[southnews] Gush Shaolm: A War Of Sharon's Making
Dave Muller
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GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - http://www.gush-shalom.org/
[The following analysis by Adam Keller is followed by a request to
send a letter in the spirit of the article to the American
administration.]
A War Of Sharon's Making
For more than a year it has been discussed in the media and the
political and military system: is what is going on between Israel
and the Palestinians a war, or is it just "fighting"? Early this
morning, the question has been resolved: it is war indeed. The
government of Israel has officially and formally declared the
Palestinian Authority and its president Yasser Arafat to be enemy,
and instructed the armed forces under its command to actively and
agressively pursue the war by land, and sea.
This is not a random happening. In fact, it is the logical culmination
of the policies undertaken by Ariel Sharon ever since he assumed
power in February; and in fact, these are a direct continuation of
Sharon's policies as Defence Minister in the early 1980's, when he
initiated a disastrous invasion of Lebanon for the purpose of
destroying the PLO and expelling Arafat.
Since becoming Prime Minister, Sharon has been edging closer and
closer to this all-out war. Measures of oppression were steadily
piled on top of each other, yesterday's outrageous innovation
becoming today's routine. The "strangling closure" imposed on
Ramalla at the very first week of Sharon's tenure and which aroused
then many international protests was, in fact, far less severe than
the siege at present imposed on each every West Bank town and
village.
And the same process of familiarization had gone on with regard to
the bombing of Palestinian cities - first by helicopter gunships
(as already started by Barak), then by F-16 fighter planes; and
with the more and more widespread assassination of Palestinians
suspected of terrorism; and with armed incursions into Palestinian-held
areas - first for days, later for weeks, then months.
Mediation efforts and plans there had been in plenty throughout
Sharon's term. The PM hardly ever rejected any of them openly.
Rather, he used what so far seems a fullproof method: making a
rigid demand for seven days of "complete and absolute cease-fire"
before any substantive negotiations can take place, and then making
a gross provocation, just before the newest cease-fire is about
to go into force.
What happened a bit more than a week ago was a particularly effective
use of the technique: a few days before the latest mediator, the
ex-US General Zinni, Sharon authorized the assassination by helicopter
gunships of Mahmud Abu Hunud, a Hamas leader prominent and popular
enough to ensure that his death would be avenged in Hamas' brutal
fashion - particularly since the assassination took place when
Palestinian public opinion was already inflamed by the death of
five Palestinian children from an explosive charge set up by Israeli
army sappers (which was, apparently, an accident).
The ploy was, in fact, quite obvious. It was commented on in the
media at the time; the knowledgable Alex Fishman pointed in Yedito
Aharonot (Nov.
25) that the Abu Hunud assassination broke the tacit agreement
between Arafat and Hamas not to carry out suicide bombing -- an
agreement which had been in force for several months, and whose
existence may well have saved dozens of Israeli lives.
Without access to Sharon's confidential records, there is no way
of conclusively proving that the PM actually desired what followed.
There is no doubt that he and his military and intelligence advisers
knew full well what would result from assassinating Abu Hunud and
nevertheless ordered the deed to be done. Nor can there be a doubt
that Hamas' grisly revenge, causing the death of 26 randomly chosen
Israelis, was of an inestimable profit to Sharon. It gave him the
perfect pretext for the declaration of war upon Arafat, effectively
scuttling the Zinni mission and letting the Pentagon hawks gain
the upper hand over the State Depratment in the adminstartion's
infighting. As a the result Sharon's onslaught upon the Palestinians
got an unprecented open backing from Washington.
With that kind of backing, Sharon could afford to adopt an openly
contemptuous attitude to his Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, whose
international prestige as Nobel Peace Prize laureate and supposed
peacemaker were hitherto vital to the Sharon Government. Now, the
PM could afford to ram his declaration of war through the cabinet
and brush aside Peres' objections.
Sharon has been trumpeting his new campaign as "a war on terrorism"
. But how can anybody seriously claim that the cause of "fighting
terrorism" can be furthered by bombing and destroying Yasser
Arafat's personal helicopters, which anyway never could fly without
the Israeli Air Force's approval? Or by sending tanks and bulldozers
to wreak the runways of Gaza International Airport - the airport
which was inaugurated three years ago by President Bill Clinton in
person, and which had been closed down ever since the outbreak of
the Intifada? Or by again invading Ramallah, a large portion of
which was just recently occupied by Israeli tanks without in the
least diminishing the intensity of the Palestinian rebellion? Or
even less, by systematically targetting and destroying the
installations of the Palestinian Police and security services -
the very apparatus with which Arafat had just begun the difficult
and delicate task of confronting Palestinian militants.
Seen in the perspective of an Israeli Prime Minster who is determined
to maintain Israeli occupation of and settlement in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip, and to smother any emergent Palestinian statehood,
Sharon's campaign of the last days makes all too much sense. In
which case Sharon seems to be getting the Bush Adminstrations'
support in destroying what Secretary Powel described, just two
weeks ago, as the United States' vision for the region's future:
a viable Palestine living in peace side by side with Israel.
Adam Keller Tel-Aviv, Dec. 4, 2001
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There is a little something you can do, from wherever you are, to
help in this very difficult and dangerous situation. For example,
sending the following message (or a text of your own) to President
Bush and Secretary of State Powell by fax and/or email.
President George W. Bush, Fax: +1-202-456-2461 email:
pres...@whitehouse.gov
Secretary of State Colin Powell, Fax: +1-202-261-8577 email:
secr...@state.gov
Dear Sir
In the aftermath of the suicide bombings in Jerusalem and Haifa,
the US Government has given Prime Minster Sharon a virtually free
hand in conducting what amounts to an all-out war against the
Palestinian Authority.
This support is given on the assumption that Mr. Sharon is engaged
in fighting terrorism, which has become a central aim of US policy
since September 11. However, the concrete military actions undertaken
by Sharon raise doubts that that is his true aim - in particular,
the targeting of Palestinian police stations and security service
installations, weakening the very appartus which the Palestinian
Authority needs to be able to confront Hamas. Rather, Sharon's
actions suggest that his aim is to destroy the buds of Palestinian
self-government, perpetuate Israeli occupation and settlement and
prevent the creation of a viable Palestinian state - which aims
are in total contradiction to US policy, as reiterated in public
very recently.
Therefore, we call upon you use your influnce to help restrain
Sharon's escalating attacks upon the Palestinians, before they spin
out of control and set the region ablaze.
Sincerely
....
[and if you like you could add the following P.S.]
We would like to draw your attention to an Israeli public opinion
poll published in the mass-circulation Yediot Aharonot on December
3. In spite of the fact that it was conducted a few hours after
the Haifa bombing - a time when Israelis were extremely shocked
and angry at the outrage - no less than 32% of those asked were in
favor of starting immediate and accelerated peace talks with the
Palestinians, also without waiting for a cease fire. It would be
worthwhile for the US Government, in its dealings with Israel, to
take account of this substantial and often silenced part of Israeli
society.
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