Peace in the Middle East

Latest News Roundup - Israel/Palestine

by Charles Lenchner

Published November 20, 2008 @ 09:28PM PST

Gaza remains under siege. Israel is blockading the Strip to pressure Hamas to clamp down on the violence. The violence began during the American elections, when Israeli troops invaded Gaza, killing some fighters there in an effort to limit tunnel traffic. The tunnels of course, limit Israeli's ability to keep Gaza under siege.

Campaign to end the siege in Gaza

A few weeks ago, Shimon Peres and then Ehud Barak said they want to talk about the Saudi/Arab League peace plan of 2002. Why now? It's election season. It looks like those balloons have floated well; now President Elect Obama is making happy noises about the plan. Or did he?

It turns out that Hamas tried to open a direct dialogue with the United States, proposing in effect to adhere to a two state solution with Israel. This was in 2006. There are now multiple stories about Hamas indicating it is will to reach an accommodation with Israel that would end the violence. Israel's strategy is to resist meeting this trend in any way, shape or form.

The stories about the solidarity ships to Gaza keep pouring in. Israel has chosen to allow those boats to enter Gaza, while at the same time severely restricting the legal rights of the Gazan fishing industry.

Settlers are rioting in Hebron to stop the Israeli state from kicking them out of an illegally occupied home. The Hebrew press calls it 'beit hameriva' or 'house of conflict.' The settlers call it 'Peace House.'

To me it looks like more violence is to be expected, as the various sides jockey for position while the deck is being shuffled. In other words, until Obama takes office and the Israeli elections are held.

In other words, it's not a good week for peace in the Middle East.

Comments

  1. Andrew Meyerson

    Hey Charles,

    It's pretty awful what's been happening these days, everyone is jockeying for power and control and ordinary Gazans are caught right in the middle.

    Israeli is absolutely right to demand security for Sderot and if Hamas insisted on taking over Gaza then they need to assume full control and stop the rockets red glare coming from their territory.

    On the other hand, the Israeli government must realize that their Gaza/Hamas policy must change, that it does nothing to ensure their long term security, continues to breed hatred among ordinary Palestinians and is destroying the livelihood of an entire people.

    Israel and the West have sought to isolate and delegitimize Hamas with this blockade of Gaza but it's done nothing but draw more criticism from the international community because the tactic is not only ill-advised, it's wrong.

    What the Israeli government and the West simply don't understand is that in the march toward democracy in the Middle East, we all have zero control over Islamist groups winning some elections.  In an election between a group that promotes the moral code of Islam as the solution to all of their problems and that of a corrupt dictatorship that has been in power for decades, the people will of course choose the new clean Islamic party simply because they offer change.  We just voted for change here in America, the Israelis rejected Olmert and brought in Livni because of her clean hands and we need to allow the Palestinians have the same opportunity.

    The challenge is having the patience to allow Hamas to govern for a term because while they might be good at winning the first election, they will delegitimize themselves when Palestinians realize that they are just as inept at running the government than were their predecessors.

    That would be the smart policy, but they're not too big on smart policies over there and as usual will continue to learn the hard way while ordinary Palestinians and Israelis get caught up in their mess.

    Peace,
    Andrew Meyerson
    Associate Director, Union of Progressive Zionists (UPZ)
    www.upzshalom.org

    Posted by Andrew Meyerson on 11/21/2008 @ 09:55AM PST

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  2. Mohammed Hossam

    I think the US should take a chance and start a dialogue with hamas because its the democratic choice of the palestiniansand they also like you said support the two state solutionso the siege on gaza is in favor of hamas because Gazans know hamas will never give up on their dreams and the support for hamas will increase not only in gaza but in the whole world we all saw the members of the eu parlimant travelling via a boat to gaza to support the gazans against the siege

    Posted by Mohammed Hossam on 11/21/2008 @ 02:57PM PST

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  3. Charles Lenchner

    Yes. One of the understated conclusions of my pigeon holing blog posts of the last few days, is that Palestinian groups moderate when they have to deal with exercising power. The history of the PLO, Fatah, and Hamas is one moving towards more moderate positions.

    Posted by Charles Lenchner on 11/21/2008 @ 07:36PM PST

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  4. Michael Ross

    Two points:
    1. What should Israel do to stop the daily rocket barrage, does anyone have a better idea? Israel supplies water, fuel, money and food to Gaza and in return gets rockets, name another nation that would react in such a humane manner.

    2. Gaza also has a border with Egypt, how come no one is putting pressure on Egypt, to open the border with Gaza and limit the inflow of weapons, and allow the inflow of food?

    Posted by Michael Ross on 11/22/2008 @ 05:36PM PST

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  5. Charles Lenchner

    Michael, Egypt has restricted the border with Gaza upon the request of Israel and the United States. It was party to agreements concerning the Rafah border crossing, which uses Israeli proxies to maintain control. In other words, the policy of laying siege to Gaza on all sides is being implemented by Israel, pursuant to past agreements related to that border.

    With regard to the rockets, as long as there is no Palestinian state that is completely free and independent of Israeli control, including borders, they will not stop. An occupied people stop fighting their occupier only after they are free. Not before. It's possible, at times, for there to be a cease-fire that works for a time, but the conflict is in force until Palestinians have the same rights as Israel.

    And Michael, I will delete your posts when you try to argue history. While I could, if it was my inclination, dredge up resources and footnotes to argue with you, it's my blog and I don't feel like making everything a history lesson that follows your flawed logic. In other words, if your comment isn't directly related to the topic of the post, it's gone. (And don't even try a tortured argument that begins with 'here's why it's relevant.')

    Posted by Charles Lenchner on 11/22/2008 @ 05:49PM PST

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  6. Michael Ross

    Charles,

    Fair enough. I will stay on subject, The Gaza Seige. Anachno al oto ha tsad, le kol harouchot.

    Regarding the rockets from Gaza, Gaza is no longer "occupied", and has a seperate government from the WB, so I don't buy this argument of occupation being the cause for the militancy.

    Hamas has stated in writing that its purpose is to eliminate Israel from the map. And their strategy is first the WB, if not by force then by diplomacy, then the rest of Israel. Why don't you believe them? No living jew will allow a second Shoah, that's what I believe apeasement will bring, either that or another major ME war.

    Posted by Michael Ross on 11/22/2008 @ 07:53PM PST

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  7. Michael Ross

    Charles, regarding your point "An occupied people stop fighting their occupier only after they are free. Not before..."

    If that is true, then how come the Palestinians were not fighting the Egyptians and the Jordanians prior to 1967, when they were occupied by those two states?

    I don't think that is the cause of the conflict. As I have stated in other posts, I believe that it is the Arab dictatorships that are promoting and funding this war for the last 60 years, for reasons of their own, and that both Israel and the Palestinians are pawns in a larger game, and until we address these core issues, peace will never be long standing, not in Gaza and not in the WB.

    Posted by Michael Ross on 11/22/2008 @ 08:30PM PST

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  8. Mohammed Hossam

    gaza is occupied and if not how come they don't have airport that can work and ther is daily attacks of israel missles in gaza even in the sieze-fireand don't forget that Gaza is a big refugee camp and they want to go back to their homes in peace would israel do thatsecond there were no occupationby the egyptians only reason egyptians were ther is to protect them from the israeli massacres in1948

    Posted by Mohammed Hossam on 11/23/2008 @ 01:26PM PST

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  9. Michael Ross

    Mohammed, you need to check your information, it is not true. No sense in continuing this discussion until you gets your facts straight.

    1. No Israeli massacres in 1948, if any it was Arabs killing jews. Don't distort history just because it does not fit your politics.

    2. No occupation of Gaza today, not having an airport does not constitute occupation in any book.

    3. The attacks on Gaza are defensive, to preventive Hamas from firing rockets on Israeli women and children.

    4. Gaza is the way it is because of its corrupt leaders not because of anything Israel did, or is doing.

    Posted by Michael Ross on 11/23/2008 @ 10:14PM PST

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  10. Mohammed Hossam

    First you don't get to tell me the truth 1- Der yassin massacre is a fact and i am not the one who bragged about it in the media so you telling me that you came and the Palestinians just left their homes in peace for you to live in what logic you believe in
    2-occupation of the air and the sea is an occupation 
    3-so the attacks in the west bank what do you call it there is no rockets there and whatever you kill and attack GAZA the rockets never stopped and just increased in number and quality and distance rockets didn't stop until the truce between Hamas and isreal 
    4- the corrupt leaders is what Israel supporting in ramallah and even the assistance of Abo Mazen is smuggling mobile phones into the west bankbut the leaders in Gaza came by election which the world witnessed and blessedyou had yasser arafat for so long and you didn't reach a solution now you got hamas and the people believe in it

    Posted by Mohammed Hossam on 12/04/2008 @ 02:19PM PST

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  11. Eli Williamson-Jones



    I'm promoting an idea for creating lasting peace in the Middle East and the world. It still needs a lot of votes to make it into the second round. Please help provide a more hopeful vision and alternative to the endless spiral of violence escalating in the Middle East by casting your vote today.  Thank you. 
    http://www.change.org/ideas/view/israel_as_cornerstone_for_a_future_united_states_of_earth

    Posted by Eli Williamson-... on 12/29/2008 @ 08:56AM PST

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Charles Lenchner Charles Lenchner
Brooklyn, NY

Charles is a nonprofit professional with 20 years of experience working with nonprofit organizations in Israel, Palestine and the U.S. For the past few years, he's been specializing in online organizing.

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