Israel's Critics

Submitted by Stephen Berman (United States), Aug 9, 2005 at 09:36

The fact of the matter is that Israel's critics do not even claim that withdrawal will reduce violence. On the contrary, as reported in the weekend edition of the Financial Times, the French were unimpressed with Sharon's unilateral withdrawal, because they felt that it was meant to be a final withdrawal. They will not be the least bit satisfied with such a minimal concession. The same newspaper in the editorial section demanded Israel to allow the residens of Gaza to operate a port, and to travel freely through Israel proper. Otherwise, in the eyes of the British elite, the Gaza population will be in a "prison".

Finally, there is no question that the Europeans will demand that the Gaza residents be permitted to operate an airport. Without those indicia of independence, the Gaza residents rightly claim that they will still be considered "occupied." And if they get what they want, they will have access to a speedy flow of weapons by land, sea and air, without any fear of hinderance. And indeed, if they are truly free and independent, the residents of Gaza must have the right to declare war and conduct war, by all means, fair and foul.

Let's not pretend Israel's critics don't know that. On the contrary, a more plausible interpretation is that they do know, and they do not disapprove of such an outcome.

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