In the Middle of east

Huma Amir Shah

Istvan Meszaros once wrote: "Blindness in intellectuals is not a natural calamity that simply befalls them as a matter of unavoidable destiny, but a self-induced condition."
The situation in Israel-Palestine and throughout the entire Middle East today is very alarming, but it is in no way surprising. Anger and frustration at one of the most oppressive and exploitative structures of violence in the world is exploding. Peace has to be initiated. And this peace must be inclusive. It must be open to participation by all actors and all parties, and include recognition of the basic humanity and dignity of all involved. However it cannot be blind. And this is where the world has fallen into a terrible and very unfortunate trap. For in efforts to promote peace, the world is willing to see both sides as 'equal victims.' The conflict in Israel-Palestine is NOT between two equal sides. The picture presented by the west is of two equal groups of people who just can't seem to get on. But are they equal? They are up to a point, as both sides are armed. But one is armed with tanks, a highly trained army, a state-of-the-art air force, unconditional backing from the world's foremost superpower, and a secretly and illegally built nuclear capacity. The other side uses rubble. If this is equal we need to reassess the whole history of warfare. The controversy might go on forever about who is responsible for the violence, but the fact that the supposed 'peace-brokers' supply one of the sides with $2bn worth of arms per year, should be a matter of grave concern. If they want to be truly neutral they should either refrain from doing that or send the Palestinians $2bn worth of rubble to continue their fight! The west tries to put the entire blame of lack of any headway in the numerous peace efforts between Israel and Palestine squarely on the shoulders on Yasser Arafat. They believe that Arafat could stop the 'Palestinian violence' if only he tried, as if people themselves aren't intelligent enough to get angry unless someone tells them to be. Even more ridiculous statements are made, like insisting that most of the Palestinians killed during clashes 'are caught in the crossfire'. Almost all human rights organizations around the world agree that the Israeli police and security forces use a pattern of excessive, lethal force in clashes with Palestinian demonstrators where they pose no threat of death or serious injury to them. Even the ammunition that the Israeli defense forces normally use are of medium caliber intensity, which are meant for penetrating concrete and other hard surface barriers, clearly indicating that such powerful ammunition cannot be used merely for defense against pebble-throwing protesters but is in fact used for the sole mission of eliminating the Palestinian race altogether.
It is therefore understandable that Palestine's struggle for freedom against one of the longest occupations in the post-World War II periods must continue. However, its aim should NOT be to 'beat' or 'win over' Israel, because to create a free and independent Palestine, oppression and violence have to be opposed on all sides with the force of non-violence, and commitment to human dignity and dialogue. In this regard both sides should extensively review the recommendations put forward by the Mitchell Report, which has been endorsed by Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. That is the only workable solution in sight so far. Both the parties must act swiftly and decisively to halt the violence. Anything less than a complete effort by them to end the violence will render the effort itself ineffective, and will likely be interpreted by the other side as evidence of hostile intent. Their immediate objectives then should be to rebuild confidence. And this should not only be between the two leaders but between the two publics at large. The leaders have to start by making an honest effort to identify, condemn and discourage incitement in all its forms. It has to be believed that 100 percent effort to stop the violence, immediate resumption of security cooperation and an exchange of confidence building m easures are the essential pre-requisites for the resumption of negotiations. And negotiations are the only sure way to permanent peace.
Although it seems unlikely but if Ariel Sharon is honest about his efforts to at least give some security to his own people in the wake of the recent escalation, he will have to soften his stance and be open to negotiations. The Israeli people should put pressure on their government that if the Palestinians are pushed too far they will continue to send in their missions of suicide bombers and resort to destructive means to be 'heard'. It is a fact, which the Israelis themselves acknowledge, that before the Sharon regime, the only causalities that occurred in the clashes were those belonging to the Israeli Defence Forces or Hamas and Hizbullah. However since Sharon's taking over of power, most of the causalities on both sides have been innocent civilians, including children. If Sharon is really concerned about the well being of his own people he WILL have to negotiate, he will have to understand that coercion will not settle the issue, but on the contrary make it more alarming.