The core of the Middle East’s many problems remains Israel’s military occupation of Arab lands, writes Mohamed Higazy*
Upon invitation of the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), a conference was convened 22 June 2007 to mark 40 years of the Israeli occupation of Arab territories. The conference reflected in its debate the commitment of all spectrums of Indian society to support the just cause of the Palestinian people and their plight. Therefore, I feel obliged at the outset to express a word of recognition and gratitude to the Indian government and the people of India who have stood, over the years, firm and committed on the side of justice and in supporting the independence of Palestine and the end of the Israeli occupation.
We have all been following the tragic events taking place in the Gaza Strip recently. It is certainly sad to see brothers turning against each other after decades of heroic resistance. Palestinians should remain united and should not crack under the heavy-handed policy of the occupation. Like so much that has been going wrong in the occupied territories, these regrettable events are merely a symptom of the root cause of the problem affecting the Middle East as a whole, which is the continuation of the Israeli occupation. We all hope that the Palestinian Authority with the help of Arab and international partners will bring peace and reconciliation between the different Palestinian factions.
The latest developments in Gaza should not at any moment draw our attention away from the fundamental reality of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, as well as the Syrian Golan Heights and what is left in Lebanese occupied territories, as being the core issue of the conflict in the Middle East. The Israeli occupation should be looked at as the illness and any other development as merely a symptom. Therefore, ending the occupation is like curing the disease that has exhausted the body of Palestine and anguished the heart of the Middle East, as well as preoccupying for decades the mind of the whole world.
Isn’t the real core of the Middle East’s many problems Israel’s existence rather than Israel’s military occupation of Arab lands?
If it was just the occupation, that could (and should, and hopefullly will eventually,) be negotiated for peace.
Certainly, Harry Truman’s decision to create Israel cannot be justified for any of the oft-repeated reasons that Americans are spoon-fed since birth. The country was invaded by tens of thousands of armed, foreign insurgents who came to cleanse the land of its inhabitants not to co-exist peacefully with the populace. Hitler had long-been crushed when the UN handed 51% of Palestine over to these Zionist terrorists despite Jewish land ownership of only 6% at the time. Despite the objections of some U.S. advisers, global parties of interest and contrary to all standards of fairness and justice, Truman appropriated U.S. influence to ‘legitimise’ a catastrophe.
Even a cursory study of the peace process reveals that in the view of Zionists, the occupation will be over when the transfer of Palestinians from ‘Greater Israel’ is complete. The question is, would American taxpayers support the ongoing crimes against humanity should history be revealed; would the resultant debate be sabotaged by knee-jerk invective and the slander of participants as being anti-Semitic?