Courting Disaster
By Remi Kanazi
28 August, 2005
Countercurrents.org
The
Western version of peace is overrated. The West would have us believe
Israel made the ultimate sacrifice by "disengaging" from the
Gaza Strip, putting "the ball in the Palestinian's court."
But let's look at the facts. Yes, Israel removed 8500 settlers and is
dismantling their military posts in Gaza. Israel, however, still controls
the ports, airspace and borders. Egypt may patrol the Philadelphi Corridor
in the future, but Israel will retain supreme authority. Israel preserved
"jurisdiction" over any person or product that comes in or
out of Gaza, including medical supplies and other humanitarian goods.
The electricity and water will also be turned on or off at the behest
of Israel, but don't go running to the border waving for help or you
may be gunned down by the Israeli forces.
What does peace
entail for the Palestinian people? Ariel Sharon reiterated that he will
reinvade Gaza whenever he deems it "necessary," and made known
his plans for the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Sharon stated, "Each
(Israeli) government since 1967 - right, left and national unity - has
seen
strategic importance in specific areas [beyond the Green Line]. I will
build." This blatant annexation goes well beyond U.N. Resolution
242 which calls on Israel to "withdraw from territories occupied."
In March, Israel
finalized plans to expand the Maale Adumim settlement by 3500 housing
units. Crossing out any hopes for peace, Sharon reaffirmed this week
"Ma'ale Adumim will continue to grow and be connected to Jerusalem."
This has been a main complaint of Palestinians since the beginning of
settlement expansion. It is against international law, their rights
as indigenous people of the land, and flies in the face of peace. Although
the U.N. created Israel, Sharon shamelessly tramples on every U.N. resolution
condemning excessive use of force, land grabs in the Occupied Territories,
and maintaining a belligerent occupation.
Israel's expanding
Annexation Wall seeks to weave in and out of the East Jerusalem to make
the region more "Jewish." In an attempt to connect the two
territories, Sharon is moving the Judea and Samaria police headquarters
to an area between Maale Adumim and East Jerusalem. Israeli citizens,
however, plan to take it a step further. The Bucharin Jewish community
owns the property of the old police headquarters. A group of right-wing
business men are looking to buy out the old property and turn it housing
units. "We are doing everything we can to bring Jewish life back
to all over east Jerusalem," said Daniel Luria, an Ateret Cohanim
spokesman. The Ma'aleh Hazeitim complex located across from the police
station is adding 119 housing units, while a dozen settlements in or
around Arab neighbors are constructing more units. The "wonders
of disengagement" overshadows these
intricate maneuvers to expand and conquer the eastern half of the Holy
City.
If the ball is in
the Palestinian's court, as the West avows, it seems it will be there
for a while. "It is absolutely clear that, in the next three to
four months, it is difficult to expect any dramatic developments in
the peace process," proclaimed Acting Finance Minister Ehud Olmert
in a meeting
with US secretary of State Condolezza Rice. Oddly enough, Olmert averted
further talks of the US backed "roadmap to peace" to discuss
a 2.1 billion dollar aid package for Israel-a nice sum that nearly equals
the gross domestic product of the Occupied Territories in 2004.
Israel made it evident
that reinvigorating the peace process is out of the question. Adding
fuel to the fire, Sharon's administration continues to blatantly disregard
the 7 month old Sharm Al-Sheik cease-fire they agreed to. This week
Israeli forces shot and killed five militants and wounded
three others in an extrajudicial killing in the West Bank. Israel claims
they were "connected" to the Tel Aviv bombing that killed
four Israeli women, but eyewitnesses contend that the militants were
unarmed and could have been arrested, no matter what the claimed connection.
Ah yes, Israeli "democracy" at it's finest.
After the shooting
Mahmood Abbas stated, "At a time when the Palestinian Authority
is trying to maintain calm, this murder intentionally aims at renewing
the vicious cycle of violence," The Palestinian population, including
militants, stayed calm during the disengagement of Gaza, in accordance
to the Sharm Al-Sheik cease-fire, as they said they would. Israel has
taken the first provocative step in reengaging in the cycle of violence
after the "disengagement."
One fact ultimately
remains: Ariel Sharon does not want peace. It's not in his strategic
interests. The longer the cycle of violence continues, the more time
Sharon has to approve new housing units, expand on outlines of the Annexation
Wall that goes well beyond the 1949 armistice lines, and create
Jewish majorities throughout Palestinian land. The Western version of
peace is simple, but unacceptable: let Israel continue its warmongering,
the appropriating and occupying of Palestinian land, while the Palestinians
sit idly by with a ball in their court and no one to play with.
Remi Kanazi is
the founder and primary writer for the political website www.PoeticInjustice.net