Unsettling: Israel’s Withdrawal from Gaza
By Aaron Goldstein (08/20/05)
When I saw the television images of Israeli men, women and children being dragged against their will from their homes by their own soldiers crying inconsolably I was left with one lingering question.
What had these people done wrong?
These are decent, law abiding people whose only crime is living in Gaza while Jewish. These settlers do not teach their children that Palestinians are apes and pigs. These settlers do not pray for the death of Palestinians while worshipping in their synagogues. These settlers do not make music videos extolling the virtues of Baruch Goldstein (no relation) or Eden Natan-Zada.
Could you imagine the international outcry that would descend upon Israel if it entertained the idea of forcibly removing Arabs from East Jerusalem? The UN General Assembly would pass a resolution condemning Israel faster than you can say colonialist expansionism. Amnesty International, Michael Moore, The Nation, David Duke and the left-wing chattering classes would quickly follow suit.
Yet one must ask why is Israel able to tolerate a million Arabs living within its borders but in Gaza one Jew is one too many?
To be certain there are a critical mass of Israelis who want no part of either Gaza or the West Bank. To them they are little more than a nuisance best fenced off. They may have a point. But their point is weakened by the lack of reciprocity on the part of Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority.
Why was there such a great urgency in pressuring Ariel Sharon to close down all the settlements in Gaza by August? Sure the plan was passed by the Israeli Knesset. I am not questioning the legitimacy of the exercise in that respect. But there can be little doubt that the Knesset had its feet held to the fire by the Bush Administration.
And such pressure would be fine except for the fact that Abbas and Palestinian Authority are not under similar pressure by the Bush Administration to clean up Palestinian textbooks so that they do not refer to Jews as apes and pigs. Abbas and the Palestinian Authority are not under similar pressure by the Bush Administration to ensure that Palestinian state run television does not praise the act of homicide bombings. Abbas and the Palestinian Authority are not under similar pressure by the Bush Administration to ensure that incitement to hatred and violence does not take place in their mosques. Abbas and the Palestinian Authority are not under similar pressure by the Bush Administration to rename soccer fields and streets that honor homicide bombers. Most importantly of all, Abbas and the Palestinian Authority are not under similar pressure by the Bush Administration to fight Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah and other terrorist entities operating inside the Palestinian Authority.
Quite frankly, the settlements are and always have been nothing more than a red herring. Israel could dismantle every last settlement and expel every last Jew from Gaza and the West Bank. Does anyone honestly believe this will placate Hamas?
With that in mind, let us consider an interview that was conducted with Hamas leader Dr. Mahmoud Al-Zahar that took place on August 18, 2005 and which can be found on www.memri.org/bin/opener.cgi?/Page=archives&ID=SP96405.
When Dr. Al-Zahar was asked if Hamas would resume its operations in Israeli towns after the withdrawal, Dr. Al-Zahar replied, “Firstly, there are no Israeli towns. These are settlements. If the aggression and occupation continue, the Palestinian people will have no alternative but to defend themselves. The Palestinian people are not killing the occupiers or being killed out of fun or madness.” When informed that Israel feared that Gaza would come under the control of Hamas, Dr. Al-Zahar replied, “Let Israel die.”
If celebrating the homicide bombing at Hebrew University in 2002 by distributing candies to children in Gaza isn’t an act of madness, then what is? But madness or no madness, Hamas simply will not recognize Israel’s right to exist – except for its demise.
On May 26th of this year, President Bush met with Abbas at the White House. President Bush commented on his meeting with Abbas:
We meet at a time when a great achievement of history is within reach, the creation of a peaceful, democratic Palestinian state. President Abbas is seeking that goal by rejecting violence and working for democratic reform. I believe the Palestinian people are fully capable of justly governing themselves, in peace with their neighbors. I believe the interests of the Israeli people would be served by a peaceful Palestinian state. And I believe that now is the time for all parties of this conflict to move beyond old grievances and act forcefully in the cause of peace.
If one is to believe the Bush Administration’s Road Map to Peace then why is Abbas not “rejecting violence” and not “acting forcefully in the cause of peace.”? If it is Dr. Al-Zahar’s stated goal to let Israel die then why hasn’t the Bush Administration pressured Abbas to arrest Dr. Al-Zahar and to dismantle Hamas?
The Bush Administration, which was so admirable for its ostracism of the late Yasser Arafat, has turned downright gooey when it comes to Abbas. They have pinned their hopes on Abbas to fight Palestinian terrorism in the same manner that the Clinton Administration pinned their hopes on Arafat to do the same. We all know that Arafat not only did not fight terror but encouraged it. How has Abbas acted any differently than Arafat? I would like to know.
What makes it all the more disconcerting are the monies received by the Palestinian Authority from Western governments. After Abbas’ White House meeting with Bush in May, the President announced $50 million in aid for the Palestinian Authority. At the G-8 Summit in Scotland last month a $3 billion aid package for the Palestinian Authority was announced. This despite the fact that previous aid has been mismanaged by the Palestinian Authority. Indeed, in 2002, Charles Tannock, a Conservative member of the European Parliament, unsuccessfully attempted to launch an investigation of misuse of aid by the European Union. How has Palestinian transparency evolved to a point where Western governments can be confident that the money will be used for such purposes as housing instead of funding homicide bombings? Although the aid from the Bush Administration has been promised with tighter controls, if the U.S. and other Western governments cannot answer with confidence that their funds will not be used to conduct terrorism or be otherwise mismanaged then they have effectively undermined the war against terror by subsidizing it.
If Israelis can be forced to leave Gaza then surely they can be forced to leave the West Bank. And if Israelis can be forced to leave the West Bank then surely they can be forced to leave East Jerusalem. And if Israelis can be forced to leave East Jerusalem then surely they can be forced to leave Jerusalem altogether. So long as Abbas and the Palestinian Authority are not compelled to act and do so at a specific time then they are setting the agenda, pushing the buttons and pulling the strings. If the Bush Administration is serious about a Jewish state and a Palestinian state living peaceably side by side this state of affairs cannot continue.
If Ariel Sharon can tell the Israeli electorate that they will have to make “painful concessions” and set about on a course to forcibly remove law abiding settlers from their homes why can’t Mahmoud Abbas tell Palestinians that they too will have to make painful concessions and arrest Dr. Al-Zahar and forcibly dismantle Hamas and other terrorist organizations?
If the Bush Administration cannot satisfactorily answer this question then I am afraid that the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza will have been in vain. That, my friends, is unsettling.
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