Only half the story

Palestinian commentators say withdrawal from Gaza is not a victory worth celebrating unless it is the beginning of full liberation. Rasha Saad writes

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Emad Al-Falouji, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, urged Palestinians in Al-Quds not to exaggerate celebrating the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza so as not to forget that the rest of Palestine is still occupied.

Al-Falouji wrote that closer inspection at the statements made by Palestinian officials responsible for the withdrawal from Gaza showed they are not overly optimistic because of Palestinian fears over a vague future that Israel has deliberately created, having done so by refraining from openly and frankly settling the basic issues that will determine the future of the Gaza Strip economically and politically and, most importantly, by not revealing what it intends to do about the rest of the Palestinian territories. "Hence the present and future that were united by blood and mutual suffering will be separated."

The truth, Al-Falouji wrote, is that Israel has an interest in drowning Palestinians in Gaza and thus have a free hand in the rest of Palestine, in Jerusalem and the West Bank. "[By exaggerating celebrations] we are not only celebrating the success of an old-new Zionist plan but are also taking part in it enthusiastically and willingly."

Al-Falouji was not totally against celebrating the "liberation of Gaza" but believed the major partying should be in the towns of the West Bank, Jerusalem and along the wall of separation "so that all eyes will see [that there are still occupied territories] that should not be forgotten amidst the celebrations in Gaza."

In its editorial "Psychological war", Al-Quds wrote that what the Israeli side was up to during the last few days before the withdrawal from Gaza was an attempt to falsely portray the withdrawal to international public opinion as a painful measure. Referring to the demonstrations in Tel Aviv and the Jewish terrorist attack on a bus in Shfaram and other assaults on Palestinians, Al-Quds wrote, "the Israeli government is using the assaults and instigation of the settlers to give the impression that it is making a painful concession. However, Israel is not in a position to dictate its conditions or blackmail the Palestinians and its leadership. The [Palestinians] will not be intimidated by these threats. Israel is in no position to be rewarded for ending an unjust occupation and unjustified atrocities against the Palestinians."

The editorial accused the Israeli government of exercising pressure on the Palestinians and threatening to hinder the withdrawal if the Palestinians did not respond to Israeli demands.

Commemorating Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation Rassem Al-Moqayad wrote in the Palestinian newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida that on the day of victory Gaza should remember its martyrs. "Today while we celebrate the withdrawal of the enemy from a precious part of our land, it is our right to be proud of our martyrs and to remember their sacrifice as every inch of the land is marked with the suffering and the blood of martyrs -- men, women and children."

Also in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida Hafez Barghouti wrote, "The departure of the occupiers from Gaza has begun." Describing the withdrawal as "a compulsory departure", Barghouti wrote that it was not Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who decided on the withdrawal "but adamant Gaza and the heroism of its unyielding sons. Sharon determined only the timing, but the decision of withdrawal was Palestinian."

In the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper Maher Othman wrote on Sharon's often repeated "no's" on returning Jerusalem, the right of return of Palestinians, compensation and the dismantling of illegal Jewish settlements in Palestinian territory. According to Othman, the "no's" are not acceptable to the Palestinian people, their leaders and the international community "not only because they reek of racism and the reliance on the arrogance of military might and America's total bias towards Israel at the expense of Palestinians and Arabs. They are particularly unacceptable because they have no foundation in international law, United Nations resolutions, and the Geneva Convention's provisions related to occupying powers.

"There is no backing for these "no's" except Israel's military superiority, which includes bulldozers, planes, tanks and other methods of control and destruction," charges Othman who called on the Arab and Islamic world to offer all possible assistance to the Palestinian people and its leaders during "this dangerous, critical stage in which the leaders of Israel and the Zionist movement are seeking to implement the Greater Israel project at the expense of Arabs and Muslims.

"No one will view the Arab and Islamic worlds with respect if they are divided and fail to protect their rights," Othman warned.