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Even if and when the suicide attacks stop, there would still be a great deal of groundwork which needs to be done to before a solution is produced. Many Israelis see Ehud Barak’s Camp David deal as the best offer possible to make to Palestinians. Many Palestinians are insulted as the land offered is no way near pre-1967 levels. Again the criticising Israelis would say that Palestinians lost so much land then because they put themselves at war with Israel, and many Palestinians would say that they went at war in the first place because the Israelis came and unjustly “stole” their land. This tit-for-tat reasoning which is present at all levels throughout the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could continue forever, and it is beyond the scope of this essay to comment on it.
As a conclusion, the Israeli and Palestinian perspectives are both equally right, and paradoxically, equally wrong. It all depends on how you look at it. The Israelis have the right to defend their homeland and to feel safe from the Palestinian extremist terror-networks. The Palestinians have the right for their homeland to be returned to them and to feel safe. The Israeli Government are wrong to think they can get away with state terrorism, human rights atrocities and the philosophy some right-wing politicians have that Palestinians should be “removed” indefinitely. The Palestinian Authority is wrong to think they can get away with supporting terrorism, the lack of condemnation for suicide attacks, the massive levels of corruption and the pitiful lies that are continuously produced.
However, the media has had a key role to play in providing the information for all of us to digest and all too often has been biased to one side or the other. This conflict highlights the importance of looking at an issue from many different angles. This helps us to understand the many viewpoints, and only by understanding can peace ever be achieved. It is paramount that all of us try to produce a balanced argument on this issue, and many others, and present this when discussing such conflicts. Only then will we stop hearing the kind of subjective viewpoint that many main-stream politicians have, such as Madeleine Albright who stated that “Palestinians are laying siege to Israel”, which only help to deepen the angry sentiment of those fundamentalist countries which are enemies of Israel, and who are already sufficiently bigoted in that they do not recognize Israel’s right to exist. We should praise the web, because the truth is available on it simply because it is uncensored and cheap. Anybody can express their opinions freely through this medium and the whole spectrum of opinions on a given subject is laid out entirely, with you as the sole judge. I for example, have found many articles written by Jews around the world, and especially in Israel, in rank condemnation of Israel’s state terrorism and massive human rights abuses. Likewise I have read articles written by prominent Muslim scholars who condemn terrorism in all its forms, the corruption of the PA, and state that recognition of Israel has a simple right to exist without any danger threatening it.
Unfortunately there are still many, particularly Muslims, who are all-to-often singularly condemning Israel without a mention for the actions of the PA and should try to remove themselves from this psyche that the Palestinian Authority have no part in causing this problem in the first place. For peace to be achieved all in the Muslim world must accept the Israeli right to a homeland. At the same time there are many, particularly in the USA and some of the Jewish communities outside Israel, who believe that Israel is “defending itself” and Sharon’s policy of tanks and bulldozers is justified. These people should also try as hard as possible to remove themselves from this opinion. People taking both sides should remove their support of the Israeli government or the Palestinian Authority, both equally immoral, and instead support the large number of human rights groups working in the region. For example, groups such as the Jewish human rights organization B’Tselem which complain about the Israeli government’s human rights abuses against the Palestinians.
However, if a Palestinian state were created, would the suicide bombings continue? The evidence suggests otherwise, because it is clear that the level of injustice perpetrated to the Palestinians by the Israeli government is directly proportional to the number of Palestinian suicide attacks to the Israelis – for example when liberal prime minister Yitzhak Rabin was in power, suicide attacks were virtually unheard-of. Now that hard-core right-wing Ariel Sharon is in power, suicide attacks are commonplace. It is essential that within the framework of a Palestinian state a more suitable government is set up which deals with any rogue suicide bombers left. The government installed in Palestine would have to be one genuinely interested in the needs of the state at what would be a crucial time and not in power and money, an attitude which has been crippling ordinary Palestinians.
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N Gadd
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Feedback I have received N Gadd | Jun 5th, 2002
After receiving much feedback from many people about this article, I must say that there are a few striking omissions that I have made and these will be addressed before the second version, because I agree with them completely.
Firstly, it is increasingly evident that the first steps for peace have to be taken by the Palestinian Authority and that only when the terror networks are destroyed can anything positive happen.
Also, a very important issue is that in many Palestinian schools there is substantial hate-mongering, and blaming of all of the Palestinians' problems on the Israelis. Clearly the brainwashing of the Palestinian youths is another huge problem.
Looking at both sides, I have also forgotten to mention the dehumanization which allows either side to not feel guilty when they are committing all sorts of crimes. This is much more pronounced in the case of the Palestinian suicide bombers who think they are serving a just cause by murdering innocent civilians, or carrying out actions which are for the greater good, but we must also mention the prominent Israeli politicians such as Ehud Barak who make statements like "all Arabs are liars", a racist dehumanization which is the pretext of so much discrimination.
Other mistakes N Gadd | Jun 5th, 2002
I have been reliably informed by one of my friends who is a Zionist that Zionism is not expansionism (which is what I have equated it with in my essay) but rather the legitimate desire for a safe Israeli homeland. Hence I must apologize for this error.
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