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Israel’s wars of destruction and revenge

Jul 22,2014 - Last updated at Jul 22,2014

For the second time since the Israeli onslaught on Gaza two weeks ago, the UN Security Council has failed to act in accordance with its duties as defined by the UN Charter. Instead of passing a proper resolution ordering Israel to stop its attack, the council only issued a statement asking for a ceasefire. Because this week’s action is a repeat of a similar one by the council last week, Israel must have been encouraged by such a lip service measure, reading in it more endorsement of its aggression than censure. Israel paid no attention to the previous ceasefire call by the council and is likely to ignore this one too. 

This is the third time Israel attacks Gaza since 2008/2009. That offensive resulted in massive destruction of the entire infrastructure in the densely populated strip; it killed, injured, displaced and maimed tens of thousands of defenceless civilians, and levelled thousands of houses to the ground. Security Council Resolution 1860 of 2009, which formally ended that war, included a number of medium-term remedial measures for the Gaza predicament but none of its provisions was ever implemented. Neither was there any follow up. The siege remained, the suffering increased, the promised aid failed to arrive, building materials were not permitted entry by Israeli authorities and the general situation steadily worsened.

On top of that, Israeli raids on Gaza continued on a regular basis without raising any attention at the UN or prompting any meaningful moves by the so-called international community. Accumulated injustice-related frustration was inevitably bound to lead to another explosion.

Israel was fully exonerated from the atrocities and war crimes its forces committed in that barbaric attack, as the Goldstone Report, which investigated and defined such crimes, was eventually annulled under intense Israeli and US pressure.

Israel justifies its repeated aggression on Gaza, often endorsed by many as a legitimate exercise of self-defence, on the grounds that it seeks to destroy Hamas’ military capability so that no more rockets would horrify the neighbouring Israeli towns and settlements. But neither the massive 2008 attack nor the 2012 one have managed to achieve any of their claimed goals. The resistance is only getting stronger, and despite the tight siege from land, sea and air the Hamas rocket arsenal is not only growing more substantial, but more developed and more effective as well. 

Clearly the Palestinian resistance performance and, indeed, morale this time is far better than in previous times. After close to two weeks of sustained attack and massive loss of life on the Palestinian side, resistance rockets in the hundreds continue to fall on Israeli towns and other locations. It is unlikely that the outcome of this war will be any different from the previous ones. 

Obviously Israel hoped not only to destroy whatever weapons the Palestinian resistance factions may own, but also to break any Palestinian will to defy the occupation, but again the result was disappointing. By blaming Hamas for the civilian deaths in Gaza, not only in this war but all along in the last nine years, Israeli propaganda expected the Palestinians to shun democratically elected Hamas and rise against it, but has not happened. As a matter of fact, Israel’s wars have contributed to unifying the Palestinians as well as sharpening their resolve to fight for their rights, dignity and emancipation. 

The bloody massacre in Gaza’s Shejaiya district on Sunday, which shocked the world as hundreds of civilian homes were bombed on top of the heads of their inhabitants, killing more than 100, including children and women, injuring hundreds and leaving tens of thousands homeless, did not stop the people from celebrating that very day the capture of a single Israeli soldier by the resistance. The message is clear: the people’s resolve is not wearing off despite the huge sacrifices exacted. Even if this war will eventually destroy the tunnels and the rockets, it will not destroy the people’s resolve. There are rare examples in history where liberation movements have perished, despite the overwhelming power they had to defy. This legitimate Palestinian struggle for justice and dignity is not going to be an exception. 

Violent confrontation, however, is by no means the only option for either the Palestinians or the Israelis. All that the Palestinians in Gaza are asking for, for the time being and until the entire conflict is finally resolved, is to be guaranteed a normal life free of siege, free of routine air raids and free of humiliation. They want previous ceasefire terms to be respected and their prisoners — who were freed as part of previous agreements but later re-arrested — released. They want to fish freely in their waters and to farm their land up the last inch on their border. They also want free access to the outside world so that they can travel for legitimate purposes as all other people in normal countries do. Nothing unusual or excessive has ever been asked. 

But believing that collective punishment would force the Palestinians into full submission without granting any of that, Israel resorted to violence, and when it proved counterproductive it resorted to more violence. Israel’s war this time is being driven by desperation and a boundless desire for killing and destruction. Every time they confront battle difficulties, Israeli forces turn to easier civilian targets. Israel is far from understanding that this conflict cannot be resolved by force, no matter how brutal and superior that force is.

Gaza, we need to be reminded, is not an independent issue. It is part of the Palestine problem, which is part of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It should be addressed within that larger context.

This war will eventually end with a ceasefire agreement. It will leave both sides heavily battered. Israel’s military superiority and ability to inflict harm on the weaker side will not spare its army the shame of moral defeat or the embarrassment of having to abort a mission far from accomplished.

No matter how good a ceasefire agreement can be, it will only have a limited shelf life. All concerned parties should agree to deal with the conflict in its totality without delay but with clear commitment to reaching a just, a comprehensive and a lasting settlement based on recognition of Palestinian and Arab rights as well as international law. That is the only way to prevent future wars and to end the constant suffering of the region’s populace.

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