Editorial

Israel's War of Aggression and Occupation Must End

Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared that Israel was in a state of war with the Palestinian people, a fact which has been apparent to Palestinians for some time. For several weeks now, the Israeli government has been escalating its war of aggression against the Palestinian people, invading numerous Palestinian cities, including Ramallah, with tanks, aircraft and troops. They have rampaged through refugee camps in complete violation of international law. In recent days, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have virtually destroyed Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat's headquarters and are confining him to two or three rooms with no electricity or water. Sharon has openly mused about the possibility of letting his forces kill Arafat, an act guaranteed to set the Middle East on fire. While the Israeli government is officially stating that it will not kill Arafat, it has a habit of saying one thing today and doing the opposite tomorrow.

Predictably, the escalation of the Israeli offensive has led to an increase in the number of Palestinian suicide attacks on Israeli citizens, which have been used by the Sharon government to justify further escalation of its military assaults.

International news agencies have reported that the IDF has been rounding up thousands of men between the ages of 15 and 45, confining them under inhuman conditions in interrogation camps and tattooing numbers on their arms prior to their release. CNN has reported the summary execution of captured combatants, shot in the back of the head at close range while lying on the ground. Other reports indicate that the policy of "selective assassination" of Palestinian leaders has been expanded to include those suspected of being connected to "terrorist" organizations (which by Israeli standards means any Palestinian). Many of the Palestinians killed by the IDF have been unarmed children, medics and police officers.

Outrage against the Israeli atrocities, many of them reminiscent of those committed by the Nazis before and during the Second World War, has been widespread, especially in Europe and the Arab countries. The European Union has demanded the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian territories. The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution by a vote of 14 to 0 (with Syria abstaining) also demanding the withdrawal of Israeli troops. However, under pressure from the United States, no deadline for such a withdrawal was specified. The Canadian government, unable to take a principled position for fear of upsetting the Americans or the Canadian Zionist organizations, has not commented on the present crisis, but every few weeks reaffirms its uncritical support for Israel.

The United States, whose "war on terrorism" is primarily responsible for encouraging the current Israeli offensive, does not seem to know what to do. Its Middle East envoy, General Zinni, is currently in Israel, but the Israeli government is ignoring his calls for a cease-fire. On March 30, Secretary of State Colin Powell called on Israel to withdraw and the U.S. voted in favour of the UN Security Council resolution. However, mere hours later U.S. President George Bush called the Israeli aggression a legitimate act of self-defence and demanded that Yasser Arafat, virtually cut off from the outside world by Israeli forces, do more to stop the suicide attacks against Israelis.

The United States is walking a tightrope, clearly supporting the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, but worried that things may get out of hand and destroy its shaky "coalition against terrorism" right when it is planning to launch a new war against Iraq. However, there are clear indications that at least some of Bush's key advisors think that the U.S. does not need its coalition partners to strike Iraq and can simply crush any popular uprisings that may occur in response to the continuing slaughter of Palestinians.

The Middle East is rapidly approaching a point of no return. It is generally recognized by both Israelis and Palestinians that a political settlement to the conflict will require the withdrawal of Israeli forces to its pre-1967 borders, the dismantling of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and recognition of the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their confiscated homes (or some form of compensation in lieu of return). However, as the violence escalates attitudes on both sides are hardening. A majority of Israelis now support the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from all of the occupied territories, something which is considered a crime against humanity by international law. On the other hand, an increasing number of Palestinians will not be satisfied until the state of Israel is destroyed and all Israelis expelled. If Sharon is not reined in immediately, a tragedy of unimaginable proportions will be brought down on the heads of Palestinians and Israelis alike.