Friday, June 11, 2010

Reflections on Israel and Palestine, Part 2: Trying to understand the "terrorists" in Gaza

Let’s try to apply a Just War Theory framework to the Hamas perspective of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Hamas operates in an occupation context that makes it closer to the French Resistance than to Al-Qaeda (in fact, Hamas views Al-Qaeda as a threat, not an ally). From Hamas’ perspective, the whole of Palestine (including the area known as Israel) is under Israeli occupation (not to mention the West Bank—actually under occupation by the Israeli Army, and Gaza—virtually besieged). To Hamas, Israel’s war against the Palestinians, which began with a massive 1947 land grab known as the Nakba (or “catastrophe”), justifies unconventional attacks against the invaders. And because the perpetrators of this invasion evicted Palestinian civilians, and include Israeli civilians, the conflict resembles something like total war. Recall that total wars occur when entire nations are in danger of being attacked, as in WWII. Civilian attacks are expected, such as the Nazi rocketing of London or Allied bombing of Dresden. (just to be clear, I don’t believe in the “Hamas” or “Israeli” perspective of this conflict, and I would never condone displacement or attacks against civilians).

But the conflict in the Middle East is something even more engrossing than total war—in this conflict, there is very little to distinguish civilians from soldiers. Not only do soldiers strike against civilians, as in the Gaza war of 2009 or a Hamas militant strike against an Israeli settlement, but also civilians participate in the conflict, such as Israeli evictions of Palestinian villages or Hamas storing weapons in schools or hospitals. And, more subtly perhaps, a civilian can become a soldier at any time to attack the enemy and then blend back into the populace. These conflicts entail identity warfare; where one group of people, often defined by ethnicity or religion, wants to destroy or displace another group of people. Moreover, their very identity is predicated upon opposition to the enemy’s identity. These wars are called post-modern conflicts, and they have sadly become more common throughout the world (Bosnia, Sudan).

Because Israel frames this conflict as a fight against terrorists, and thereby fails to recognize the deeper causes and consequences of identity politics, it will also fail to win real peace. Instead, Israel is under a “siege mentality” that portrays even legitimate Palestinian opposition as “terrorist.” With this wartime mindset, national security is the groundwork for all policy, and problems are solved through military means.

Thus, Israel decided to deploy commandoes to stop the flotilla rather than more diplomatic means. More importantly, Israel justifies the economic blockade of Gaza as a matter of national security to stop the flow of arms to militants. But as already explained, this policy has not succeeded in diminishing Hamas’ power. The reliance upon the military to solve political problems has not yielded positive outcomes for Israel. The war against Hezbollah in 2008, against Hamas in 2009, and the Flotilla raid of last week have not created any progress towards a permanent solution. Moreover, the events of the last 3 years have actually hardened the opinion of the Arab street, erstwhile Muslim allies such as Turkey, and some Europeans against Israel. Israel must alter its policy if it wants to ensure the long-term safety of its people alongside the Palestinians.

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