We have this certain secretary of state here in the Netherlands. His name is PH Donner. He once gave this interview in a major Dutch newspaper in which he stated that Sharia law should be instated in our country IF the majority of the population voted FOR Sharia law. Because that is the essence of democracy, he stated. As you might understand: an‘effin’ riot ensurged in our tiny western little country because of this theoretical exercise... Why am I saying this? Because I am standing on the verge of doing this myself: a theoretical exercise that is! About the Israel/Palestinian conflict; yes, yes a touchy subject. So perhaps lil ‘ol me might be in the eye of the (sh*t)storm very soon...
It is very much clear that the world is in shock because of the military actions by the Israeli army in the Gaza strip. Leaders from countries such as Egypt and France and the entire UN are turning and twisting themselves into many possible directions in order to bring the Israeli’s and Hamas’ (and it’s military wing Izedin al Qassam) to a cease fire. No succes yet. I thought it was quite a noble thing to take an initiative such as this but others such as our correspondent Moh the Gazan are not very fond of it because immediate action is not taken.
What’s a country supposed to do when it’s attacked? Defend itself. That’s what the Dutch government would do, the Russian government, the British or any other government that has the resources to defend itself. The Israeli government does that too. Self defense is a human right, right? It was stated many times on tv by politicians from many countries.
A large part of the Israeli people support the war against Hamas, however consider the following. The Gaza strip is a small piece of land which is densly populated. Any so-called precision bombing, surgical air strike – or whatever you want to call it – is bound to make civilian casualties. People die, children lose their parents and families are inflicted with pain. Children make up a large part of the Gaza population. All they see is that their people are being mistreated by the Israeli’s. What follows next? Hate grows and swells in their hearts. They have no life, a very slim chance that they will ever find a job, or make enough money for a wedding; in short: no future. I am convinced that these kids are walking timebombs and that they are the next generation of suicide bombers/ members of a militia. They are the products of their surroundings.
I believe that this war will not solve any problems in the long term. Neither will it bring peace between both parties. The number of Qassam missiles which have been fired from the Gaza Strip have decreased but with the situation of the Palestinian children in mind which I just described it is only a matter of time before things will escalate again.
Some might say that the people in Gaza brought this misery onto themselves because they chose Hamas as their ruler. A party which stemmed forth from the Muslim Brotherhood, which thus propagates political Islam. Hamas is labelled as a terrorist organization but don’t forget to ask yourself: why is Hamas so popular amongst the Palestinians?
Fatah ruled the Palestinian areas for years and many people from these governments were corrupt. Just imagine the image of Mrs Arafat shopping in Paris whilst her people were in a horrible situation to say the least. These governments were not able to bring a better life to the people so they turned their eyes to a party who might be able to pull it of: Hamas. Wasn't it once said that 'one man's freedomfighter is another man's terrorist'?
One of the things we value the most in the west – free elections – backfired in our face. This Hamas is, according to journalist and scholar Khaled Hroub, milder in it’s tone. I cannot agree with that because a party which is accused of using innocent civilians as human shields cannot be called mild in my opinion. Perhaps there are also cultural and religious factors (martyrdom) which play a role here. And the fact that there is no outlook on life there.
Another reason why Hamas is popular is because of it’s grassroots charity work. The economy in Gaza and the West Bank is virtually dead and Hamas supports the people who are in need of help. Apparently Fatah hasn’t helped them over the years so, here we go again, they chose the other guy (read: Hamas) because they DO offer help.
What I’m about to say is gonna sound very blunt but you cannot expect that a government can put people down and oppress them without retaliation. It will be a matter of time before people will start an uprising against those that put them down. We have seen it countless of times throughout history. John Stewart put it very nicely in The Daily Show on January fifth. He opened his joke with a fragment of a tv interview with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg who presented the following hypothetical situation:
“If you’re in your apartment and some emotionally disturbed person is banging on your door screaming: ‘I’m coming through this door and kill you.’ Do you want us to respond with one police officer which is proportional or with all the resources at our command?”
Stewart’s reaction:
“I guess it depends if I force that guy to live in my hallway and make him go through checkpoints every time he has to take a shit.”
Translated: driving people into separated pieces of land without any perspective on a good life - socially, economically and whatnot – is a recipe for disaster. Nor the Israeli’s, nor the Palestinians will (eventually) benefit of this. Where to go from here then? I still believe that a two state solution is still the best option for peace.
The Palestinians need a country,wherever that may be, where they can live free, where they can build an economy and have a better life. Isn’t that what we all want? I remember an Israeli martial artist from the documentary Faces who said that we all want the same at the end of the day. A job, we want to make a little money, a spouse... To be free to do whatever we want.
For starters and inspiration we’ll put our focus on Suriname in South America. A country where AT LEAST ONE mosque and synagogue are each others neighbors. The people who practice their faith there can hear their neighbors say their prayers. And when one of them has organized a get together, a congress or whatever; guess what? They invite their neighbors over! (Yes, I mean those of the other faith.) So before you get all pessimistic on my ass, remember that. Peace is possible.
