Significant step

Author: 
Arab News Editorial 21 May 2001
Publication Date: 
Mon, 2001-05-21 04:49

The Arab League’s recommendation that member states suspend political contact with Israel as long as aggression and occupation continues represents a significant step for three reasons. First, while the recommendation is not binding — it is up to each individual country to decide what to do — it seems certain, given the mood, that it will be adopted. Secondly, an earlier recommendation that contacts be frozen exempted those countries which have diplomatic relations with Israel: Egypt, Jordan and Mauritania. Saturday’s call makes no such exception. Thirdly, the foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan were on the committee that suggested the move.


Most notable from the Arab League motion is that the massive rejection of Israeli brutality being felt across the Arab world is now registering itself in high-level collective action, and not a moment too soon. For Ariel Sharon’s ultimate aim is, evidenced so clearly the past few days as the fighting has escalated to the use of Israeli warplanes, to inflict enough collective punishment to break the Palestinian will to resist. He seeks to keep the Palestinians constantly under pressure.


Israeli aggression is still besieging Palestinian society, still killing and assassinating with the excess of destructive power it commands over an unarmed people, a people defending what little remains of their honor and existence.


The chief result of this Israeli campaign of attrition so far has been the precise opposite of what Israel sought. The campaign has produced greater Palestinian hatred and generated demands for revenge.


Maniacal Israeli attacks have produced two unalterable realities: The Palestinian sense of a common national identity is now deeper than ever before, as is the belief that it will be realized through sovereignty on all their historic homeland. The second, flowing from the first, is Israel’s monumental failure to erase either Palestinian identity or their aspirations, despite 53 years as a state and 34 years as a military occupier. Palestinian identity was born from resistance and the resistance continues.


It is the right of a people suffering from colonial repression to take up arms in their struggle for independence. Unfortunately, the near-universal reaction to the uprising and the succession of war crimes being committed continues to be to a call for an end to violence (with the emphasis on Palestinian violence) and a return to negotiations.


What will it take for the international community to recognize that the problem is not resistance to occupation but occupation itself? The Palestinians live under Israeli occupation. And as long as the occupation continues, so will Palestinian resistance. It is a fine distinction rejected by Israel.


It is particularly disappointing to see certain quarters adopt the Israeli-American analysis and publicly call for an end to violence rather than for an end to occupation and solidarity with Palestinian resistance.


Regardless, the Palestinian people have made it clear they are willing to pay a high price for their freedom, dignity and fundamental human rights.  The international community, particularly the United States, cannot continue to turn a blind eye to what is happening in the land of Palestine for much longer. And the Arabs will not wait for the United States forever. The refreshing Arab League language heard this week says so.

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