Opinion Editorials, March 2004, www.aljazeerah.info
Human Price of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine
Israeli daily aggression on the Palestinian people
Mission and meaning of Al-Jazeerah
Cities, localities, and tourist attractions
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Time to intervene
Jordan Times, Tuesday, March 23, 2004
ISRAEL HAS to be reined in. Its violent and increasingly irrational actions are ratcheting the situation to a fever pitch. In the past two weeks alone, Israel has killed some 70 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and more are bound to follow. The assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin marks a new and unprecedented escalation. Needless to say, it will push any hopes of a resumption of negotiations well out of the picture and, in the meantime, the military wings of Hamas and all the other Palestinian factions will redouble their efforts at retaliation. A cycle of violence will ensue that may reach hitherto untouched levels.
This is in no one's interest except, perhaps, the Israeli prime minister's. In fact, it may be argued that Sharon is in a win-win position. By assassinating Yassin, he has shown the loony right in Israel that he is a "tough" leader ahead of any possible withdrawal from Gaza. By provoking the inevitable retaliation, he can retrospectively justify to a toothless West the need for even harsher military action, and postpone indefinitely, if he should choose, such a withdrawal. He has put himself in his favourite position: Of not having to make any tough choices to improve the situation.
It is time for the international community, spearheaded by the US, to step in in no uncertain terms. Jordan, Egypt, Iran and the EU have condemned the assassination, described by French officials as a violation of international law. Even Britain's Foreign Minister Jack Straw called it "unacceptable" and "unjustified."
But the only voice that resonates in Israel is that of the US, and to issue a statement calling on "both sides to show restraint" is simply a complete abdication of its duty. Washington must start to realise that for as long as the Israeli government is allowed to act with complete impunity, without respect for international law or human life, nothing, not in the Palestinian-Israeli sphere, nor at a regional level, will change.
The US proclaims itself willing to intervene in countries in the name of preserving and promoting human rights. It is time it proved it.
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| Earth, a planet hungry for peace |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank, like a Python. (Alquds,10/25/03). |
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