Baroud suggests that the Second Uprising may have been "rooted in south Lebanon." After years of "empty promises, meaningless summits and equally barren accords," Palestinians were at a "numbing impasse." To the north, things were much different. After a decade of occupation, a few hundred Hizbollah fighters defeated the IDF, forced their withdrawal in May 2000, then did it again in summer 2006 (beyond Baroud's timeline).
It shook the notion of IDF invincibility, made its commanders want to regain their machismo, emboldened Palestinians to resist, and ignited the events that followed. A political element is important as well - the failed Camp David II July 2000 talks. They were all take and no give. Clinton, Arafat and Barak were the protagonists. The major media played up Barak's "generous offer," Arafat spurning peace, with no mention that Israel presented nothing in writing and had no documents or maps.
Barak presented a take it or leave it betrayal, no different than similar past ones. Palestinians were offered nothing in return for renouncing armed struggle, recognizing Israel's right to exist, leaving unresolved issues for later, and agreeing to be Israel's enforcer and have the West Bank divided into four isolated cantons surrounded by expanding Israeli settlements on the Territory's choicest land. Arafat had to reject it and was blamed for not being a serious peace partner. It later sealed his fate.
In the meantime, Barak fortified settlements, sent in more military forces, set the stage for September 2000, and Sharon took full advantage as explained above. The majority of Israelis approved and elected him Prime Minister on February 6, 2001 with the Intifada already underway.
In his new capacity, Sharon escalated things further by "unleash(ing) a bloody onslaught on the disadvantaged, disappointed, and fed-up Palestinian masses...." Khan Yunis was one of his first targets. Its refugee camp houses 60,000, it's one of the most crowded places on earth, its homes are makeshift, the residents are impoverished, garbage is everywhere, and human misery and despair are very real for these long-suffering people.
Earlier, the IDF attacked them in March 1956 killing 275 civilians in one night. It emboldened the camp's resistance, made it a target during the First Intifada, dozens were killed, thousands injured, maimed and arrested, yet survivors continued to resist. It became a target again during the Second Uprising with a horrific toll on the people. IDF forces savagely attacked, unknown chemical agents were used, missiles and helicopter gunships were unleashed, bulldozers destroyed homes, many were killed and wounded, and when it ended an entire neighborhood was obliterated. The Palestinian Authority (PA) couldn't intervene, appealed for outside help, but had to stand by helpless when none came.
Targeted assassinations are also ignored. They violate international law, but not according to Israel's High Court of Justice. In December 2006 (beyond Baroud's timeline), it ruled that these killings aren't in violation, and that each one must be evaluated on its own merit. This is what passes for justice in a nation that affords it only to Jews. It's also one that systematically kills, starves and brutalizes an entire people. It collectively punishes them, gets full western backing, huge US funding, and one-sided media support without exception. Criticizing Israel is the most taboo of all issues. Journalists who dare can count on a very short career.
Instead they go along to get along and label victims terrorists with clever code words like "militants" and "gunmen." Baroud knows them well, the overwhelming force they face, and how ruthlessly it's unleashed. He calls resistance fighters: "dedicated and honest individuals, men and women (and children) who represent large segments of Palestinian society with its wide spectrum of political and ideological affiliations." They embrace "freedom, liberty, and human rights." They show courage and will, have endured for six decades, survived every Israeli harsh tactic, won't ever surrender, so the "free" world views them as "terrorists."
It doesn't matter how often Israel violates international law, how many UN resolutions it ignores, or that it disdains the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling against the Separation Wall. With western backing against a disenfranchised people, it gets free reign, and it became easier post-9/11. Sharon took full advantage.
Baroud cites lessons from the Intifada's first year:
-- "audacious....institutionalized violence," but even worse
-- Israeli Knesset legislation "in willful and blatant violation of international law."
In place of Geneva and Nuremberg, Sharon's model is Machiavelli's "The Prince:"
-- ruthlessly seizing power (in Sharon's case manipulating public opinion to get i);
I am a 72 year old, retired, progressive small businessman concerned about all the major national and world issues, committed to speak out and write about them.
After growing up as an admirer of plucky Israel, I am compelled to say that Israel's occupation of those terrotories it captured in 1967 has degenerated into a slow form of genocide.
It is decidely NOT pretty. Israel look at yourself in a mirror and see what you have become.
by
kwalsh (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 134 comments)
on Friday, May 9, 2008 at 12:56:01 AM
