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CounterPunch
September
23, 2002
Six Weeks of Quiet?
by Chris Meyer
"The Israeli government reserves
the right to be just as outraged at the loss of an Israel Defense
Force (IDF) soldier, gunning down a Palestinian family on the
West Bank, as at the loss of an unarmed civilian in Tel Aviv
.."
In an article in the New York Times entitled,
"Suicide Bomber Kills Israeli Soldier, Ending 6 Weeks of
Quiet", Michael R. Gordon 'reports' on a suicide bombing
in Israel.
By his choice of topics and viewpoints,
Gordon also does an excellent job of illustrating the typical
level of Israeli propaganda in American mainstream media.
On the bright side, it is nice to see
someone acknowledge that over 3 million Palestinians have shown
truly heroic restraint in the face of the most brutal and continuing
occupation on the planet for a solid 6 weeks.
The only significant news of terrorism
reported by the American media recently was a nail bomb attack
on a Palestinian school--but that was done by fundamentalist
Jewish terrorists, not Palestinians.
Gordon accounts for this 'quiet' by presenting
the official Israeli opinion:
"The Israeli government and army
officials have argued that the lull was the result of their continuing
military operations in the West Bank and Gaza, and not a slackening
in efforts by Palestinian militants."
This is the classic 'Catch 22' that those
in power will always impose on the objects of their aggression.
In this case, if Palestinians resist a brutal and expanding occupation,
then more occupation is needed to stop the resistance. If the
Palestinians do not resist, this proves that the brutal occupation
is working and needs to be continued; the old damned if you do--damned
if you don't.
Gordon ignores the fact that the occupation
is really all about ethnic cleansing and has nothing to do with
security. In fact, Sharon has a political need for suicide bombings
to make his 'Catch 22' work. The Israeli Government knows full
well an occupation cannot possibly stop a resistance movement
by a population of 3 million Palestinians, who look exactly like
Middle Eastern Israelis.
Indeed, as I write these lines, the occupation
has never been more brutal, and yet, an additional bomb has just
gone off, killing another 5 Israelis. I do not condone such acts
of violence, but the occupation, which is by far the greatest
act of offensive violence in recent history, is obviously not
able to stop resistance, nor was it designed to.
Gordon then reports that the United Nations
is generously pushing for a full Palestinian State by 2005, and
that Palestinian terror may interfere with statehood.
Anyone who has studied Israeli policy
knows that allowing a Palestinian State has never been a serious
option for any Israeli government. This is just another hollow
and deceitful political ruse. By 2005 Israel, using money from
the Jewish National Fund and its unique real estate laws, will
claim to have acquired all of Palestine for all of eternity,
leaving no place for Gentiles to legally exist, much less found
a state. Palestinians have long known this.
Gordon is hoping that the readership
of the New York Times will not be aware of this obvious and well-documented
fact.
Gordon closes his article by making a
most revealing point. He notes:
"Though a growing number of moderate
Palestinians have demanded an end to suicide bombings inside
Israel, many have argued that attacks against soldiers and against
settlers in the West Bank and Gaza are a legitimate resistance
to military occupation."
International Law clearly differentiates
armed combatants from civilians. One would think it laudable
that Palestinians, as hard pressed and out gunned as they are,
would strive to make this universal distinction, i.e. an armed
aggressor on my land does not equal an unarmed civilian in another
state.
Then Gordon quotes the opinion of Mr.
Shoval, an advisor to Ariel Sharon:
"We [Israelis] are not going to
differentiate between one Israeli person and another."
That is to say, Israel, in contravention
to international Law, will not discriminate between Israeli combatants
and civilians. What Shoval means is, the Israeli government reserves
the right to be just as outraged at the loss of an Israel Defense
Force (IDF) soldier, gunning down a Palestinian family on the
West Bank, as at the loss of an unarmed civilian in Tel Aviv.
This clearly shows the extent to which
Jewish fundamentalism, which claims that each drop of Jewish
blood is equally infinitely precious, has penetrated the thinking
of the government of Israel. Statistics also indicate that the
IDF does not differentiate between Palestinian combatants and
civilians, but indiscriminately slaughters unarmed men, women
and children with equal vigor. It seems the only differentiation
that matters to the Government of Israel is Jew versus Gentile.
The subtlest propaganda, however, is
found in the title: "Ending Six Weeks of Quiet." By
'Quiet', Gorden means there has been no bombings or major action
by Palestinian resistance.
If we look at the last 6 weeks from the
Palestinian perspective, we see a different story. In the last
6 weeks the IDF quietly murdered 71 Palestinians, mostly civilians
of all ages. 95 Palestinians were quietly wounded by live ammunition
(attempted murder). 16 were quietly wounded by 'rubber' bullets
(more attempted murder). 55 were quietly tear-gassed (chemical
warfare). 118 were quietly wounded by shrapnel (attempted murder
with tank shells and bombs). Thousands of kidnapped Palestinian
political prisoners were quietly tortured in Israeli prison camps.
Homes and businesses were quietly 'dismantled' (i.e. destroyed).
Agricultural assets were quietly wiped out. Water and communication
lines were quietly cut and brutal curfews were quietly enforced...
The saddest thing about articles like
Mr. Gordon's is that they also quietly ignore the truth, and
so I will share it with the gentle reader. If Israel really just
wants peace, then all she has to do is end the occupation and
begin treating her fellow human beings with dignity and compassion.
There will surely be some bumps along the road, but no other
way is truly moral or worth pursuing.
Chris Meyer
writes for the Palestinian
Chronicle. He can be reached at: chris@mytechs.com
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