The Light at the End of the Tunnel

In these days after the elections, there's very little to be optimistic about. Benjamin Netanyahu is on the threshold of signing up the right wing parties to his coalition. For a start, it looks as if a narrow right wing coalition will be the beginning of a government that will lead nowhere. Ehud Barak, the Labor Party leader, is finding every reason to join the coalition amidst opposition from his party members. This government will not be imaginative in finding a way to get the peace process back on track. Two states for two peoples will not be part of this future government's policy.

Apart from this, the Foreign Minister-designate, Avigdor Lieberman, will be undergoing a criminal investigation for money laundering, corruption and bribery. This person should not be standing for any cabinet position until his name is cleared from any criminal investigation. It seems that Israel is joining the other banana republics' "Exclusive Club" of corrupt parliamentarians. Why is the Israeli public not protesting? Is it because he received much support that gives him legitimacy despite the heavy suspicions against him? The fact that he has been under police investigation for nine years and no charges have been laid against him illustrates police inefficiency.

This could result in Israel becoming isolated in a similar way to apartheid South Africa of the 1960'and 70's. An outspoken anti-Arab racist being nominated as Foreign Minister to represent Israel to the world will not serve Israel's rather tarnished image positively.

Apart from that, the religious parties will once again be part of a macabre mix of party political hacks of the right wing persuasion. More tax-payer's money will be squandered in keeping this right wing coalition together.

Another fact has been revealed that has shocked many of us. Although this may come as no real surprise, reports coming from the Israeli Army spokesman are accurate but there is concern for what is not revealed. Some reports of unprovoked killings of innocent civilians in the Gaza War of December - January.

According to a Haaretz report of 19th March 2009, IDF killed civilians in Gaza under loose rules of engagement. This is according to testimony that was given by soldiers who participated in the Cast Lead operation.

Israel has always regarded its army as being the most humane and moral in the world. Reports of human rights abuses as well as unjustified killings of a suffering civilian population in Gaza are starting to flow into the Israeli press. Somehow there seems to be a total blackout or censure of information about the Israeli Army treatment of Gaza citizens. When reports of abuse and ill treatment of Gaza's population come from Israeli soldiers involved in Operation Cast Lead, there is very little reason to doubt their credibility. After all they have nothing to gain from spilling the beans on Israeli Army. Also reports came from the Israel Press which cannot be seen as hostile to Israel.

The reports of abuse and killings by the "moral and humane Israeli Army" will shatter many myths as to what the Israeli Army spokesman would like us to believe. Too many innocent civilians have been killed and wanton destruction of property for Israel Army investigators to ignore.

These reports should not detract from the fact that an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shaliit, is being held captive by Hamas under duress. He is denied visits as well as basic human rights. There is no communication between him and his family. His family has not been informed as to his whereabouts. Hamas does not represent a country. This group is not bound by international law in the care of prisoners-of-war.

Palestinian prisoners in captivity in Israel for heinous terrorist acts have better conditions than Shalit. They are allowed family visits and have opportunities to study at open universities. While their prison conditions may not be 5 stars, they are cared for far better than Shalit and have more rights.

Hamas is an inhuman bestial organization of terrorists who do not care for their own Palestinian people that they claim to represent. They tolerate zero opposition to their world view and even kill Palestinians who disagree with them. The damage they do to the Palestinian cause is far greater than the damage they do to Israel. While Hamas remains in power in Gaza, Palestinian suffering will never cease.

Hamas terror against Israel in the form of Qassam rocket launches remains sporadic in the south. This illustrates the fact that the Gaza War achieved very little apart from killing many innocent people uninvolved in terrorist activity. These facts are becoming known from Israeli soldiers' reports as mentioned earlier in this article.

It has been reported in Haaretz 20th March 2009 that the police will allow far-rightists to march in Umm al Fahm on Tuesday 25th March. The two right wing activists, Baruch Marzel and Ittamar Ben Gvir are notorious for their anti-Arab racist views as well as their extreme pro-occupation views, will be organizing the march. This is provocative and will achieve nothing but more hate. Why were they given permission for this? It is disgusting! Is this democracy to provoke race hatred? If neo-Nazi groups were given permission by the police overseas to stage a demonstration against Jews in a Jewish neighborhood, the Jewish community would protest in no uncertain terms and rightly so. This anti-Arab demonstration in Umm al-Fahm should be banned because it will be a racist provocation.

The East Jerusalem Palestinians organized a Palestinian Culture Festival in Jerusalem and this was banned by the police. Surely we are witnessing double standards here. At the same time the police gave permission for a right wing anti-Arab demonstration as mentioned before in this article in Umm al Fahm, while Palestinians are banned from holding cultural festivals in East Jerusalem.

The New Coalition & Occupation

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The building of a narrow right coalition is in progress. Israeli Prime Minister-designate, Benjamin Netanyahu, will utilize his negotiating skills which will bring in every right wing politician possible, including the rabid racists of the late extremist Rabbi Meir Kahana breed, into his coalition. At the same time he will try to send out tantalizing bait to the Kadima and Labour Parties to temper the extreme right-wing image of his coalition. It remains to be seen if he will succeed in the end, if not at present.

The peace process, which has come to a halt, will not be revived under the right-wing government which is not conducive to any form of agreement with the Palestinians. The occupation will continue as well as settlement expansion. Netanyahu’s election campaign has made no bones about this.

Everything will be done to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Netanyahu is opposed to a Palestinian state. He will go against United States policy. He talks about improving the economic situation of the Palestinians whatever that means. Does this mean that he will continue the “carrot and stick” policy of economic rewards "for being good" and collective punishment for acts of terror? There is a horrifying reek of a paternalistic attitude towards the Palestinians here.

If there is no movement towards establishing an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, the only alternative is the binational-state solution, which would be an apartheid state under the Likud right-wing coalition. This would be antidemocratic under the right wing coalition.

The repercussions of the end of two-state idea for two peoples will be disastrous. Netanyahu talks about improving the economic situation of the Palestinians and some autonomy for them which amounts to limited self-rule. This can be compared to the Bantustan policies of apartheid South Africa of the past.

Apart from that, it gives the Likud led coalition leeway to continuing settlement expansion and prolonging the occupation. This can be seen by all as a big bluff. Israel will continue to take over Palestinian lands creating a situation that will render the establishment of a Palestinian State impossible to achieve.

Lately there have been reports of quarrying in the West Bank for the purposes of building new homes for potential settlers. The profits of this activity go to Israeli entrepreneurs and not to the Palestinians. Is this the economic improvement intended by the future right wing government, even though this practice occurred during previous governments? Destruction of Palestinian Lands, not to mention the damage to the environment because of the quarries will continue. This in itself renders the land uninhabitable.

Israel will be criticized severely for these activities. It will deny any involvement, thus deceiving the critics of the occupation.

Another cause of concern is the appointment of Avigdor Lieberman, the right wing racist, as Foreign Minister. It remains to be seen how he will represent Israel to the world. This man is on record for making many racist statements against Israel's Arab population. His election campaign was racist. He was successful in gaining support for his extremist anti-Arab views. His demand that Arab citizens take an oath of loyalty to Israel in order to retain citizenship is an example of his uncompromising hate for Arabs. It will be interesting to observe how he will represent Israel's claim as not wishing to rule over another nation while supporting the occupation and even being part of the settler movement (He and his family live in Nokdim in the occupied West Bank). It is shocking that a man with such extreme racist views will be Israel's spokesman on foreign policy. Even worse than that is the fact that he holds the balance of power in coalition building. Surely this will give strength to the "Zionism is racism" theory which is denied by Israel in every international forum. It will also add grist to the mill in the upcoming Durban 2 Conference of Israel's racist attitudes.

While the US, Canada and Italy will not be attending the conference because of its anti-Israel bias, Lieberman's appointment as foreign minister will not serve Israel's interests. It will also strengthen the much maligned view of Israel's racism towards its Arab citizens and the Palestinians.

There is no reason for optimism for the future of any renewal of the peace process.

Another problem that needs to be tackled is the release of Gilad Shalit, the kidnapped Israeli soldier imprisoned under Hamas. Outgoing Israeli PM Olmert never succeeded in negotiating his release because of the price tag of releasing Palestinian prisoners, many of whom, with blood on their hands. For the unfortunate parents, no price is too high and understandably so. If the life of Gilad Shalit can be saved and he can return home then this must take top priority more than any other consideration. It is doubtful if Netanyahu has what it takes to secure his release.

The Israeli Government Coalition and Peace Prospects

This illustrates an end to the dove of peace and continuation of the occupation while the political right entrenches itself.

As I mentioned in my last article, despite Kadima’s win over the Likud by one mandate, the next government will be formed by the Likud with Benjamin Netanyahu as the next prime minister. The Israeli electorate moved towards the right in their decision even though the split of the right wing vote went to many extremist right wing splinter parties who gave their support to Netanyahu. This was not surprising as the Likud is a right wing party. Kadima is a centre party that has many members embracing Likud ideology who left the Likud because of disagreement over the disengagement from Gaza in August 2005. The Ultra-Orthodox religious parties such as Shas and Torah Judaism are also in the right wing camp. Today religious Zionism is also well entrenched in the right wing camp in the name of Bayit Hayehudi and the National Union Parties which are basic reincarnations of the racist Kach Party of the late Rabbi Meir Kahana. Yisrael Beitenu will also be part of this horrific coalition.

It is a disgrace that the so-called centre to right of centre parties, under the respective leadership of Tzipi Livni of the Kadima Party and Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud Party, tried their best to woo Yisrael Beitenu Party of Avigdor Lieberman, whose ideology is racist and anti-Arab. Even the so-called left of centre Labour Party was lukewarm to sitting with Yisrael Beitenu in the same coalition. To date, Tzippi Livni and Ehud Barak have stated that they will join the opposition. It remains to be seen whether Labour and Kadima will remain in the opposition for long. The temptation of sitting in the cabinet is great and the attitude of Livni and Barak could change for a whim. According to newspaper reports, Netanyahu does not want to form an extreme right wing coalition as this would be disastrous for Israel and would result in a collision with the US Obama Administration. The right wing is very settler oriented in the occupied West Bank and would maintain the occupation as well as establish new settlements at the expense of the Palestinians. It would put an end to any negotiations towards a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. There will be no compromises or return of territory for an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

It is a sad day for Israel’s democracy, which is already under threat, when the racist Zionist party, Yisrael Beitenu, will be part of the government coalition. This is bad for Israel and it will further exacerbate the tensions between Israel and its Arab citizens as the threat of transfer and loyalty to the state of Israel is dangled in front of their eyes every time there is an anti-Israel government demonstration and words are said that are not to the liking of the ruling coalition with its strong Lieberman influence.

The defeat of the left wing Zionist camp in these elections is because this camp became soft on its ideology and was not clear in its attitude towards the Gaza war. The left wing camp, including Meretz, was hardly involved in any movement towards peace. They seem to be more involved in gay rights rather than in seeking solutions to serious socio-economic issues that affect the future of Israel’s underprivileged and relationships with its Palestinian neighbours.

Tzippi Livni has stated that she cannot be part of the Likud led coalition for two main reasons:

Netanyahu does not accept the two-state solution and the rotation of prime minister at mid term.

Livni, on the other hand, will be under increasing pressure from the more right wing members of her party such as Shaul Mofaz to join the coalition. This could result in a split in Kadima and its eventual demise. Ehud Barak faces a similar problem in the Labour Party. The idea of sitting in the same coalition with Lieberman’s Yisrael Beitenu Party playing a crucial role in policy formulation is less of a problem for both parties.

Avigdor Lieberman has the audacity to even demand that Prof. Daniel Friedman remain the Minister of Justice! What right does Lieberman have to make this demand? Something smells rotten here. Lieberman is under suspicion of money laundering and various corruption practices which are under police investigation. It is unacceptable that a person who is under investigation for criminal practices even though he has not been formally charged can even be considered for any cabinet post despite his electoral success. After all, Olmert was also not formally charged but his criminal investigations resulted in his resignation and brought on these elections. Where is the promise of clean government? Is this the direction of the new Zionism? Right wing, illegal settler oriented which means more land grabs from the Palestinian population in the occupied West Bank? Has Zionism become a medium for ethnic cleansing of the Israeli Arab population of Israel? There is a hint of that in Liebermanism in the right wing Likud coalition.

Let Bibi Netanyahu form his right wing coalition bloc with the mix of religious bigots and Zionist racist, right wing extremists who are his natural allies. This is what the voters want – give it to them! Hopefully after a few months the Israeli electorate will come to their senses when the Obama Administration starts tightening the screws on the follies of the incoming right wing government. The Israeli electorate is responsible for creating a right wing political monster that will be detrimental to any movement towards compromises for peace. The electorate also seems to have forgotten what Netanyahu had done for the poorer classes when he was Minister of Finance in the Sharon Government. The increased tax burden and the raising of retirement age from 65 years to 67 years were steps that should never be forgiven. The new government will not be "peace" or "poor socio-economic" friendly.

“Post Mortem” on the Israeli Elections

The Israeli Electorate spoke and the results are most disappointing. They did not give any party an absolute majority as predicted. However, a trend can be observed and this trend is a very dangerous one. It is a threat for any form of compromise towards peace.

The trend is towards the right wing and an increase of anti-Arab hate in the guise of the fascist Yisrael Beitenu Party which holds the balance of power in coalition wheeling and dealing. The handwriting is on the wall and the peace that we need so much has receded into the mists. No matter who forms the coalition whether Benjamin Netanyahu or Tzipi Livne whose party won the most votes will be unable to form a coalition without Yisrael Beitenu. The various wheeling and dealing for coalition formation is about to begin and no matter how one views it, it is a disaster for peace and future coexistence with our Palestinian neighbours and the neighbouring Arab World.

The left wing Zionist Parties has been trounced. Labour can barely be called left wing these days as its ideology of social democracy has lost its way as it moves more towards the centre. They cannot bear the idea of being in the opposition and return to its original platform of socialism and workers’ rights not to mention equality of the various population groups living in Israel. It had even tried to dance tango with the right in adopting an expedient attitude towards the enlargement of settlements in the occupied West Bank. Meretz, the left of centre party had a very fuzzy message and their campaign was not convincing. It is not the party of Shulamit Aloni or Yossi Sarid. The party lost its direction.

What has happened in these elections is that the so-called Zionist left has lost its direction. Zionism is now the monopoly of the right wing camp. According to Gideon Levy of Haaretz, Zionism is “an archaic and outdated concept born in a different reality, a vague and delusive concept marking the difference between the permitted and the proscribed. Does Zionism mean settlement in the territories? Occupation? The legitimization of every act of violence and injustice? The left stammered. Any statement critical of Zionism, even the Zionism of the occupation, was considered a taboo that the left did not dare break. The right grabbed a monopoly on Zionism, leaving the left with its self-righteousness.” This includes the settler movements in the occupied territories. We all remember the infamous “Zionism is Racism” resolution of November 1975 and the late Israeli ambassador to the UN Chaim Herzog’s reply. However, the results of these elections have given credence to the “Zionism is racism” resolution. It would not be surprising if a resolution stating that “Zionism is racism” will be reconsidered in the General Assembly of the UN for debate. If not, it will certainly come up for discussion in the Durban 2 anti-racism conference to be held later this year. Avigdor Lieberman-style Zionism with its racist approach is sufficient to redefine the Zionism of Israel today. Lieberman’s Beitenu Party holds the key to coalition building. It would not be surprising if the spineless Labour Party will be in the new coalition sitting next to Lieberman against their better judgment maybe.

Left wing Zionism is undergoing rigor mortis. Eventually there will hardly be any vestiges left of the tolerant, humane Zionism of the past. The moment a political party loses its ideology and its message is not clear, it will not attract votes. This is what occurred to both the Labour and Meretz parties. The people seek a clear message and this was provided by the right wing Likud and its allies as well as Kadima. The people voted for these two blocs and abandoned the left wing parties. The Likud and its occupation policies won the day and it seems that Benjamin Netanyahu has a better chance of becoming Israel’s prime minister.

The only left wing party that did gain was Hadash – the non-Zionist Democratic Front for Peace and Equality. It is the only party that stands by its ideals. Many disgruntled left wing voters decided to support it this time round. Today it holds four seats in the Knesset. They gained an extra seat.

Now, it is curtains down for left-of-centre Zionism. Maybe it will be the end of moderate Zionism only to be replaced with the occupation Zionism of the right and the racist overtones of Avigdor Lieberman and his ilk. Naturally the right wing religious parties will find a way to adapt themselves to accept Lieberman in a Likud led coalition which will arise under Benjamin Netanyahu. This is an ill omen for the future.

The Israeli General Elections in the Aftermath of the Gaza Tragedy

The war against Hamas in Gaza has come and gone. The damage done to Gaza was horrendous, especially the loss of innocent lives and immense suffering of the Palestinian population. Hamas still appears to have its honour intact and there is still sporadic firing of Qassam rockets into Israel despite the declared cease-fire brokered by Egypt. This means that despite the outcome of the war, Hamas remains as adamant and determined as ever not to reach any agreement with Israel or recognize Israel’s right to exist. This will influence the Israeli voting patterns very strongly.

The Israeli General Elections are in the offing and it is very difficult to show any enthusiasm for it. The atmosphere is far from that of the US Election where there was some hope for a new deal for the American people. A fleeting optimism was released when Obama was elected as president of the US. Here in Israel, there is none of that optimism. It will be more of the same and probably even worse for peace.

A very clear trend amongst the Israeli electorate has emerged since the end of this war. It is an almost foregone conclusion that the Likud and the right wing parties will win the elections and the next Prime Minister will be Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli public will swing to the right and racial overtones will be very much of the right wing campaign for votes. Avigdor Lieberman, a Russian immigrant from Moldavia, will become a very important factor. His ideology is similar to the defunct racist Kach Party. His Yisrael Beteinu Party, which is racist and anti-Arab, is embarking on a campaign of citizenship for Israeli Arabs based on their loyalty to the state. This is abominable! What criteria will be adopted to assess Israeli Arab loyalty to Israel? How will this be put into practice? Does he expect Arab citizens of Israel to be Zionists and if not, agree to transfer out of Israel? Lieberman was instrumental in trying to ban the Arab Parties Ra’am –Ta’al and Balad from taking part in the upcoming elections. He even managed to get Labour and Kadima to support preventing these parties from participating in the elections. Fortunately, the High Court overturned the Lieberman-run electoral committee’s decision and these parties will be participating.

The elections this year are very lack luster with a plethora of has-beens such as Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu attempting re-election as Prime Minister. There is also Tzippi Livni also having a go for that position. All in all the choice is not great. A vote for the Likud-Labour-Kadima triumvirate is not going to bring peace any closer to this region. After all, there is not much difference between these three parties. In any case, Yisrael Beiteinu will also be a part of this new government which will give its citizens pretty much of the same.

The voter who happens to be left has a real problem in deciding for whom to vote. Meretz is not the Meretz of the stalwarts such as Shulamit Aloni and Yossi Sarid. It is a rather watered-down version of what it once was. The fact that Meretz supported the war effort in the beginning, despite the terrible loss of innocent lives, has driven many potential voters on the left away. The Arab Parties are no less one-issue than the extremist right wing Zionist parties are.

It is as if both the extreme right wing of Israel and Hamas has a common language in assuring that peace will never occur. Both sides are against a two state solution and both sides survive on unrest and hatred. It seems as if Hamas would like to see an extreme right wing government in Israel. This is obvious from the cease-fire violations that they have committed. Every missile fired into Israel will garner more votes for Lieberman’s Yisrael Beitenu Party. This will give Hamas legitimacy by proving that Israel does not want peace. This tactic will work in Lieberman’s favour.

The choice available to the Israeli voter is large because of the number of small parties participating, but the issues that are so important have not been addressed. Issues such as peace with the Palestinians, economic issues, education and so on have not been addressed by the main parties. Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party behave as if they have won the election. Netanyahu who always seems to have plenty to say at election time has remained silent. When he does open his mouth he utters some banality.

The religious parties such as Shas and Torah Judaism will wait for the juicy pickings from the winning party in order to feather their own religious nests. They will do almost anything to become part of the coalition after the elections. They need the tax payers’ money to maintain their religious institutions of bigotry. The easiest way they can achieve this is to extort whichever government comes into power after the elections. This scenario takes place every time once the elections are over and the results are finalized.

The voter’s choice in this lack-luster election is poor. The left wing has been shattered by Hamas violence that resulted in the Gaza War. Even on the left, there are those who supported the war and only after the injuries and deaths of innocent Palestinians became known, they did an about turn and ceased to support the war.

Israel maintains that Hamas used the Palestinians as human shields and this caused the loss of lives of many innocent Palestinians. Weapons had been hidden in the homes of many Palestinians who had been coerced under the pain of death to shelter Hamas militants and their armaments. Whether this is true has to be verified. Israel is also not truthful in its assessments of the situation and the total secrecy that it had declared on any information coming out of Gaza. Under these conditions it is very difficult to assess the entire truth of the Gaza operation.

The “disproportionate reaction” of Israel against the Palestinians and not only against Hamas is there for all to see. One cannot help not being outraged by the total destruction of many homes and towns in Gaza. The aimless wonderings of victims of IDF retaliation looking for their possessions and families buried in the rubble is heart rending.

Israel’s reaction to the rockets fired into Israel by Hamas militants over the last 8 years is understandable. The heavy loss of innocent Palestinian lives is not justifiable.

While Hamas does not show any signs of wishing to negotiate with Israel or recognizing Israel’s rights to exist makes it very difficult if not impossible to reach an agreement with them. Despite this, one must also remember that Israel is an expert at double talk. On the one hand Israel claims that it has no desire to rule over another people while in practice, settlements on the West Bank are being expanded and new settlements are even being built. This surely results in the displacement of Palestinians and the encroachment of Jewish settlers into their agricultural lands. This also results in another nail being hammered into the coffin of the two-state solution. Even the Labour Party under Ehud Barak has been instrumental in establishing new settlements by stealth in the occupied territories.

The dilemma of the Israeli left for whom to vote has never been greater than in these elections. Labour is not left anymore but a slightly watered down version of the Likud and even Kadima. All three parties would even be prepared to sit with Lieberman despite his repulsive and racist ideology. Meretz has not tackled the important issues of peace in these elections. Perhaps they felt that discussing peace would lose it votes and it is not popular these days.

For the Jewish, secular non-Zionist left, the choice is even poorer. All that remains is to vote for a party that makes Jewish and Palestinian coexistence and equality a central part of its platform as well as remaining democratic in its ideology. This could send a strong message to the right wing racist Zionists of Avigdor Lieberman ideology that his message as well as the message of the right wing religious parties is unacceptable.

The Aftermath of the Gaza War

All reasonable people agree that Israel has a right to defend its people from Hamas rocket attacks in the south of Israel which ignited the Israeli response. Now those Israeli troops have withdrawn from Gaza, including the reservists, there still does not seem to be any desire on the part of Hamas to maintain the cease-fire. There have been violations which met with an Israeli response. We witnessed rather macabre scenes of the masked Hamas terrorists coming out of their holes, shielded by the Palestinian population in Gaza, many of whom lost their lives, or were severely injured. They declared a victory against Israel. Weird! The fact that they survived while many Palestinians were killed does not seem to make any indents into their false sense of pride and honour. It makes one wonder whether these “brave” soldiers of terror and fantasy are victims of a psychosis based on delusions of grandeur which is the disease of many megalomaniac power hungry dictators such as Hitler of Nazi Germany and their brutal followers of the last century.

The Palestinian victims of this war, many of whom were dug out from under the rubble of buildings destroyed by the IDF give them a sense of victory. Suddenly the cowering in bunkers ceases and the Hamas leaders come up for air spewing their hatred and fantasies against Israel! While the shelling and bombing was going on they were sheltering behind defenseless women and children sending them to their deaths while their tough skins were saved. The behaviour of Hamas towards their own people proves how indifferent they are to their peoples’ suffering.

Now that Israel has withdrawn most of its troops, the true scale of the damage and loss of life on the Palestinian side can be assessed. Many questions will be asked and the blame for much of the loss of Palestinian lives and their untold suffering must be at the door of Hamas and their terrorist allies. The architect of it all – the chief catalyst if you will is without a doubt – Iran! The smuggling of arms through tunnels on the Egyptian-Gaza border is proof of Iran’s involvement.

The Hamas reaction after the war – the arrogance and hate for Israel, as well as the total lack of desire for negotiating a political settlement with Israel does not give any room for any form of peace in the future. These Islamist fanatics are still determined to destroy Israel and it seems that they will soon find ways of re-arming and having another at chance at Israel in the not too distant future.

Hamas is a master of deception and lies. They expose defenseless innocent Palestinians to the wrath of the IDF. By doing this, they successfully mobilize world opinion against Israel by filming the most horrible scenes of blood and suffering of women and children. This is the result of them forcing innocent men, women and children to face a certain death, while they themselves hide in bunkers. Arsenals of weaponry had been discovered in cellars under Palestinian homes including explosives. The use of these people as human shields is very much part of Hamas tactics.

Both sides, Israel and Hamas have been involved in war crimes against each other. Both sides have exploited innocent people in order to achieve their aims. Hamas had been involved in unjustifiable rocket launchings into Israeli towns in the south in the hope of killing as many Israeli citizens as possible. Israel had retaliated very severely and this had resulted in Palestinian homes being destroyed as well as many innocent Palestinian casualties. The destruction and pillage of Gaza is evidence that apart from hitting strategic Hamas targets, many unfortunate innocent people were also killed. So much had been reduced to rubble and many Palestinian bodies were dug up from underneath. An independent enquiry ought to be made in order to investigate the possibility of war crimes committed by both sides.

The Tragedy in Gaza

After 8 years of Qassam rocket fire into Israel with the minimum of Israeli Army retaliation, Israel decided to react. There was no real reason for Hamas’s illogical behaviour. There is no justification for damage caused by these rockets to the population in southern Israel! The damage, apart from being physical and life threatening is also psychological. It is tough carrying out one’s daily life and having to run for shelter because of these rocket barrages. Children are scared to go to sleep at night. There are also incidents of bed wetting and nightmares. Fortunately, the loss of life has not reached catastrophic proportions because of the inaccuracies of these rockets. Nevertheless, the psychological damage to children is very often irreversible. There are also many incidents of permanent injuries as well as fatalities. The list of rocket attacks is long.

Israel has responded to these attacks after 8 years of patience and now the world accuses Israel of using “disproportionate force”. Rockets are fired on unarmed innocent people for no apparent reason. Surely this is also “disproportionate force!” These people have not carried out any aggressive activities against Hamas or against Palestinians. The civilians are unarmed. The term “disproportionate force” is relative. The defenseless civilians are unarmed while the Hamas has been firing rockets on them for eight years with no retaliation.

It may be helpful to try to understand why Hamas and its terrorist allies are firing rockets against innocent people in Sderot over the years. The main reason is hate for Israel and its people and the refusal of Hamas to recognize Israel’s right to exist. All that follows from this is based on this fact. They believe that by their behaviour which is based on total fantasy in their cloud and cuckoo land that they could hasten Israel’s total destruction. The Hamas Covenant is very clear on that! The biggest tragedy of it all is that they influence the Palestinians, who put them into power that this is attainable and, by their folly, they dragged their people into a tragedy that nobody really wants, apart from Hamas itself. Their belief in their fantasies of Israel’s destruction has heaped untold tragedy on the Palestinian people because of Israel’s severe military retaliation.

The Palestinian people had overwhelmingly voted Hamas into power 3 years ago because of the corruption of the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority which had not done anything to alleviate the Palestinian People’s poverty in Gaza. Hamas had also done nothing in that direction apart from feeding the Palestinian people with hate for Israel based on their fantasies. Pragmatism was never part of Hamas’s lexicon. Hamas was actually strengthened by Israel. Thanks to the Mossad, Israel's "Institute for Intelligence and Special Tasks", the Hamas was allowed to reinforce its presence in the occupied territories. Meanwhile, Arafat's Fatah Movement for National Liberation as well as the Palestinian Left were subjected to the most brutal form of repression and intimidation

Let us not forget that it was Israel, which in fact created Hamas. According to Zeev Sternell, historian at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, "Israel thought that it was a smart ploy to push the Islamists against the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO)".

Israel had adopted a “divide and rule” policy in trying to maintain the occupation. It was a matter of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. However, this had backfired to Israel’s disadvantage, a monster terrorist group became stronger, and the result was total violence, suicide bombings and various terrorist acts over the years which climaxed into the war in Gaza today.

Hamas knew how to manipulate the Palestinian People and their violent deeds had resulted in Israel introducing very repressive measures which also limited the freedom of the Palestinian People. This resulted in the “pressure cooker of hate” in Gaza. Gaza had been a human prison for many years. Overcrowded and poverty-stricken, Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas per square km in the world. There is no viable harbour or airport and the people are living in a crisis. Even before the intifada, Israel was more busy encouraging occupation rather than rehabilitating Gaza which was under its rule since the Six Day War of 1967 until the unilateral disengagement of August 2005. Two generations of people had grown up under appalling conditions. These people were ideal bait for the extremism of Hamas to take root.

This war was the last thing that the people of Gaza needed. Hamas had brought it on their people. While Israel has a right to defend its citizens against Hamas terrorism in the south, it does not have the right to inflict injury on innocent Palestinian men, women and children as this war progresses. The Israeli claim that Hamas uses innocent people as human shields needs to be verified in detail. The scenes of a terrible human tragedy with so much loss of innocent lives are heart-rending! We witness the most horrifying scenes of whole families being wiped out by Israeli Army action. The human situation is deteriorating in Gaza as the war goes on and there is a definite human crisis.

The increasing human tragedy in Gaza is not going to help Israel in her war effort. The attacks on an UNWRA school resulting in the death of 40 people who sought refuge are despicable. This must be condemned by all. According to reports, there were no Hamas terrorists sheltering there contrary to IDF claims.

The time has come to reassess whether there is any point in continuing this war. Hamas has received a powerful blow to its capabilities and now with various mop up operations taking place, it is questionable as to whether there will not be more blood shed as a result.

As the situation is, the IDF is preparing for the third phase of the war in Gaza. It means calling up reserves and tightening control in Gaza. Khaled Mashal, the Hamas leader, sits in his palatial home in Damascus unscathed by the suffering of the Palestinian People. He can afford to be brave while Israel’s military might wreaks destruction and havoc in Gaza. He is not ready to accept a cease-fire. Why should he? His butt is not burning! On the other hand, Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister in Gaza is looking for ways to declare a cease-fire. His rhetoric against Israel has toned down and his speeches are colored with religious dogmas. These are signs that Hamas is cracking. The Hamas leadership in Gaza is well sheltered in bunkers under homes of Palestinians. This also places the Palestinians at severe risk of IDF attacks. So many Hamas weapon caches have been discovered by the IDF in Palestinian homes. Many of these people were not even aware that their homes were used for storing weapons.

Before an IDF attack, the people are warned to vacate their homes. The problem is that they have nowhere to go and Hamas prevents the people from vacating so that the IDF can inflict heavy injuries on these poor people. This serves the Hamas purpose of illustrating IDF cruelty which could garner world opinion in their favour and against Israel. Hamas forces innocent men, women and children into the streets during the Israeli bombing raids to face certain death while their leaders hide underground.

There are terrible tragedies occurring because of the war in Gaza. Some of these human rights infringements and tragedies are because of Israel’s military activity.

According to B’tzelem reports, Israel is also using phosphorus bombs against the Palestinian population. This has been denied vehemently by the IDF spokesman.

In light of the fighting in Gaza and in Israel, Israeli human rights groups are working together to inform the Israeli public of the impact on civilians, particularly regarding events that are not reported by the media. The data is limited. It should not be taken as a comprehensive picture of the human rights violations currently taking place.

Every day that passes as the war continues, increased suffering is the result. The foolishness of the diehards in Hamas results in continued missile fire in southern Israel. Hamas has been weakened considerably but their ability to fire missiles remains intact although the number of missiles fired daily has decreased. The firing is a final act of desperation to illustrate that they still have not lost the war. Their false sense of honour remains based on their fantasies.

Many Hamas militants are deserting and are fleeing into the Sinai Desert. When this war ends, Hamas will be weakened considerably. It remains anybody’s guess as to who will fill the Gaza vacuum of anarchy. This can result in a renewal of Israeli occupation or military rule which is the worst scenario possible.

The War in Gaza

The pressure cooker had threatened to blow up for a long time. Hamas had been firing rockets indiscriminately into southern Israel turning the lives of the people living there into a living hell. This has been going on for nearly eight years and nobody, apart from Israel, protested. These inhabitants are not occupiers of Arab lands as is the case in the West Bank. They are living within the green line. The firing of rockets into Israel is so pointless and no strategic advantage could be gained from it. Hamas had been warned to cease this hostile activity against Israel. They refused to renew the cease-fire and opted for continuing the violence. Hamas and its extremist allies must be held responsible for the turn of events.

After much debating in the cabinet, Israel decided to retaliate and created a situation that is disastrous for the Gaza Palestinians. What is the purpose of it? Hamas is stubborn and continues its destructive path. They have no chance of winning this war and everyday that the war continues, more Palestinian lives will be lost and the suffering of the Palestinian people will increase. This is such a pointless war! Blood is being spilled at a tremendous rate approaching catastrophic proportions.

The problem of Gaza should be seen in a different context to the problems in the occupied West Bank where Hebron is one of the main centres of friction between the Palestinians and illegal Israeli settlers.

In the West Bank, the illegal settlers encroach on Palestinian lands uprooting olive trees and carrying out vandalism against the Palestinians living there. The behaviour of the settler youth and their supporters is disgusting towards the Palestinians. They are hooligans! They have no right to be there. The responsibility for the skirmishes between the two sides lies in the illegal settlers’ court! What right do these extremists have to justify their disgusting behaviour? There is no connection between what is happening in the West Bank and the developments in Gaza. The West Bank is under occupation with limited autonomy for the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority.

Gaza is an independent entity in so far that Israel has disengaged from it. Hamas was elected in democratic elections 2006 to rule Gaza which to all intents and purposes is separated from the West Bank. This being the case, the situation must be seen separately from what is happening in the West Bank, where the occupation and the Israeli illegal settlers are very much in place. In Gaza, there are no illegal settlers or Israeli occupation. It is true that Israel has blockaded Gaza preventing freedom of movement into Israel because of security reasons. This has contributed to much hardships for the Palestinians residing there.

Hamas must be held responsible for Israeli military action in Gaza. Over the last 7 years, Hamas and their allies have been firing Qassam rockets into southern Israeli towns turning the lives of Israelis in these towns into a living hell. Their intention is to kill and maim as many Israelis as possible in their quest to destroy Israel. The fact that the casualty rate and damage was relatively low in Israel is because of the inaccuracy of their rockets fired into populated areas. Many rockets fell short of their intended targets. The Israeli population in these towns is well disciplined and knows what to do when the alarm of a rocket attack is sounded. This is not the case in Gaza, where the Palestinians have no bomb shelters. This is reserved for the Hamas leadership and their lackeys. Regard for human life is not a priority in Hamas-ruled Gaza only if it serves their propaganda purposes.

Hamas has continued to fire rockets into Israel indiscriminately. They had no intention of acting responsibly towards their own people. There was never any rehabilitation plans to improve Palestinian lives or their economy. Plans for long term improvement of infrastructure, health, education and basic essential services that citizens of any country are entitled were never initiated, nor did they intend to initiate them. Hamas survives by intensifying the suffering of their people in order to remain in power. They provoke Israel into taking retaliatory action by their terror activities. They also engage in rhetoric and propaganda based on fantasy. This fantasy is their strong belief that in time they will demoralize Israelis and destroy Israel which they have no desire to recognize. They also never wish to negotiate with Israel.

The strength of Hamas lies in its oppression of opposition groups by torture and murder. Their fantasy world only intensified Palestinian suffering by provoking Israel into retaliation without regard to the cost in human life. We are witnessing this now as Israel continues to pound Hamas power centres and the human shields surrounding these centres. This has resulted in tremendous collateral damage and great loss of innocent lives. By their wicked tactics they feel that they can increase their support amongst their own people, neighbouring Arab states and the international world community. They rely on these elements to pressurize Israel into accepting a cease-fire on Hamas’s terms.

The international community must be made to realize that Hamas is a terrorist organization, no different from Hezbollah in Lebanon and Al Qaeda. These two terrorist organizations view Hamas as an important ally in their terrorist causes. All these organizations are in the same league. They are not seekers of peace, democracy or human rights, nor are they liberation movements. The intense suffering that Hamas causes to their own people by their behaviour shows a total lack of regard for human life. They are criminals!

Israel, in this case, is exercising its right to defend its citizens from the indiscriminate Hamas rocket launches that had been plaguing the south of Israel for nearly eight years! What country on earth would allow a neighbour state to launch missiles into its territory in order to kill its citizens? Is there any logical reason for this insanity? Hamas, as is typical of extremist Islamist terrorist groups, tries to live out its fantasies in the hope that it would become their own warped reality. Hamas is tempting fate and destroying the lives of the people who had elected them into power. They do this because of their intense, uncontrollable hate for Israel. Their motive is to destroy Israel.

Why was the world silent when Hamas was firing rockets in the south? Why are they condemning Israel when it retaliates to defend its citizens from Hamas rocket attacks and terror against its Israeli citizens?

The international protests will gain momentum and it is possible that the UN will have Security Council emergency sessions to enforce a cease-fire. Already there are countries such as France who are trying to get a cease-fire into place.

Hamas is so intoxicated by its fantasies and delusions of victory that they have not exhibited any signs of surrender. They have a false sense of dignity based on total fantasy. This will only increase the suffering of the Gazan Palestinians.

The reason that Israel has failed so miserably in its public relations work and explanations is that it is still an occupying power. It has done very little to remove the illegal settlers from the West Bank. It states that it does not wish to rule over the Palestinians while de facto they still do. This does not do much for Israel’s credibility.

The tragedy in Gaza and the suffering of the Palestinian people is heart rending. Our sympathies should be with them in their plight. It would be appropriate to assist the innocent men, women and children as much as possible by allowing food, medicines and other essential supplies into Gaza in order to minimize the suffering as much as possible.

Introducing a 48 hour cease fire is a questionable tactic. It may allow Hamas to regroup and continue the firing of rockets into Israel, they would view this cease-fire as Israel’s weakness, and this could weaken the momentum to defeat Hamas. While Hamas remains adamant and they do not cease firing rockets into Israel there is no point in even discussing a cease-fire. Hamas has even stated that they are not amenable to discussing a cease-fire and wish to fight on to victory whatever that means. They have declared war on Israel. In a war the victor dictates the terms of surrender or cease-fire not the loser. If they would show a desire for ceasing the rocket fire into Israel and wish to embark on a different path to the one they are treading now, there is a greater chance of the cease-fire being affective. If Hamas is allowed to dictate its terms for a cease-fire, it will see itself as the winner. This would be bad for peace and stability in the region. It would give them the freedom to break the cease-fire when it suits them.

The leadership of Hamas is sheltering in bunkers under the ground. They are surrounded by human shields of women and children which explains the high casualty rate. This is the way they defend themselves!

The Israeli Air Force bombs Hamas installations and headquarters. The resulting collateral damage is enormous and this increases the human tragedy. It also creates more animosity towards Israel which is regarded as the aggressor. Photographs and TV clips of the destruction in Gaza is working against Israel. No amount of public relations on Israel’s part can obliterate those tragic and vivid images of destruction and bloodshed!

This pointless war continues unabated taking its toll in human lives and suffering.There are no black or white solutions to the problems in Gaza. One can be sure that the immense poverty, overcrowding and economic hardships are conducive to the survival and support of Hamas. Israel’s military action, assuming that it overthrows Hamas may also increase Palestinian animosity towards Israel. Under no circumstances must Israel remain in Gaza for any length of time.

The only way to end the siege is for Hamas to agree to cessation of violence and aggression towards Israel and Israel must cease military activity against the Palestinians. This must go hand in hand with negotiations for a genuine peace treaty observed by both sides.

The presence of an international peace keeping force with powers to ensure that a peace agreement, if signed, is observed by all sides.

The leaders of Hamas, especially those in Damascus like Khaled Mashal are unconcerned about their peoples’ suffering. They are experts at capitalizing on it.

According to the International Herald Tribune editorial of Wednesday 31^st December 2008, there is no justification for Hamas’s attacks or its virulent rejectionism. Also others must take the responsibility for this mess. Hamas never fully observed the cease-fire that went into effect on 19^th June 2008 and Israel never really lived up to its commitment to ease the tough embargo on Gaza.

Israeli PM Ehud Olmert also did nothing to stop the illegal settlements and support Mahmoud Abbas who happens to be a sworn enemy of Hamas.

However, if one wishes to get a sense of balance in this tragic situation, Hamas is responsible for the destruction and wide scale loss of life in Gaza. They had been warned by Israel in the past to cease launching missiles into Israel but to no avail. Now they are paying the price for their folly in their fanatic beliefs in the fantasy world they desire to create in their dreams of destroying Israel.