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CounterPunch
February
13, 2003
Arabs and Jews Unite
Against War
A No to War
from Those Who Will Suffer
By NEVE GORDON
Jerusalem. About a week ago, ten Israelis from different
grassroots organizations crossed the Qalandia checkpoint and
entered besieged Ramallah, a city located in "Area A"
of the Palestinian territories and therefore legally out of bounds
for Israeli citizens.
They were met by a number of representatives
of civil society, including Raja Shechada the founder of the
human rights organization AL-Hak and Moustafa Barghouti, the
head of PNGO, the umbrella association of all Palestinian non-governmental
organizations.
The purpose of the meeting was to explore
new venues for cooperation following the recent Israeli elections,
in which the right wing parties won their greatest victory in
the State's history -- they now control two-thirds of the seats
in the Knesset (parliament).
The discussion rapidly turned to the
war against Iraq and the effects such a war would have on the
Middle East, particularly on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The people in the room remembered that
during the Gulf War the international media concentrated on Scud
missiles falling on Tel-Aviv, while ignoring the suffering of
the occupied Palestinians. They recollected that in 1991 the
Israeli government imposed a 40-day curfew on all of the major
cities, subjecting the population to massive collective punishment.
The Palestinian economy was in much better shape then than it
is today; this time around, with the majority of Palestinians
living off of less than $2 a-day, a pro-longed curfew will undoubtedly
lead to widespread hunger.
Those present at the Ramallah meeting
expressed their fear that the Sharon government will take advantage
of the international media concentration on the war to perpetrate
large-scale human rights violations. They specifically mentioned
the possibility of deportation of Palestinian leaders, and the
uprooting and internal expulsion of whole villages from one part
of the West Bank to another so as to render large areas within
the occupied territories Palestinian free. The objective of such
a move would be to make these areas more susceptible to Israeli
annexation.
Along the same lines, concern was raised
about actions which might be taken by the Jewish settlers. It
is possible that settlers will also exploit the war to accelerate
the expropriation of Palestinian land and to ruin their fields.
Their goal is to destroy the Palestinian infrastructure of existence,
a tactic employed in order to "encourage" Palestinians
to leave certain areas.
The Israelis and Palestinians decided
to draft a joint statement against the war, which numerous organizations
on both sides of the green line have already signed. They then
sent it to groups all over the world and asked that they read
it aloud during the international protests against war that will
take place on February 15.
The Arab and Jewish residents of the
Middle East wrote:
In spite of the growing international
opposition of millions of people all over the world, it has become
clear that the United States intends to lead a military assault
against Iraq, regardless of the expected number of civilian casualties
and suffering. Indeed, the imminent war will undoubtedly have
catastrophic effects on the people of Iraq, on the Middle East
as a whole and on the West Bank and Gaza Strip more specifically.
Peoples of this region will pay the price of the war the price
of death, destruction, hatred and more war.
Based on our experience from 1991, we
also fear that massive repressive measures could be launched
against Palestinian civilians during this period. We urge all
peace-loving people in Israel to join forces in order to preempt
such policies, and call for international protection of the Palestinian
people living under Israeli occupation.
We, Israeli and Palestinian members of
civil society, are against this war, as it is not about security
or justice, but about power, hegemony, control, and greed. We
firmly believe that security as well as freedom for the peoples
of this region cannot be achieved through war, violence, and
death.
We call upon all people and organizations
to raise their voices in opposing this war and to work jointly
towards the establishment of a just, comprehensive, and durable
peace in the region.
Together we say: No to the War Against
Iraq! Yes to a Life of Peace & Justice in the Middle East!
Yes to Ending Israeli Occupation!
The Bush administration has decided to
ignore the opposition mounting in the United States, Europe,
and Latin America. I doubt it will heed the cry of the people
from the Middle East -- those who will suffer most from this
war.
Neve Gordon
teaches politics at Ben-Gurion University, Israel, and is a contributor
to The
Other Israel: Voices of Refusal and Dissent. (New Press
2002). He can be reached at ngordon@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
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