Wizdom
30-06-06, 22:58
Only Israel Responsible for the Crisis in Mideast
Hassan Tahsin, [email protected]
The Palestinian people’s choice of Hamas to govern them was an expression of the worsening situation in the occupied territories.
Since the Madrid conference following the Gulf War II, the Palestinian people’s plight has been one of increasing misery.
On the basis of various peace conferences, the Palestinian Authority recognized the State of Israel as a legal entity and announced its acceptance of 1967 borders pinning their hopes on the promises made by the United States of an independent Palestine state. All the Arab countries were also asked to recognize Israel in return for a sovereign Palestine state. Palestinians had been led to believe all the while that an end to their woes was in sight. Unfortunately what they got was just empty rhetoric and unfulfilled promises. On the other hand, Israel was systematically violating all the agreements made at various international conferences.
The Zionist state was busy expanding settlements in the ever-narrowing Palestinian territories. It also resorted to a policy of delaying tactics in the matter of implementing peace agreements.
It was after the butcher of Palestinian refugees in Sabra and Shatila, Ariel Sharon, came to power that Israel’s deceptive scheme of grabbing Palestinian territories under the cover of peace talks began in earnest. The premier with a murderous military record encouraged building new Jewish settlements in the dwindling Palestinian lands apart from expanding the existing ones. He also constructed an insular ring road around Jerusalem to cut it off from the rest of the Palestinian territories and bringing it to closer geographical proximity to Israel.
He also invented the wall of racial segregation in the occupied lands to keep out the Palestinians. He announced a unilateral pullout from the Gaza Strip but this was a ruse to rush with expansionist activities in the West Bank. Simultaneously he executed a scheme to assassinate the Palestinian leaders who actively participate in the resistance.
A grim picture of the situation could be inferred from the reports of Israeli human rights organizations such as the Beth Shalom.
Palestinians have increasingly been disgusted by the deceitful political games Israel plays in its relations with the Palestinian Authority with explicit American support. Israel’s sole objective was to break the unity of the Palestinian people.
Though he fulfilled all the difficult conditions laid out by Sharon, Yasser Arafat could not win the trust of Israel as a partner for peace talks. Instead Sharon sought the help of his supporters in the White House to create a post of prime minister in the Palestine Authority so that Mahmoud Abbas could become the prime minister with whom Israel would hold talks ignoring and humiliating Arafat. The PA willingly obeyed the US dictate. Yet the Israeli attitude to the Palestinians did not change. The internal situation in Palestine has been worsening further. Even insincere Western attempts at finding a Middle East settlement ground to a halt. Instead of resuming negotiations with Abbas, Israel hardened its stand. All efforts by the Palestinian Authority to ease life for the Palestinians proved futile. This eventually led to the Palestinian people’s loss of confidence in the PA and prompted them to seek a change in an internationally recognized democratic way. They placed all their trust in the Hamas politicians hoping to regain some of the lost Palestinian rights.
Now Ehud Olmert, the new prime minister, is bent on ripping apart the unity of the Palestinians and make each group fall on the other.
This Olmert could achieve by tightening the siege around the Palestinian lands and keeping them hungry and deprived. The siege will lead to an armed confrontation amidst various Palestinian groups leading to a situation in which Israel would have to make a large-scale military intervention supposedly to stop the infighting. The Jewish state has already destroyed the infrastructure in Gaza citing the reason of self-defense.
Successive Israeli governments are, undoubtedly, responsible for the breakdown of peace talks. Israel keeps on refusing to understand that its security is inseparably linked to the security of the entire region and the safety of Israeli citizens is linked with the recognition of the just rights of the Palestinians.
In short, the Palestinians chose Hamas in hopes of peace for themselves and security for Israelis.
— This column was written before the latest Israeli military onslaught on Gaza.
Hassan Tahsin, [email protected]
The Palestinian people’s choice of Hamas to govern them was an expression of the worsening situation in the occupied territories.
Since the Madrid conference following the Gulf War II, the Palestinian people’s plight has been one of increasing misery.
On the basis of various peace conferences, the Palestinian Authority recognized the State of Israel as a legal entity and announced its acceptance of 1967 borders pinning their hopes on the promises made by the United States of an independent Palestine state. All the Arab countries were also asked to recognize Israel in return for a sovereign Palestine state. Palestinians had been led to believe all the while that an end to their woes was in sight. Unfortunately what they got was just empty rhetoric and unfulfilled promises. On the other hand, Israel was systematically violating all the agreements made at various international conferences.
The Zionist state was busy expanding settlements in the ever-narrowing Palestinian territories. It also resorted to a policy of delaying tactics in the matter of implementing peace agreements.
It was after the butcher of Palestinian refugees in Sabra and Shatila, Ariel Sharon, came to power that Israel’s deceptive scheme of grabbing Palestinian territories under the cover of peace talks began in earnest. The premier with a murderous military record encouraged building new Jewish settlements in the dwindling Palestinian lands apart from expanding the existing ones. He also constructed an insular ring road around Jerusalem to cut it off from the rest of the Palestinian territories and bringing it to closer geographical proximity to Israel.
He also invented the wall of racial segregation in the occupied lands to keep out the Palestinians. He announced a unilateral pullout from the Gaza Strip but this was a ruse to rush with expansionist activities in the West Bank. Simultaneously he executed a scheme to assassinate the Palestinian leaders who actively participate in the resistance.
A grim picture of the situation could be inferred from the reports of Israeli human rights organizations such as the Beth Shalom.
Palestinians have increasingly been disgusted by the deceitful political games Israel plays in its relations with the Palestinian Authority with explicit American support. Israel’s sole objective was to break the unity of the Palestinian people.
Though he fulfilled all the difficult conditions laid out by Sharon, Yasser Arafat could not win the trust of Israel as a partner for peace talks. Instead Sharon sought the help of his supporters in the White House to create a post of prime minister in the Palestine Authority so that Mahmoud Abbas could become the prime minister with whom Israel would hold talks ignoring and humiliating Arafat. The PA willingly obeyed the US dictate. Yet the Israeli attitude to the Palestinians did not change. The internal situation in Palestine has been worsening further. Even insincere Western attempts at finding a Middle East settlement ground to a halt. Instead of resuming negotiations with Abbas, Israel hardened its stand. All efforts by the Palestinian Authority to ease life for the Palestinians proved futile. This eventually led to the Palestinian people’s loss of confidence in the PA and prompted them to seek a change in an internationally recognized democratic way. They placed all their trust in the Hamas politicians hoping to regain some of the lost Palestinian rights.
Now Ehud Olmert, the new prime minister, is bent on ripping apart the unity of the Palestinians and make each group fall on the other.
This Olmert could achieve by tightening the siege around the Palestinian lands and keeping them hungry and deprived. The siege will lead to an armed confrontation amidst various Palestinian groups leading to a situation in which Israel would have to make a large-scale military intervention supposedly to stop the infighting. The Jewish state has already destroyed the infrastructure in Gaza citing the reason of self-defense.
Successive Israeli governments are, undoubtedly, responsible for the breakdown of peace talks. Israel keeps on refusing to understand that its security is inseparably linked to the security of the entire region and the safety of Israeli citizens is linked with the recognition of the just rights of the Palestinians.
In short, the Palestinians chose Hamas in hopes of peace for themselves and security for Israelis.
— This column was written before the latest Israeli military onslaught on Gaza.