6 - 12 December 2001
Issue No.563
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 6 - 12 December 2001 Issue No.563 |
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Muted anger
The greater the escalation of violence in Palestine, the deeper the gulf between Arab governments and their people. Sherine Bahaa reports on the Arab reactions to the latest carnage in the occupied territories
Despite massive Israeli attacks against Palestinian targets in self- rule areas, and the specific targeting of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, most Arab governments remained tight-lipped in the hours after the air strikes.
This was at odds with the reaction on the Arab street, however, especially in those countries which are home to large numbers of Palestinians. In Lebanon, more than 1,500 protesters -- many brandishing rifles -- marched through Ain El-Hilweh, the country's largest Palestinian refugee camp, shouting slogans denouncing Jordan and Egypt, which have both signed treaties with Israel.
The scenes at Ain El-Hilweh were repeated at the Al-Bus camp and in Bourj Al-Shimali refugee camp in Tyre. "Long live the Intifada" became a uniting slogan for Palestinian factions in different parts of the region.
For his part Moussa Abu Marzouq, a Hamas leader living in Damascus, insisted on his people's right to "resist Israeli occupation by all means and to defend their existence, children and possessions."
The Israeli strikes came in retaliation for suicide bombings that took place over the weekend, in which 26 people were killed and hundreds wounded. The retaliatory attacks came despite the Palestinian Authority (PA)'s arrest of around 110 militants over the past few days.
"Israel wants the PA to arrest half of the Palestinian people and extradite the other half, although even this will not be enough for the Israelis," said one Arab observer.
Abu Marzouq, who has been highly critical of the Arafat-run PA in the past, said the Authority should concentrate on "protecting its (own) people before talking about protecting the Zionists' security," and demanded that Israelis "who planted bombs in the Palestinian school be arrested and tried as well."
The incident Abu Marzouq was referring to occurred late last month. Five Palestinian boys were killed on their way to school in Gaza by a bomb planted by Israeli forces.
Abu Marzouq critcised US policy towards the Middle East and called upon the country to "wisely realise its great moral responsibility as the only superpower in the world." He himself is a former US resident who was deported in 1997 on terrorism charges.
Meanwhile, Maher El-Taher, spokesman for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said that the latest Israeli strikes mark the end of what was once called a "peaceful solution." El- Taher, who is based in Damascus, reiterated that "Israel does not want peace. It wants Palestinian surrender."
Syria, which provides shelter for radical Palestinian factions, condemned the Israeli attacks through its state-run newspapers. The papers condemned the strikes even further and accused the United States of giving a nod to the attacks. The English- language Syria Times noted that the "White House has abandoned any call for Israel to show restraint," unlike in similar situations in the past.
Immediately after the attacks, the United States confirmed that Israel had a right to self-defence. However, US officials -- mindful of the need for Muslim support in the US's global war on terrorism -- denied giving a "green light" to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who cut short his visit to the United States after the suicide bombings in Jerusalem. White House Spokesman Ari Fleisher claimed that Sharon "did not ask for a green light, and therefore President Bush was not in a position to give or refuse it."
Syria's Al-Baath newspaper went even further, saying that "aggression and repression will only increase the Palestinian people's determination to continue the uprising by all means."
The independent Lebanese press was showed similar outrage. Tuesday's edition of Al-Mustaqbel -- which is owned by Prime Minister Rafik Al-Hariri -- boasted a bold headline which read "Sharon starts war on the sovereignty of the Palestinian Authority."
Meanwhile, the leading An Nahar focused its analysis on the US position. "When America justifies Israel's right to strike against Palestinian Authority positions, it is equating the situation of the Palestinians with that of the Israelis, thus ignoring that the reason behind Palestinian violence is the continued Israeli occupation," wrote Sahar Baasiri, a senior editor at the newspaper.
Timing was also seen as significant. The daily Ad-Diyar said it believed that the attacks are an attempt by Sharon to foil plans for an independent Palestinian state.
"The objective was clear and unique: a war against the Palestinian state, particularly after increased American and European talk about the necessity of establishing a Palestinian state," wrote the paper.
The Jordanian papers too seemed to echo the same tone. However, Jordanian newspapers agreed that dialogue is the only alternative to violence in the Middle East.
"Sharon returned from Washington to declare a war on 'terrorism' American-style," said the independent daily Al Arab Al- Yawm, referring to the Israeli prime minister's address to the nation after the attacks.
"The general is mistaken. The Palestinian Authority is not the Taliban, Arafat is not Mullah Omar and the general is not in the same position as President Bush," the paper said.
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