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Forty years ago, I was 14 years old.
I was an eyewitness to the war, the defeat and the continuing tragedy of the
Palestinian people that has lasted until this day. I was witness to how the
dreams of the Palestinians came crashing down after they placed their bets on
the Arab regimes to regain their land, their homeland and their rights. Hence,
the Palestinians faced a new Nakba [catastrophe] of no less magnitude than
their first. To the millions of refugees from the first Nakba, hundreds of
thousands of additional displaced were added. My memory is forever etched with
the scene of flocks of refugees heading east into nothing save an unknown
destiny and future.
The defeat of 1967 constituted a
tremendous blow to the Palestinian consciousness, the tremors of which continue
to reverberate in the insane occupation under which they live.
Today, we are marking the 40th
anniversary of that war and the political, social, cultural and psychological
results of it. What kind of picture does this paint?
How does the victor deal with his
victory? And how does the defeated understand and cope with his defeat? What is
the fate that awaits us all, both the victor and the defeated, in the end?
What is more complicated than a
direct reading of the outcomes of this war, both politically and militarily, is
ascertaining the ramifications of the war on the collective consciousness of all
sides. The policies and choices stemming from these perceptions created in this
environment, still have a tremendous impact.
No Palestinian or Arab will ever
forget the deep wound inflicted on their understanding of the world, and their
dignity. Nor will they forget how their wager on a victory by the incompetent
Arab regimes was proved false. This was the beginning of Palestinian
self-realization. Palestinians began to
realize the gravity of their situation, and the full intentions of the Zionist movement. Zionists concentrated on
wiping the Palestinian people off the map, thus manifesting the false adage, “A
land without a people for a people without a land.”
After the June 1967 War, the Zionist-Imperialist
project moved from the level of establishing and validating its existence to
one of complete control and domination. This dimensional aspect is two-fold: the
Palestinian discovery of their tragedy and self, and the transfer of the
Zionist project to a level of domination. This transformation is what has shaped
the characteristics and strategies of the subsequent conflict over the decades
that followed the war.
It is true that the Palestinians
endured two tremendous catastrophes. Yet, at the same time, they have shown an
incredible ability to absorb these catastrophes and continue steadfastly,
turning to resistance until they succeeded. In the end, the Palestinians were
able to impose themselves as a force to be reckoned with, a force which could
not be overlooked in any situation. The Palestinians were helped in this regard
by their Arab neighbors, who continued, despite the defeats and incompetence of
the Arab regimes, to embrace the Palestinian cause. They considered it a cause
of the Arab nation, at least on a cultural, psychological and intuitive
level.
The Palestinian people succeeded in absorbing
the blows and then moving on to resistance, building active political
organizations and developing a vibrant Palestinian national identity. Throughout
the history of their contemporary national movement, the Palestinians were able
to administrate the conflict in terms of maintaining a presence for the
Palestinian cause at all levels. This journey of resistance can be tracked
through major points along the way: the forceful launching of the Palestinian
national movement after the 1967 War, the resistance in Jordan, then its move to Lebanon, the
first Palestinian Intifada in 1987, then the second Intifada in 2000. In the
context of this journey, the Palestinian refugee cause and the continuous
Palestinian suffering remained blatant witnesses to the ongoing injustice and
the basis for unending resistance movements. This fact has allowed the
Palestinians, despite all the odds against them to maintain their continued
existence under occupation.
Most Palestinians who live in
refugee camps, despite the continued blows against them and the continued lack
of balance in military and economic power between them and Israel continue
to exist. This is in addition to the absolute support Israel receives from the United States and the majority of Europe. There is also the Palestinian resistance and
refusal, even if this is solely represented in their continuous existence as a
strategic and permanent challenge to Israeli conditions for control. All this
has proved that the Palestinians have succeeded with merit, despite the
destructive Arab defeats around them. The Palestinians have engaged Israel
completely and involved them in a state of perpetual conflict. This has forced critical
questions upon Israel
about its future and existence, if not on the direct or present level, then in
the long-term. The course of its continuous entanglement with its Arab
surroundings, and given its demographic makeup and economic and demographic
intertwining with the Palestinians, forces these questions.
Nonetheless, the experience of the
Palestinian national movement indicates that its reaction and interaction with
defeat and missteps did not benefit the movement with lessons learned. The
Palestinian social structure was able to absorb and understand the defeats that
befell them in the face of the Arab weakness and incompetence. In response to
this, the Palestinian national movement was created, and had a role in
contributing to this resoluteness and endurance. However, more was required of
this movement than that which was only within the boundaries of steadfastness.
Its more important function was to guarantee the conditions for a
revivification as the first step to achieving the Palestinian goals of freedom
and independence. This has not been achieved as of this moment.
What is even more dangerous is that
the dominant force in the Palestinian national movement has begun to integrate
and submit to the logic and conditions of the victorious party through a
gradual and accumulative process. This has been manifested through continuous, careful
attention and concessions which have struck at the heart of the rights of the
Palestinian people’s national rights. This has struck deeply at its status and
legitimacy, and has thrown the nationalist movement into crisis.
The poor performance of the
Palestinian leadership constituted the framework for the political behavior and
culture that has dominated the Palestinians in terms of dealing with the defeat.
This is as if it were the end of the road even, if this contradicted the
essence of the concept and conditions for a peaceful and a just solution. This
was clearly evident in the responses of the Palestinian and Arab sides (the
Camp David Accords, Oslo, the Hebron Protocol, the Cairo security agreement,
the Paris Economic agreement and finally, the Roadmap), even though these
projects lack the minimum conditions needed as a foundation for the end of the
occupation and the establishment of a just and comprehensive peace in the
region.
This lack of ability in the political
actions of the dominant Palestinian political elite put this elite in an
ambiguous position in the consciousness
of the majority of the people. After the establishment of the Palestinian
Authority, this elite found itself in the role of a tool for imposing the
conditions of the occupation.
An intellectual review of this
behavior shows it to be a reversion to the culture of surrender to the status
quo. Since 99 percent of the power for a solution is in the hands of Israel and its ally, the United States,
then any conceptualizing by the Arab political elite outside the framework of
this equation, is viewed as extreme, unrealistic and irrational behavior.
Insofar as this political culture
deprived the Arabs and Palestinians of the ability to apply pressure and
effectively invest in the status of Palestinian popular resistance and
opposition, it also contributed to feeding the arrogance of the other side. It
reinforced a culture and behavior of condescension and a refusal to accept even
the minimum of the defeated side’s positions. In light of this, Israel has
refused to recognize the other and is working to eliminate it as an issue and
annihilate all of its rights. In the end, the only option available to the
Palestinians is a complete surrender to the conditions of the victor. This will
be duly noted upon our reading of the political culture that has governed
Israeli practices.
The reality that followed the defeat
of the Arabs in the June, 1967 War did not have to be so tragic in terms of the
continued conflict and the limitations on any possible political solution.
However, the distorted Israeli consciousness that resulted from their
overwhelming military victory in this blink-of-an-eye war is what dictated all
of their consequent behavior and strategies.
The speedy Israeli victory over the
Arab states placed Israel
firmly in a new political reality. It suddenly found itself removed from its
isolation, playing the role of controlling power in an attempt to accommodate
and invest in the results of its victory as much as possible.
In light of this interaction at the
political, social, economic and cultural levels, the elite in Israel began, from
the start, lost its ability to comprehend this victory with any sense of depth or
awareness. This meant it lacked the ability to successfully deal with its
defeated neighbors in a way that would guarantee conditions and circumstances
conducive to building real bridges with its vast Arab surroundings.
Additionally, it lacked the ability to build foundations for its existence in
this sensitive region. Israel
found itself burdened with contradictions that surely cannot be resolved by a
mere victory in battle or fleeting military confrontation.
Hence, Israel moved towards a
reinforcement of a distorted culture and self-perception. Israel
consistently and increasingly distanced itself from rational political thought
and behavior. Consciously or unconsciously, it began to feed its own illusions
and aspirations, loosened from the moorings of any boundaries, and oblivious to fundamental historical, geographical
and demographic lessons.
One of the most commonplace notions
was, for example, “The invincible Israeli military” and that Israel alone
was stronger than all the Arab countries combined.
Hence, the controlling elite in
Israeli society drifted so far politically and culturally into its own
delusions that it was no longer governed by any rational logic. The dominant Israeli
weltanschauung was that they were beyond history and reality, a kind of “super”
army, “über-state,” “über-society.” And, as long as this is how it perceived
itself, it had no need to pay any attention to those around it. This logic of
force began to generate an ideology of force, a culture of force and a
consciousness of force, followed by a policy of force and finally a peace by
force. Hence, it is not strange that with one victory after another, Israel found
itself moving farther and farther away from peace or a sense of security and
safety.
What deepened this imbalance in
Israeli political practice was its acceptance and willingness to take on the
role of a tool designed to impose the United States’ strategies of
domination over the region. This made the entire Israeli society look as if it
were merely a military team that was to implement the demands on it and pay the
price of the Americans’ aspirations, which sought to expand and control, even
if this were at the expense of the fundamentals of Israeli society’s very
existence.
Consequently, Israel fell
into the trap of its own victory, because the most dangerous ramification of
victory—any victory—is for the victor to lose their inability to envision the
boundaries of this victory or boundaries of their own power. Objectively, any
victory in history is, in the end, a relative victory. Anyone who sidesteps
this truth essentially loses half of their victory, and hence, loses half of
their wisdom. In the historical and tangible sense, this constitutes Israel’s first loss
and waste of a victory.
Any force that does not realize the
boundaries of their power or ways of using it wisely is more dangerous and
idiotic than any perception of power the weaker party may still have. Israel won the
1948 War and the 1967 War. What next?
Israel, which is a small country, has not
realized that regardless of its prowess, it is too small to devour its prey—the
Arabs and Palestinians—either politically, culturally, historically or
psychologically.
As long as the situation remains as
such, and as long the conscious boundaries of power, victories and their uses remain
a dynamic issue, then matters will always move towards confrontation.
As long as this culture of force is
draining itself to the maximum in both
quantitative and qualitative terms, including human capital, and as long as the
resources of any country or society in the end are limited, there will be no
potential for progress, only at best, stagnation. Additionally, the weaker or
defeated party continues to build up its awareness as an instinctive reaction
to the defeat and to the feeling of humiliation and searches tirelessly for opportunities
to regain its rights and invest in what it possesses. In the Palestinian and Arab
cases, this is not something to be underestimated—the relative difference
between the victor and the defeated gradually decreases until it reaches a
point of equilibrium whereby the conflict is transformed into intertwining
circles and waves where the victor and the defeated can no longer be
differentiated in terms of the destruction, death, terror and frustration.
At this point, the defeated and the
victor become two sides of the same coin. It becomes impossible to speak of
peace, stability, development or the security of the victor as long as the
defeated resist and stand in the face of the victor. They stand as a reminder
of its existence and of the fact that defeat and victory are not the final
destiny for any nation, civilization, culture or empire.
Now, 40 years after the defeat of
1967, we find ourselves faced with a reality where it is difficult to clearly
differentiate or delineate between the victor and the defeated, whereby all
parties are still burning in the flames of the conflict which only grows more
intense.
Israel and its allies have proven their
rare talent in losing opportunities to invest in their victory and now they face
a crisis.
If Israel had behaved with the
rationale of a victor that sees and realizes the value of its victory in a way
that creates out of it a platform for proposing a fair, ethical political
solution (separate from the discussion over the justness of war by the various
parties), the Arabs, Palestinians and Israelis would have, decades ago, been
living a different reality than the one we presently live.
However, it seems that Israel’s easy
victory caused it to lose balance and start to behave according to the logic of
a major colonialist country. This is in spite of the limits of its capabilities
and its destiny, which threw it in the midst of the Arab world. Based on this,
it began behaving as if it were the destiny of the Arab world, the Middle East and the Palestinian people. It began seeking
to impose its conditions and logic with no consideration for what already existed.
Instead of seeking to perceive itself as a natural and ordinary country in the
region, a country that respects itself, its surroundings and its neighbors, it
sought absolute domination. This threw it into a state of contradiction and
friction that could not be untangled in the midst of its vast surrounding.
The Israeli experience represents a
flagrant example of the culture of force that lacks the most basic elements of
wisdom—a culture that feeds the collective consciousness of the victor with a
culture of condescension and contempt for the defeated. It formulates equations
according to the racist and pathetic saying, “If the Arabs or Palestinians do
not surrender to this amount of force than they will heed and kneel to the use
of more force.” Hence, the victor becomes hostage to its blind force at the
expense of the force of wisdom and reason.
However, what happens if the
Palestinians do not lie down and surrender, something which has been proven
throughout the course of the conflict?
In this case, there is only one
option: a continuation of this dance of war and destruction. In the midst of
this, no one will remember who is the victor including the victors themselves.
This is because this equation of eliminating the other, destroying and
humiliating them militarily, politically and culturally in such a devastating
manner will push everyone into a cycle of complete terror. In the framework of
this equation of terror, there is not even room for a protocol for any
celebration of victory that used to have meaning and value because the
continuing dance of death leaves no time for even a smile.
Confronting the distortion into
which the Israeli society has slipped, under the pressure of the insanity of
power calls for a political and social force and a cultural elite that has the courage
and patience, and before all else, a historical vision. One that would work
diligently to save Israeli society, not from the Palestinians but from Israel itself.
This Israel, which insists
on pushing the Israelis into the trap of the illusion of destructive force that
gives it the ability to swallow up the entire Middle East
and restructure and rebuild it as it wishes. Israel, which behaves in accordance
with a Rambo-like culture, capable of
invading whole countries and armies without being wounded or exhausting all the
bullets of its guns.
Yes, this is possible, but only in
movies or cartoons.
We can understand imposing conditions for
surrender on the country that suffered a military defeat in a war between
classical armies in the framework of a conflict over interests and the
redistribution of power, markets, resources, etc. However, these approaches and
the reading of this equation differ radically when it is about a historical
conflict between two blocs and human communities heavily-laden with deep convictions
and symbols where both cling to the place with all of its implications and
dimensions. This is the case in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the land of Palestine. Where, on this land the
heavens and the earth mix together, and each side calls its gods and prophets
to stand with him behind their barricades. With such a reality, we are faced
with ever more dangerous equations and complexities. Any overstepping of this
fact by dealing with the conflict as if it were merely a decisive military
battle means in terms of political and cultural practices, the loss of
direction and the strategic compass. This will result in a heavy price by all
standards and will confront those with this mentality and culture—sooner or
later—before questions about their
existence in all senses of the word.
This deep methodical and
psychological dysfunction of both the defeated and the victor in their
perception and in dealing with major events has, as we have noticed, turned
into dominating behavior. The dynamics of this distortion over power continues
even when relationships shift or change radically between the two sides. That
is, when there is an overthrowing or exchange of positions, even if it is in
the relative sense and the defeated party succeeds in improving its stance and
achieving certain victories. The party that has grown accustomed to victories
thus finds itself suddenly confronting certain defeats (a perfect example of
such a case would be the July 2006 war in Lebanon). The new victor (the Arab
side) was not able to comprehend or invest in the results of its victory to
gain certain political achievements. Rather, its practices and political limits
continued to orbit in the same circles it had grown accustomed to as if it
could not believe it could actually come out the victor.
Furthermore, the new defeated party
(Israel),
which has been addicted to victories, also could not fathom that it could have
been defeated. Hence, it continued to behave according to the logic of the
victor, blaming its missteps on factors and components far from the core of its
failings.
This is how the lessons of victories
and defeats continue to be lost on everyone with equal thoughtlessness, while
the approaches continue as if victories and defeats are final and have nothing
to do with the reality of life and changes on the ground.
In the midst of this dual distortion,
confusion and inability by both the defeated and the victor, available
opportunities to achieve real and lasting peace continue to be lost and wasted.
The price of this ignorance will be paid up front with the blood, security,
future and humanity of everyone.
In the end, any victory (regardless
of the concept of a fair war) does not embody any achievable goal or concept.
It will inevitably turn into a state of oppression, which will unavoidably call
for counter-reactions that aim to change the forthcoming reality. Hence, the
insane race continues around the perimeters of this cycle of conflict in the hopes
of reaching an impossible finish line.
Is there any way to avoid this
conclusion? Let us take a look back and contemplate the reality in which the
Palestinians and Israelis live in after the decades of conflict and after all
the victories and defeats they have experienced.
After every round of conflict, the
dominating power throws all of its energies into systematically feeding this
deception and arrogance, and the culture of power while negating the other in
preparation for the next round.
As long as the conflict is governed
by this culture, then a permanent and lasting peace will continue to be the
missing link in this chain.
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