The ongoing tragedy of Gaza ignites a mixture of
feelings of deep sadness and anguish. Israel’s daily demonstration of brutality
and military ferocity fills our screens with images of the sufferings of
innocent, helpless people. Civilian casualties are facts of war; however, the
ratio of civilian deaths and injuries caused by Israel’s highly trained and well-equipped
military is mind numbingly high. While the Israeli Government is indeed
entitled to launch war to protect its citizens, it seems conveniently to forget
that it also has the ultimate responsibility for protecting the citizens of the
occupied territories. Israel, with the support of the USA and the
international community, has refused to accept an independent Palestinian State
without a comprehensive peace agreement and, accordingly, Israel, is
responsible for protecting the civilians of Palestine. Hamas, a terrorist
organization, actually has no legal standing and no responsibility towards the
people of Gaza, Israel does! What ratio of inadvertent civilian deaths does the
Government of Israel consider acceptable? And if, Hamas is indeed using
innocent civilians as human shield, the question remains the same, what ratio
of civilian deaths does Israel consider acceptable, remembering, that Israel,
not Hamas, who holds the responsibility for protecting the lives of the non
combatants in the occupied territories.
Naturally, when a defenseless population is
being so ruthlessly attacked, any force fighting back is seen as righteous and
courageous resistance. While the resurgent anti Islamist wave has caused many
in the Arab World to turn a blind eye towards the suffering in Gaza and blame
Hamas for it, indeed a small loud minority has actually been voicing support for
Israel. Yet, the majority of Arab and Muslim people have again been seduced by
the daring of Hamas, they are seen as the only force in the Arab World actually
standing up to Israeli aggression and defending the defenseless. Once again,
Hamas have become heroes and are now being labeled the Resistance. Alas, it is
not the State of Israel that Hamas and the so-called Palestinian and Islamic
Resistance are resisting, indeed it is Palestine, the State of Palestine is resisted by an unholy alliance of both Hamas and the Israeli right wing
Government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
The days of armed resistance against Israel were
the days when Israel said there was no such thing as Palestine, when Israeli
spin was all about Jordan being the Palestinian state, when Golda Meir told the
world, it was she, who was indeed a true Palestinian, but just didn’t like the name Palestine. All of this came to an end with the Oslo Accords; Israel recognized the Palestinians as people and the road
towards the Two State Solution commenced. The Israeli right wing never liked
the Two State Solution and neither did Hamas, both rejected it, both for their own distinct
reasons. The Israeli hawks fundamentally believe that any sacrifices made by
Israel would endanger it needlessly and they believe that time is
ultimately, on their side, much like it has been since the Arab rejection of
the 1947 UN Partition Plan. Benjamin
Netanyahu articulated his positions over the years, from the days of his youth, when he went by Ben
Nitay, to his years in the
opposition as a Likud leader; his acceptance of peace in Government has been
nothing but mere lip service, his actions speak of his strict adherence to his
earlier beliefs.
Moreover, Hamas, unwittingly but with full
diligence, does aid the Likud in achieving their objective of thwarting the
establishment of a Palestinian state. It is indeed such a sad irony that the
military wing of Hamas, named after Izza’din Al- Qassam, a man whose violent
anti Jewish hate in the twenties and thirties contributed to the ascent of
Jabotinsky and his more exclusive brand of Zionism; Hamas follows in his very
same disastrous footsteps. It is hard not to wonder what the shape of Palestine
would be today had it not been for the massacre of Jews in Hebron and Safed.
For it was only following these tragedies that Nationalist Zionism dominated
the Jewish agenda in Palestine. Likud co-opts Hamas’s words and actions
again and again to achieve its racist exclusionary goals.
Hamas leadership is keenly aware of the
impossibility of eradicating a state that enjoys vast military and
technological superiority and has wide backing from world powers. So, what
drives Hamas to continue in a winless fight? Ultimately it is hate! Hate both
for the injustice and for those who it sees as responsible for that injustice
and hate for Jews. Hamas leadership has redefined short-term victory
to mean the ability to fight submission to the will of Israel; sadly at
the expense of the defenseless people of Gaza. Moreover, under Hamas’sdoctrine, no peace is possible without eradicating Israel, so with the current
power disparity, the struggle must continue for hundreds of years if need be.
Neither side must know or live in peace and normalcy the conflict must remain
open-ended. Today, Hamas’s immediate struggle is against the Two State Solution.
Such a strange set of goals for a war and, Hamas’s long-term resistance to Israel
translates into immediate resistance for the establishment of a Palestinian
State!
Many Arabs and Muslims dream of the
re-establishment of Palestine in its full historic boundaries and remain
invested in the idea of reversing the gross injustice that befell the people of
Palestine. Yet, the sons and grandsons of the those Israelis who massacred the
Palestinians in 1948 and burnt their villages following their flight are hardly
responsible for the crimes of their fathers and grandfathers. Fact
is absolute justice is, not only not attainable, but it is also impossible to
define and achieve without new major new injustices.
Despite of their difficult lives as refugees, in
the 1970’s the Palestinians used to pride themselves for being the most
educated amongst Arab people and boasted about having higher percentages of
advanced academic degrees than most Arabs. These days are long gone; the
refugee camps are over filled and today Palestinians face crises in education,
in employment and in healthcare. Today, the Palestinians suffer a great deal
for basic human dignity and are becoming poorer every year. For Palestine from the River to the Sea is a luxury
dream, only the ordinary people of Palestine pay for. It is time for
the Arab and Muslim intellectuals to speak up for the people of Palestine, whose
lives today are ultimately more important than the land and the historic
justice.
Rather than counting the number of rockets from
Hamas, Israel should be looking at the ratio of explosive power and destruction and ask itself
for how long it can escape international justice and accusations of war crimes
and genocide, how long can it work to evade the establishment of a Palestine.
Hamas cruelty towards the people of Palestine today, resisting the establishment
of an independent Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza to keep the conflict
going, hoping that future generations can eradicate Israel, is a crime
against the people of Palestine who deserve the best they can have now, today!
Ayman S. Ashour
August 3, 2014
