outsidein

• Gaza madness

  December 29, 2008 @ 12:08 pm | by Bryan

  

  A Palestinian family after an Israeli missile strike in the Rafah refugee camp, in the southern Gaza Strip, yesterday. Israel’s cabinet has ordered a callup of at least 6,500 reserve soldiers, leading to speculation about a major ground offensive in Gaza. Photograph: Eyad Baba/AP

  Deaglán has an excellent blog post on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. I’m not going to rehash his work, but I suggest that you take a look at it here.

  Weeks ago, I had the pleasure of being lectured by an Israeli human rights lawyer and activist. The lecture was supposed to be on torture but we spent a considerable amount of time discussing the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. His take on it was that violence begets violence and that no-one was winning. In fact, every rocket fired, every suicide bombing, and every military excursion or assassination only made things worse.

  That type of sentiment can sound a little airy-fairy and out of sync with cold, hard reality, but I think he was completely right. The type of disproportionate aggression that Israel is currently demonstrating takes away from their legitimacy and support in the eyes of international public opinion. It must also infuriate Palestinians and strengthen the case for further conflict and retaliation.

  In the same way, every time Hamas, Fatah or anyone else fires rockets at civilians in Israel, they confirm the notion that they are monsters who need to be stopped. On an international stage, those types of acts lend credence to the bigoted, but growing, belief that Muslims are violent people bent on inflicting terror on others.

  The saddest part of this whole affair for me is that 300 plus people may have been killed because there is an election coming up and some politicians want to prove to the electorate that they can be tough on Hamas. That, and as Deaglán suggests, they rightly figured the rest of the world would be too preoccupied with their Christmas presents to mount a vocal response. Worse, some have suggested that Hamas anticipated and even hoped for this kind of response from Israel - they will probably be in a stronger position when all of this ends in terms of local support and being able to mobilise people against Israel.

  Whatever the truth, the whole affair is sickening.
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13 Comments »
1.
December 29, 2008
12:50 pm
Great to see you comment on this: out and out condemnation appears to be scarce. I am also sickened. My sympathy is with the Palestinian civilians who were cut off from medical supplies and then bombed. Surely not a planned operation? Of course it’s about votes. The ordinary people of the world need to plan mass demonstrations to show their lack of support for Israel’s current “operation”. Interesting to see if Obama changes his stance now…
Comment by Wendy Mooney
2.
December 29, 2008
1:00 pm
In the same way, every time Hamas, Fatah or anyone else fires rockets at civilians in Israel, they confirm the notion that they are monsters who need to be stopped.
Regardless of the impression, this notice is incorrect. Of course killing any civilians is always wrong. There is little doubt that Hamas was ill-advised to restart the rocket attacks. However these kind of pathetic attacks (and they are truly pathetic in comparison to Israel’s attacks) are all Hamas, or Palestine, feel they have left in their efforts to save their homeland. There are the natural response of a people in desperation. According the Israel, yesterday Arafat was “the devil”, today it is Hamas, but it is consistently the Palestinian people who in the death-throws of desperation are carrying out these desperate and pathetic attacks, only to be responded to by a nuclear power in these terms. These actions cannot be compared, one is a massacre, the other an action of desperation.
It is revolting that after expulsion, occupation, genocide and now siege of what remains of their lands, the Palestinians are blamed for their own massacre when they lash out in such a pathetic way. The attempt to appear even-handed here and elsewhere simply plays to the Israeli propaganda machine. There is no comparison between Hamas and Israel, and that we sit by and let this situation develop demonstrates a complete failure of our international institutions.
On an international stage, those types of acts lend credence to the bigoted, but growing, belief that Muslims are violent people bent on inflicting terror on others.
What does this mean Bryan though? This notion, when compared to Israeli or American terror in casualty terms, does not stand up. Hamas and Fatah have never had the success at murdering civilians as Israel in Lebanon and Palestine is recent years, or for that matter the Shock and Awe (terror) that bombed tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians to death. This notion is strictly not true, and should not be given credence. It is the responsibility of our societies to dispel these notions, not for Palestine to comprehend as they struggle for survival.
Comment by Steve K
3.
December 29, 2008
1:50 pm
Until all Middle Eastern countries agree Israels has the right to exist, things will continue to deteroriate. The two-country options would work, however it would require a Marshall Plan-style effort in order to bring the West Bank and Gaza Strip out of extreme poverty and give hope to the Palestinians. The key to this success will also require international peacekeeping forces from the major world powers such as China, India, Russia, and Arab nations. Arab countries have played both sides of the fence on this issue. They condemn the Israelis, while providing arms and training to Hamas, Hezbollah, and other radical elements controlling these areas, on the other hand they refuse to offer humanitarian assistances in the Billions (which many OPEC nations have) in order to rebuild the infrastructure. I was surprised to learn that America provides the largest amount of humanitarian aid to these areas, as well as military aid to Israel. The issue is critical for the survival of the region and will require all nations in the region to agree upon a lasting resolution.One must also understand this is a clash of religious cultures (Jew vs Muslim) and these roots were planted thousands of years ago. As a Christian & American who lives side by side with Jews, Muslims, Christians, etc. We find it hard to understand such issues unless we spend time in these areas. Both sides are to blame for the maddness, now lets looks past this issue and move towards a solution. This is where a well respected diplomat such as General Colin Powell can make a difference.
Comment by DHF5811
4.
December 29, 2008
1:54 pm
In the midst of all the violence it is the people I think of. Grave yards must be overflowing, how do you dig over 200 graves in such a short period?.
Those in Gaza appear to be concentrated in a small space with very tight controls on everything from medicine to fuel to basic essientials. What is the conscience of Israeli government and citizens like?
In agreement with another post on this website with the police HQ bombed, prison bombed, healthcare stretched beyond human belief in the 21st century compounded by the last few days:
In short I feel for the people in Gaza who are at the mercy of the best and worst of human nature as the have to survive day to day… and then also cope with the government who have the borders under seige.
Comment by Claire
5.
December 29, 2008
2:34 pm
have to admit the only people not interested in violence over there would be the palestinian christians , the arabs there give out about check points but what should they expect
if they have wage their war in such selfless
ways .
and ireland should not take in any refugees
from gautanamo , if the captives are innocent
then they should have no trouble returning
to their home countries .
Comment by paul
6.
December 29, 2008
2:55 pm
The terrorist is the one with the small bomb.
What will Obama do? Asking that question is, I’m afraid, naive. Bush thought he’d solved the problem, and then turned his back. Mission Accomplished?
Clinton did something for Northern Ireland, to be sure, but his input came at a time when prime movers on each side had grown older and weary of the repetitive murder and terror–and concerned for their own children.
Conditions in Israel/Palestine are not at that level yet. There are fundamentalist madmen on both sides, with equal religious fervour and justification. The same can be said of Christian Zionists in America, although they don’t always call themselves that. They see any conflict in the Middle East as a potential starter of Armageddon and their own reward in the Rapture. The Rev. Pat Robertson, once leader of The Moral Majority, is one such. (The biggest selling novels in recent years in America, though not counted in the “legitimate” lists, have been on the topics of Rapture and Tribulation.)
In the Gaza strip, maybe a fifth of the size of an “average” Irish county, 1.5 million people live in horrible conditions. They have no bodies of fresh water, but they do have deposits of natural gas, at least according to the CIA fact-book (Google). Now, bodies, blood, and limbs litter the populated areas. Israeli spokespersons insist that they target military installations only. Like a university?
The Israeli incursion into Lebanon was a disaster for the local population, totally disproportionate to the security gains Israeli authorities hoped for. The current slaughter in Gaza is of the same order. It is likely to increase world-wide terrorism, and unless Israel embarks on its own version of a “final solution,” this chapter will only serve to add to a condition of perpetual war, with suffering for many and profit for a minority.
World leaders need to get involved, not just Obama, the man expected to solve all problems. He’ll have his hands full dealing with bigots and extremists in America. God help him and us all.
Comment by Des Johnson
7.
December 29, 2008
4:12 pm
White House blames Hamas for new Mideast violence.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081229/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_mideast;_ylt=An5CTfu5RKok4240KPGt4twuQE4F
A tad one sided perhaps?
Comment by NaRocRoc
8.
December 29, 2008
5:04 pm
If anybody is not clear on this issue yet, let me tell you, this is genocide! The people in the Gaza Strip are suffering what is state terrorism. This should not surprise us as we, from the so-called civilised world, are accustomed to it. We can’t expect European countries or the USA to condemn it as they are all guilty of doing the same. The “civilised´´ world disgusts me!
Comment by Bero
9.
December 29, 2008
6:17 pm
During the latest cease fire Israel broke the agreement by closing the entry / exit points into Gaza. No food or medicine could get into the Palestinian population trapped inside. Israel then attacks Gaza with the force only Israel can muster. So far this week over 300 Palestinians have been murdered. How many Israeli have died from Palestinian rocket attacks? Just look at the numbers. No other country in the world would get away with what Israel is doing. Why is that? Its time to end the propaganda coming from Israel and pro Israeli media. Todays article from the Israeli ambassador to Ireland being a case in point. The hypocracy is nauseating. Collective punishment is a crime against humanity. The agressor is Israel and they should be held accountable. Until our politicians take a stand on this it is our duty to boycott all Israeli produce. It worked against aparthide South Africa and will work against this murderous regime also.
Comment by Ronan
10.
December 29, 2008
6:53 pm
Violence does beget violence and one would have to truly delusional not to see that it has taken both sides to prolong this horribly violent and destructive conflict.
Isrealis never refer to the land they have taken as Palestinian land - they simply refer to all newly taken lands as Israel. I know of nobody who would quietly and meekly stand by while their land was taken, their homes bulldozed and their wives and children left homeless and starved.
Israel has an internal need to keep grabbing more and more land - their need does not equate to the right to do so yet they are allowed by a bought and cowed US. The Neocons have even aided them by condemning only the Palestinians for the violence.
Are bombs falling on Isreal? Depends on how you look at it - that “Southern Isreal” referred to us in fact not Isreali land but Palestinian land illegally taken.
Comment by Katy
11.
December 29, 2008
9:49 pm
I believe it was Golda Meir who once said that peace would not come to the Middle East until the Palestinians loved their children more than they hated Israelis.
That point has not been reached, and is not likely to be in the near future.
I had hoped that the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza(six years ago?) would form the basis for peace talks, bearing in mind that the withdrawal was unilateral. But then Hamas came to power, refusing to recognize the sovereignty of Israel or even its very right to exist. How does one negotiate with another whose avowed aim is your destruction?
A “two-state” solution seems to be a possibility, but while such a solution is acceptable in principle to both Israel and the Palestinian Authority, it has been rejected out of hand by Hamas. Please note that the only “peace proposal” offered by Hamas involves the destruction of Israel. Rather a non-starter, don’t you think?
Rather than engage in negotiations, Hamas has chosen to engage in low-level conflict with its neighbor and has, for several years, fired rockets over the border at Israeli targets. More than 1,200 rockets were fired into Israel by Hamas between January 1 and December 21, 2008. This is a low-risk strategy; Hamas knows that most people in the world will overlook their provocations and consider them the victims.
The Israeli response was hardly surprising. The response was certainly disproportionate, but that is the intent: to respond with such force that Hamas stops any similar actions in the future.
Comment by RRB52
12.
December 29, 2008
10:02 pm
Obama will do nothing. He is beholden to Zionist money.
Comment by thos OSullivan
13.
December 30, 2008
12:58 am
I can relate to both sides. On one hand, the Palestinians have been treated atrociously by the international community. They elected Hamas in free and fair process, but no secret was made of the fact that from day 1, the US, Israel and the EU worked at discrediting them and getting Fatah back in the driver’s seat. If I were a Hamas member, I might also have lost faith in trying to go about things properly and I may have been tempted to do the one thing that Hamas obviously can - fire largely ineffective rockets into Israeli controlled territory.
That said, violence, as Katy mentioned, does beget violence. And Israel does have the right to protect her citizens. Israel must also be under tremendous pressure, having so many groups and sometimes whole countries in the region working to undermine it. When you are constantly tense and worried about your survival, it is understandable that sometimes you will overreact.
But this is where my diplomacy and understanding ends. Yes, Israel wants a lasting ceasefire, and yes, they have the right to protect their people, but such callous, disproportionate killing cannot be condoned. You can’t claim to be the aggrieved and then go off and kill much more people than those who were killed in the first place. And morality aside, it is counter productive. How many young men and women have lost parents or siblings over the last few days, only to be told that the murderers were Israeli? How can that do anything but perpetuate the cycle of violence?
The tragedy here is that human lives are not all being seen as equally sacred. Were that happening, the whole world would have demanded that both sides stop immediately.
Comment by Bryan

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