Reflections on the Israel-Hezbullah Prisoner swap deal
[ 17/07/2008 - 12:46 AM ]
By Khalid Amayreh
The latest prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hezbullah is a healthy
indicator that at least some Arabs are beginning to understand the depraved
Zionist mentality, and act accordingly. Such mentality is based on arrogance,
insolence, and religious and ethnic superiority.
Israel, a country whose collective mindset views non-Jews as virtual
animals or at least lesser human beings, had to face a new enemy, an enemy that
will not be scared by overwhelming brutality, but one that will meet Israel's
state terror with toughness, resilience, valor and defiance.
This is a new reality that Israelis, especially Israeli leaders, have yet
to come to terms with, especially psychologically.
This explains the deep frustration that is apparent in the tone of
Israeli leaders reacting to the latest swap deal, especially the fact that
Israel has been forced to release the Lebanese guerilla Samir Kuntar.
Israel, utterly ignoring her own countless murderous sins, has come to
view Kuntar as the prototype of the ultimate terrorist as if the tens of
thousands of Jewish murderers and terrorists who have enormous amount of
innocent blood on their hands were the Lord's angels of love and mercy.
Indeed, if Israel were a normal state, and its people a normal people,
it would have adopted an honest and just approach toward its neighbors, an
approach that would not discriminate between "blood and blood" and "life and
life."
Undoubtedly, such an approach would have saved thousands of lives, Jewish
and Arab, and spared the region and its peoples decades of pain and suffering.
But then Zionism would be losing its face, mind and heart, and would
morph into something entirely different.
Unfortunately, it is probably futile to preach morality to Zionism, a
manifestly demonic movement which experience shows is not capable of behaving
morally and humanely.
Well, let us examine some of the statements and remarks Zionist leaders
have been making with regard to the latest swap deal with Hezbullah.
Shimon Peres, the hero of the Qana massacre of 1996, who is now Israel's
President, has been quoted as saying that "We don't want murderers to go free,
but we have a moral obligation to bring home soldiers whom we sent to defend
their country."
Peres also reportedly said that "my heart is torn over the decision to
pardon Kuntar," adding that his decision to that effect "in no way constituted
forgiveness."
Certainly, no one , Arab or otherwise, is particularly infatuated with
what Kuntar did in 1979, although the Israeli army then was at least partially
responsible for the killing by the Lebanese guerilla of three Israelis,
including a paramilitary policeman, a man and his daughter.
The three lives, like numerous other victims, Arab and Jewish, would have
been spared had the insolent Israeli military establishment behaved wisely.
After all, Kuntar, and his friends who were killed in that rescue
operation, didn't come to Israel to kill and shed blood but to force Israel to
release Arab prisoners.
Non the less, one is prompted to ask difficult questions, questions that
most Israelis don't like to hear let alone answer, but when confronted with,
they either seek to evade or prevaricate and quibble in their answers.
Who has killed more innocent people, Shimon Peres or Samir Kuntar? Who
has more blood, including children blood, on his hands, Shimon Peres or Samir
Kuntar? Who has inflicted more terror, suffering and death upon innocent
people, Shimon Peres or Samir Kuntar?
If honesty is to be the ultimate arbiter among men, then one can't
escape the inescapable conclusion that it is mass murderers like Peres, Ariel
Sharon and other Israeli leaders, dead or living, who really need forgiveness
for their horrible crimes against humanity.
In fact, Israelis should be reminded on this occasion that a Presidential
post, a business suit with neck tie, and the ability to speak eloquent
sound-bites in several languages and have audience with statesmen and VIPs
from around the world, don't really transform a criminal into a true human
being.
A criminal is a criminal especially if he refuses to come to terms with
his crimes and if he refuses to apologize to his victims. Needless to say,
Peres has done neither.
But then criminals are not concerned about their sins.
One elderly Israeli woman interviewed by the Ha'aretz newspaper lashed
out at Hezbullah for having refused until the very last moment to tell if the
two Israeli prisoners were dead or alive.
"It's the saddest day for Israel. They kept us waiting until the last
second to learn the fate of our sons," the woman was quoted as saying.
I certainly sympathize with the woman at the personal level. However, I
would want to ask the Jewish lady why she thought that Jewish lives were worth
more than non-Jewish lives?
I also would like to ask her what she would tell the mothers, families
and relatives of thousands of Arab prisoners who have been languishing in
Israel's dark, underground dungeons since 1967?
We are talking about POWs and MIAs and other ordinary people whose
families have no way of knowing if their beloved ones are dead or a live?
Aren't these "forgotten prisoners" human beings, too? Are they children of a
lesser God?
Unfortunately, most Israelis, thoroughly self-absorbed and
self-centered, don't like to be asked such questions lest their superiority
complexes and collective psychosis be exposed.
Finally, the latest prisoner swap shows that Israel only understands the
language of cold realpolitik which is by definition immoral and coercive.
For Palestinians, who have more than 10,000 of their beloved ones
languishing in Israeli concentration camps, the message is very clear: If you
want to get Israel to release your beloved ones, take Israeli hostages and
swap them for the Palestinian captives.
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