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Tuesday, November 20, 2012

A very short comment on the Gaza tragedy.

The Western media are rushing to make money by covering the situation in the Middle East and the escalating crisis in Gaza. "What should Europe do to help," many ask. "We must help those poor kinds in Palestine and bring peace in the region! Europe must get involved!" 

All so very humanist considerations of course. We should do something yes, but think of this: could Europe stand against Israel and do something about their aggression towards the Palestinians?

We are always supporting or tolerating their actions, perhaps because of a sense of eternal guilt and shame of how we treated the Israelis in the past. Of course the Palestinians themselves are not entirely clear of all blame. But unlike Israel, they are already being punished by being cut off from the rest of the world.

If Europe should get involved it should do so by imposing sanctions against Israel this time. But can we do that without angering the Americans and have them stopping all investments in Europe? In other words Europe can not get involved, apart from making statements and plenty of statements it gives.

The Israelis with the tolerance of the international community, have created a vast concentration camp in Gaza, a huge ghetto. And if the Palestinians react they call them terrorists and bomb them even more. I wonder if the ancestors of the modern Israelis would approve what their descendants are doing to other human beings. 

Wouldn't it be better to compromise, stop building new settlements and give the Palestinians more freedoms? The more they force them into poverty and deprivation, the more they radicalize them. Just because Israel has the full support of powerful "protectors" in USA and Europe, it does not mean that they can do whatever they want.

One side of the problem is the constant expansion of the Israeli settlements. This results to the Palestinians being "boxed" in a tiny strip, with almost no diplomatic or trade relations with any country of the world. Since the situation remains as such, the Palestinians become radicalized and support terrorist groups like Hamas and this goes nowhere.

More than 100 dead Palestinians, with around 10 dead Israelis this time only. Is that necessary? Why don't both sides make serious efforts for a peace deal? The Israelis consider the lands as theirs, but they forget that the Palestinians also have the same claims and they are right. They lived in the region for centuries. Equally the Palestinians have a sworn war waged against the very existence of an Israeli state in the region.  

So there is the question of if either side desires a peace deal at all. But once the Palestinians taste how being free and have rights is, it is doubtful that they will focus on making bombs for Israeli settlements anymore. Capitalism will do the rest and affect the Palestinian youths like it did in all other countries.

They will just want to buy this new i-phone that is being advertised, or education and similar lifestyle with that of Europe. That of course provided that the Arabs accept the fact that Israel as a state is there to stay. Its population knows no other country and after so many decades they have also the right to stay there.

If I am wrong and the Palestinians continue to behave as they do now and be hostile to Israel, then it will be them that will be on the wrong. The global community will turn against them and of course take action, while the Israelis then will be once again "the victims" and have full right to do what must be done then. And no one will blame them this time.

Both sides are partially wrong and so both must face the music for breaking human rights. Until now only Palestine suffers consequences. Perhaps it is time to put some pressure on Israel too, to save human lives from both sides. Europe does not help solving the issue by siding with one side because of guilt.

To a Palestinian the end of WW2 and the resolution of the Israeli state "problem," started their own misery and long fight for their land and human rights. The West solved the problem of an Israeli state, but created another one. It is no wonder then that the Palestinians feel hard done by the international community.

There is no doubt that their organizations are terrorist and must be dealt with, but not in the way that Israel is doing so. A good example is the UK. They have had attacks from the IRA, a terrorist organization that bombed and terrorized them for decades. But we did not witnessed the British cutting off Ireland from any international organization, or imposing a blockade.

Ireland was left to prosper and tensions were defused bit by bit. Britain got its way, Ireland got something too. There may be some dissidents but overall peace has been established. That is how you win both your way, stand your ground and solve a dispute.

Israel will be wise to follow Britain's example and end the blockade, while stopping all plans for future settlement expansion. The Palestinians and their Arab allies should stop the hostilities towards Israel and accept the Israelis as part of their region.

In the end of the day, they can both share the land in a federal Israeli-Palestinian state, if they manage to end their blind nationalism and religious fundamentalism.