Dr. Majed Nassar
Nassar Ibrahim
13.10.2000
Palestine
Yesterday, the Palestinian people experienced a turning point in their lives. The struggle of the Palestinian people against the Israeli occupation has reached a new peak. The people witnessed a savage bombardment using tanks, rockets, and helicopters. 40 rockets were fired over Ramallah and another 90 over Gaza and other cities. Fortunately, no one was killed but numerous people were injured. Many buildings were destroyed. The main aim of the Israeli government is to break the spirit of the Palestinian people. Barak announced that this is only a token of what the Palestinians can expect. The other aim is to bring the Palestinians to the negotiating table before the Arab summit. In view of what is happening in the Arab World: the mass demonstrations, the increasing pressure over the Arab regimes, the closing of the Israeli office in Oman, the explosion of the US battle ship at the shores of Yemen, the explosion of the British embassy in Yemen too, and the recall of the Moroccan Ambassador back to Morocco, it becomes more important for the US government and Israel to defuse the Arab national movement that is rising. What is going on at present is a clear attempt to contain the Palestinian resistance on the national, Arab, and international levels. The Unites States is white-washing the Israeli government. And at the same time the United States is forcing its hegemony and monopoly on the region. The threats given by the US to the Arab states, especially Egypt (Egypt receives US $ 3 billion yearly from the US) are loud and clear, to ensure that they dance to the US orchestra. Robert Fisk wrote in his article from the 13.10.2000: "This is a story about lies, bias, hatred and death. It is about our inability -after more than half a century - to understand the injustice of the Middle East." Robert Fisk is right. The media is playing a dirty role. They are indeed diverting our minds from the truth. They are indeed the dispensers of the most obsequious and deformed information.
Given the scandalous number of Palestinian casualties and the increasing bloodshed throughout Palestine since 28 September 2000, and the numerous confrontations during the past one hundred years, is there a possibility to talk about a peace in the Middle East that overrides the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people?
The Oslo Agreement of 1993 came about in order to quell the Intifada of 1987, and brought with it not only the means to neglect the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people but also the placebo of self-rule. The country was torn into bantustans through the creation of areas A, B, and C, and the paving of bypass roads to further isolate Palestinian towns and villages. The settlements increased at breakneck speed. In addition, the Oslo Agreement tried to destroy the unity of the Palestinian people within Palestine and abroad. Since the signing of the Oslo Agreement, the Palestinian social and economic situation continues to deteriorate. The dividends of (Oslo) peace were not there.
The Israeli government viewed the Oslo Accord as an irresistible opportunity to coerce the Palestinians to sign a historic agreement sanctioning the imposition of its policies and programs and so-called "facts on the ground." With the decreasing momentum of the resistance movement and the increasing fragmentation of the Arab World, Israel and the United States seized this opportunity to employ the Israeli-American "solution" to end the conflict. The Israelis used the imbalance of world powers on the international and national levels to introduce their plan as the only viable solution. This plan is based on the following:
1. the transformation of Arab military defeats into permanent and fixed
Israeli political victories;
2. the rejection of Israeli withdrawal to the borders of 4 June 1967;
3. the rejection of the Palestinian right to return;
4. the claim that Jerusalem is the united and eternal capital of Israel
5. the plan to keep the settlements in the West Bank and Gaza under
Israeli
sovereignty
6. the rejection of a sovereign Palestinian state;
7. Israel's complete denial to acknowledge its responsibility for the
Palestinian disaster of 1948.
The present Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation stems from this reality. At the same time, "final status" negotiations are continuing in Washington to pass the final agreement with the help of a strong American lobby.
The new uprising of the last days has served to remind us of the simple fact that the conflicts and explosions occurring from Gaza to Nazareth and the Galilee and the Triangle, are nothing but a concentrated and significant expression of Palestinian resistance to Israeli oppression. In addition, they are a sign of the intense anger of the Palestinian people toward the so-called facts on the ground that Israel is trying to impose by force. In short, the Intifada is the Palestinian response to Israel's calculated plans to deny the rights of Palestinians and to force them to abdicate their legitimate political aspirations and expectations. For these reasons, the Oslo Agreement was a failure, even from the beginning, as it was used as a tool to break the Palestinian will and force an attitude of surrender.
Within the present context of violence and bloodshed, and taking into account its historical, political, and psychological dimensions, we must re-articulate the facts and the equations in order to reveal the situation for what it is. How can we explain the disproportionate violence of the Israeli army, with its concentrated use of rockets, combat helicopters, and tanks? How can we explain the open confrontation on the part of Palestinians and their readiness to die? How can we explain the explosion of Palestinian people in the cities and villages of 1948. What are the consequences of the mobilization of Arab peoples in various cities of the Arab World? What is the meaning of the signs of solidarity that we see in Europe?
These questions and others situate us squarely in the midst of a complex picture whose clarity must be restored once again, given the distortions that have been revealed since Madrid.
Of critical importance is the necessity to expose Israel's "understanding" of peace, namely, the exclusive imposition of its will and strategy to obliterate the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. Israel's terms of reference are power, terror, and unconditional U. S. support. Any Palestinian attempt at resistance and refusal to bow to Israel's will must therefore be met with raw force and violence. This fact explains the political imbalance of the so-called peace process and reveals that the goal of the process is to impose surrender rather than peace. Israel attempted to impose a political settlement without taking into consideration the reality of the historic confrontation. Implicit in this reality are the historic roots, memory, civilization, and national depth of the Palestinian people. In other words, the logic of force and imbalance of power are unable to annihilate the rights of this people or its vision. This is what Jacques Chirac meant when he condemned Israel's policy against the Palestinian people, saying, "You cannot face the feelings of a people with tanks."
The extreme violence used by Israel against the Palestinian uprising is nothing but another attempt to coerce the world into buying into its understanding of "peace," namely, a peace based on surrender. Any attempt to reject this notion will be faced by destruction, rendering the Palestinian people impotent in front of the cycle of defeat and surrender. Peace, according to Israel, turns out to be a continuation of occupation and oppression.
The Palestinian people have lost their trust in the ongoing peace process. After waiting seven years, they found themselves even more stifled and paralyzed by Israel's "facts on the ground." The Palestinians have fought for over 50 years to defend their rights. At a certain stage they found themselves dealing with a peace initiative, but toward what end? Not only were they asked to give more concessions than they could reasonably give, but the reality of the situation was finally revealed: the peace process for the Palestinian people is, in fact, a process of selling out.. The West Bank and Gaza were torn apart into areas A, B, and C. The bypass roads fragmented cities and villages and transformed them into bantustans. Settlement activities are increasing as a consequence of this "peace initiative." Prisoners have become a bargaining chip in order to blackmail Palestinian leaders during negotiations. Jerusalem was simply removed from the equation. Millions of refugees and displaced persons have lost hope of ever returning, and have succumbed to the bleak reality that the Palestinian refugee camp is no longer a temporary but a permanent place to stay. Finally, nothing has changed in the treatment of the Palestinian people, in terms of movement, borders, house demolitions, etc.
While this is the undeniable reality, Palestinians are asked to accept this "peace" that is accompanied by violence and oppression. Palestinians have no other choice than to remind the world of this reality and to reveal the devastating consequences of deceit. The recent provocation of Ariel Sharon when he entered the Haram a-Sharif, claiming it was a "normal" visit of a "normal Jew" is nothing but a stupid move. But it was fuel enough to ignite the minefield.
Within the context of this tragic reality, Palestinians were again painfully reminded of their experience, their suffering, their stolen land. They were reminded of the "peace" that has been talked about ad nauseam but that remains an elusive dream. They were reminded of their former cities and villages and their present-day refugees….
The only option available to them was to enter into confrontation and resist occupation. Peace without Jerusalem is not peace. Peace without land and the right of refugees to return is not peace. Peace without an end to occupation and the removal of settlements is not peace. Well aware that confrontation means death, Palestinians find themselves in front of the choice to die surrendering, or to die resisting. This is the reason that an unarmed people can choose to face Israeli soldiers and be ready to die.
The Israeli occupation, moreover, has attempted to confine the conflict in terms of its own understanding of the balance of power and how to use it politically in the course of imminent elections. Sharon continues his provocation tactics in order to convince the Zionists that he is the one to lead them, and Barak responds with an even stronger extremism. Both are engaged in a competition to win the support of the extremist party. Within such a context, peace doesn't have a chance. ( the US presidential candidates behaved in a similar manner, competing who can be the better servant of Israel)
The killings of the past days are racial killings. For this reason, the Palestinians in Nazareth, Akka, Haifa, etc., have stood up to affirm their presence and their Palestinian nationality. The Intifada of the Palestinians from 1948 is not only an Intifada of solidarity but an Intifada for themselves. The Palestinian uprising confronts the world with the truth of what Israel is and the racist policies that are its foundation for survival.
Until now, more than 100 people have been killed and 3,000 injured. Where is it going to lead? And how far are we going to go? The Intifada might stop, and the process of negotiations might be brought back on track. Israel and the U. S. might even be able to impose new agreements, but that doesn't mean that the conflict is over. It is going to lead to a new cycle of Israeli violence and Palestinian resistance. Israel must reassess its calculations and realize that even its war cannot coerce the Palestinian people to surrender. The United States must also reassess its position regarding its biased support toward Israel and recognize that it cannot guarantee its personal interests in the region without guaranteeing the personal interests of the Palestinian people. The Palestinian Authority must also redo its calculations and learn from its previous lessons that the policy of continuous concessions only serves to increase the appetite of Israel and increases the situation of despair and mistrust among the Palestinian people. They all must be aware that the Palestinian people will not accept a peace without justice.
As long as Israel insists on imposing its terms and conditions on key issues (refugees, Jerusalem, settlements, etc.), and continues its policies of terror and killing and denying the legitimate rights the Palestinian people, it is only a matter of days, months, or years when the Palestinian people will stand up again to face Barak's tanks, airplanes, and fascist tactics. But even these tools of violence will not defeat the feelings and aspirations of the Palestinian people. The Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands is the sole reason for all the bloodshed and suffering that is happening now. Taking all this into consideration, the Palestinian people have no other choice but to continue their resistance to the Israeli occupation until it is over.