|
Please see the Christian Science Monitor’s
Daily Update, October 22, 2003 for the rest of this:
links are live Israeli strikes launch debate about civilian casualties @ http://www.csmonitor.com/specials/sept11/dailyUpdate.html Reuters reports that recent strikes by Israeli forces
in Gaza, which left 14 people dead, have started a debate in Israel about the mounting toll of civilian casualties. Civilians were killed or wounded in
nearly all the strikes, prompting some Israeli cabinet ministers, retired
military officials, and newspapers to question the use of large bombs or missiles in crowded areas. "If civilians were hit by mistake, we have to apologize and
find a way to compensate them," Infrastructure Minister Yossi Paritzky
said. "If we ever want to reach peace with the Palestinians, we can't
treat them all as terrorists." Human rights groups say Israel has killed almost as many civilians as militants in the Gaza
operations. But Israeli officials say the "pinpoint" strikes are
necessary in situations in which militants are about to attack the Jewish
state, and arresting them in time is not feasible. Members of the Sharon
government also defended the tactics. "When we Israelis hear of Palestinian civilian casualties we
openly express remorse," Sharon adviser Dore Gold told Reuters. "When (Palestinian groups)
Hamas and Fatah strike at Israeli civilians, they celebrate with candy and
fireworks." The Washington Post reports that after Monday's attack, the
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released video which it says shows that it had not targeted innocent civilians. "We would not allow any munition
to be launched on a massive gathering of people," said one IDF officer.
"To fire into a crowd is not professional, it is not ethical and it's not
moral." But The New York Times
reports that numerous Palestinian witnesses
to Monday's attack told the same story – an Israeli rocket struck near a car;
then, after two, three or perhaps five minutes passed, and a crowd had
gathered, a second rocket hit near the same spot. The depth of the animosity between Palestinians and Israelis
can be seen in two instances: a recent poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research shows that more than 80
percent
of the Palestinian population approved of the recent suicide bombing of a
restaurant in Haifa that killed 21. (The poll also showed that more than 80
percent of Palestinians would welcome a
mutual ceasefire
with Israel, and that 60 percent supported the idea of punishing those who
violated the ceasefire.); and the comments in Ha'aretz
of a IDF intelligence commander, who defended the practice of attacking Hamas and Islamic Jihad members in public
places. Army spokeswoman Brigadier General Ruth Yaron said, "The
primary responsibility of the IDF is to defend Israeli citizens." The
sentiment was echoed by Military Intelligence commander Major General Aharon
Ze'evi who said, "It's preferable for Palestinian mothers to cry than
Israeli mothers." One consequence of the Israeli attacks is that support for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has gone up. In the same poll
mentioned above, Arafat's popularity went from just 35 percent support in June
of this year, to over 50 percent, it highest level in five years. Ha'aretz reports that the US is dismayed
at the increased popularity of Mr. Arafat, and that the Israeli
government, whose peace strategy revolves around a post-Arafat scenario, are
now having to deal with the reality that Arafat might outlast Israeli PM Ariel
Sharon, in terms of political power. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Monday, October 20, 2003 on PBS Newshour: Peace Plan Margaret Warner speaks with the two proponents of the plan:
Sari Nusseibeh, a former Palestinian cabinet member who is now president of al
Quds University in Palestinian East Jerusalem, and retired Israeli Navy Adm.
Ami Ayalon, who served as director of Israel's domestic security service
Shin-Bet. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The proposed People’s Plan addresses several controversial
roadblocks, such as right of return and borders, offering a so-called Third
Way, both sides paying a painful price. IMHO, Key quotes: Nusseibeh: “this is what
we're trying to do. It's impossible, in fact, to just make them stop fighting
for the sake of stopping to fight. They will continue fighting unless they have
a vision, and so we introduce this vision.” Ayalon: “You can find it in every book, the deal with
leadership. Vision has power. Now, the only problem is how to create this
vision, you know, how to bypass the present. And we believe that these people
in the Middle East, Israeli and Palestinians, will really believe that this is
possible. It will happen, it will influence the level of violence, and it will
be accepted by the people, and later by the leaderships.” Go
to http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/july-dec03/peaceplan_10-20.html, for the transcript with graphics, and/or
choose either streaming video or RealAudio to observe this interview. |
- [Futurework] bilateral peace plan Karen Watters Cole
- Karen Watters Cole
