By Abdullah al-Ahsan
I read Gideon Levy’s article “Israel does not want peace” in Haaretz (04.07.14) with immense interest. I used to read Haaretz almost regularly until a few years ago but recently I lost interest in it. A number of friends drew my attention to Levy’s article and I found it attractive because it states a fact that I have come to believe years ago. But to hear this from an Israeli journalist is admiring. I also appreciate Haaretz’s courage to publish it. I am not sure whether any other Israeli or Western newspaper would have the courage to publish such an article. This reminds me of Mearsheimer and Walt’s The Israel Lobby for which the senior American academics had to look for publisher around the world. Levy’s short and precise thesis is much more direct and revealing than The Israel Lobby. Does this mean we are at cul-de-sac? Is there no hope for peace? I don’t think so. I shall explain why. But before I explain why I hold the view that rays of hope has not absolutely vanished, I shall give my view why I believe Israel does not want peace.
In 2002 when Saudi Crown Prince, now King Abdullah, representing the Arab League and OIC countries, came up with a proposal to establish normal relations with Israel in exchange of recognition of a Palestinian state with 22 percent of the original Palestinian territory and that proposal was dashed away by the Israeli leadership, I became convinced that Israel did not want peace. I am glad to see now that there are some Israelis who also have come to the same conclusion.
As a student of history I have always found difficulty in understanding the justification of the state of Israel in Palestine. More than 95 percent authentic citizens (which exclude the Arabs) of the current state of Israel migrated there during the past one hundred years. They made their space in the territory against the will of the local population first under the League of Nations Mandate during the inter-war period, and then by terrorizing and forcefully expelling the Palestinians from their ancestral land. In the process major crimes were committed such as in Dier Yasin in April 1948. The state of Israel was then established through the intervention of the United Nations which came forward with a two-state solution of the problem on humanitarian grounds. But the Israelis assassinated the Security Council representative Count Folke Bernadotte in September 1948. The Count was president of the Swedish Red Cross and enjoyed the reputation of saving more than eleven thousand Jewish lives from Hitler’s onslaught. But one of the accused of the Count’s assassination, Yitzhak Shamir, was later elected as Israel’s prime minister. All these indicated Israeli intention about the future of the territory.
Gideon Levy has also helped me understand one very important question – why militants in Gaza fire “rockets” into Israel. This question came up in a discussion the other day in our regular meeting at JUST (www.just-international.org). According to Levy, “The only way the besieged Gaza Strip can remind people of its existence is by firing rockets, and the West Bank only gets onto the agenda these days when blood is shed there.” This makes sense. News coverage from Gaza clearly suggests that in spite of their enormous suffering the people of Gaza endorse firing of those ineffective weapons only to assert their presence. They not only make international news, but they are also able to cause Israelis run for life.
Yes it is true the Palestinians initially rejected the idea of two states in Palestine: who would like to give up claims to their ancestral lands? Will the mainstream Americans and Australians leave America and Australia if the so-called Red-Indians and Aborigines want to get them back? However one must point out that the Palestinians never demanded deportation of Jews from Palestine at any time in history. However, on its part Israel has consistently pushed Palestinians out of the territory. In fact, Israel’s membership request to the UN was rejected first time on the grounds of its boundary, the right of refugees displaced during the war to return to homeland and the status of Jerusalem. When it reapplied a few months later the Secretary General held discussions on those questions, and after having assurance from Israeli authorities that they would be fulfilled, it was granted UN membership. But Israel has not only failed to carry out UN pre-conditions, it has violated most other UN resolutions on Palestine and yet nobody challenged Israel’s continuous membership in the world body. Thanks to Israeli lobbies in Western democracies – the lobbies have already blemished democratic principles as been demonstrated by Mearsheimer and Walt in the US.
From the very inception of its life Israel has been repressing the Palestinian people with the support of those Western “democratic” governments. But it has failed to break the Palestinian determination for dignity and contain them. The Israelis have also failed to contain humanitarian voices such as of Rachel Corrie (1979-2003) who was bulldozed by the Israeli armed forces along with Palestinian houses. That is why we hope that the voices of Gideon Levy and of Haaretz, of Count Bernadotte, of Rachel Corrie and of millions around the world who care for humanity and civilization will not go in vein. Israel has to be brought to understand that the civilized world would not let the Palestinians a life without dignity. They have been pushed to the wall; the people of Gaza are fed up with years of imprisoned life.
Israel must be brought to understand that Palestinians must get at least that 22 percent of their original homeland and there must not be any Jewish settlement within that 22 percent of the land. The best option for Israel is to bring Turkey to mediate in the conflict. Prime Minister Erdugan has already demonstrated his statesmanship in his negotiations with Israel before 2008 Israeli invasion of Gaza. And in the following year he won the hearts of Palestinians by demonstrating his commitment for their cause the World Economic Forum in Davos. Israeli leaders know these facts very well.
Dr. Abdullah al-Ahsan is Vice-President of JUST.
18 July 2014.