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From paralyzed will to sterilized conscience

From paralyzed will to sterilized conscience
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Source: Press TV, 23-01-2009

By Mahmood Pervez Alam

At least 1340 Gazans have been killed in the "Israeli" war on the impoverished strip.

Infants breathing innocently, their little heaving breasts concealing their soft tender hearts; children not knowing much beyond the loving lap of parents try to smile despite the growing anxiety all around. They have been exposed to the deadly fury of phosphorus shells and cluster bombs that dart down toward them from the air with a deafening sound.

Shells fired from the gullets of the iron beasts and flaming messengers of destruction from the sea, all bearing the same ominous message of death. Tears cannot dry tears; blood cannot wash blood. Can anyone on earth legitimize the laws that speak of justice yet continue to murder innocent children created by God to keep the world pure and happy?

How can 'conscientious' people ever boast or even claim of success by tearing life and hope out from these tiny breasts? Why should defenseless children be subject to suffering in the name of peace? Why should hopelessness be allowed to devour the ideals of life and existence?

Brutal incursions against the Palestinians have been hot on the agenda of "Israeli" forces since the establishment of "Israel" in 1948. Women and children have always been the main target of their willful aggression even before the emergence of Hamas in 1987. Then 'carrot' was added to the 'stick 'to seal their fate in a civilized manner.

Democracy, the catchword of political aspirations wheeled Hamas to the pivotal position of the Palestinian power structure in January 2006. Hamas won a stunning victory in the elections in accordance with the known democratic process. They secured 76 out of 132 seats in the Palestinian legal council. Fatah won 43. Hamas reflected the voice of the majority who considered the Fatah government corrupt and ineffective. Hamas supporters felt it had the muscle to support the Palestinians defending their homeland against "Israeli" occupation.

Hamas furthered its popularity by establishing hospitals, libraries and social services along with universal literacy by establishing a well-structured network of schools and universities throughout the Gaza Strip. Some Hamas leaders even offered a 10-year truce with "Israel" in return for an "Israeli" withdrawal from occupied Palestinian territories.

Following the battle for Gaza in June 2007 in which Hamas routed Fatah, the Palestinian Authority issued a decree outlawing the Hamas militia and its democratically-elected executives. Anger alone cannot justify this. Perhaps the move was impelled by those who saw democracy going contrary to their expectations. They should have gone the whole hog instead of hastily canceling out the points scored by Hamas on the democratic scorecard.

Hamas was founded in 1987 by Sheikh Ahmad Yassin. Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas were created in 1992. They have been named after Sheikh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, who was killed by the British in 1935.

On February 13, 2006, Khaled Mashaal, in an interview with a Russian newspaper, declared that "if ‘Israel' wants peace, it must return to the 1967 borders, withdraw from all Palestinian occupied lands, vacate the West Bank and East 'Jerusalem' (al-Quds) and recognize Palestinian rights to return to their lands." Mashal refused to acknowledge the 'Road Map' for peace adopted in June 2003 by the Mideast Quartet that includes the UN, the US, Russia and the European Union. According to the Hamas official, the efforts for peace were not honored by "Israel".

The Oslo Accords met a similar fate. The first Oslo agreement was signed in Washington on September 13, 1993 between the PLO and "Israel". It is called the Oslo agreement because of the secret negotiations that had been conducted outside Oslo in Norway. Both parties involved in the process failed to implement the agreement due to the long-standing history of doubt between them. The second Oslo deal of 1995 also met a similar fate.

The outbreak of the second Intifada in 2000 and later the elections that were won by Hamas in 2006, and declared null and void by the West, put an end to the magic behind the secret negotiations. The "Israeli" public distrusted the Palestinians and the Cave of the Patriarch massacre is often blamed for destabilizing the Palestinians' trust in the process.

The subsequent expansion of the settlements and blockades caused further deterioration of the economic conditions they faced and created more frustration among the supporters of this plan.

In 2006, the election manifesto of Hamas bore no sentence, phrase or clause asking for the destruction of "Israel", but emphasized instead for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with 'Jerusalem' (al-Quds) as its capital. Even in May 2006, during demonstrations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip against US-led sanctions, Hamas took a flexible stance that renewed support for the peace initiative and offered to restore normal relations with "Israel" in exchange for the creation of a Palestinian state.

On June 27, 2006 Hamas reached an agreement to form a national unity government with Fatah and finally on Feb 8, 2007 they reached a deal to put an end to the factional fighting in hope of forming a unified government. They believed it would lead Western powers to lift the crippling sanctions imposed on the Hamas-led government.

The embargo continued and then on June 29, "Israel" captured 64 Hamas officials. Among them were eight ministers and 20 members of the legislative council along with other important executives. At least a third of Hamas cabinet members were being held by "Israel". On August 6, "Israeli" forces detained the Hamas speaker of the Palestinian legislative council.

Despite all this on April 21, 2008, former US president and 2002 Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter met with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal. An agreement was reached, according to which, Hamas would respect the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza strip, provided that it is ratified by the Palestinian people in a referendum. Hamas also announced a 10-year truce with "Israel" to which "Israel" has yet to respond.

The current crisis began after a siege of Gaza had been in place for a year and a half. The 'tunnel economy', which has an innovational aspect of its own, and is the direct result of prolonged sanctions, is being blamed for smuggling arms into Palestine. The entire coastal strip has been transformed into a concentration camp.

Gaza, one of the most densely-populated areas of the world, has been kept in extreme conditions of brutal deprivation. Many Gazans are forced to go hungry for the lack of food. Sanctions have pushed the population below the poverty line, and the current situation has aggravated the conditions even more.

The United Nations Work and Relief Agency (UNWRA) has been trying to deal with the problems despite recurrent attacks on the UN buildings. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, tasked with promoting peace, is said to have asked "Israeli" Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to permit the flow of much-needed cash to support Gazan economy. Blair said, "The present situation is not harming Hamas but it is harming the people." Hamas has an aggressive social program and besides cultural and social activities it runs orphanages, soup kitchens and sports leagues.

Despite a UN Security Council resolution asking for the immediate cessation of the military offensive, the "Israel" army continued its operations using phosphorus shells, bombardment from the air and attacks from the sea. The 3-hour lull that was considered a "humanitarian window" was not respected and above all food distribution was discontinued after two tank shells fired by the "Israel" army landed close to a food convoy on January 7, killing a driver.

Many schools under UN jurisdiction have also been hit. The UN had provided the "Israeli" army with GPS coordinates. The schools had UN flags flying over them, and no rockets had been fired from them. The "Israeli" army nevertheless hit the schools in attacks that resulted in the death of nearly 50 civilians who had taken shelter in the school and were under UN protection.

Boats carrying food and medical supplies for the wounded Palestinians have been bullied and rammed by "Israeli" ships. UN Resolution 1860 was ignored and a catalogue of full-fledged atrocities without accountability has been leashed. F-16 aircraft continue to drop 1 ton bombs to batter targets below. The underground tunnels that mostly carry food are being flattened not only to stop the supply of necessities but also the necessary fuel for generators that provide electricity to Gaza hospitals. After hitting helpless children and civilians, after killing a UN driver to stop humanitarian supplies into Gaza, after hitting hospitals and the food and medical supplies depots, they even tried to choke off the fuel needed by the hospitals to maximize fatalities. The human conscience has been painfully brutalized and brutally sterilized.


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