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http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/opinion.cfm?id=416302002 The Scotsman Friday, 19th April 2002 Opinion Israel forfeits all claim to legitimate self-defence There are parallels between Israels behaviour in the West Bank and Serbias in Kosovo. We are writing as individuals whose experiences as members of aid organisations working in the Balkans have caused us to reflect long on terrorism and the response to it. In Kosovo, Serbian repression of Albanian aspirations to equal rights, and the restoration of autonomous government in the province (withdrawn in 1989), led to the formation of Albanian guerrilla bands, which coalesced into the Kosovo Liberation Army. The KLA carried out numerous raids on Serbian military and civilian personnel. For the Serbs, this was simply terrorism, and their response was terror of their own: military occupation of Albanian towns and villages, mass arrests, torture of suspects, and massacres. The revulsion of Europe and the United States led to military action to force Serbia to desist from its murderous course, whether Serbs considered it to be counter-terrorism or not. Today, Kosovo is governed by the United Nations, and President Slobodan Milosevic is in The Hague on trial for war crimes. Israel stands, in relation to the Palestinians, precisely as Serbia did to the Kosovo Albanians. After years of harsh and increasingly lethal repression of all protest against settler encroachment, land expropriation, restrictions and humiliations of all kinds, the Palestinians followed the Israelis in resorting to lethal force. The attacks on Israeli civilians by Palestinians are reprehensible, but Israel has met terror with terror, atrocity with atrocity, to the extent that it has forfeited all claim to legitimate self-defence - as did the Serbs. In Jenin, in particular, last week, the number of civilians killed may be numbered in hundreds; medical treatment, even water, was denied to the injured and dying. Rescuers of living people buried under piles of rubble were turned away, piles of corpses were bulldozed, hospitals were denied supplies and utilities, and the whole population kept from access to food and water. Israel has repeatedly stated that it is "destroying the infrastructure of terror", whatever that may mean. What it has certainly destroyed is all means of governance by the Palestinian Authority, and whatever respect the people had for it. Simple withholding of the multi-billion dollar annual subsidy that Israel receives from the United States could force Israeli compliance at any time. Unfortunately, given the nature of US politics, media and sentiment, this seems unlikely to happen. Nevertheless, we in Britain and Europe have the capacity to take economic and other measures which, in the long run, could be equally effective. But first and foremost, let our leaders be as clear, unambiguous and outspoken in their condemnation of Israeli excesses against the Palestinians as they were of Serbian excesses against the Kosovo Albanians. DENIS RUTOVITZ & 16 others Starbank Road Edinburgh I have read the correspondence about the Israel/Palestine war and reluctantly conclude that it is becoming rather one-sided in its opinions. Both sides in this conflict do not appear too fussy about their methods and tactics, but surely it is the end-game that matters for us all. I am neither Arab nor Jew, but it does seem to me that those who torment a dog should not complain when it bites. If the Palestinians lose out in the current conflict they will retire to lick their wounds and make peace noises to encourage the rest of the world to pour aid money into their coffers, some of which will almost certainly go towards preparation for the next round of blood letting. Failure to do so will result in more international terrorism, as we have seen in the past. On the other hand, if the Israelis blink first and show any weakness, the rest of the surrounding Arab nations will fall on them while the rest of the world makes noises of protest, but does nothing to prevent them from carrying out their frequently voiced threat to destroy the Jewish state. If the major nations of the world cannot prompt an end to the violence by diplomacy it is surely time to apply financial pressures on the warring parties until they cannot afford to continue this expensive conflict. JIM BRADLEY Thornfield Terrace Selkirk C2002 scotsman.com | contact Back To Top --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
