Stop Israel!

Instead of slamming the Palestinian resistance, the Arabs should formulate a better strategy for stopping Israeli atrocities, writes Galal Nassar

13 - 19 March 2008

Issue No. 888

Opinion

Al-Ahram Weekly

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2008/888/op3.htm

Israel's military campaign against Gaza, coming at a time when the Arab world is sorely divided, is proof of how unbalanced our confrontation with the enemy has become. We're spending too much time debating the merits of resistance and legitimacy, the absurdity of rockets, and what kind of government the Palestinians should have. We're worried about whether the Arab summit will meet on time, but the pain of children and the screams of the maimed and wounded have failed to entice us to do more.

Over the past two weeks, nearly 130 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, and more are likely to succumb to their wounds. The Israeli occupation forces have committed atrocities on a scale unknown since 1967. Entire families have died under the rubble, finally becoming one with the land they lived in hope of setting free. The valiant resistance, undaunted by the horrors, forced the Israelis to end the first phase of the incursion. Israel recalled its forces from Gaza but only after fierce aerial bombardment took the lives of six more Palestinians. What will happen now? Most likely, the Israelis are going to resume their attack, for nothing has been done to stop them.

Talking is not going to get us anywhere. We need to draw up a strategy for stopping Israel in its tracks. We need to reconsider our position on both war and peace. For over 40 years, some Arab leaders have sought an alternative to armed resistance. Following 1967, we sought a political solution. Then, after the 1973 War, we pursued relentlessly what some dubbed the "peace offensive". The fact, however, is that the Arabs only tend to unite in times of battle. In contrast, peace attempts seem to have divided us.

The 1950s and 1960s were times of intense inter-Arab hostilities, but that didn't prevent the Arabs from standing together in time of war. Conversely, it was only after Anwar El-Sadat's trip to Jerusalem that the Arab League moved from Cairo to Tunis. This is the story of our conflict with Israel. We're only united when we decide to confront, and we drift apart when we start to capitulate.

Here is a question that the media is clearly failing to bring up. Can we really make peace with a usurping entity? If the answer is yes, which many Arab leaders and intellectuals seem to believe, then let me ask you this: can we achieve peace without having any guarantees for our own security?

Before the "peace offensive" started, Israel knew that we could fight back and therefore generally acted with some restraint. We fought Israel