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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 5 - 11 October 2000 Issue No. 502 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 5 - 11 October 2000 Issue No. 502
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Elections Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters The murder of David
Words simply fall short of expressing the anger the Arabs feel at the brutal violence inflicted on the Palestinians since Ariel Sharon, the right-wing Likud leader and Sabra and Shatila murderer, paid an unwelcome and intentionally provocative visit to Al-Haram Al-Sharif in Arab East Jerusalem last week.This visit could not have taken place without the approval of the Israeli government, led by Ehud Barak. Sharon should have been treated like any of the other right-wing extremists who are banned from visiting Al-Haram Al-Sharif in recognition of the special status it has for more than one billion Muslims worldwide. Yet Barak, the alleged peacemaker, not only failed to prevent this visit, but offered Sharon thousands of heavily armed soldiers in an unprecedented display of force. According to Palestinian eyewitnesses, the number of soldiers who entered the sanctuary with Sharon was greater than the force that occupied all East Jerusalem in 1967.
So just what kind of message was Barak trying to deliver? To answer this question, we must remember that the visit followed a meeting with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, in which the two leaders agreed to restart the peace talks. What kind of peace can exist between Palestinians and Israelis? The whole world has now seen the way in which the occupiers treat their victims. Israeli soldiers murdered a 12-year-old boy hiding behind his father. The Palestinians are fighting for their rights, and they have only stones at their disposal. Are these commensurate with bullets and tanks?
These are just a few of the questions Barak must answer. Yet he has lost the last shreds of credibility that shrouded his true nature. A man whose hands are covered with Palestinian blood can never be a partner in peace. The Arab League, in its emergency session this week, asked the International Criminal Court, now trying war criminals from the former Yugoslavia, to take similar measures against the Israeli army commanders who ordered their soldiers to gun down Palestinians. The only difference is that these particular war criminals are protected by the world's sole superpower.
