The Gaza Hell, the Supremacy of Moral Bankruptcy, and Solidarity

Israel must decide which path it will take: to reach a courageous resolution to the conflict, or prolong it indefinitely.
Shadi Abuid January 18, 2009

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Israel is engulfed once again with righteous fury that translates into destructive policies in the Gaza Strip. This appalling self-justification for the inhumanity being exhibited there is not just annoying it is a subject worth dwelling on especially if you want to understand the international immunity Israel has been given for the massacre that rages on in Gaza.

Starting with the notion that Israel has a right to defend itself—against whom? The fact that Israel pulled its army out of Gaza, and even removed 8,000 settlers in 2005, does not alter the fact that Gaza is still, according to international law, occupied territory. Israel controls the entrances and exits, as well as access to necessities such as power and water. Israel’s impressive victory in the Six-Day War turned the West Bank and Gaza into one ethnic unit. In the peace agreement signed by Egypt and Israel in 1979, the Gaza Strip remained in Israel’s hands. The Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinians, signed in September 1993, determined that the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are one political entity. This means that as long as the West Bank is under Israeli occupation, so too is Gaza.

Canada’s political positioning on the crisis highlights a serious disconnect around the issues surrounding the conflict. Peter Kent, the newly minted minister of state for foreign affairs, blamed the Palestinians’ duly elected government in Gaza for compromising the safety and welfare of its own civilians. Ignatieff, positioning himself in Canada’s minority parliamentary situation, also backed the Israeli bombardment of the Palestinians, “Canada has to support the right of a democratic country to defend itself.” And the Harper government says a ceasefire can work only if Hamas not only stops rocket attacks but permanently disarms, maintaining it’s staunchly pro-Israel position as many other Western nations who press for an immediate ceasefire. It is these positions which will continue to inflame the situation. The most obvious fact is that this operation needs to stop. The Israelis are committing flagrant abuses of international law, and our lawmakers release statements to fuel the fire of war, and encourage their action.

Israel must decide which path it will take: to reach a courageous resolution to the conflict, or prolong it indefinitely. If it chooses the former, it will find people of all types continuing there work to provide a clear and legitimate resolution. The time is now, and the situation is urgent. We cannot sit on our hands anymore and say change is coming. Change is not coming unless we create it.

Shadi Abuid is Finance Coordinator for Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) in Canada, a non-profit organization that advocates a platform to uphold the rights of the Palestinian people in the face of human rights violations. Shaidi can be reached at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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