12 - 18 July 2001
Issue No.542
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 12 - 18 July 2001 Issue No.542 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
A mind set to violence
The Israeli cabinet, led by Ariel Sharon, may well have the dubious distinction of being the only government currently in power to hold regular meetings the sole aim of which is to approve assassination lists.Sharon, it is by now obvious, believes force is the only way to achieve an agenda exclusively aimed at disenfranchising Palestinians of their most basic rights.
Not that this is anything new. Israel has occupied the West Bank and Gaza for 34 years, during which time it has tried any number of methods to deprive Palestinians of their legitimate human rights. Yet this continuous oppression has yet to stop Palestinian resistance.
On Monday President Hosni Mubarak issued a clear warning that should Israel assume that the elimination of Yasser Arafat would bring an end to the Intifada they will be making an enormous mistake. They would then, said Mubarak, have to face "30 or 40 more Arafats."
Should the Israeli army continue in carrying out its scheme to assassinate 25 Palestinian activists it accuses of planning attacks, Mubarak continued, "150 more activists will emerge and there will be a cycle of revenge and violence."
The statements that have emerged from Washington and European capitals condemning Sharon's behaviour, though, fall far short of effectively halting the madness of the Israeli government.
Whatever noises Sharon makes for international consumption, his actions show that he is more than willing to push the region towards a new war. And the only way he can be curbed is by the consistent application of intense international pressure.
There has been a lot of effort invested in order to achieve peace in this volatile region over the past decade. Sharon must not be allowed to destroy all of this because of a mentality unable to conceive of anything but the rule of force.
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