“Mowing
the Lawn” in Gaza
Gaza as well as the West Bank are most guilty of is voting while Muslim. Hamas
won the 2006 parliamentary elections which international observers declared to
be fair and democratic, securing nearly twice as many seats as the rival Fatah
party. These elections were eagerly encouraged by George Bush before the
outcome was known. Immediately after the election, Hamas offered to engage in
talks with Fatah, the U.S., and Israel. Israel and the U.S. refused to
recognize the election results declaring Hamas to be a “terrorist”
organization.
Democracy American
style is a noble human right worth dying for as long as the outcome is
acceptable to us. The conciliatory post-election offer from Hamas to negotiate
might have come to nothing or possibly been the genesis of a meaningful dialog
and a real peace process. We will never know because the Palestinian people did
not vote the way Israel wanted. There is very little historical evidence that
Israel wishes to peacefully resolve their 47 year occupation of Palestinian
lands. And to describe Israeli policies and actions within the occupied
territories as ethnic cleansing is no exaggeration.
After Bush’s failed
experiment with the democratic process in the Palestinian territories, his
Administration covertly gave Fatah weapons and money to overthrow Hamas (Vanity
Fair: April, 2008). This is a fact and should be included in any discussion of
culpability in Gaza. Bush’s version of the Bay of Pigs resulted in a brief but
bloody civil war, as Fatah was no match for Hamas. Bush, presumably with the
blessing of Israel, had successfully shown the world our contempt for democracy
and initiated a virulent seven year schism between Hamas and Fatah. Fatah’s betrayal
of Hamas and the will of the Palestinian people ended any hope of a unified
Palestine. Gaza has been ruled by Hamas since the Bush coup misadventure, and
the West Bank is controlled by Mahmoud Abbas and the corrupt Fatah Party.
Israel is happy with Abbas because he says what Israel likes regarding peace
talks that will always fail, and at the same time, he plays by Netanyahu’s
rules. He is the Palestinian Quisling. Let’s be clear, the Israeli government under
Netanyahu has no interest in the formation of a sovereign Palestinian state.
In 2007, Israel initiated a regime of draconian sanctions on
the people of Gaza as well as an ironclad blockade to enforce them. Food
insecurity is a daily reality for Palestinian families. Clean water and sewage
treatment infrastructures are woefully inadequate because of the blockade and
also because each time Israel “mows the grass” water supplies and treatment
plants are targeted. Health care, medicines, fuel and other essentials are
targets of the sanctions which are designed to punish the people of Gaza. For
more detailed information, I suggest you read the 2013 Oxfam report on the long
term human effects of Israel’s sanctions in Gaza. Clearly, the destruction of
hospitals, schools, water supplies, and denying a population adequate
nutrition, do not make Israel more secure. Their actions have only engendered
more hatred. The blockade of Gaza is collective punishment which is illegal
under international law and a war crime. Israel boasts that it does not target
civilians. The Oxfam 2013 report suggests that Israel is quite good at
punishing the innocent. One of the ways
that the people of Gaza have been able to survive in the world’s largest gulag
is by constructing a maze of tunnels that allow essential materials, to enter
Gaza undetected and circulate to where they are needed. Israel has known about
the construction and existence of these tunnels for years.
There are no innocent players in the ongoing occupation of
the West Bank and the cruel siege of Gaza, but the history of the occupation is
relevant as are the issues of collective punishment and proportionality. Each
time new peace discussions are announced by John Kerry or one of his equally
buffoonish predecessors, the Israelis decide that it is a good time to announce
the construction of new settlements on Palestinian land. Israel has a right to
defend itself, but do the Palestinian people have a right to their own nation
or not? Israel is never punished for
subverting peace negotiations. John Kerry was “troubled” when an American
teenager was arrested by Israeli border police and brutally beaten. There was
never any official rebuke of Israel when American college student and peace
activist Rachel Corrie was killed, many witnesses believe intentionally, by an
Israeli bulldozer. If American citizens are murdered by the Israelis, imagine
how Palestinians are regarded. We have given Israel the green light for every
brutal action they have taken to kill and demoralize the people of the West
Bank and Gaza. Why would any Palestinian believe that we could possibly broker a
just peace to the ongoing tragedy in the Palestinian territories?
So why did Netanyahu decide now was the time to use Israel’s
overwhelming military might once again against a defenseless people living on a
strip of dirt that is 25 miles long and 10 miles wide? Was it in retribution
for the tragic murders of three Israeli boys? This seems unreasonable given
that the murders took place in the West Bank, and that there is no evidence
linking the murders to Hamas. Presently, those guilty of this cowardly act
remain at large. And there is also the problematic issue of proportionality.
Over 180 children have been murdered by the IDF in Gaza.
Were Hamas’ rocket attacks the ultimate catalyst for
Israel’s current slaughter of civilians? The Hamas attacks against Israel have
been taking place sporadically since 2001. In 2012, The U.S. helped to fund and
manufacture Israeli’s Iron Dome anti-missile system which has proven quite
effective in intercepting rockets fired from Gaza. Since 2001, 28 Israelis have
been killed by rockets that clearly have limited range and very little accuracy,
and rarely do any significant damage. Since the 2006 elections, Israel invaded
Gaza in 2008 and 2012 killing hundreds of civilians. Neither incursion, as
brutal as they were, did little to stop the intermittent rocket attacks. The attacks on Israel by Hamas are a major
strategic mistake because they have been clearly ineffective in lifting the
sanctions and the provide Israel, always playing the victim card, with a
provocation to attack Gaza anytime they wish. The U.S. and Britain can be
axiomatically relied upon to affirm Israel’s right to defend itself. This
defense of Israeli terror would be laughable if not for the bloody consequences.
Of course, the issue of proportionality again makes the inept rocket attacks a dubious
rationale.
What motivation
remains? I would suggest that the proposed reconciliation pact between Hamas
and Fatah are responsible for the present slaughter. Reconciliation would
enable the Palestinians to put aside their differences, hold elections, and
form a unity government. Netanyahu and his extremist supporters have warned
Abbas to disavow any willingness to engage with Hamas to form a government.
Palestinian unity is not part of the Israeli strategy to divide and conquer.
The continued Israeli indictment of Hamas as “terrorists” has been very
effective since 2006 as the traditional supporters of Hamas have severed virtually
all ties with them. Hamas’ alienation from former allies made them and Gaza
especially vulnerable at this time. Israel recognized Hamas’ regional isolation
as a perfect opportunity to abort any imminent reconciliation process. The
specious pretexts of three murdered boys provided the needed camouflage to
launch the present round of atrocities in Gaza. Periodically turning Gaza into
an abattoir sends a clear message to Abbas and Fatah that having any
relationship with Hamas is not in their best interests.
Israel’s actions in
Gaza are compelling evidence that Netanyahu and the extremists within the Likud
party believe a peaceful two state resolution can be avoided with brutal force,
collective punishment, and targeted mass murder. The Palestinians are no match
for Israel’s formidable military especially when it is not held accountable for
its war crimes. Israel is no victim, and Netanyahu's use of the murder of three
boys to further his racist agenda is beyond reprehensible.
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