News, articles and documents from
the Holy Land
Issue No. 146 - Tuesday, 16 April 2002
Dear Friends, Brothers and Sisters,
I was very busy tonight with a Live Discussion in the Washingtonpoast about Siege at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, because
they gave me the chance to answer hundreds of questions we received about this
subjects, therefore I spent more than two hours trying to answer some of these
questions, and I will not have more time to write the editorial, otherwise I will
not sleep, therefore you can read this discussion at the following link:
http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/02/world_sahlia041602.htm
I just would like to share with you two things, and send you many other documents:
1) The Patriarch just returned back from Rome after one day-visit and meeting with the Pope. You will find the news herewith.
2) We had yesterday visited Bethlehem area with the convey of the joint Christian relief organizations, you will find details in the interview with Mme Habasch, director of Caritas Jerusalem.
3) AN AFTERNOON IN BETHLEHEM by Donald Moore, S.J.
4) Urgent appeal from Bishop Munib Younan about soldiers invading the Lutheran School of Hope in Ramallah.
5) Praying
Under Israeli Guns By Dr. Maria C. Khoury.
6) What's
happening to Palestinian Society by Zakaria al Qaq, Ph.D. and Gershon Baskin,
Ph.D.
7) Sips of Sour Peace? By Dr Harry Hagopian.
We still need you prayer for a prompt, peaceful and honorable solution of
the crisi of the Basilica of the Nativity of Bethlehem. Please don’t leave the
holiest place for Christians be invaded or become a bath of blood because it is
the birthplace of the Jesus the Prince of Peace.
With my best from Jerusalem the Dead City of deal locked peace. Fr.
Raed Abusahlia
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Meets Pope
VATICAN CITY, APRIL 15, 2002 (Zenit.org).-
John Paul II met Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem today to discuss
the Holy Land and the peace initiatives under way there.
The Vatican Press Office has published no further details on the meeting, which
was followed by a luncheon, during which the Pope asked the Patriarch to call
the Nativity Church and spoke directly with Fr. Ibrahim Faltas and encouraged
him to stay firm and thanked the Franciscan Fathers of the historical service
to the Holy Places.
Afterwards, the patriarch visited
the Msgr Jean-Louis Tauran and discussed with him the issue of the Basilica of
the Nativity and urged him to do whatever possible to find a peaceful solution
to this crisis.
On Saturday, the Latin patriarch, together with other Christian leaders of
Jerusalem, presented proposals to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell for an
end to the Israeli army's siege of Bethlehem's Basilica of the Nativity.
Franciscan and Armenian religious are confined and suffering there, following
the April 2 invasion of the basilica by 200 mostly armed Palestinians.
Ruins everywhere, civilians exhausted. Caritas
sounds humanitarian alarm
Jerusalem (Fides) – This morning, April 15, a Caritas Jerusalem convoy was allowed into Bethlehem after passing the checkpoint. "We were allowed to take a little comfort to some of the many desperate and exhausted families" Fides was told by Claudette Habesch Secretary general of Caritas Jerusalem which organised the convoy. To allow the distribution of humanitarian aid the 24 hour curfew was lifted for two hours 11am-1pm local time. However the Caritas workers were not allowed near the Nativity Church compound still under siege by the Israeli troops.
"The situation is serious. There is destruction everywhere. At the moment we limit aid to emergency supplies of food and water and medicines for hospitals. We give help to all in need without discrimination" Ms Habesch said. Caritas is trying to provide assistance for the Palestinian civilian victims of the Israeli military offensive.
Concern on the part of Caritas Jerusalem and humanitarian workers the world over is voiced in a statement issued by Caritas Internationalis. "shocked by the violent and frightening events now happening in the Holy Land…We view with grave concern the massive assault on Palestinian cities, towns and refugee camps…Under these circumstances it is becoming increasingly difficult for organisations like Caritas Jerusalem to provide medicines, clothing, food and other basic necessities to those who need it most, namely women, children and the elderly," the statement says.
Caritas Internationalis sounds a humanitarian alarm. "Ambulances are being prevented from saving lives and even being shot at by the Israeli army. Palestinian clinics and hospitals are in need of medicines but cannot get them. Many children cannot go to school. There has been random shooting of civilians, including children and women, by Israeli soldiers at checkpoints. The showering of missiles on civilian areas by helicopters, bombers and tanks is causing widespread terror. Israeli and Palestinian human rights defenders are prevented from doing their work. Journalists are denied access to areas where there is fighting. ".
The Catholic Church’s international aid organization says it "unreservedly condemns the attacks against Israeli civilians which undermine the just cause of the Palestinian people" At the same time it warns that "the current military operation in civilian populated areas of Palestine will only worsen the situation and create more hatred", at a moment when hope had been kindled by the peace proposal put forward by Saudi Arabia and the Arab League. "As long as the illegal occupation of Palestine continues there will be no peace, Caritas Internationalis. says, adding that as a faith–based Confederation it hopes for "a just peace based on understanding, forgiveness and reconciliation".
Meanwhile the occupation and blockade have ruined Palestine’s economy. Caritas Internationalis recalls that "the territories have been sealed off hermetically…agricultural crops have been devastated. Many people cannot go to work. The blockade is pushing ever more families below the poverty line". Finally the Organization calls for an immediate end to occupation and an international monitoring presence in the occupied territories, "this would be a deterrent to violence and violation of human rights". (Fides 15/4/2002)
AN AFTERNOON IN BETHLEHEM
Donald Moore, S.J.
It proved to be
a wonderful pilgrimage. How better spend a Friday in the Holy Land? There were
eight of us leaving from Jerusalem (4 members of CPT [Christian Peacemaking
team] including Sr. Anne Montgomery who recruited me for this peace action,
plus Henry Carse from St. George's Anglican school, Michael Thomas, co-pastor
of Holy Redeemer Lutheran Church, Clarence Musgrave, pastor of St Andrew's
Church of Scotland, and myself). We went by changing vans along various back
roads until we were able to get to the municipal hospital in Bethlehem. Then we
hiked up an empty Cinema St until stopped by soldiers who only wanted to delay
us because they had just blown up a house and were on alert for gunmen. We
hoped no one was in the house when they took the action. The only other
people outside at the time were a number of TV journalists, most of them in
flak jackets. So we waited and chatted with one another while the soldiers
crouched with their rifles ready - many came in an APC (armored personnel
carrier). After a short wait they got back inside the APC and drove off. Then
other soldiers came back down the street and told us we still could not go any
further up Cinema St., so we walked back down to the main crossroads and up
another way to Bethlehem University. Several
of the TV people wanted to know what we were doing and asked to come with us
but CPT discouraged them. At the University I met several of the Brothers, all
of whom I know well, outside on the campus. Later inside their residence I met
several more of the Brothers - their hospitality is always so gracious. I am
sure they were happy to see us. I know I was very happy seeing them
again, and in such good spirits, although Bro. Vincent's face reflected some of
the enormous strain he has been under this last month as University President.
A few remarks were made about the lead story in the NCR (National Catholic
Reporter) this week which concerned the occupation of Bethlehem University.
Apparently interviews were conducted by phone about 3 AM one morning, so the
phrasing of some of their thoughts came out quite differently when read in
broad daylight!
Our group waited for three other CPT members coming from Hebron. Then some
plans were discussed about what we hoped to do. The main purpose was to try to
get food to the people inside Nativity Church. CPT had brought bags of bread,
and then the seminary in Beit Jala gave them milk and cheese to bring, if not
to the church then to the families near Manger Square that have been completely
under curfew and thus unable to do any shopping. (Even today when the curfew
was lifted for four hours at 1 PM, none of those who live in the Manger Square
area were permitted to leave their homes.) Shortly before one, after prayer we
moved together from the University past the Star Hotel where many ISM
(International Solidarity Movement) people are staying, down to "Paul VI
Street" the main shopping area, and headed toward Manger Square. Still we
met no one in the street. We were already in the area of total curfew. The
destruction, if not devastating, was widespread. Broken glass covered the
sidewalk, facades of buildings and shops severely damaged. Cars with windows
smashed completely or riddled with bullets lined parts of the curb. Many were
shoved aside and wrecked by either tanks or bulldozers. It looked precisely
like a street where a mini-war had been carried out, which was probably the
case.
Soon ahead of us was the empty expanse of Manger Square (up to this time
we had met no one.) Into Manger Square we went, still no soldiers, then as we
were about 2/3 of the way across Manger Square, a voice called out, "Halt.
Stay where you are." (The entrance to Nativity Church was just over 100
meters away). We turned to try to find out who was calling from where. As I
glanced around I saw the mosque on Manger Square that looked like it had been
gutted by fire - not a great deal of external structural damage, but much of
the exterior was blackened by smoke. We decided that the voice belonged to a
rooftop soldier. We talked with him, telling him what we were there for. (I
noticed a tank in the corner of the square swing its turret around in our
direction) "You can't go into the church." "But we are
Christians and this is the birthplace of Our Lord." Same response. By now
other soldiers came up to us. We told them we had food for the people in the
church, many of whom are families with children. "You can't take food in
there." "We'll just take it to the door of the church, leave it and
turn around." "No. No food to the church. There are 150 terrorists
inside and they will shoot you." "We are not worried about the
"terrorists" shooting us; that is not at all our concern." We
talked for five or ten minutes, quite civilly, and one soldier said he would
try to get the food to the people - maybe to the Franciscans -- but could not
promise anything. Anyway we left a bit of the food with him. Several of the
other soldiers warned us
again about being shot by the "terrorists" in the church. Obviously
it was something they believed strongly. The commanding officer then arrived
and insisted we leave the Square immediately. We said we wanted to pray.
"Not here." We followed them away from the church to the far end of
the Square where we formed a circle and knelt in prayer (the soldiers wanted us
to go further away from the church.) They seemed afraid that we or they would
be shot by the "terrorists." We prayed for all the people who were
there and for their safety and well being and for a peaceful resolution of the situation,
and we prayed that the presence of Christ would somehow be manifested in this
crazy standoff of power against power, violence against violence.
We then made our way back up the road to the Lutheran Christmas Church. We
walked into the rectory and were greeted warmly by Mitri Raheb, pastor of the
church, and his wife. Most of the others knew them well. We sat around and
chatted about the events. Mitri is suffering from the remnants of pneumonia. On
the evening of the invasion he went outside in his T-shirt and then he was
forced to stand outside for three hours in the cold. He is still not back to
full strength. One reason perhaps is the hundreds of interviews he has given by
phone to various news media about the invasion of Bethlehem.
As we started to
leave, we heard some shooting again, this time very close by, but as we
gingerly stuck our faces out the door it seemed safe enough to go. I think, in
retrospect, that the cause of the shooting was that some who live in the total
curfew zone were trying to get back to their homes after breaking curfew to get
needed supplies, and the soldiers were not letting them return. At the time
that thought did not cross my mind. Maybe we could have helped some of them get
home with their food supplies. The rest of the walk was uneventful. We waved to
the people and greeted them as we walked, and they appreciated the show of
support. When we drew near the University I dropped off to visit Peter DuBruhl,
SJ, who had just received word of his brother's death. Peter was not at home,
but I left word with one of his neighbors.
From the University we hiked back to the checkpoint. Again, the people we
met, only a few in number despite the curfew lifting, seemed pleased that we
were there. It took us fifteen minutes or so at the checkpoint itself. The
soldiers said at first we could not cross there (where else could we cross?) So
we just stayed there, and asked again and were refused again. On the third or
fourth try they said OK. On the other side Susan Thomas, Michael's wife, met us
and we all eleven somehow piled into their van. I arrived home to the news that
a suicide bomber had hit the upper part of Jaffa Road just fifteen minutes
earlier. First reports had at least four were killed (the number will grow) and
a much larger number injured. Killing vs. killing, terror vs. terror, violence
vs. violence-a "liturgy of death" it was termed at our evening Mass.
But death cannot have the final word. We will again and again counter it
somehow with our "liturgy of life."
Donald Moore, S.J.
Pontifical Biblical Institute
Jerusalem
URGENT MESSAGE
from
Bishop Dr. Munib A. Younan
Lutheran Bishop in Jerusalem of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jerusalem,
working in Palestine, Jordan and Israel
April 16, 2002
URGENT PRESS RELEASE
April 16, 2002
At 11:45 am
Tuesday morning, April 16, 2002, Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers invaded
the Lutheran School of Hope in Ramallah, Palestine. Despite signs indicating this building was a Christian
school, the soldiers blasted open gates and the front door and entered the
school. The whole city of Ramallah
is under 24 hour curfew so neighbors could only watch the soldiers’ actions and
telephone the pastor of the Lutheran Church of Hope, the congregation which
owns and operates the school, located
on church property. Rev.
Ramez Ansara, the pastor of the church and school, lives only a short distance
away but is unable to go to the school because of the curfew. No students, teachers, staff or guard
is present in the school; the school has been empty for more than two
weeks. No gunmen has ever used our
School of Hope or any of our instititutions or churches because they are oases
of promoting peace education,
moderation and reconciliation.
The incursion is
continuing now at 2:45 pm, despite many telephone calls by Bishop Dr. Munib A.
Younan, the bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jerusalem (ELCJ),
working in Palestine, Jordan and Israel.
Bishop Younan called many people in the Israeli government and military,
as well as foreign diplomats and partner churches in an effort to stop the
incursion as soon as possible.
Neighbors are reporting the sound of guns and sledgehammers being used
inside the Lutheran school, and hearing glass being broken.
Bishop Younan
and the Lutheran church denounces such acts and demands that the international
community and the State of Israel secure the protection and the sanctity of
church compounds and properties, including schools. “It seems that this is not a war against terrorism,” Bishop
Younan stated. ”This seems to be a
war against the hope and the future of the Palestinian people. We demand that
every institution that gives hope to the Palestinians must be protected and
strengthened. We also demand full
withdrawal of the Israeli army from the re-occupied territories in order that
Palestinian society may operate in the normal way like other societies in the
world and that children and youth may go again to school and university and
revive the remaining hope in them.”
Praying Under Israeli Guns
By Dr. Maria C. Khoury
"Give ear to my word, O Lord, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray (Psalm 5) While everyone is rushing to buy bread in Ramallah during the four hours the military curfew is uplifted, Fr. Ibrahim Hijazin is rushing to visit as many elderly and sick parishioners as possible giving them the "Bread of Life" by offering Holy Communion in their homes. He doesn't have much time on his hands, because at exactly 2 p.m. when the curfew is reinforced one more time, the Israeli soldiers begin to shoot at anyone moving in the streets. Thus, Fr. Ibrahim rushes back to conduct a quick Mass for the rest of the parishioners at the Holy Family Parish. During the last three times the curfew was uplifted, a handful of parishioners would come to pray. Today (4/15/00), the church was nearly full.
My cousin Fr. Iacoub Khoury also conducts services daily with Fr. Meletios at the Greek Orthodox Church especially now for the Lenten season. Since they live right next to the church they can hold the services but the faithful cannot attend for fear Israeli snipers reinforcing the strict curfew now in its third week will shoot them. Ms. Maha, a wonderful English teacher at the Ahliyyah College told me she could not even walk from her house to church because the main road was completely destroyed by the Israeli tanks. She sadly said: "Ramallah is not the Ramallah you know…there is a great deal of damage to the whole city." Maha decided to go to church during the uplifting of the curfew to " just gather and pray…to ask God to protect us…at least we can talk to God…we can ask, where are you God? Why can't you stop these massacres? What have we done to be prisoners in our own homes? We started to think of our faith more&h! ellip;before I sleep I pray." Finally, Maha could talk on the phone today after being many days without phone service. She was one of the lucky ones because in her neighborhood she was only without electricity and water for the first four days. Eighteen days into the occupation and still there are actually people without water.
As more and more civilians continue to be punished without running water, electricity, phones and horrid house invasions that leave their property totally damaged, we continue the Christian legacy in the land where Christianity was born. We continue to pray and ask for God's mercy. We continue our Christian values in the midst of bloodshed and under Israeli guns. In Jerusalem this week another friend, Sister Maria Stephanopoulos was tonsured receiving the new name Mother Agapia. Thus, Christians continue to serve Christ. They continue to be witnesses in the land of Christ's birth and give glory to God with every breath they take. We shall speak the truth of the Israeli atrocities although some readers think these crimes against humanity are so awful they can't possibly be true and therefore must be "Palestinian propaganda." Maybe that is why God keeps us here to keep reminding the world the Holy Land is a sacred place and whether we are Christians, Mu! slims or Jews, we were given life to give glory to God. How easy it is for guns to help you forget that we were all made in the image and likeness of God.
Maha explained to me that the last two weeks have been full of terror for her family. "Not just the children are terrified, we are terrified too. We can't sleep at night. My husband and I take shifts because we are scared if the soldiers knock on the door and you don't open immediately they will bomb the door causing much damage and fire. You expect them to come and enter any time…the only sound you hear outside is the sound of tanks in the street all night and our heart just beats with terror…and no one is talking about going back to schools…there is nothing…and they terrify us how they steal everything valuable and damage and destroy property…only God can protect us."
Fr. Ibrahim listens to his parishioners with a heavy heart. The grounds keeper for the school and church, Abu Ghassen after having his home invaded by the Israeli soldiers and turned upside down was also robbed of all his wife's gold and valuables. Maha's brother was also robbed of all valuable and had his home damaged by the Israeli soldiers. When the soldiers searched the Latin convent and school grounds, Fr. Ibrahim asked them not to enter the church with weapons because it was a holy place. One soldier insisted to enter the church so the priest tried to explain the Holy Sacrament was in the altar and the soldiers must show respect for Christian religious values and traditions. The soldier quickly stated that Jesus was himself Jewish so for sure he would be forgiven if he entered the church with his gun. Fr. Ibrahim reminded the soldier of a hard and cold reality that "Jesus was not behaving like the Jew of today."
Since the Israeli soldiers are simply out to get the "terrorists," I have such a hard time understanding why they steal and totally destroy people's homes as they did to the principal of the Friend's Girls School, Ms. Diana Abdel Noor. They just damaged anything and everything in their site. She is a member of the Greek Orthodox Church not of Hamas nor of Islamic Jihad. Do you think these poor young soldiers have a hard time knowing the difference between a terrorist and a civilian or are they simply brainwashed that all Palestinians are terrorists. As the military destroys educational and cultural places along with homes, it seems the Israelis wish to wipe out the entire identity and culture of the Palestinian people. Little do they know that Palestine will forever exist in the heart of each and every Palestinian and can not possibly be destroyed no matter how many homes are demolished and bombs are dropped. The will and the desire of the people to be free and ! seek their human rights can never be crushed with guns. Sharon will only help create a new generation of "terrorists" because his military tactics are not the right and just solution to the conflict in the Middle East. The resistance will continue because the Palestinian people have a legitimate right to free their land from occupation. And for the time being they only have their life to use as a weapon. Although we condemn suicide bombers, we can't stop them because their daily life is full of suffering beyond the imagination of the average human being. Thus, we can only pray that this catastrophic cycle of violence stops and God delivers us from this evil. "Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust." (Psalm 16) "O lord my God…save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me" (Psalm 7)
What's Happening to
Palestinian Society
Zakaria al Qaq, Ph.D. and Gershon Baskin,
Ph.D.
The
effects of the past 19 months of intifada and the last three weeks of war on
Palestinian society have been dramatic and have made an indelible mark whose
impact will be felt for many years to come. Palestinian society has lost its
hope and its faith that peace is a possibility. Palestinian society is
wreathing with anger, hatred, and yearning for revenge. Each and every
Palestinian feels that s/he has a personal account to be settled with Israel,
not only a collective account. Palestinians believe that death - martyrdom, is
a desirable option that is being considered or supported more widely than ever
before.
Palestinians
live with a sense that time is on their side. Time is perhaps one of the few assets that they have in
large supply. Palestinians express that they have a surplus of time. They have been struggling for 120
years, another 10, 20, or even 50 years is not unthinkable. They are
strengthened in this belief by having a sense that they have a surplus of
ideology fostered by a deep attraction to religious association that provides
them with strength that overcomes their general feeling of individual and
collective weakness. God provides
strength. God consoles their souls and has become their "super power"
alliance in a world that they believe is against them. God gives meaning to
their lives and provides a road map to lead them to their final destination.
Palestinians
feel that they have a surplus of history and heritage fostered by the ethos of
Islamic history - the Prophet Mohamed and figures such as Salah al Din. Their
anger embellished by stories of massacres and brutal death encourages a deep
willingness and desire to extract as high a price as possible on the enemy.
Palestinian society in general wants Israel and Israelis to feel the pain that
they are feeling. They want Israel and Israelis to pay the price for the war
they feel Israel inflicted upon them.
Palestinians
have lost their faith in political regimes. They don't believe that anyone or
any regime has the power, the political will or the determination to come to
their rescue. This includes the Arab regimes as well. They see the
demonstrations and popular support around the world for their struggle as a
sign that those Arab regimes are isolated from their own people. They are
ineffective and do not represent the popular will of their own people.
Palestinians
now identify with Arafat more than ever before as a result of Israel's attempt
to isolate him, yet the struggle of the people is not focused on Arafat or
other Palestinian leaders and public figures. They have moved from a focus on personalities to a wider
agenda centering on their own situation and the situation of the people. They are now looking at events and
outcomes - such as Jenin, Nablus, the refugee camps, etc.
Palestinians
have lost their faith in political processes and initiatives. They see a history of agreements and
initiatives that have failed and have only worsened their situation. They don't believe in regional or
international conferences. They don't
have faith in UN Resolutions. They
see that that the entire world could not even send one Red Cross Ambulance into
Jenin to rescue even one single life. Bush, Powell, Prince Abdallah, King
Abdallah, President Mubarak, all of them and others can do nothing to help the
Palestinians.
Palestinians are left with a sense
that there is no hope in this life. Death - martyrdom - is a real option and provides hope
because death brings with it redemption through heroism. Palestinian society is
suffering from deep trauma that will impact their lives and outlooks for a
longtime to come. Palestinians
console themselves through the construction of a mutual aid and social support
system based on telling and retelling the stories of the tragedies and the
suffering. This provides them with strength and builds their sense and belief
that in time, no matter how long it takes, the surplus of time, religion,
history and the construction of their narratives of suffering will bring about
a squaring of the accounts.
Gershon Baskin, Ph.D. - Co-Director,
IPCRI
P.O. Box 9321, Jerusalem 91092
Tel: 972-2-676-9460 Fax: 972-2-676-8011 - Mobile: 052-381-715
gershon@ipcri.org http://www.ipcri.org http://www.place4peace.com http://www.our-shared-environment.
IPCRI Calls for INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION OF WHAT
HAPPENED IN THE JENIN REFUGEE CAMP
The Investigation
should include Israelis and Palestinians and IPCRI Volunteers to Participate
The Israeli
incursion into the Jenin refugee camp and the total news blackout on what
transpired inside the camp together with the refusal of the Israeli army to
allow medical workers and International Organizations to enter the camp has led
to widespread suspicions of massacres and atrocities. Stories of events are beginning to get out with the IDF
spokespeople and official Israeli sources denying them. The internet is being swamped with
photographs of dead bodies and rampant destruction under the heading a picture
speaks a thousand words". Sometimes pictures don't tell the whole
story. It is essential to know the
truth and all sides, at this point, should be interested in having their truth
documented and certified by independent trustworthy sources.
For that reason,
IPCRI calls for the launching of an independent international investigation of
the events in Jenin. This
commissions of inquiry must be under the auspices of an international
organization, such as the International Red Cross and should involve some
independent Israelis and Palestinians. IPCRI as a joint Israeli-Palestinian
independent think-tank would like to participate in the commission of inquiry.
We call upon the
international community to support this effort. We hope that the United Nations Security Council will give
this effort its mandate.
Gershon Baskin,
Ph.D. and Zakaria al Qaq, Ph.D.
Directors of
IPCRI
Sips
of Sour Peace?
Dr
Harry Hagopian,
ksl-kog
Justice and peace must kiss each other (Ps
85:10)
Yesterday, the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem met with US Secretary of State Colin Powell. Representing all thirteen Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Catholic and Evangelical Churches in the Holy Land, they handed the American host-diplomat a letter in which they shared a common Christian vision for both Israelis and Palestinians to ‘live in their own state, equally, equitably, justly and peacefully’. In their letter, they stated that ‘the security of Israel is dependent upon justice for the Palestinians’, and reminded Secretary Powell that ‘justice must be implemented according to international legitimacy as represented by UN resolutions 242, 338 and 1397’. Stressing that all forms of violence by both parties must cease immediately, and that Israel must withdraw forthwith from the re-occupied territories, the clerics also asked for an international protection force to secure the lives of the people. They offered their own proposals to help end the painful stand-off at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, and articulated the Christian timeless dream ‘that these two peoples who represent the three monotheistic religions may live in just peace and freedom, in security and reconciliation’.
Three days earlier, the South African
writer Breyten Breytenbach - who had spent a week in Israel as part of the
delegation of the International Parliament of Writers - wrote an Open Letter to
General Ariel Sharon in the National Magazine. He made comparisons between the
apartheid regime of South Africa and the policies undertaken over long years by
Israel against the Palestinians in the occupied territories. He referred to
‘the disdain shown for the humanity of the Palestinians’, and the way in which
the Palestinians were subjugated and humiliated at every crossroad. He
described the Israeli illegal settlements as ‘armed colonies built on land
shamelessly stolen from the Palestinians, and intended to thwart and annul any
possibility of Palestinian statehood’. He accused Israel of perpetuating ‘the
inanity of occupation, with detour roads as well as checkpoints, that have
little to do with security and everything with the urge to humiliate,
frustrate, harass and drive to insane rage an occupied population’.
A rueful axiom of Middle Eastern diplomacy
is that progress may become possible only when the situation turns unbearable.
With this in mind, Charles Hill, research fellow at the Hoover Institution and
lecturer in international studies at Yale University, wrote an article in the
Financial Times on 10 April 2002 where he argued that the American task now
should be to structure two concurrent efforts. On the inner circle of the
conflict, he wrote, it must work to see that terrorism is suppressed and the
fighting on both sides reduced as far as possible. On the outer circle, he
added, there must be an intensive effort to apply the pan-Arab peace plan that
was adopted in Beirut some weeks ago. The plan stipulates a potential Arab
willingness to accept Israel as a legitimate state in the region once the
latter withdraws from occupied Palestinian lands. Since this bipolar plan
enjoys the support of the Arab world, Hill believes that it would also empower
the Palestinians to strike a deal for peace with Israel without feeling that
they are defying the larger Arab consensus. As such, the inner and outer
circles could meet up.
Jeremy Vine, presenter of the BBC2
Newsnight programme, has been covering over the past week the mayhem and
carnage that have shaken the streets of Bethlehem, Haifa, Jenin or Jerusalem.
He has referred to the incalculable suffering of both peoples and has admitted
that ‘the hazards facing journalists and aid workers are a fraction of the big
picture’. He has dealt not only with the perceptible effects of violence, but
also with its deeper causes. In a sense, he has underlined a lesson of history
that many colonised people have learnt at their own cost! When a people are
systematically deprived of justice, livelihood and freedom, they either choose
to fight for their cause or else die for their cause. To deal with this
conflict, it is incumbent upon the USA to stop dealing superficially with the
obvious symptoms but rather address realistically its one constant and
underlying cause - the illegal occupation.
But what are the steps necessary to break
this vicious cycle of violence? Can Secretary Powell succeed in his diplomatic
mission by taking a leaf from President Theodore Roosevelt who reputedly said
that ‘one needs to talk softly but carry a big stick’? Or would he resign
himself to the ominous headline in the Jerusalem Post Sunday editorial that
described his meeting with Chairman Arafat in Ramallah today as the ‘Colin
Powell Suicide Mission?
When all is said and done, the key word to this whole conflict remains the occupation that has sadly resulted in murderous and wanton violence. Although former Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu has repeatedly been stressing in the USA this week that the Israeli military campaign in the West Bank is not different from the American one in Afghanistan, the analogy between those two cases does not stand up! Surely, it is obvious that Afghanistan - which produced terror and exported it to the outside world - is neither an occupied country, nor does it have pockets of illegal settlements dotted throughout its entire land! Politely put, Afghanistan is not Palestine!
In practical terms, a cessation of violence from both sides is vital to enable the overall political process to take off. But it cannot become an end in itself. Israel must realise that its long-term future security and prosperity lie in giving back to the Palestinians what is theirs under International law. MK Azmi Bishara (Member of the Israeli Knesset or Parliament) iterated today on CNN that Chairman Arafat could not possibly curb violence without being given the sound edifice of a state. But if PM Sharon refuses to budge on this issue, one begins to question his ulterior designs? Has the personal truly become the political between those two ageing warriors? Or could it be that the Israeli military incursion is meant to make the West Bank safer for Israel to stay rather than for it to leave after it has ended its ‘mop-up’ operations? This open suggestion was put forward by the New York Times columnist and three-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize Thomas Friedman only two days ago.
For any American mediation to work, and for any cease-fire to hold, the following primary directives become vital:
· Resumption of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians;
· Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories;
· Robust international observer presence separating the sides and monitoring their compliance with any accord;
· Firm times table for the chronology of negotiations between the two sides as much as the Israeli withdrawals.
However, those steps should not be undertaken simply to create the illusion of momentum. Rather, they should aim to conclude a final agreement that gives birth to a viable and sustainable Palestinian state next to Israel. Palestinians must know that an end of occupation is within reach, as Israelis must also know that permanent security is near.
The novelist F Scott Fitzgerald
demonstrated the ability to function normally whilst holding simultaneously two
opposing ideas in the mind. Similarly, Secretary Powell’s precarious assignment
predicates an end to violence whilst at the very same time generating a
time-specific political process that will address the occupation as the core of
the conflict. Anything less will render his trip an unfortunate failure and lead
to further sips of sour peace.
There
is too much history, and too many prophets, in this small land (Mahmoud Darwish)
©
harry-bvH @ 14 April 2002
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