completely inadequate to serve the needs of
the population. The decaying water system was running at 50 % losses
when it was passed over to Palestinian control after the peace agreements
of the early 90s. The situation has not been improved by repeated Israeli
missile strikes since 2000, smashing pipelines and destroying pumping
stations.
The sewage system is even
more inadequate. Only 60 % of the population are connected to any form
of sewage network and there are only 3 poorly functioning treatment
plants. Thus 80 % of wastewater is discharged untreated into the environment,
infiltrating the ground and poisoning the groundwater, which is the
only source of fresh water in the area (UNEP, 2003). The quantity of
freshwater available does not come close to meeting the basic demands
of the population and as a consequence, the aquifer has been heavily
overabstracted for years, causing infiltration of sea water and deterioration
of water quality. Currently only 10 % of the water distributed in Gaza
meets World Health Organization drinking water standards (UNEP, 2003).
Demand for food for the inflated
population is high and cultivable land is scarce. Hence agricultural
practices are intense, relying heavily on toxic agrochemicals which
wreak further environmental destruction. Even so there is no food security
and a high dependency on imported food from Israel, a supply that can
readily be cut off by the simple expedient of closing the border crossings.
The water shortage is so severe and the demand for food so high that
sewage water is sometimes used to irrigate crops, with obviously appalling
health consequences. Put quite simply, Gaza is in a state of escalating
humanitarian crisis: a large population with resources inadequate to
sustain itself in a poisoned and deteriorating environment.
Consider this: Summer Rain
over Gaza. A rain of missiles shattering roads, schools, powerstations,
pipelines and people. Shooting fish in a barrel. In such a densely populated
area, it would be difficult not to hit something important. Power stations
and main transport routes have been deliberately targetted. The consequences?
Inability to move food supplies, breakdown of water pumping stations
and sewage treatment plants, further contamination of drinking water
supplies as ruptured sewage pipes mingle their contents with drinking
water supplies. Most of the water wells in Gaza and all of the sewage
treatment plants were powered by the destroyed power station which also
constituted the only source of domestic electricity in the region (CMWU,
2006). In short, a humanitarian disaster has been precipitated, as food
and water supplies run dry and hunger, thirst and disease become the
daily reality of the beleaguered population. Summer Rain over Gaza:
what exquisite irony.
The reason that has been
given by Israeli leaders for this deliberate targeting of Gaza's life
support systems has been that it is necessary to "tear down the
infrastructure of terrorism". This statement begs two vital questions:
firstly, what is meant by "terrorism", and secondly, what
is the "infrastructure of terrorism" or what sustains terrorism?
Terrorism is a controversial
and subjective term with multiple definitions. One definition is "a
violent action targetting civilians exclusively" (Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism).
However, terrorism is defined by the US Department of Defense as "the
unlawful use of -- or threatened use of -- force or violence against
individuals or property to coerce or intimidate governments or societies,
often to achieve political, religious, or ideological objectives."
The government of Israel, it seems, defines terrorism as any act of
violence against any Israeli target, civilian or military, perpetrated
by any Palestinian. Any use of force by Palestinians against Israelis
is 'unlawful'.
The current Israeli invasion
of Gaza was ostensibly caused by the killing of two Israeli soldiers
and the kidnapping of one more (Gilad Shalit) by Palestinian militants
connected with the elected Palestinian government (Hamas). There are
two points that are extremely pertinent here. One is that the action
was against a military target; and the other is that Palestine has no
'lawful' army. This being the case, actions undertaken by the military
wing of the elected government against the deployed military personnel
of an Occupying power are somewhat subject to interpretation in terms
of their 'lawfulness' or otherwise.
The Israeli invasion, and
indeed the entire military occupation of the Palestinian Territories,
are themselves on similarly shaky ground with regard to their 'lawfulness'.
Civilian individuals and infrastructure have been repeatedly targeted
and multiple UN resolutions have been passed declaring the illegality
of such actions. Furthermore, the objective of these actions, namely
the furthering of the Zionist ideal, is political, religious and ideological,
and few could argue that they do not constitute "coercion"
of a democratically elected government. Hence under US Department of
Defense definitions, Israel is certainly perpetrating acts of terrorism
against the Palestinian government and society.
However, let us return to
the question of Palestinian terrorism against Israelis. Whilst there
is some question as to whether the stated cause of the current conflict
constitutes terrorism, the firing of Qassam rockets into Israeli civilian
settlements and the suicide bombing of civilian population centres which
have taken place in recent months fit more easily into generally accepted
definitions of terrorism. So the question we must now ask is what drives
such acts? Will destroying civilian infrastructure in Gaza help to prevent
further terrorism?
It is doubtless true that
terrorists, as human beings, are ultimately sustained by water, food
and heat. Also, by Israeli definition, Gaza is a 'haven for terrorists'.
Thus by denying water, food and heat to large sections of the Gazan
population, Israel will almost certainly harm some terrorists. However,
such a strategy could only really be effective in eradicating terrorism
if the entire population of Gaza were annihilated along with the terrorists.
In short: by genocide and ethnic cleansing. The absolute immorality
of such a solution should be clear to the meanest intelligence. And
yet, let us be clear, this is the strategy that Israel is currently
pursuing.
This is quite simply not
a sustainable solution to the problem and it is doubtful that it will
be permitted by the International community. Hence if there is to be
any resolution to the conflict, it is worth considering in slightly
more depth what sustains Palestinian 'terrorism' against Israelis. What
can drive people to have such a disregard for human life that they are
prepared to indiscriminately murder people they have never met and will
never know, to take their own lives in the process, to abandon home
and family and all that so many of us hold dear in life? What is the
psychological infrastructure of terrorism?
It is popularly held that
Palestinian terrorists are motivated primarily by religious idealism
and rabid anti-semitism; that they are determined to wage a 'jihad'
against Israel and all things Jewish, possessed by an innate hatred
of Jews in general. There is certainly an element of this in the rhetoric
of a number of resistance groups operating in Palestine which is avidly
seized upon by Israeli politicians to reinforce the notion that there
is 'no partner for peace' in Palestine. Thus it is assumed that the
roots of Palestinian terrorism lie in an unreasoning hatred of Jews
and that there is nothing that can be done about this.
It is the 'unreasoning' and
'nothing to be done' parts of this interpretation that are fundamentally
flawed. The roots of terrorism against Israelis lie in hatred of Israelis.
However, to assume that this is just some innate quality of Palestinians,
or even to assume that the motivation for this hatred is simple anti-semitism
is to remove it from the context in which it occurs. It is inaccurate.
In truth, what sustains terrorism and fuels anti-semitic rhetoric is
the daily misery to which the people of Gaza are subjected. The wrenching
grief and impotent fury of a caged, abused and traumatized population
living in a rotting cesspool of poverty and despair. It is the lack
of hope for a better life, the grinding poverty and the killing of loved
ones that fuels terrorism. As of May 2006, 2162 Gazans had been killed
by the Israeli military since the outbreak of the Intifada (PCBS, 2006).
451 of these people were children. In the past month the killing has
accelerated and the destruction escalated. Re-read the opening paragraphs
of this article. Put yourself in the place of a Gazan. This is not unreasoning
hate. And it is not an insoluble problem.
Gaza has been for 40 years
under the heel of Israeli occupation. Half the population are refugees.
The overcrowding, the poverty and the environmental degradation are
direct results of the expulsion of Arabs from Israel proper and of retarded
development since then due to Israeli Occupation. Not only is it in
Israel's interests to alleviate the suffering of the Gazans, but it
is furthermore their moral responsibility. Only when the Gazans are
given the opportunity to experience emotions other than impotent fury
and crushing grief will the infrastructure of terrorism be torn down.
The current Israeli strategy of communal punishment in reality strengthens
that infrastructure, with every missile that falls, with every death.
Summer Rain over Gaza waters only the seeds of hatred and the harvest
will be bitter indeed.
Alice Gray, is a British
scientist working in the West Bank with a Palestinian environmental
NGO