Written by Rev. Dr. Naim Ateek
Wednesday, 30 July 2014 20:33
For the sake of
the burning children of Gaza
One of the
most common refrains repeated by President Obama and other western leaders
since the beginning of Israel’s massive military offensive against Gaza is,
“Israel has the right to defend itself.”
This refrain is not new and has been declared so often, it has become a
cliché. Some leaders parrot it without
even thinking. Israel has used such
clichés as a justification for its actions as well as an excuse to further its
carnage. As of July 29, the death toll
in Gaza is over 1100 people, mostly civilians, and includes 243 children (http://www.ochaopt.org).
In addition, around 53 Israeli soldiers and 3 Israeli civilians have
died.
Under these
circumstances, is Israel able to justifiably claim this right to defend
itself?
First, we
should consider that there is no clear “self” for Israel to defend. Israel steadfastly refuses to define its
borders. Israel’s expansionist policies
under the pretext of security have extended its “borders” deep into the
Palestinian territories and the Syrian Golan Heights, in contravention of
international law. Furthermore, as a
state that is occupying another state that includes Gaza for the last 47 years,
Israel stands in violation of international law and humanitarian law. In light of the fact that Israel has no
defined borders and is occupying another state, it is not even possible to
define the “self” that Israel has a right to defend.
Second, it
is important to note that Israel does not have a moral or legal right to claim
that it is “defending” itself so long as it is occupying another state. Let us
take the Iraq-Kuwait war as an example.
Suppose after Iraq occupied Kuwait, some of the Kuwaitis started firing
rockets at Iraqi cities as their way of forcing Iraq to end its illegal
occupation. In such a circumstance,
would we consider Iraq as having a right to “defend” itself? Or would we rather see Iraq as the instigator
and aggressor?
Morally
speaking, so long as international law and the United Nations consider Israel
as occupying Palestine, Israel is not defending itself, it is defending its
occupation and its Zionist project. When
the occupation ends, Israel possesses the legal and moral right to defend
itself, and with that we can all stand.
But so long as it is defending its occupation through collective
punishment and disproportionate military might, which is illegal under
international law, its claims appear deviously deceitful and hollow. Furthermore,
Israel can get away with impunity.
Finally, are
Obama’s words about Israel’s security and her right to “defend itself” credible
in the presence of the burning children of Gaza? Is the
war Israel is conducting credible in light of these children, held captive and
unable to leave Gaza, killed for the crime of being born on the wrong side of
an arbitrary border, killed while hiding in their homes, playing soccer on the
beach, and taking refuge in UN safe spots? Nothing can legally or morally legitimize the
indiscriminate killing of a captive civilian population. No statements, no
claims, no actions, no matter how profound, can hold up in the presence of the
burning and torn up little bodies of innocent children. They
are utterly meaningless, reprehensible and blasphemous.
Therefore,
it is important to emphasize the following points:
1. The international community needs to empower
the UN to resolve the conflict between Israel and Palestine. We have been caught in a destructive cycle. Every few years the situation reaches its
boiling point, warfare begins, and thousands of Palestinians are killed and
injured, mainly civilians – women, children, elderly, and disabled. The international community has been
lethargic, impotent, and unwilling to implement its own resolutions on
Palestine. The international community
has the responsibility to resolve this seemingly intractable conflict. The UN needs to be empowered to do its
work.
2. International law unequivocally gives
occupied people the right to shake off the yoke of the occupier through various
means including the armed struggle. While this is true and needs to be
remembered in considering this situation, Sabeel has always stood for the moral
right of liberation through nonviolent means.
3. The Palestinian rockets from Gaza have
an important message that Israel refuses to understand and the western powers,
especially the United States, are unwilling to comprehend. The message of the rockets addresses the core
issues and the root causes of the problem – STOP THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION AND
FREE PALESTINE. If this does not
happen, the war will occur again and again and again, and the casualties will
be mainly women and children. This
conflict will continue to flare up, despite anyone’s best efforts to contain
it, unless the systemic injustice of occupation is dismantled. A recent statement from Israeli academics cuts
straight to the point: “Israel must agree to an immediate cease-fire and start
negotiating in good faith for the end of the occupation and settlements,
through a just peace agreement”( http://haimbresheeth.com/gaza/an-open-letter-to-israel-academics-july-13th-2014/statement-by-israeli-academics-july-2014/).
4. Our plea is to all people of
conscience in Israel. You need to become
engaged. The present political course is
driving Israelis and Palestinians further apart and is leading us to an
impending disaster worse than we are witnessing today. We all must stop nurturing extremism. Israelis and Palestinians have to live
together in this land. God has put us
here, we need to share it. The
alternative is untenable.
5. A stable peace can only be realized
when justice, in accordance with international law, is achieved for both Israel
and Palestine.
Let anyone
with ears to hear, listen!
The Rev. Dr. Naim Ateek
Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology
Center, Jerusalem
July 30, 2014
