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January 05, 2009Israel's Right to Defend Herself
Israel's "right to defend herself" has taken the lives of over 500 Palestinians and up to 120 (roughly over 20 percent) of those are children. Home-made rockets from Hamas have killed 20 Israelis in eight years and approximately four Israelis have been killed during the current conflict. Robert Fisk sums it up nicely in his piece for the Independent:
We've got so used to the carnage of the Middle East that we don't care any more – providing we don't offend the Israelis. It's not clear how many of the Gaza dead are civilians, but the response of the Bush administration, not to mention the pusillanimous reaction of Gordon Brown, reaffirm for Arabs what they have known for decades: however they struggle against their antagonists, the West will take Israel's side. As usual, the bloodbath was the fault of the Arabs – who, as we all know, only understand force....And we demand security for Israel – rightly – but overlook this massive and utterly disproportionate slaughter by Israel. It was Madeleine Albright who once said that Israel was "under siege" – as if Palestinian tanks were in the streets of Tel Aviv.
The fact remains that Israel has carried out its response to Hamas rocket fire with unbridled brutality and it is the Gazan's who bear the brunt of this response. Those same Gazan's who have been suffering under Israel's economic and aid embargo over the past year. It is safe to say that the Palestinians in Gaza have known nothing but misery over the past year and the so-called "international community" has remained impotent in the face of suffering. During the past few days, according to a Palestinian legislator on CNN's Rick Sanchez, seventeen entire families have been wiped out in Gaza.
The international press is banned from entering Gaza so the stories we are getting out of the conflict can only be half the picture. In fact, if one looks at Freedom House's World Press Rankings 2008 Israel flies by with a ranking of "Free." Israel banned journalists from entering Gaza well before the Israeli siege, opened it up again, and then placed a ban when the current conflict started. How they get a ranking of "Free" is beyond me but falls perfectly in line with the point that Robert Fisk makes; the west grants Israel a free ride. And unfortunately it is only the west that have any bargaining power with Israel while they also supply them with the weapons to unleash in their heavy handed responses.
Furthermore, the Israelis have now started targeting houses, mosques and not-so hidden tunnels where they suspect Hamas militants are hiding out. All the while, Palestinians have no means for warning their citizens of impending air strikes because they do not have the resources for air-raid sirens, according to ABC chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel. But then again who knows if that's true considering the Israeli's wont allow foreign press into Gaza.
Hospitals in Gaza, as predicted, are overflowing with patients and will continue to have trouble dealing with casualties adding to the suffering and chaos in Gaza. Witnesses report they have already seen Israeli tanks in Gaza City which can only add to the Gaza's hospital crisis.
President Elect Barack Obama has stayed largely silent concerning the conflict in Gaza. Whether any "change" in the American stance towards the Palestinians and Israelis begins under his administration is still highly unlikely. He himself has repeated the apologetic and open-ended statement that Israel has the right to defend itself, yet the American's do not have the political will to define exactly what that entails.
At the moment Israel interprets it to mean that they can take military action, whenever, wherever and by whichever means they find suitable. Barack Obama should help to craft some tangible guidelines for what "the defense of Israel" actually means if he hopes to make any leeway with the Arab and Muslim world. America's policy towards Israel is like that of a mother to her child;unconditional love. If America wants to be a just power in the world she should learn that she has other children in the region.
Forty rocket attacks over the past few days is evidence that Hamas still has ample capability when it comes to light rocket fire. Israel has stated that its intentions are to "create the conditions" where Hamas does not have the capability to fire rockets into Israel. This means the alleged flow of arms from Iran through Egypt is to be contained. Even if the flow is contained for the next few months, it is almost certain Hamas will find a new way.
The Israelis have greatly harmed their efforts to de-legitimize Hamas who were said to have a 17% approval rating before the current conflict. The Palestinians understand that Hamas has provoked the Israelis, but the bombs that fall around them are coming from Israel fired from weapons provided by the Americans. It is logical that Palestinians rally behind those that are resisting an invading army. Logical, yet unfortunate because this support is likely to perpetuate the miserable rule of Hamas in Gaza.
Israel has made clear that it is not targeting civilians but nonetheless it is civilians who are suffering. When a state uses heavy artillery and air strikes on one of the most densely populated areas on earth it is near impossible to distinguish fighters from a civilian population. It may be too far to state that the Israeli government is committing repeated acts of terror. But being fully aware of the horror their military will inevitably unleash upon the civilians in Gaza, the Israeli strategy is willful ignorance at best.