There are now two Palestines - the West Bank, controlled by Fatah, and the Gaza strip, effectively under the control of Hamas.
This plays directly into the hands of those sympathetic to Israel, and the situation was actually induced by the USA and the EU by withholding aid from a duly elected Palestinian Government. One could be forgiven for thinking that the situation was deliberately engineered through collaboration between Israel, the UK and the USA. "Divide and Conquer" strategies have been taking place in Israel and the Occupied Territories since Roman times (See Ch. 8 para. 5 of "War of the Jews", Titus Flavius Josephus, 1st Century(AD)).
While the different Palestinian factions are busy fighting each other, Israel can relax and take the moral high ground - allowing them to conduct "business as usual" with the media attention distracted elsewhere.
The Poodle has been retired, but was rewarded with the post of "International Middle East peace envoy". Fatah (Israel and the USA's preferred government) approve, Hamas doesn't. This is the man who if he didn't actually sanction, turned a blind eye to the transport of war materials (mainly bombs and ammunition) from the USA to Israel via the UK for use by Israel during their last attack on Lebanon. Not an ideal qualification for a middle east peace envoy, is it?
Talking of Lebanon, American-based human rights organisation "Human Rights Watch" recently published two report based on investigation of events which took place during the war. The first, published last month, was "Civilians under Assault: Hezbollah’s Rocket Attacks on Israel in the 2006 War". This is highly critical of Hezbollah’s tactics of hiding close to populated areas, and indiscriminate rocket attacks. The second report (published last week) "Why They Died: Civilian Casualties in Lebanon during the 2006 War" places the blame for excessive civilian casualties squarely on the Israelis. The only extract from the report that I will quote now is from the last paragraph of the section "Israeli Policies Contributing to the Civilian Death Toll" on pages 13/14 of the report.
"...they conducted numerous attacks that were indiscriminate, disproportionate, and otherwise unjustified. Such attacks are serious violations of international humanitarian law. To the extent such attacks were conducted with knowledge or reckless indifference to the civilian nature of those being attacked, then those who ordered these attacks would have the criminal intent needed for the commission of war crimes as defined by international humanitarian law. And to the extent that senior commanders or officials knew or should have known that war crimes were being committed, and were in a position of authority to stop the attacks or punish those responsible and did not do so, they would be responsible for war crimes as a matter of command responsibility under international humanitarian law."
Note the references to "war crimes" above. When victims of war crimes are European (Serbian, Bosnian, Kosovan for example) the perpetrators are hunted down, and if they are caught, they are tried at the European Court of Human Rights. I somehow don't think any Israelis will be tried for war crimes against Lebanon (or indeed Lebanese tried for war crimes against Israel).
When examining the morality aspects, consider the imparity between the two parties. The Israeli Defence Force is well equipped, disciplined, organised, trained, and funded. Hezbollah are poorly equipped, organised, disciplined, trained and funded. Which side ought to be better able to identify and punish war crimes?
A couple of final points before I reluctantly finish this update. There was a rocket attack on Israel from the Gaza strip yesterday, injuring about 70 Israeli soldiers, 4 of them seriously. These attacks do absolutely nothing to highlight the plight of the Palestinians, and actually damage any prospect of gaining international support. No doubt the Israelis will respond with their usual neglect for the safety of non-combatants.
Finally, 8 people were arrested in Israel on suspicion of conducting neo-NAZI attacks on homosexuals, drug addicts, and Orthodox Jews. When the victims are Jewish, it seems that Israel has no stomach for NAZIs, but when the victims are Lebanese or Palestinian, the Israelis are the NAZIs.
Joe McGonagle
