A War Criminal is Elected

Sarah Waheed

Ariel Sharon, the very man whose visit to the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif last September "sparked" the current Palestinian intifadha, is now Israel's new Prime Minister. His election is reminiscent of another Israeli leader, whose ugly past was conveniently swept under the rug when he reached the top: Menachim Begin. Both Begin and Sharon were responsible for carrying out whole-sale massacres of Palestinians. Both men belong to a long list of war criminals and terrorists -- and yet both, by the time of their election, had acquired the status of "statesman" and were openly welcomed upon that mendacious platform that leaders of the Western world are so proud to call "civilization".

By any moral code of conduct, what both Begin and Sharon represent is the opposite of "civilized". In his book, "The Revolt", Begin recalled the way in which he had sent Irgun terror squads into Deir Yassin in 1948, and how over 250 women, children, and elders were butchered, as young Arab men worked in the fields. Begin writes: "In Jerusalem, as elsewhere, we were the first to pass from the defensive to the offensive -- Arabs began to flee in terror -- Hagana was carrying out successful attacks -- while all the Jewish forces proceeded to advance through Haifa like a knife through butter". Unbelievably, Begin's past was virtually expunged by the late 70s. Not only was he awarded an honorary LLD by Northwestern University in 1978, he even found himself included in the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize.

A convenient, comfortable collective amnesia has always prevailed when it comes to war crimes executed by Israeli leaders. Rarely are references made to Sharon's destructive past -- and if they are, they are usually couched in mitigating euphemisms such as "hawkish" (The New York Times) or "hardliner" (NPR). Ariel Sharon is the man Palestinians hold responsible for the Sabra and Shatila massacres. And yet, amazingly, violence continues to be described as though it were an inherent Palestinian characteristic! Somehow, the Israeli leadership is still capable of suspending rationality, carrying out violent schemes, and not only getting away with it, but turning around and blaming its very own victims!

Sharon has devoted his entire life to the devastation of Palestinian life, culture, and political resistance in order to proceed with building a Greater Israel. His expansionist ideals are built around hyper-Zionist claims, calling for an Israel based on Biblical borders -- an outrage if such claims were advanced by any other religious or ethnic group.

Sharon's career of exterminating Arabs began in the 50s, when he became the leader of an Israeli commando group called Unit 101. He conducted military campaigns against Arab villages where hundreds of civilians were brutally killed. In Qibya, Israeli troops burnt down Palestinian homes while innocent people were inside, and destroyed a mosque. After forcing off Palestinian independence fighters in the West Bank in the 60s and exacerbating the Palestinian refugee problem, Sharon became a general in the 1973 war. He continued to uproot Palestinians in order to build more Jewish settlements. His actions have constituted war crimes, are in complete contravention of international law, and grossly violate the 4th Geneva Conventions.

By the late 70s, Sharon orchestrated collective punishments against the Palestinians, detained thousands of Palestinians without charge, and continued the building of illegal settlements. In 1982, Sharon invaded Lebanon, causing the death of over 20,000 civilian. He ordered the bombing of schools, churches, and homes. That same year, Israeli troops under his command massacred hundreds, and by some estimates, even thousands, of refugees at Sabra and Shatila. Notable Independent journalist, Robert Fisk, who visited the Shabra and Shatila camps in 1982, wrote recently: "the ghosts haunt me still". Even the Israeli government found Sharon, then Israel's Defense Minister, indirectly responsible for the massacre. The Kahan commission stated that he bore "personal responsibility" and recommended his removal from office. Sharon resigned.

Today, there he stands triumphantly over his people. Thanks to their votes, he is now transformed from a butcher to a "statesman". But in the process, what has been most obvious to Palestinians all along has now been made equally obvious to the rest of the world: Israelis view Palestinians as indigens to be controlled and not as equals to be respected. Their grievances have no place in Israel's scheme of things. Instead, Palestinians are viewed as an infantile people, easily brainwashed and peculiarly stubborn, and incapable of processing peace. The question is always "How to handle them?", as though they are unruly children. If Barak, a "giving father" has spoilt them, then bring in Sharon, for he'll whip them back into shape.

In the final analysis, it boils down to a racism that justifies the inhumane. The eerie calm with which Sharon has been brought to power is the most eloquent witness to this sad reality.