KK-Forum,
Observer, London, på lederplass
http://www.lbbs.org/observer.htm
Knut Rognes
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The Observer (U.K) October 15, 2000
Israel must end the hatred now
A true Palestinian state is essential
Special report: Israel and the Middle East
Leader Sunday October 15, 2000
If Palestinians were black, Israel would now be a pariah state subject to
economic sanctions led by the United States. Its development and settlement
of the West Bank would be seen as a system of apartheid, in which the
indigenous population was allowed to live in a tiny fraction of its own
country, in self-administered 'bantustans', with 'whites' monopolising the
supply of water and electricity. And just as the black population was
allowed into South Africa's white areas in disgracefully under-resourced
townships, so Israel's treatment of Israeli Arabs - flagrantly
discriminating against them in housing and education spending - would be
recognised as scandalous too.
One fall-out from the current violence in the West Bank is that the world
is beginning to recognise the extraordinary injustice with which
Palestinians are treated by Israel. Israel likes to portray itself as an
island of democratic civility whose peace-making efforts have now been
destroyed by a Palestinian onslaught directed by Yasser Arafat. Yes, there
is dreadful hatred. And yes, Arafat - cynical and corrupt - is no Nelson
Mandela. But the responsibility for ending hatred must lie with the
stronger partner. With this week's grim scorecard showing nearly 100
Palestinian fatalities and many more wounded against two Israeli soldiers
dead, there is no doubting where the balance of power actually lies.
An enraged Israeli population, united by fear and despair, will regard such
criticism as grossly unfair. They argue that they signed the Oslo accords
seven years ago. Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered a partial handover of
East Jerusalem and placing the holy sites outside Jewish control at Camp
David in July this year in order to to get a peace deal. Within Israel,
there was a move to recognise Palestine as an independent state. It was
thrown back in their face, and Arafat has been inciting Palestinians to
riot, inevitably prompting the Israeli police and army to react.
But that is a self-serving account. The Oslo accords built in an
overwhelming Israeli territorial advantage in the West Bank, and inevitably
turned Arafat into a compromised leader. He is caught between an
intransigent negotiating partner and a sullen, suspicious population over
whom he has little direct control - a stooge created by Israeli policy and
sustained by it. And all the while Israeli settlers extend their
settlements in the West Bank.
There is and never can be any long-term legitimacy for the Israeli state in
the Middle East as long as this process continues - and it is this that
threatens Israel's long-term survival. It was not Mr Sharon's visit to the
al-Aqsa compound on 28 September that triggered the current mayhem; it was
Israeli soldiers killing seven Palestinians and wounding 220 others the
following day, a calculated act of oppression for which the 'peace-making'
Mr Barak must accept responsibility.
It is all very well calling for summits and truces, and if they succeed in
creating short-term calm then they are welcome. But this is a moment of
truth for Israel. It can threaten all-out war and even reoccupy southern
Lebanon. However, it is a course that leads nowhere. If it wants genuine
and lasting peace, Israel must work to construct a legitimate Palestinian
state, draw back its illegal settlements from the West Bank to build
confidence around an agreed timetable and, in the interim, exercise
restraint in the way it polices. Playing the role of Old Testament hammer
of the non-Jewish will offer no permanent solution to the crisis.
This is the course of action that the European Union must back, and
quickly. The EU must declare independence from apparently craven American
support for whatever Israel does, with successive US Presidents fearing the
strength of the Jewish vote in swing states like New York and Florida.
Maybe even President Clinton in the last month of his presidency could be
outspoken about the situation; he has no more to lose. But with the oil
price rising ominously and immense support for the Palestinians welling up
round the Arab world, the West needs to be seen on the side of right.
This does not mean that we have to be starry-eyed about Arafat, or the
medieval culture from which he springs. But two wrongs do not make a right,
and Israel's indefensible policy of apartheid must be condemned for what it
is. Until then, there can be only more distrust, hatred and violence.
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