Reflecting sadly

Samia Khoury

Every time there is a hot issue in our region, I cannot but be inspired by the comments of the Israeli and the American leadership to write something. But the latest in-fighting in Gaza made me “sad unto death.” Then my friend Roy wrote and said that I should not be sad but angry. And it is true I got angry and you know why because I started listening to announcements and declarations that Israel and the USA want to talk to the moderate Palestinians and give them money after a long embargo.



After Forty years of occupation they are indeed lucky to still find some moderate Palestinians, although surprisingly enough those moderate Palestinians have always been there, and more so since Oslo. So how come the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Olmert discovered them just now, as he was quoted saying: “The new cabinet presents an opportunity that has not existed for a long time. A Palestinian government which is not a Hamas government is a partner and we will co-operate with it”. Israel had claimed that Arafat was no partner for peace, so what did they do about it between Arafat’s death in 2004 and the election of Mahmoud Abbas in 2005, and before Hamas appeared on the scene in 2006 . I remember writing my regular article for the witness from Hawaii in November 2004 after Mr. Arafat’s death, in which I said “But now that Arafat is dead, let us watch and see what pretext Israel is going to come up with to avoid making peace, and how that pretext will be endorsed by the U.S. Of course, it is not beyond Israel to already start inserting wedges between potential new Palestinian leadership just as much as it had done so between Palestinian Muslims and Christians.” And in February 2005 the title of my article was “Will Mr. Abbas need a magic wand?” Well it seems Mr. Abbas is still looking for that magic wand, and I proved right that Israel was merely not interested in peace, and it was glad that eventually in 2006 Hamas was elected so it can find the right pretext to claim that it has no partner for peace.



Up to this day Israel is still stalling. Building more colonies on Palestinian land, and continuing the erection of the “wall” within Palestinian Occupied Territories are certainly not good will gestures conducive to peace. I wonder if the US administration has ever made its flow of money to Israel dependent on a moderate government. This is not an issue of Hamas and Fateh. It is not an issue of recognizing Israel. And it certainly is not a security issue, “terrorism” or putting an end to the rockets from Gaza. It is an issue of a military occupation that is creating new realities every day on the ground every day, and the failure of the United Nations to put an end to it. When I think of all the money that was poured into the Palestinian Occupied Territories after the so called peace process, for capacity building and training in democracy, I cannot but feel that it was money gone down the drain.



As Palestinians, maybe we have become schizophrenic, acting as if we have a state when we don’t. Maybe it was a mistake in the first place to have elections or cabinet ministers, let alone an emergency cabinet. My goodness we are still under occupation, and the Israeli military forces are in control of every aspect of our lives. When my sister living in Ramallah, around 8 kilometers from my home wants to visit me, she still needs a permit from the Israeli military forces. So what are we fighting about??? We are all victims, and Israel is in its glory watching us get at each other physically and verbally, and bringing damage to our own image and our own institutions. Maybe all we need are a few administrative offices to manage our every day affairs until this nightmare of an occupation is over.



Not only forty years of occupation but almost sixty years of dispossession. UNRWA (United Nations Relief Works Agency has just met at the Dead Sea to discuss its financial crisis and the deficit in its budget providing services to the Palestinian refugees. UNRWA was established as a temporary agency for the relief of 750,000 Palestinian Refugees after 1948. How temporary can it stay after 60 years with over 4 million refugees? Would it not have made more sense, both financially and morally had the United Nations enforced its resolutions right from the start regarding the right of return of those refugees, rather than create a humanitarian issue out of it. Indeed, under the circumstances we continue to be thankful for the UN and its commitment to humanitarian aid as expressed by Mr Kevin Kennedy, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territories : "There is a need for immediate efforts to restore calm, protect the lives of innocent Palestinians and ensure the safe and secure distribution of emergency aid. The UN remains committed to continuing its humanitarian operations in the Gaza Strip so that Palestinians in need can continue to receive assistance. The ongoing violence is putting our operations at risk.."

Unfortunately we have been dealt with as a humanitarian and refugee issue. Yes we need assistance to survive. But we also need our political rights and a state of our own, so that we can maintain our dignity, and identity and not continue forever to plead for hand outs. And yes what is happening in Gaza is indeed very sad and very serious, but it is all part of the consequences of an unresolved conflict, and lack of resolve to force Israel to abide by UN resolutions and international law. So when will the United Nations rise to its responsibility, and liberate itself from the US administration so as to redress the grave injustice that has been inflicted on the Palestinian people?