NERVOUS, ANXIOUS, SOUL-SEARCHING ISRAELIS

The "liberals" among them, the most cosmopolitan and internationally-oriented of the Israelis, are now getting extra nervous. Not only is Ariel Sharon coming to power, not only is regional war possible, not only are the cold treaties with Egypt and Jordan in jeopardy, but even Israel's future has come into question just within the past few months and largely as a result of the Intifada combined with the unwillingness (or is it inability) of the Arafat Regime to do what was expected of it.

This Editorial in yesterday's Ha'aretz newspaper, roughly equivalent to the New York Times in the USA, is part of this soul-searching. But the Editorial is very inadequate and incomplete. There is no mention of Israel's expanded assassination policy. No reference to the millions of Palestinian refugees. No mention of Israel's gross and ongoing violations of international law. No mention that adjusted for population size the Israelis have killed the equivalent of 35,000 Americans since September, with nearly the entire population of the city of Washington shot by an occupation army during just these few months. The Editorial talks of "encirclement" but not the growing "Apartheid". Even the "liberal" and "sympathetic" Israelis have a very long way yet to go before they confess what they have done and before the days of real atonement, massive reparations, and maybe even criminal trials must begin.

Editorial: THE BRUTAL FACTS OF ENCIRCLEMENT

[Ha'aretz: 8 January]
Closure is the perennial form of punishment the Israeli government imposes on the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, but an additional disciplinary measure has been introduced since the outbreak of the Al Aqsa Intifada - "encirclement." This is a new term to describe the siege laid on towns and villages in the territories. Closure prevents residents of Gaza and the West Bank from crossing into Israel, encirclement keeps them from moving from one Arab village to another.

Until recently, Israel stopped Palestinian workers entering its territory in response to violent attacks. The declared purpose of closure is to minimize the possibility of terrorists carrying out attacks. In practice, however, it has been predominantly a weapon of economic pressure on the Palestinian Authority which was meant to persuade it to take action to prevent terrorist attacks.

Encirclement, or more bluntly, siege, of Palestinian villages, lacks even a pretense of having a security purpose - this is a real tool of severe and collective punishment. Encirclement of villages completely disrupts the day to day lives of the Palestinian people. Residents find it difficult, or are totally unable, to move from one area to another for work, trade, or education, and they cannot get basic services. Encirclement has partially put many educational institutions in the territories out of action, has completely stopped production in factories and work in offices. It is not rare to witness some real suffering that encirclement causes residents, such as sick patients who fail to get to hospitals for medical treatment.

The security value of encirclement is minimal. For any terrorists seeking to move between villages or enter Israeli territory, closure and encirclement in the territories pose no serious difficulties. They can bypass Israel Defense Forces checkpoints and get through the dirt walls and trenches that now surround villages and towns in the territories. However, the suffering imposed on the general population is indiscriminate. The pain and damage caused to the weak is often unbearable.

Since the use of this form of collective punishment began, there has been no reduction in the number of violent incidents - quite the contrary as the violence became more widespread and more serious. There are assessments that such forms of punishment, in creating severe economic and social hardships in the territories, only lead people to feel desperate and to conclude they have nothing left to lose. How then is this going to lessen the motivation of those who are determined to carry out terrorist attacks against Israel?

Is it possible the purpose of encirclement is just to demonstrate to Israeli public opinion that the security forces are dealing harshly with the uprising? If so, this must be strongly condemned. And if the purpose of the pressure is to hurt the Palestinians so they will pressure on their leaders to ease off in their violent struggle, is the use of such an inhumane policy justified?

On humanitarian grounds, this is unacceptable punishment; in terms of practical consequences, it is mere folly. The plain fact remains that the Palestinian people, although suffering greatly from the policies of closure and encirclement, are not pressuring their leaders to end the Intifada. The opposite is true. Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat and his officials are coming under increasing pressure from broad segments of their Palestinian public to intensify the violence and increase the number of attacks against Israel. Among other reasons, that is because of these forms of collective punishment.