The Muslim News - Killing fields of Palestine: whose responsibility?

Issue 156, Friday 26 April 2002 - 13 Safar 1423

Killing fields of Palestine: whose responsibility?

By Ali Ahmad Saeed

The political landscape in the Middle East will not be the same again. Following the Israeli atrocities over the past few weeks, the outrage in the Arab and Muslim world is unlikely to subside before major developments have taken place. The Zionists sealed off many parts of the West Bank and Gaza while its troops carried out untold savagery, similar to those committed in Sabra and Chatilla Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon twenty years ago. Ariel Sharon, the hawkish Prime Minister, was implicated in the earlier atrocities and is the mastermind behind the present ones. While he played a covert role in the old massacres he feels no need to hide his crimes this time. As long as the United States is openly supporting his actions, he believes, he will remain shielded from any international outcry. The world reacted angrily to President Bush’s statements purporting asking Israel to end its military campaign against the Palestinians while attacking the Palestinians for their steadfastness and refusing to address their grievances. It is such US’s misguided policies that led in the past to anti-Americanism, what Washington calls “terrorism”.
Military might is not enough to contain the crisis, and it is now clear that Sharon’s terrorist activities far exceed those committed by individuals and groups. No one, apart from the United States, is happy about the Israeli atrocities.
The Arab and Muslim world has been engulfed in anti-Zionist and anti-American furore. From Jakarta to Casablanca, men, women and children from left to right have engaged in demonstrations reflecting anger and outrage, with fatalities in certain cases. In both Jordan and Egypt, one person was killed by security forces who are clamping down on the protestors. In Bahrain, one of the smallest countries in the region, a young man was killed by the British-led security forces. His death led to more demonstrations. An incident in Manama, few days earlier, had already set the venue for strong anti-Americanism, when the American Ambassador Johnny Young, asked the people attending an educational gathering to observe a minute’s silence for the Israeli dead. The people were outraged, and there are now calls for the Government to expel him. The demonstrations that followed were so intense that they occurred on almost everyday in several places at the same time. There were smaller demonstrations in other Gulf states although the Governments did not sanction them.
The Palestinians have become victims of the American-Israeli joint policies that are purported to fight terrorism. To the Palestinians and the rest of the world, fighting against occupation is a legitimate cause, but to the Americans, it constitutes terrorism. This is a point of departure with the Arab and Muslim world which views the Israeli occupation as illegal and must be countered at any cost. The US has, over the past four decades, adopted a policy that aims at maintaining Israeli military superiority in the region, a strategy that has led to conflicts and wars. Ariel Sharon has vowed to end all forms of Palestinian resistance. He has, therefore, undermined all agreements with the Palestinians, and the Oslo accord is now in tatters. Sharon has refused to withdraw from Palestinian land in accordance with Israel’s earlier undertakings or to allow the formation of a Palestinian state, or even the recognition of the Palestinian refugees’ the right of return. The extremist policies adopted by Sharon have led to a total breakdown of trust between the two sides, and with it, all other accords and agreements. The US has refrained from taking action against the Israeli intransigence and the situation has been so polarised that almost the whole world is on one side, while the US is on the other side with Israel. When Secretary of State Collin Powell embarked on his trip to the region on a “peace mission” he delayed his arrival to Israel to allow it to commit more atrocities. On the first leg of his trip to Morocco, he was rebuked for not taking a strong stand to curtail the excesses being committed by Israel against the Palestinians. In his meeting in Madrid with the European Union, Russia and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Powell realised how isolated the US was. He was further rebuked by Ariel Sharon who insisted on continuing his war against the Palestinians, in clear defiance of Washington. It is clear that the US is being led by the Zionist lobby to give unconditional support to Israel, while its leaders remain in their utopic vision of fighting terrorism.
The success of a US-led peace initiative in the Middle East remains far-fetched, with Ariel Sharon succeeding in luring the Washington into political and military traps which could be fatal to many of its worldwide strategies. Meanwhile, the Palestinians have defied the imagination of the world by their steadfastness, resilience and ability to survive the most horrific atrocities being committed by Israel. The real horror of what has happened in the refugee camps in Jenin, Tulkaram, Ramallah and other cities and towns will not become known for some time to come. What is known, however, is that the Israeli terror machine swept through the debris of the destroyed Palestinian towns and villages to ensure no surviving soul has remained. History will judge the role of the United States in these atrocities, while the Arab and Muslim governments will have to shoulder the blame for silence in the face of total misery and destruction. The people have expressed their opinion, but where are the rulers?

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