The Hypocrisy of Ceasefire
by Brian Wood
9/23/01
* Brian, a CCMEP member, has been in the West Bank since May of this year.To read all his columns, go to: www.ccmep.org/brianwood/main.html
The Bush administration refused to get involved in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict for the first six and a half months of its existence, leaving the parties to work it out themselves. This sounds find on the surface, though anyone familiar with the situation knows that deferring US involvement to the Israelis and Palestinians translates into Israel having its way in the conflict. This is due to the enormous gap in capability (Israel with the 4th largest military in the world and the Palestinians without any military at all), and has initiated repeated, unheeded calls from the Palestinians for help from someone, anyone.
As the US absorbs the heavy blow taken in New York and Washington DC, the Bush administration seeks to build a broad-based coalition to begin a "campaign against terrorism," even going so far as to claim his administration will "rid the world of evil doers." Bush needs Arab governments in his coalition, but in order to do enjoy their cooperation he must tend to a matter foremost on the minds of the Arab world: massive US support for Israel. This support has made possible Israel's continued military/political aggression against the Palestinians, resulting in over 700 Palestinian deaths and 35,000 injuries in the last year.
Tuesday September 18th, under enormous US, EU, and UN pressure, Palestinian president Yassir Arafat gives orders to his people "not to shoot [at the Israeli military], even in self defense." This statement is especially absurd coming off a week when every night and day there were Israeli troops and tanks and attack helicopters rolling into Palestinian controlled territory, killing 26 Palestinians and injuring over 200. Even more, Israeli governmental and military officials openly declared they were using the fact that the world's attention was in the US and could more freely operate politically and militarily against the Palestinians. In essence, the pressure that Arafat was under and the statement itself will act as an eraser for those Palestinians murdered and injured by Israel. No one will ever be held accountable; lost lives of Palestinians will be forgotten. A greater development called 'ceasefire' has occurred.
For their part, the Israeli government and military said they have ceased all military operations against the Palestinians. For sure, what took place today (Wednesday the 19th) was less than yesterday, or the last week. Yet, as always, the situation on the ground tells the story.
Today in Hebron, home to 120,000 Palestinians who have been invaded by 400 extremist, mostly US-Israeli settlers and several thousand Israeli troops and many Israeli tanks, five Palestinians were badly injured when the Israeli military shelled Palestinian parts of the city.
For several days now at Qalandia checkpoint, the main checkpoint between Jerusalem and the Palestinian city of Ramallah, Israeli soldiers have daily denied Palestinians from crossing the checkpoint by car and by foot. Thousand and thousands of Palestinians cross this checkpoint every day to get to work, to shop, for emergency purposes, and as a thoroughfare for other destinations. When Palestinians found ways way around the checkpoint itself in the surrounding fields, soldiers were moved there to stop them. For several days soldiers have been shooting at the people and over their heads, throwing tear gas and sound bombs as well. These are Palestinians in all ranges of age and in all manners of physical condition. They may be doctors or lawyers, construction workers or teachers, 6 months or 90 years. As a result of
the forced ceasefire, only 9 Palestinians were injured at Qalandia today.
On the road to Bir Zeit University, the largest Palestinian university, classes were cancelled today (Wednesday the 19th), as a result of the enormous problems doled out to students and faculty members since the new semester began on Monday. On the first day of class, 14 students were shot trying to get to university. No cars were allowed through so everyone was forced to walk a quarter of a mile, on the road where cars were not allowed to drive. Being allowed to walk across the checkpoint was a luxury as well; only when the soldiers decided this was okay did it happen. The rest of the time, no one was allowed. Yesterday, no Palestinians were even allowed to walk across the checkpoint, set up only in March, after Sharon came to power. Today, Palestinians were still not allowed to drive across the checkpoint and were not allowed to walk across for most of the day. Again, I emphasize that these are university students, professors, and all kinds of workers trying to go about their daily lives.
We can not begin to estimate the number of Palestinian families whose homes are occupied on a daily basis by Israeli soldiers as the family lives with them, now an Israeli military outpost. The number is high and the soldiers do not leave these homes when a ceasefire is declared. The families must still live in daily fear that the soldiers will verbally or physically abuse them, even kill them.
Colin Powell proudly stood in front of the cameras today and proclaimed he called both Arafat and Sharon to tell them he was "satisfied" with the reduction in violence today. Suddenly, the US is very involved with the Israeli-Palestinians situation. They have found that US interests demand they be involved so they act immediately. Yet, the Palestinians have been begging them to act for over six months and they wouldn't do so much as care.
This forced ceasefire will fail, like all other agreements in this land, between these people. Oslo failed, ceasefires have failed, agreements have failed and will fail, all because they are forced. This will prove to be yet another failure because people seeking their own interests have forced it. Even today it has shown its substance: Israeli shelling in Hebron, leading to 5 serious Palestinian injuries; 9 Palestinians wounded crossing a checkpoint trying to get to work and other daily tasks, untold numbers of Palestinians forced to accept Israeli soldiers using their homes as bunkers and observation points; the largest university in Palestine closing its doors since the road to the university is closed to Palestinians. The day that the Palestinian question is taken seriously will be the beginning of something new and substantive to reach a workable and living arrangement between Israelis and Palestinians. As long as the arrangement is forced by those in power, whether they be the US or Israel, 'workable' and 'living' will be false titles attached to maps of the Middle East and hung on politicians walls as achievements.