Our Gaza

| by Tisaranee Gunasekara
Israel is no longer able to think about a solution to a political conflict except in terms
of physical might; no wonder it is prone to never ending cycles of mortal violence !nd
when the cannons fire no criticism may be heard"
#etition by $% Israeli army reservists on refusing to &oin the Gaza offensive
' (uly )*+ ,%*-+ .olombo+ /ri 0anka Guardian1 Israel calls it the Operation #rotective
2dge
3ow many #alestinians must die for Israel to feel protected4
In the latest horror from Gaza+ an Israeli attack on a 56 school killed at least *7
#alestinians and in&ured about 7% !ccording to #ierre 8rahenbuhl+ .ommissioner
General of 569:! 'the 56 agency for #alestinian refugees1+ ;<children were killed
as they slept next to their parents on the floor of a classroom in a 56=designated
shelter in Gaza .hildren killed in their sleep; this is an affront to all of us+ a source of
universal shame Today the world stands disgraced"
The 569:! boss reminded uncaring Tel !viv and the indifferent world that
victimised #alestinians were in the 56 school because it was a designated safe place+
because the Israeli !rmy told them to leave their homes and seek shelter in such safe
places In other words+ the 56 school was a >6o=?ire @oneA which became a death trap
for the civilians seeking its protection The 56 is emphatic that there was no 3amas
activity in the area Tel !viv will probably claim+ again+ that the 56 is in cahoots with
terrorists
It is a depressingly familiar tale from innumerable war=zones+ including in /ri 0anka
The 9a&apaksas are not only building an Israeli=type peace in the 6orthB2ast; they also
waged an Israeli=type war there The main difference is that before launching their
murderous final offensive+ the 9a&apaksas ordered all 56 agencies+ I6GOs+ and media
to leave the war=zone+ so that there would be no outside witnesses to the impending
horror+ no blow by blow media accounts and no way for victims to be seen and to be
heard
The Israeli government does not have to bother with such precautionary measures+
because it en&oys near=unconditional support from :estern powers Cuite apart from
all the current political+ economic and electoral calculations+ these :estern nations
have a blood=guilt to atone They did precious little to save millions of (ews during the
3olocaust The #alestinians are being made to pay the price for that :estern crime
The 56 has condemned the latest Israeli attack as a violation of international law
Defore the world accepted the notion of (us in Dello '&ust conduct of war1+ the notion of
war crimes did not exist There was only (ust and 5n&ust :ars; the theory+ crafted by
!ugustine of 3ippo + stated that a &ust cause would suffice to make a &ust war If the
cause was &ust+ the means did not really matter
The concept that wars+ to be &ust+ must not only stem from &ust causes but also employ
&ust methods began to gain ground only in the last few centuries The resultant theory
of (us in Dellow led to the enshrinement of principles such as non=combatant
immunity+ proportionality and the rights of prisoners of war in international law
Euring his ,%*% /peech to the 56 General !ssembly+ #resident Fahinda 9a&apaksa
argued these international humanitarian laws should be changed to give states a carte
blanche to combat terrorism 3e argued that humanitarian laws should apply only to
legitimate states and not to terrorist organisations 3e wanted sovereign states to be
given unimpeded legal rights to do whatever they deemed necessary to combat entities
labelled >terroristA 'by them of course1
If that proposal was accepted+ the crimes Israel is committing 'and will continue to
commit1 in Gaza would have become non=crimes+ legally+ &ust as what the 9a&apaksas
did during the ?ourth 2elam :ar would have become perfectly legal
The best way to escape war crime charges is to abolish the category altogether
Indispensable 2nemies
Israel lawyer Eov :eissglass commenting on the ,%%- freezing of the Israel=
#alestinian peace process said+ ;The idea is to put the #alestinians on a diet+ but not to
make them die of hunger"
The current offensive too seems to be aimed at debilitating the #alestinians in every
possible way The deliberate targeting of basic infrastructure is aimed at reducing Gaza
to a stage of savage=want and keeping most of its people completely preoccupied with
concerns of sheer everyday survival !nother aim would be to destroy any possibility of
#alestinian unity The unity government which came into being in early (une is already
dead Once this offensive is over+ the antithetical conditions prevailing in the relatively
normal :est Dank and the totally devastated Gaza may create an insuperable politico=
psychological barrier to #alestinian unity and solidarity
Dut 3amas will remain+ because fanatical entities like 3amas thrive in conditions of
violent misery #lus Israel wants to debilitate and not destroy 3amas :ithout 3amas+
Israel will find it harder to impede peace In the *7G%s and *7H%s Israel encouraged the
growth of extreme Islam as a counter to the secular #0O and to fragment #alestinian
resistance along religious lines :hen in *7HI /heik !hmed Jassin applied for a
license for his humanitarian organisation+ Islamic !ssociation+ the government of
Fenacham Degin responded positively 3e was permitted to publish a newspaper and
raise funds The 3amas was born from this Israeli assisted Islamic !ssociation
Eespite its very real contradictions with and enmity towards 3amas+ Israeli=right
would not want 3amas to be replaced in Gaza by a militantly moderate and secular
leadership This concern might explain+ at least in part+ the timing of this latest
offensive !ccording to a Fay ,%*- opinion poll 'by the #alestinian .entre for #ublic
Opinion1+ 3amasA support base has eroded and it can be defeated even by the much=
reviled Fahmoud !bbas !nd neither of the top 3amas leaders+ Gaza #remier Ismael
3aniyeh or 3amas .hairman 8haled Feshal+ can challenge the #0OAs Farwan
Darghouti+ the charismatic leader of the /econd Intifada currently serving five life=
terms in an Israeli &ail ;Darghouti will defeat Ismael 3aniyeh<hands down+ -7HK to
*GK 3e would also crush 8haled Feshal<$*%K to *G,K<"
Fr Darghouti is a radical moderate with whom a reasonable Israel can talk peace+
successfully Israeli establishment is loath to release him 3amas has been eLually
unwilling to include him in the prisoner exchange programmes 8eeping Fr
Darghoutti captive+ like freezing the peace process+ serves the purposes of extremists
on both sides of the divide+ who prefer conflict to peace
It was the secular militancy of the #0O which united the scattered and demoralised
#alestinians+ won them international sympathy and acceptance and brought them to
the threshold of statehood The religious=politics of 3amas has not made any gains for
the #alestinian cause
In his poem >The FartyrA+ !bd al=9aheem Fahmoud advocates
2ither a life to gladden the hearts of friends+
Or a death to torture the hearts of foesM"
Israel wants Gazans to continue to be caught between a life which saddens friends and
a death which gladdens foes :ill the latest horror make :est Dank too become
another Gaza+ thereby gladdening the @ionist=foe4 Or will Gaza discard religious
extremism and embrace radical=moderation and secular=nationalism+ depriving
@ionism of its indispensable+ life=giving enemy4
9eferences+
httpNBBwwwalternetorgBnews=amp=politicsBopen=letter=$%=israeli=army=reservists=
why=they=refuse=shoot=palestinians=gaza4
akidO*,%-7,%I)I)6,*P@-QrdO*QsrcOnewsletter*%*,G7)QtO,*QpagingOoffQcurre
ntRpageO*Sbookmark
httpNBBwwwtheguardiancomBworldB,%*-B&ulB)%Bgaza=another=un=school=hit=in=
further=night=of=fierce=bombardment
httpNBBwwwtheguardiancomBworldB,%*-B&ulB)%Bgaza=un=school=shelling=&abaliya
In .ontra ?austus Fanichaeum+ his polemical text against the Fanichean Dishop+
?austus
httpNBBsandanayablogspotcomB,%*%B%7Bpresident=mahinda=ra&apaksa=speech=
ofhtml
httpNBBwwwlrbcoukBv)GBn*$Bmouin=rabbaniBisrael=mows=the=lawn
httpNBBonlinews&comBnewsBarticlesB/D*,),H$$H,,7$%**I-H
httpNBBthearabdailynewscomB,%*-B%HB,HBsharon=hamas=likud=bloc=mid=wifed=birth=
hamasB
httpNBBwwwhaaretzcomBnewsBmiddle=eastB*$7,))H
#osted by Thavam