Call
A Spade A Spade
By Remi Kanazi
04 May, 2006
Countercurrents.org
How long is a sane man expected
to sit on his hands while his enemy slaps him in the face? The Palestinian
people have endured a prolonged aggression by a pariah state, and yet
the world not only expects them to sit on their hands, the world blames
them for it.
Why are the Palestinian people
expected to take the blame? Apparently, the world is infuriated by their
democratically electing Hamas, a "terrorist organization,"
into government. Setting aside the word terrorism and the West's perversion
of the definition—would one not have to engage in "terrorism"
or even attempt to engage in "terrorism" to be a "terrorist?"
According to a Shin Bet report, Israel's internal general security service,
Hamas' military wing has not been responsible for a suicide bombing
in nearly two years. Israel has not blamed a single Israeli death on
Hamas in 2006. Furthermore, hard-lined Israeli Defense Minister Shaul
Mofaz reluctantly admitted that Hamas did not coordinate any of the
rocket attacks fired from the Gaza Strip in recent months. So what's
the problem? According to Mofaz and his ilk in the Israeli government,
Hamas is still a terrorist group because it's not proactively preventing
Islamic Jihad and Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade from carrying out attacks
against Israel.
Is this a fair critique?
Hamas, who has not even taken over control of the security apparatus
in the Occupied Territories, is expected to force Islamic Jihad and
Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade to halt all attacks on Israel (which Israel
refuses to reciprocate) without the resources or political capital to
do so. If Hamas tried to disarm the militant groups in the territories
at the height of Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people,
complete chaos would break out. Moreover, this call is being made while
the world is bankrupting the Palestinian government (in turn bankrupting
the Palestinian people).
In the large sea of global
politics a minnow like the Palestinians cannot survive without protection
and fresh water. The disappearance of objectionable voices that once
cried out for the rights of the Palestinian people is pushing those
in the Occupied Territories down a very narrow path. Many in the European
Union are now towing the line for Israel's rhetoric and policies, while
most of the Arab states have been "forced" to join the ride
due to US pressure and sanctions.
The world's turning its back
on democracy and the Palestinian people is an intolerable breach of
humanity. In recent weeks, America and the European Union have decided
to cut a combined one billion dollars in aid to the Palestinian people.
The yearly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the Occupied Territories
is an estimated 2.5 billion dollars. The GDP figure continues to drop
as unemployment skyrockets in the territories—furthering poverty,
malnutrition and civil unrest. The world's economic strangulation is
leaving the families of 150,000 Palestinian Authority (PA) employees
to suffocate in their already ominous conditions. When the average PA
worker, as noted by PLO Ambassador to the US Afif Safieh, takes care
of seven or eight family members, the cutting of salaries affects nearly
one-third of the Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The continued withholding of Palestinian tax money in East Jerusalem,
in addition to the intensified checkpoints, border closures, and constant
bombardments on Gaza has left Palestinian society paralyzed.
Is the isolation of Hamas
justified? Not only has Hamas halted all attacks, as previously mentioned,
but they've called for "calm for calm," which Israel subsequently
rejected because Hamas is a "terrorist" entity. Yet, Hamas'
existence didn't stop Israel from signing the Sharm Al Sheik cease-fire
(which Israel rarely abided by), but now that Hamas is in office, the
Israeli tactic of isolation, unilateralism, and collective punishment
has taken over concerns of diplomacy and peace. Hamas pledged to restore
order to society (which would benefit the security of Israel) and indicated
it would curb attacks by groups such as Islamic Jihad and Al Aqsa Martyrs
Brigade in the "calm for calm" period. A new Palestinian poll
found that 75 percent of the Palestinian population wants Hamas to hold
negotiations with Israel—a move that Hamas has not objected to.
Hamas stated on numerous occasions that it is willing to negotiate with
Israel through an interlocutor such as President Abu Mazen (a man who
has visibly chosen partisan politics over leadership). Hamas clearly
laid out its demands to Israel (which fall in line with international
law and multiple UN resolutions): full withdrawal to the 1967 borders,
complete autonomy within the territories, control of its borders, and
a full right of return. So let's call a spade a spade. Israel is engaging
in state-sponsored physical, economic, and political terrorism—in
an attempt to choke to death a people that have been deprived air for
nearly 60 years. The question remains: will those who value peace have
enough sense to object or will they wait until it's too late?
Remi Kanazi is the primary writer for the political website www.PoeticInjustice.net
He lives in New York City as a Palestinian American freelance writer,
poet and performer and can reached via email at [email protected]