Mindsets have to take a turn

Feb.13, 1008

Mindsets have to take a turn



WITH the Israeli threat/warning that all options remain open for it to bring an end to rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, the world could expect to witness an intensified campaign of targeted killing and attempted assassination of Palestinian resistance leaders in the Mediterranean coastal strip in the days ahead.
Israeli leaders have admitted that their 'prime targets' include prominent Hamas leaders such as Ismail Haniyeh and Mahmoud Zahar, but, according to reports in the Israeli media, the renewed campaign is not likely, at this stage, to include members of the Hamas political leadership.
Indeed, the Israeli list could include people that the world never heard of but who the Jewish state's intelligence and security agencies consider as leaders of Palestinian armed resistance.
No doubt, leaders of the resistance movement are aware of the danger facing them and they have scaled back their public appearances and stepped up other security measures.
Israel could wreak havoc in the Gaza Strip, what with its US-supplied hi-tech surveillance and detection equipment and advanced weapons. However, the Palestinian retaliation would be equally intense and "unprecedented," as Hamas spokesmen warned on Monday. Surely, Palestinian resistance groups have also learnt a lesson or two and they could be expected to hit back with new methods, and a fresh cycle of killings and maimings would be launched.
It is with forboding frustration and a sense of helplessness that the international community, including the Arab World, is watching the developments unfold in Palestine because there is no readymade solution to the crisis there.
It is clear that short of "wiping Gaza off the map" — as demanded by some Israeli ministers — Israel would not be able to bring an end to the rocket attacks. Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the combined Popular Resistance Committees based in Gaza would never accept surrender no matter how intense the expected Israeli action. For them, armed resistance is their raison d'etre because they realise that it would take much more than rocket attacks to force Israel to listen to logic and reason and accept a just, fair and comprehensive peace agreement that recognises and respects the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
At this juncture in time, it is incumbent upon the US, in its self-claimed capacity as a mediator for peace, to step in and restrain Israel from pursuing its sinister designs. It would be naive at best for Washington not to realise that there is no military solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and that Hamas and all other likeminded Palestinian movements would have to part of any process for just and fair peace in Palestine. It would seem impossible for such groups to be brought in at this point, but then that is because of Israel's stubborn refusal to recognise and respect the rights of the Palestinians. Only Washington is in position to create the right conditions for reversing the bloody course of events in Palestine and setting the ground for a comprehensive process that addresses the roots of the problem. In order to do that, the US has to move away from the Israeli camp and call a spade and spade with all that it entails. But it is also clear that the mindset in Washington is no different from that of Israel and this in itself is the best recipe for bloodshed and violence.