Tabula rasa

The fate of the people of Gaza and a new role for the UN.

2010-02-06T19:14:00.002+01:00

No winners, no losers, no end to the struggle
There are many reasons Israel can cite to continue its blockade of the Gaza-strip: legal, political, military, security, but whatever the reasons given for this siege, its effects are devastating for the already poor living conditions of the people in the Gaza strip.
And in terms of improving security for Israel in the long term; the blockade is counterproductive. It only will tighten the people of Gaza more closely to Hamas. There are at the present no alternatives for the population to turn to. If they want to survive, their only option is to go along with Hamas.
So in the end the blockade only leads to further strengthening of Hamas, which is the opposite what Israel says it is aiming for. So do we have to sit idle and wait anxiously for the next round of Qassam rockets and air strikes?

Making an end to “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth”
Since both Israel and Hamas have made it abundantly clear that neither of them alone is capable of letting the other one go in this cycle of revenge, we have to look for other solutions. One possibility is the UN taking over the control and administration of the Gaza strip for the next 5 or 10 years, along the same lines as has been done previously in Kosovo. Create a robust international police force that disarms the militia’s and guards the borders. As a result of these steps the blockade by Israel can be lifted.
The international police force should also takes care of the internal security and maintain observance of Human Rights for all the people living in the Gaza strip.

Jobs, jobs and jobs are needed
Immediately following these steps, there must start a huge international sponsored investment effort to rebuild the entire Strip. Also needed is a massive investment to improve and expand educational facilities and offering grants for these institutions. Both in the field of vocational professions as on college level (applied sciences, engineering, agriculture, public and business administration, social and health care) much needs to be done.
In this way the enormous unemployment (at the present with 45%, the highest in the world!) can be battled and especially all the idle young man, instead of spending their time impersonating heroic warriors, can earn a decent income, or study for their future.

Small is beautiful
To prevent a huge bureaucracy and corruption, one governor (appointed by and only accountable to the Security Council) with a small cabinet of independent professionals should coordinate and oversee the rebuilding; integrating the tasks of all UN and other international aid agencies. Finally their should be held elections for an advisory council that assists the governor in all its decisions.
As a result of these measures there hopefully can grow a better climate for attracting new commercial investments that in turn create more work; for instance aided by a tax-free industrial zone near the now defunct harbour.

Give peace finally a chance !
I don’t know if the above sketched scenario, or similar alternatives can be realized. We can only hope that the international parties who are involved, finally have the courage to take up their responsibilities and intervene to end this drama. A drastic change of the present failing policies of the UN is necessary to finish the suffering of the people of Gaza.

The Goldstone debate cannot change the facts on the ground.

2010-02-06T18:35:00.001+01:00

The destruction and the loss of lives will not dissapear
Does it matter what ultimately happens with the conclusions of the report ? Will the picture in the eye of the public about what happened in 2008/2009 in the Gaza strip change because of all the discussions? I don’t know. For many people the facts on the ground of operation Cast Lead will remain the same.

The next quotation is from: The Gaza War, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Casualties:
- Palestinian total 1066 (source IDF)
- Palestinian total 1387 (source B'Tselem)
- Israeli total 13 (sources IDF and B'Tselem)

Next quotations are from: The Effects of the Gaza War, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
An initial survey conducted by the UN Development Program estimates that 14,000 homes, 68 government buildings, and 31 non-governmental organization offices (NGOs) were either totally or partially damaged. As a result, an estimated 600,000 ton of concrete rubble will need to be removed.
"Field Update on Gaza From the Humanitarian Coordinator". UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 2009-02-05

A satellite-based damage assessment of the Gaza Strip by the United Nations revealed 2,692 destroyed and severely damaged buildings, 220 impact craters on roads and bridges with an estimated length of 167 kilometers (104 mi) of paved and unpaved roads damaged, 714 impact craters on open ground or cultivated land with an estimated land area of 2,100 hectares (21 km2), 187 greenhouses completely destroyed or severely damaged with an estimated area of 28 hectares (0.28 km2), and 2,232 hectares (22.32 km2) of demolished zones targeted by IDF bulldozers, tanks and phosphorus shelling.
"Satellite-based Gaza Damage Assessment Overview". United Nations Institute for Training and Research. 2009-03-10

In a damage assessment by the World Health Organization, 48% of the 122 health facilities assessed were found to be damaged or destroyed. 15 of Gaza's 27 hospitals and 41 primary health care centers has suffered damage. Two centers were destroyed, and 29 ambulances have been partially damaged or destroyed.
"Health Situation in the Gaza Strip". World Health Organization. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 2009-02-04

The 'what' Doctrine?
The conclusions of the Goldstone report should come as no surprise. Sure, there can be discussions about the accuracy of some of the described incidents during the war, or about the correct application of international laws and we can keep on arguing about a host of other details, but the general picture remains the same. Anybody who read and saw the international media reports of the bombing and its devastating effects on the ground knows what happened. It was the rational outcome of the application of what is sometimes called the “Dahiya Doctrine”.

An illuminating interview
The following quotation is from the Israeli website Ynet, published on the 10th of March 2008.
IDF Northern Command chief says in any future war Israel would use ' disproportionate' force on Lebanese villages from which Hezbollah will fire rockets at its cities. 'From our standpoint, these are not civilian villages, they are military bases,' Maj.-Gen. Eisenkot tells Yedioth Ahronoth. Israel would use "disproportionate" force to destroy Lebanese villages from which Hezbollah guerrillas fired rockets at its cities in any future war, an Israeli general said in remarks published on Friday."What happened in the Dahiya quarter of Beirut in 2006 will happen in every village from which Israel is fired on," said Gadi Eisenkot, head of the army's northern division. Dahiya was a Hezbollah stronghold that Israel flattened in sustained air raids during a 34-day war with the Shiite group two years ago.

"We will apply disproportionate force on it (village) and cause great damage and destruction there. From our standpoint, these are not civilian villages, they are military bases," Eisenkot told the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper."This is not a recommendation. This is a plan. And it has been approved," Eisenkot added. Some 1,200 Lebanese and 159 Israelis were killed during the war, which was sparked by a Hezbollah cross-border attack against an Israeli army patrol.

Don't throw bricks when you live in a glass house
The Israeli government consciously choose the path to destroy the enemy as completely as possible; no matter how much destruction it would take, or how many non-combatants might be killed.
That is a decision a sovereign state, defending its security against attacks from outside its territory, obviously can make. But the disproportional way in wich Israel is responding, will have a negative impact on the image and support of Israel in the public opinion at large.

The attacks on the Goldstone report will not salvage Israel's image.

2010-02-04T15:50:00.014+01:00

A classic example of how to discredit a report
The commission and its report have received a barrage of criticism ever since its publication last September. Israel and most of its supporters elsewhere in the world have literally unleashed a flood of negative reactions. Generally they come down to the following: the mandate given by the UNHRC to the commission was biased from the beginning; the selected members of the commission were not neutral; its fact-finding mission was one-sided and flawed; and especially its interpretations of international law and regulations, equalling the Israeli military operations to war-crimes, generated an outcry of indignation. And this is only a very moderate representation of the reactions.

Shoot the messenger
Those organisations and individuals in Europe and America who wholly, or partially support the conclusions of the report are also targeted by the critics.
If Jewish; they are simply naïve and strangers to the ways of the world, or else outright betraying Israel and the Jewish people.
If not Jewish; they are labelled as lefties/liberals driven by their own ideological agendas, or they are Muslim fellow-travellers lured by either Arab money and their smooth talking, or even cowards who are afraid of the response of their own Muslim immigrant communities.
And already in some cases the accusation Anti-Semitism has been thrown at those who agree with the report.

Busy with the blame game
Especially on the Internet there is a proliferation of websites and blogs anxiously occupying themselves with all the pro- and contras of the report and its possible fall-out.
The majority of these sites tend to favour either a positive or a negative attitude towards the Goldstone report. Will these websites make a difference in the view of the general public on what happened in the Gaza war?
I doubt it. All these sites are mainly entangled in an elaborate analyses and discussions who really is to blame and are appealing to those who already have made up their minds about who is the victim and who is the culprit. The purpose of the sites is above all to provide their sympathisers with additional arguments and moral support to continue the debate.

Power politics: either exploit or ignore the issue, but don't adress it
It is more difficult to predict to what extent all these media activities will influence political decision makers. The conclusions of the report are according the media seen by most ’realistic’ western politicians as disputed, awkward and therefore its conclusions constitute an impediment to further negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. As it looks now the report will most likely be graciously pushed aside, or made political harmless by vetoes. Its fate will be that of many UN reports and documents: being shelved away in the archives.

David and Goliath reversed
Shortly after its founding in 1948 Israel was seen by the overwhelming majority of people in the West as the sympathetic underdog fighting for survival against the fanatical Arab hordes, who were trying to wipe the young state off the face of the earth.
Over the years this image has changed. First, after successive victories of Israel’s army, it gradually became apparent that the Arab nations, in spite of all their violent war rhetoric, never were (and in retrospect never had been) in a position to match Israel’s military superiority in terms of motivation, organisation, training and an always up–to-date arsenal of weaponry.

The Palestinians are discovered
The forceful repression of the Palestinians during the intifadas of in 1987 and 2000 and the invasions in Lebanon in 1982 and 2006 and recently in Gaza slowly stripped down the moral standing Israel enjoyed. It showed an Israel more akin to a giant and irritated David, carrying a big stick and hitting a bunch of small and annoying Goliaths running for cover.
These confrontations made clear to the western public opinion that since 1948 there was still a great unresolved problem laying on the international table: How to realize statehood for the Palestinians, next to the state of Israel.

The peace process ending up in Never Never land
The forever stagnating peace-process also contributed to a change in the perception of Israel’s role in the conflict. On the one hand caused by Israel stubbornly wishing to hold on and even expand the settlements , leaving the PA only an archipelago of incoherent enclaves on the West bank. On the other hand a standstill caused by the Palestinians who want to hold on to the pre-1967 Green Line (which in their view already contains a huge land concession to Israel compared to the original 1947 division plan of the UN) and therefore they want at least a temporary freeze on Israeli settlement building.
Because of all the developments mentioned above, the already growing doubt at the back of the mind of many people in the West finally led to the conclusion that Israel is the dominant force in the Levant. No matter what happens with the Goldstone report, the Palestinians are now seen as the actual underdog and Israel as the one that holds the key to peace.