The call on Israelis to carry weapons in the street cannot be riskier. Some would even argue that such a call is an open invitation for more unnecessary killing. A “gun for every civilian” call voiced by senior Israeli officials (the minister of Defense in particular) can send the wrong message to everyone involved in the unfolding conflict.
Israeli civilians in particular may resort to unwarranted killing, a scenario that could create a conducive environment for anarchy.
Let us imagine a situation where Israeli civilians wander everywhere with pistols and guns. They will have hard time in knowing whether or not a Palestinian is about to stab an Israeli. Besides, a civilian Israeli carrying guns will act out of anger and revenge. This emotional state may lead them to kill indiscriminately thus trigger another wave of violence. I understand that the situation in the occupied territories has recently deteriorated, but arming civilians will not make Israelis feel secure. To be sure, Palestinians will react if civilians Israelis target them.
Obviously, Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to reassert his image as “Mr. Security.” And yet, more weapons or violence and counter-violence will most likely to chip at Netanyahu’s self image of being Mr. Security.
Let me state the obvious, security can only come as a result of peace. Short of achieving peace for this long-standing conflict, security for all will be far from certain.
After almost five decades of the Israeli occupation, it is clear that subjugating the Palestinians is still a far-fetched goal. All along, Palestinians have been fighting for their lives and for independence.
The Israelis, according to a prominent Israeli columnist Amira Hass, are fighting for the occupation.
In her words, the “war did not start last Thursday, it does not start with the Jewish victims and does not end when no Jews are murdered.
The Palestinians are fighting for their life, in the full sense of the word. We Israeli Jews are fighting for our privilege as a nation of masters, in the full ugliness of the term.”
If anything, the Palestinians will not forfeit. This raises the question of what the Israelis are going to do?
Are they going to continue denying the Palestinians their basic right to self-determination? If yes, then the future is nothing but gloom and doom.
Not surprisingly, the international media outlets are turning a blind eye to the Israeli official call on Israeli civilians to carry guns. This is obvious especially in the United States where people’s opinion of what has been taking place is influenced by the lack of proper reporting on the conflict. The outcome is a kind of American complicit with Israel’s provocative approach.
It is high time for the international community to curb the radical inclinations that underpin the call for carrying guns. Equipped with guns, Israeli civilians may interpret their role differently. To them, any Palestinian can be a “legitimate” target. Israel who has the strongest army in the Middle East should not be oblivious to the implications of such a call. Turning the civilians into a sort of militias is dangerous to say the least.
I think that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should act like the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas who has urged his people to stay calm. Abbas has made it perfectly clear that his people should not be dragged into violence.
Despite the feeling of injustice done to his people, Abbas is aware of the destructive ramification of violence. You can hardly find a Palestinian minister who incite for armed conflict. On the Israeli side, it is none other than the Minister of Defense who urge the Israelis to carry weapons! In brief, the call for more weapons is the perfect recipe for perpetuating the violence and counter-violence.
