Column
War on Iraq will intensify Palestinian suffering
By NEVE GORDON
Earlier this month, 10 Israelis from
different grass-roots organizations crossed the Qalandia check-point and
entered besieged Ramallah, a city located in “Area A” of the
Palestinian territories and therefore legally out of bounds for Israeli
citizens.
They were met by a number of representatives of civil society,
including Raja Shechada, founder of the human rights organization Al-Hak, and
Moustafa Barghouti, the head of PNGO, the umbrella association of all
Palestinian nongovernmental organizations.
The purpose of the meeting was to explore new venues for
cooperation following the recent Israeli elections, in which the right-wing
parties won their greatest victory in the state’s history. They now
control two-thirds of the seats in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.
The discussion rapidly turned to the war against Iraq and the
effects such a war would have on the Middle East, particularly on the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The people in the room remembered that during the Gulf War the
international media concentrated on Scud missiles falling on Tel Aviv, while
ignoring the suffering of the occupied Palestinians. They recalled that in 1991
the Israeli government imposed a 40-day curfew on all the major cities in the
occupied territories, subjecting the population to massive collective
punishment. The Palestinian economy was in much better shape then than it is
today; this time around, with the majority of Palestinians living on less than
$2 a day, a prolonged curfew will undoubtedly lead to widespread hunger.
Those present at the Ramallah meeting expressed their fear that
the Sharon government will take advantage of the international media
concentration on the war to perpetrate large-scale human rights violations.
They specifically mentioned the possibility of deportation of Palestinian
leaders, and the uprooting and internal expulsion of whole villages from one
part of the West Bank to another so as to render large areas within the
occupied territories free of Palestinians. The objective of such a move would
be to make these areas more susceptible to Israeli annexation.
Along the same lines, concern was raised about actions that might
be taken by the Jewish settlers. It is possible that settlers will exploit the
war to accelerate the expropriation of Palestinian land and to ruin Palestinian
fields. Their goal is to destroy the Palestinian infrastructure, a tactic
employed in order to “encourage” Palestinians to leave certain areas.
The Israelis and Palestinians decided to draft a joint statement
against the war, which numerous organizations on both sides of the Green Line,
the geopolitical border separating the West Bank from Israel proper, have
already signed. They then sent it to groups all over the world and asked that
they read it aloud during the international protests against war that took
place Feb. 15.
The Arab and Jewish residents of the Middle East wrote:
“In spite of the growing international opposition of millions
of people all over the world, it has become clear that the United States
intends to lead a military assault against Iraq, regardless of the expected
number of civilian casualties and suffering. Indeed, the imminent war will
undoubtedly have catastrophic effects on the people of Iraq, on the Middle East
as a whole and on the West Bank and Gaza Strip more specifically. Peoples of
this region will pay the price of the war, the price of death, destruction,
hatred and more war.
“Based on our experience from 1991, we fear that massive
repressive measures could be launched against Palestinian civilians during this
period. We urge all peace-loving people in Israel to join forces in order to
preempt such policies, and call for international protection of the Palestinian
people living under Israeli occupation.
“We, Israeli and Palestinian members of civil society, are
against this war, as it is not about security or justice, but about power,
hegemony, control and greed. We firmly believe that security as well as freedom
for the peoples of this region cannot be achieved through war, violence and
death.
“We call upon all people and organizations to raise their
voices in opposing this war and to work jointly toward the establishment of a
just, comprehensive and durable peace in the region.
“Together we say: No to the war against Iraq! Yes to a life
of peace and justice in the Middle East! Yes to ending Israeli
occupation!”
The Bush administration has decided to ignore the opposition
mounting in the United States, Europe and Latin America. I doubt it will heed
the cry of the people from the Middle East -- those who will suffer most from
this war.
Neve Gordon teaches politics at Ben-Gurion University, and is a
contributor to The Other Israel: Voices of Refusal and Dissent (New
Press, 2002). He can be reached at
ngordon@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
National Catholic Reporter, February 28,
2003
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