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When every window of opportunity has
been closed and politics has become linked with the mentality of power, the
inevitable result is that all those involved will be dragged into a hellish cycle.
This is what has been happening for weeks
in the Gaza Strip and for days in Lebanon. Few believe that the sole
reason for Israel’s
response to the Hezbollah is the capture of two Israeli soldiers. Israel’s goals
are much more far-reaching than that.
No doubt, the Israeli army, which projects
itself as an invincible force, has been put to the test. This has led Israeli Chief
of Staff, Dan Halutz, to carry out even more violent acts in an attempt to regain
Israel’s
military deterrent power and status.
Nonetheless, on the ground, it seems things are not going to stop there. Israel’s confrontations in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon clearly
point towards long term Israeli political goals.
In Gaza, the political objective is centered on
bringing down the Hamas government in an attempt at installing a Palestinian
Authority more compatible with the Israeli government’s desires. In Lebanon, the wide-scale Israeli response is
really targeted at decimating Hezbollah and stripping it of its arms, thus
restructuring its relations with the Lebanese government and Syria.
After the US government failed to implement
UN Resolution 1559 by political means, the conclusion was that Israeli force
would be used to finalize the deal.[1] These are the declared Israeli
conditions for halting the war:
-
Ending the Hizbollah threat, disarming the
organization and imposing Lebanese sovereignty in the south.
-
Securing the release of the two kidnapped soldiers.
In order to realize these political
goals, Israel has proceeded
to carry out its wide-scale and disproportionate military operations by
destroying villages, the infrastructure and economic installations in Lebanon
(airports, bridges, roads, power plants, seaports and water stations). At the
same time, its operations are moving gradually closer to Damascus
in order to deliver harsh messages to both Syria
and Tehran.
Clearly, we are not witnessing
simply a disciplinary military operation targeted at freeing the two Israeli soldiers.
Amid these events, the situation is moving
closer to the brink of disaster. The all-out confrontations at present in Lebanon and northern Israel have gone beyond what was
likely anticipated by the various parties. This increases the possibility of a
worsening situation that can’t be fully anticipated by the parties involved in this conflict.
It is the absence of logic that has brought
us to such a dangerous situation, and it may not have yet reached its peak. The
main reason for this is Israel’s
belief that it is, and will remain, an absolute power in the region, and that
because of this power, it has the right and ability to continuously alter the
rules of the game.
This is just one more confirmation that
the stupidity of power leads to political foolishness. The end result of
maintaining a steady flow of blood and death can only be the loss of stability,
security or any opportunity for peace.
The mentality of power cannot fathom
that it is difficult to resolve a conflict between peoples by sheer force; that
weakening one side or people at a certain moment in history does not mean it is
weakened eternally. At a certain point, events will break free from the
seemingly static relation of strong to weak, and turn it into a cycle of
destruction, death and terror.
This fact brings us back to square
one, that force cannot not make peace or bring security. True, force can impose
submission or surrender, but only temporarily. Things will eventually go back
to an equation of confrontation and a balance of death.
In light of this explosive
situation, and barring the results that may come from this state of war, the
question remains: what next? Where do we go from here?
Neither party has considered in
their final calculations that the monster of extremism could be unleashed and
people pushed into a cycle of annihilation, especially since the conflict is
occurring in a geographical region too small to endure this irrational use of
arsenals, which are no longer being monopolized by one side. Any organization, with
a little effort, planning, money and conviction can accumulate enough weapons
to threaten any state, regardless of its military strength.
The bottom line is, the failure of
the peace process and Israel’s insistence on its philosophy—which is based on power,
control, continuation of the occupation, oppression, destruction, the arrest of
thousands, land confiscation and the besieging of millions—will not lead to
anything save to a new cycle of conflict and bloody confrontations.
Since the signing of the Oslo
Accords over ten years ago, the Palestinians have been waiting and offering
concessions—but for what? More aggression, humiliation and domination?
This is not all. Over 39 years have passed
since the 1967 Six-Day War, and since the issuance of UN Resolutions 242 and
338. Yet, this has all been in vain. The Arabs have also offered more than one peace
initiative, the most recent being the Arab Summit Initiative in Beirut in 2003. This too
fell on deaf ears.
The world has continued to spectate,
while providing a cover for Israel’s
aggressive policies towards the Palestinians under the guise of “fighting
terrorism” and “self-defense,” or other hollow phrases.
The only viable solution is to
return to a clear peace process based on justice, on implementing international
resolutions, ending the occupation, dismantling settlements, guaranteeing the
right of return for refugees and liberating the prisoners. Without this, no one
should be surprised if a third or fourth Intifada breaks out or if fighting at
the borders erupts every few years.
While politicians continue to dance
to the endless tunes of war, the real victims in all of this are justice, peace
and the civilian populations.
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Endnotes
[1] UN Resolution 1559 was passed in September 2004. Among
other elements, it “calls for the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and
non-Lebanese militias” and “Supports the extension of the control of the
Government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory.”
Nassar Ibrahim is a Palestinian writer and journalist. He is also the editor of the Arabic quarterly journal Rouy’ya Ukhra, publishedby the AIC.
This article was originally published in News from Within, Vol. XXII, No. 6, July 2006.
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