Tragedy In Gaza, An aggression On Palestinian Rights
By Nilantha Ilangamuwa
02 January,
2009
Countercurrents.org
“The Goal is to Defeat International Terrorism. This is a noble
goal, a sound goal .But this has to be done when all of us are equal
parties and not follower.”
Amre Moussa , Secretary General of the Arab League
As the rest of the world ushers in the New Year, heralded by the Christmas festivities, Gaza was reverberating with the return of the familiar fire from the skies. The unprovoked attack by Israel – at least there was no immediate incident(s) to justify an aerial bombing for three days – has been condemned by the rest of the world, with the near-exception of only the US and the UK. Even the US, while calling the Hamas, 'rouges', called for a ceasefire, after the UN asked Israel to quit attacking Gaza and its population.
The reasons
for the current confusion are not far to seek. First of all, there
is no common definition for terrorism. The second is the inability
and unwillingness of Israel, and the US otherwise, to accept the legitimate
electoral victory of Hamas in the Palestine a couple of years ago,
and act accordingly. The calculations of the US and Israel on the
Palestine front failed when the moderate forces led by a weakened
PLO failed to muster popular support. Having not used to handling
the Hamas, they did not know how to react other than to boycott the
organization.
It was in this background that a six-month Egyptian-brokered truce
between Israel and Hamas, came to an end on Friday, 19 December. The
Hamas charged Israel with violating the truce conditions, which included
passage of humanitarian relief material to the Gaza population. Tel
Aviv returned the compliment. It said that the phased enlargement
of the truce was halted after Hamas violated the terms, including
an end to all rocket fire targeting Israel.
Palestine
history over the past decades is replete with instances when Israel
would violate ceasefires of the kind with immunity – and without
paying heed to sage suggestions from the rest of the world. Nor has
it been known to halt Israeli settlements in occupied areas so very
completely for the Palestine State and the Palestinian people to feel
confident about doing continued business with Tel Aviv. The maltreatment
of the Palestine population Israeli-controlled areas is a legion.
Reports claim that as many as 300 bombing incidents took place in
less than three days. It claimed over 300 lives and left 1000 more
injured, many of them grievously. In doing so, the Israeli Air Force
deployed US-supplied F-16 fighters and Apache helicopters. The attackers
are also believed to have dropped US-made GBU-39 smart bombs. Along
side the air-strike, Israel also moved ground troops, including tanks
and heavy guns, on the Gaza border, and has called back 6,500 reserves
to active service. Tel Aviv has promised a ground offensive soon.
Clearly, no known military base of the Hamas was targeted. It left one wondering about the motive of the attack. As some analysts recalled past instances of the kind, Israel was targeting Palestine civilian population, to force them out of their habitats – for extending and expanding Israeli settlements in those areas, as well. Clearly, Israel was not looking at battle-victory, or for silencing the Hamas guns, which were not known to have boomed in recent weeks at the very least.
This is not the first time such a thing is happening. Possibly, it would not be the last time, either. A similar thing happened in 2006, when Israel targeted southern Lebanon, then under the control of the Hezbollah group, for 33 days in all. According to Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah , Hezbollah Secretary-General, the situation of Palestinians was worse than the 2006 Israeli war in Lebanon. "Today the people of Gaza have made their choice - the choice of blood. They are resisting with firmness. Nothing will prevent them, without even anybody's help, from continuing with their resistance, despite bloodshed and martyrdom," Nazarullah said in a video address.
Nazrullah
feels that the Hamas could not be defeated, unlike the Hezbollah,
because the conflict within communities in Palestine has increased
during the last few years, particularly after the exit of PLO leader,
Yasser Arafat. "But I fear the people's action is limited mostly
to mass protests against such incidents without a consistent approach
to fighting for their legitimate rights. There is also no unity any
more in the Arab region, for ensuring the sovereignty of Palestine."
However, a substantial section of the Palestinian population is on
the side of the Hamas. This was reflected in the Hamas victory in
the Palestinian parliamentary polls of 2006, when it won 76 of the
total 132 seats. The Fatah Party of the late Yasser Arafat could manage
only 43 seats. An international team of monitors, including former
US President Jimmy Carter, declared that the polls were free and fair.
Yet, the Israel refused to acknowledge the Hamas as the representative
of the Palestine population. After dithering for a while, the US put
its weight behind Israel, and not with the considered view of the
rest of the international community. It remains to be seen if the
US 'Middle East Policy' would witness any major change under the upcoming
Obama Presidency.
The solution to the Palestinian crisis has been clear for long. Israel has to accept and respect the democratic rights of the Palestinian people as it is concerned about the life and liberty of its own population. It needs to acknowledge that the 'war on terror', as it keeps dubbing the Palestinian crisis, cannot have a military solution. To be charitable, having got the Palestinians where it wanted, Tel Aviv should have moved on the peace front with greater sincerity and commitment. That the wars of the previous decades at least settled the Israeli possession of the strip of land that it claimed to be the Israeli territory in the post-War world should have been the beginning point. As contemporary losers in what is often dubbed a historic conflict dating back to centuries, the Palestinians were / are sure to feel rejected and dejected. Tel Aviv should have adopted a 'healing touch' policy towards the neighbour rather than gloat over military victory – and ask for more. Time is running out, yet it is not too late, as yet.
-The Writer
is a Journalist based Colombo, Sri Lanka. He can be reached at [email protected]
