The Intifada continues
By
Salama A Salama
The Palestinian Intifada has entered its fourth year and those in the Arab world and international community who believe that it has delayed the creation of a Palestinian state have yet to present any alternative. What is certain is that without the Intifada the birth of any state would remain impossible.
For three years efforts have been made to end the cycle of violence on both sides in order to pave the way for peace. They all quickly failed. The most recent attempt, the roadmap, hoodwinked many into believing that the US administration was ready to fulfill its commitment to the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, if only to facilitate its invasion of Iraq.
Of course Israel exploited the situation to the full. It reoccupied Jenin, escalated its assassination policy, and began the mass detention of thousands of Palestinians whose only crime has been to defend their country and legitimate rights.
Those in the Arab world who promote Washington's policies argue against continuing the Intifada, claiming that Israel can obliterate the resistance by brute force and in the process severely damage Palestinian lives and property. They point out that the international community -- including US and Europe -- support Israel's demand to end all acts of violence as a first step, as well as the dismantling of factions such as Hamas and Jihad.
All the evidence accompanying debate on the roadmap suggests that such steps are no more than a first phase the aim of which is to suffocate the spirit of resistance. The evidence includes the call to sideline Yasser Arafat, the choice of Mahmoud Abbas as prime minister followed by the systematic sabotage of his credibility by Israeli military operations in the West Bank, and attempts on the lives of Palestinian leaders such as Sheikh Yassin and Al-Rantissi. These manoeuvres were intended to demoralise the Palestinian resistance into accepting Israeli dictates that aim to create isolated Palestinian cantons separated by a security wall funded by the US.
This is the real picture, clearly described by university professor Avi Shleim who noted in a recent article that Ariel Sharon has no intention of surrendering to the requirements of the roadmap.
In the past three years over 2,000 Palestinians have been killed. The West Bank and Gaza Strip have been reoccupied and Israel has set up 450 checkpoints to prevent Palestinian movement between Palestinian towns and villages and impede the work of relief organisations. Most recently the Quartet, during its meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York, failed to reach any decisions that might save the roadmap. The meeting ended with calls on both parties to end the violence, while placing the blame at Hamas's door.
Washington continues to be in the thrall of Sharon, illogically using its veto to support Israel, which it funds with billions of dollars in grants and loans. Washington has also rejected the presence of international peace-keeping forces to monitor the situation on the ground and identify the aggressors. Meanwhile, some Arab leaders continue to argue that the US is committed to the roadmap and its ultimate promise of a Palestinian state. Against such willful blindness, can anyone blame the Palestinian people for persisting with the Intifada?
