Several times in recent months, just when it appears a breakthrough might be possible in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because of one or another proposal or concession by an Arab country or the Palestinian side, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has ordered the Israeli army to carry out a significant assassination or bomb or invade Palestinian territory.
In November, for instance, when it appeared some form progress might be possible, Sharon ordered the assassination of the leader of Hamas, provoking the Islamic fundamentalist organization to launch a new round of suicide attacks in retaliation. In February, Sharon's reply to a new peace proposal from Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah was to attack West Bank and Gaza refugee camps and cities. (Abdullah's plan called for peace and diplomatic recognition of Israel by Saudi Arabia and other Arab states in return for Israel's withdrawal from Palestinian territories occupied since the 1967 war and the transformation of the Palestinian territories into a state.) In late March, as the Arab League met to approve of the Saudi plan and pledge to recognize Israel, Sharon launched his invasion of the West Bank.
Sharon's right-wing Likud-dominated coalition government did it again July 23 -- destroying a possible step toward peace by ordering an Israeli jet to fire a powerful missile into a building in Gaza, one of the most crowded cities in the world. The missile killed its target, a Hamas military leader named Sheik Salah Shehada, but also blew to pieces 14 innocent people, including 9 children, wounding some 150.
The assault took place just after the Israeli government learned that Tanzim -- an important militia group associated with Palestinian Authority President Yasir Arafat's Fatah organization -- was preparing to announce a unilateral cease-fire. In addition, Hamas was reported ready to consider some form of reduction in its attacks to see where the Tanzim initiative would lead. Other factions were also reported willing to observe a cease-fire to test the waters.
Upon learning of the missile's devastation, Sharon initially told the press that "This action, to my knowledge, is one of our major successes." Skeptics interpreted this to mean that the Tanzim cease-fire initiative was just as dead as the Hamas leader. Within hours, as international condemnation mounted, Sharon stopped gloating in public and the government issued its regrets at the loss of civilian lives. Palestinian analysts and progressive Israeli critics of Sharon's policies alike argued that the attack appeared intended to scuttle the possibility of peace talks resulting from the Tanzim initiative. Even some sources traditionally supportive of Sharon's military actions, such as the daily newspaper Maariv, expressed suspicion that the missile attack was conceived to intentionally prevent movement toward a cease fire. The Israeli government denied sabotaging the initiative on the grounds that (to quote the New York Times) they "knew from bitter experience that the talks would go nowhere."
Virtually all the nations of the world, backed by a sizable portion of Israeli public opinion, support the concept of a separate Palestinian state in return for peace and security guarantees for Israel -- except for the present Likud government, which for right-wing and religious reasons ("God gave us Israel") desires to occupy much of the remaining territory where Palestinians continue to reside. Even the Bush administration claims adherence to the creation of a Palestinian state, but it advocates such an entity only under the condition that Arafat is immediately and "democratically" replaced by a Palestinian government acceptable (and thus subordinate) to both the U.S. and Israel. Washington, at Jerusalem's request, is now playing down the notion of democratic elections since it is probable that Arafat will be reelected in a landslide, gaining support even from anti-Arafat elements within the Palestinian community that refuse to capitulate to dictates from Sharon and Bush.
Sharon's tactic is to prolong the colonial status quo until the Palestinians are sufficiently weakened by military assaults, political manipulation from Washington, poverty, desperation and whatever internal dissension Israel can create and exploit, that they accept highly disadvantageous terms in any peace settlement. Likud, for example, has no intention of divesting the Palestinian territories of hundreds of thousands of armed Israeli settlers. And it simply rejects the creation of a new state.
The Likud government is hardly unaware that the majority of Israeli public opinion may in time swing toward supporting a government willing to coexist with a Palestinian state. Likud is counting on two developments to continue uniting the Israeli majority behind its leadership: (1) the U.S.-Israeli demand that Arafat be ousted, which will delay talks indefinitely, and (2) on the mass fear of suicide bombings within Israel. Politically, the terror attacks bind the Israeli majority to the rejectionist Likud coalition. In the process, the Sharon government exploits Israeli fears by blaming the moderate Arafat leadership for the suicide attacks when they are carried out by opposing Palestinian factions. The more the present Palestinian leadership can be associated with the terror bombings, the less the chance of a settlement Likud opposes.
Another means of undercutting the chances of such a settlement is Sharon's practice of engaging in provocative assassinations and military adventures, such as the Gaza missile attack, whenever it appears the Palestinian side is preparing to take new initiatives that might attract international support or influence the Israeli electorate. Likud's biggest fear is that genuine peace talks and honest negotiations will lead to overwhelming domestic and international pressure to withdraw the settlers to Israel proper, and to the eventual creation of a viable state of Palestine. (end)