Israelis can try, but they can't ignore the occupation. By Gideon Levy | Jun.
15, 2014 |
The
only way still open for the Palestinians to remind the Israelis of
their existence and plight is the way of violent struggle.
The
abduction of three yeshiva students in the West Bank last Thursdaywas
ordered in advance – by Israel. At the time of writing, Saturday,
their fate was unknown and concern for their welfare outweighed all
other issues connected to their disappearance. But no matter what
happens in the end, whether they return home safely or not, God
forbid, whether the responsible party turns out to be global jihad or
the local kind, the context of the action cannot be ignored. -
Perhaps
the operation took Israel’s oh-so-sophisticated espionage agencies
by surprise, but it could not have been a real surprise to anyone. –
Those
who stubbornly refuse to release Palestinian prisoners, some of whom
have been incarcerated for decades, from before the signing of the
Oslo Accords in 1993, and some of whom Israel has promised to set
free; those who imprison detainees without trial for years; those who
ignore the hunger strike by 125 “administrative” detainees, some
of whom are dying in hospitals; those who intend to feed them using
force, and those who planned to pass sweeping laws to prohibit their
release – these people cannot pretend to be surprised or shocked by
the abductions. They arranged for them in advance. –
Israel,
which is so worried about the welfare of every one of its citizens,
has for years arrogantly ignored the Palestinian concern for the
welfare of their prisoners. –
Israel
holds the copyright to concern for its people, as it does for the
worship of the heroes of the national struggle. Meir Har-Zion [a
founding member of Unit 101, who in 1953 led a retaliatory raid
against a Bedouin tribe after his sister and others were killed while
making an illegal trip to Petra] was a national hero; Ahmad Sa’adat
[the secretary general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine] is a base murderer. -
Gilad
Shalit was all ours, but the fate of Walid Daka, who has been
imprisoned in Israel for more than 30 years, for the crime of
membership in a militant cell that killed an Israeli soldier –
without a single furlough or conjugal visit – is of no interest to
anyone here.
No
one here cares about the thousands of Palestinian prisoners. Last
week, Israelis were much more interested in Meir Sheetrit’s
housekeeper than in 125 hunger strikers who have been slowly starving
to death for 53 days now. –
Among the
thousands of Palestinian prisoners are some base murderers, but also
many political prisoners – and all of them are seen as heroes of
the Palestinian national struggle. It’s the same in every national
struggle. Behind them stands an entire society, which is no less
worried about their fate than Israelis are for that of their loved
ones. -
In killing
the peace process, Israel shut the gates of its prisons, and the
Israeli message to the Palestinians was razor-sharp: The only way
your sons will be freed is through a violent operation. On Thursday
night, the conclusions were taken. But the context of the abductions
extends far beyond the prisoner releases.
The
curtain has come down on the peace process, however fruitless that
process may have been, and with it the last Palestinian hope for
national liberation through negotiations. Life in Israel and the West
Bank settlements is back on track, a life of freedom and
accomplishment, reality shows and circuses, entirely untouched by the
occupation. –
The
same cannot be said for the Palestinians: They have none of this, and
for them every delay in a solution to the conflict only extends their
suffering, humiliation and tribulations.
Anyone
who thought the Palestinians would sit quietly and wait until Israel
deigned to change its tune or government was deluded. Anyone who
thought the settlers would continue to live in security in the
territories suffered a grave disappointment: Thursday’s abduction
was merely a wake-up call, a taste of what could lie ahead. –
The
only way still open for the Palestinians to remind the Israelis of
their existence and their plight is the way of violent struggle. All
other paths have been blocked. If the Gaza Strip doesn’t fire
Qassam rockets at Israel, the Gaza Strip doesn’t exist. And if, in
the West Bank, yeshiva students aren’t abducted, then the West Bank
disappears from Israel’s consciousness. 1
Abductions
or murders are aimed at puncturing Israel’s intolerable
complacency, and as such they should surprise no one. In the past few
months, this complacency has reached new, inconceivable heights.
Just
look at the nonsense that has captured Israel’s attention. The
terrifying reminder that has landed on our heads is only the trailer
for what we could expect if we continue to live between Benjamin
Ben-Eliezer’s safety-deposit box and the kiss of Ahi and Anna on
the Israeli version of “Big Brother.” -
That’s
the annoying nature of the occupation. It will chase after us, even
if we bury our heads even deeper into the sand.
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