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| THE INTIFADA Intifada, which means "uprising" in Arabic, is the name of the struggle waged by a handful of Palestinians, armed only with stones, against one of the world's best-equipped armies - and one that answers thrown stones with bullets, rockets, and missiles. In fact, it seldom hesitates to take aim at those who have not even thrown stones, and has managed to kill dozens of children in a ruthless manner.
The first Intifada entered the political landscape in 1987, begun by Palestinian youths reacting to the killing of six Palestinian children by Israeli soldiers. Lasting until 1993, it met with a very severe Israeli response and, according to the principle that "violence begets violence," the Middle East again descended into chaos. Throughout this period, the world's attention was drawn by cases of children whose skulls were cracked and arms were broken by Israeli soldiers. The Palestinian people, from the very youngest to the very oldest, opposed the Israeli military's violence and oppression with whatever stones they could find. In response, Israeli soldiers largely forsook their weapons in favor of beating, arm-breaking, and hitting the Palestinians' stomachs and heads with rifle butts. By 1989, 13,000 Palestinian children were being held in Israeli jails. Whatever the excuse, resorting to violence never solves the problem. And yet, certain important truths must be kept in mind when considering the land in which the Intifada occurred. First of all, as corroborated by UN decrees, Israeli soldiers are occupying forces that, in compliance with international law, should be withdrawn. If, despite this, Israel demands that its presence on these lands be accepted, the way to show it cannot be to murder innocent people. As all people with common sense must agree, if it is wrong for Palestinians to resort to violence, than it is just as wrong for Israeli soldiers to kill them. Every country has a right to defend and protect itself, but what has happened in Palestine goes far beyond self-defense.
During the Intifada years, an incident occurred in the Christian village of Beit Sahour near Bethlehem. The incident, witnessed by resident Norman Finkelstein, is just one of many examples belying the assertion that the military's interventions are motivated by self-defense: Once at Jalazoun refugee camp, children were burning tires when a car pulled up. "The doors swung open, and four men (either settlers or the army in plainclothes) jumped out, shooting with abandon in every direction. The boy beside me was shot in the back, the bullet exiting from his navel... Next day the Jerusalem Post reported that the army had fired in self-defense."94 The Palestinian people's Intifada, waged with stones and clubs against one of the world's most advanced armies, succeeded in drawing international attention to this region. The images substantiating Israeli soldiers' murdering of school-age children demonstrate once again the occupying government's policy of terror. This period lasted until the Oslo Accords in 1993, when Israel and the PLO sat down at the negotiating table. At these meetings, Israel recognized Yasser Arafat for the first time as the Palestinians' official representative. After the first Intifada culminated in a peace agreement, people waited patiently for peace and security to return to Palestinian territories. This waiting lasted until September 2000, when Ariel Sharon, known as "The Butcher of Lebanon," made a provocative visit to the Masjid al-Aqsa along with tens of Israeli police. This event lit the fuse of the al-Aqsa Intifada.
The unending pain and suffering of the Palestinians only increased with the al-Aqsa Intifada. Today, there are daily news reports of children and teens dying in the Palestinian territories. From its beginning in September 2000 until December 2001, 936 Palestinians died (figures provided by Palestinian Health Organization).95 Throughout the conflict, Israeli units subjected many civilians, including children returning home from school, to bombardment by helicopters.
Israeli soldiers use their weapons not to disarm Palestinian children, but to maim and kill them. Suleiman Abu Karsh, Palestine's deputy trade minister, expressed his people's feelings about the Intifada in an interview: This Intifada was born of Zionist Israel's cruelty and provocation toward Palestinian people and the things that are holy to us. Because of the Palestinians' strong ties to these holy sites - principally Masjid al-Aqsa, which is the first qibla of Muslims, their mosque, and one of the central features of the Haram ash-Sharif - Israel has performed acts of cruelty.96
In Palestine, where 70% of the population consists of young people, even children have experienced migration, exile, arrest, prison, and massacre ever since the 1948 occupation. They have been treated like second-class citizens on their own land. They have learned to survive in very difficult conditions. Consider the following facts: 29% of those who have been killed during the al-Aqsa Intifada were under the age of 16; 60% of the injured were under the age of 18; and in regions where clashes are intense, at least five children are killed every day, and at least 10 are wounded.
These Israeli soldiers, who aim at civilians and children, do not hesitate to fire even upon children playing at their schools' playgrounds. Due to the Israeli-imposed curfews, for most of the year they cannot go to school. When they can go, they are subject to Israeli attacks. One such attack occurred on March 15, 2001. While students at Ibrahimi Basic School in al-Khalil were playing during recess, Israeli soldiers fired upon them. This episode, in which six children were severely injured, is neither the first nor the last example of such cruelty.97 In The Palestine Chronicle, journalist-author Ruth Anderson describes some of the inhumane scenes of the al-Aqsa Intifada: No one mentions the newly married young man who went off to demonstrate only to die a martyr, leaving his young bride a widow. No one mentions the Palestinian youth whose head was crushed by Israelis and whose arms were broken before he was so brutally slaughtered. No one mentions the little 8-year-old boy who was shot to death by Israeli soldiers. No one says how Jewish settlers, armed with all sorts of weapons and encouraged by Barak's government, storm Palestinian villages and uproot olive trees and murder Palestinian civilians. No one mentions the Palestinian babies who have died when their homes were bombed by air raids or who were caught in a hail of Israeli bullets while being transported to an envisioned safety. Everyone knows that babies cannot throw stones. Everyone knows but Israelis and Americans.98 The al-Aqsa Intifada Is Ariel Sharon's Handiwork In order to understand the violence that spiraled out of control in April 2001 and turned Israel-Palestine into a bloodbath, one must remember how this latest Intifada started. The person at the center of these events was Ariel Sharon, who subsequently became - and still is - the prime minister of Israel. Sharon is well-known to Muslims as a politician who favors the use of violence. The whole world knows him for the massacres he has perpetrated against the Palestinian people, his provocative behavior, and his violent words. The largest of these massacres occurred 20 years ago at the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps, following Israel's June 1982 invasion of Lebanon. In this massacre, approximately 3,000 defenseless people were killed, subjected to intense torture, and burned alive. In addition, many of the corpses were burned or mutilated beyond recognition. The second name we encounter in this episode is that of Ehud Barak, at that time the commander of the Israeli forces and another future prime minister.
The Muslim world has never forgotten this massacre or the other ones orchestrated by the Israeli military over the last 50 years. For this reason, Sharon's provocative visit to the Masjid al-Aqsa was far more significant than one made by any other Israeli politician. Sharon and his Likud Party were following a strict policy of not withdrawing from the Occupied Territories, expanding settlements, and refusing to discuss the final status of Jerusalem. Today, the world agrees on one fact: Sharon endorses violence and wastes no opportunity to encourage or practice it himself.
The latest spiral of violence began when Sharon, under the guard of 1,200 police, entered the Masjid al-Aqsa, a site holy to Muslims. Everyone, including Israeli leaders and the Israeli people, agrees that Sharon's entering this holy site, an act normally forbidden to non-Muslims, was a provocation designed to strain the already tense environment and rekindle the conflict. He clearly succeeded. Its timing was just as important as the location for, on the previous day, Ehud Barak had announced that Jerusalem might be divided in two and that it was possible to compromise with the Palestinians. For Sharon, who violently criticized any concessions and refused to debate the issue of Jerusalem, this was all the reason he needed to make his fateful visit.
However, one could expect from Sharon, a deeply religious Jew, to be much more humane and peaceful. Sharon's policy seems to be one case in the line of Revisionist Zionism, a movement that was formulated by the proto-fascist Zionist leader Vladimir Jabotinsky. Jabotinsky's ideology was surely not a religious one, but a Social Darwinist, militant doctrine inspired by Nazism and Mussolini's fascism. After the formation of the State of Israel, Jabotinsky's legacy found haven in the right-wing Herut Party and, over time, developed a religious tone. Herut evolved into Likud in the following decades and became Israel's most powerful political party. However, the party's religious rhetoric, like other cases of ultra-right wing political agendas, is deceptive. One very obvious example of this is the huge gap between Likud's militancy and the peaceful message of the Torah. "Thou shall not kill" says the Old Testament,which is therefore very opposed to the radical Likudniks' zeal to depopulate Palestinian lands. We hope that both Ariel Sharon and his likes may return to the true ideals of Judaism and try to build a nation that will be "a light onto nations," as proposed by the Torah. Is The Real Goal To Destroy the Masjid al-Aqsa
In order to understand the importance of the Masjid al-Aqsa and of Jerusalem and its environs to the Israelis, it is necessary to look at this region through Zionist eyes. Radical politicized Jewish belief asserts that the period beginning with Zionism will continue with the coming of the Messiah. To realize this goal, however, radical Jews believe that three important events must occur. First, an independent Israel must be established in the Holy Land and its Jewish population must increase. The migration of Jews to the Holy Land has been systematically realized by Zionist leaders since the beginning of the twentieth century. In addition, Israel became an independent nation-state in 1948. Second, Jerusalem was captured in 1967 with the Six Day War and, in 1980, was declared the "eternal capital" of Israel. The third, and only condition still to be met, is rebuilding the Temple of Solomon (Sulayman), which was destroyed 19 centuries ago. All that remains of it is the Wailing Wall.
Today, however, there are two Muslim places of worship on this site : the Masjid al-Aqsa and Qubbet as-Sakhrah. In order for radical Jews to rebuild the Temple, both of these religious sites would have to be destroyed. The largest obstacle to this is the global Muslim community, particularly the Palestinians. As long as they exist, radical Israelis cannot destroy these two sites. Thus the real reason for the clashes that recently turned the streets bloody once again can be found in this Zionist dream. As we emphasized earlier, however, Jerusalem is just as important for Muslims and Christians. For this reason, this city, which is holy to all Jews, Christians, and Muslims, cannot be placed entirely in Zionist hands. The only solution to this seemingly intractable problem is to find a way for the area's Jews, Christians, and Muslims to live together in peace and security. Throughout history, only Islamic administrations have managed to do this successfully, and thus only Muslims will be able to do it in the future. Israel, with its attitude of contempt toward Muslims and Christians, can bring only terror and disorder to Jerusalem and its surroundings. Likewise, all negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian officials have been undone by the Jerusalem issue. Ever since Israel was established in 1948, various solutions have been suggested for Jerusalem: declaring a neutral and free Jerusalem, joint Israeli-Jordanian sovereignty, a government consisting of representatives of all religions, granting land rights to Palestinians and air and underground rights to Israel, and many similar proposals. Israel, however, rejected all of them and eventually annexed Jerusalem by force and declared it the "eternal capital" of Israel. As long as Israel refuses to abandon its longstanding policy of violence, withdraw from the Occupied Territories, or compromise with the Palestinians, the future status of Jerusalem and all other related problems cannot be solved.
Attacks on the Masjid al-Aqsa As reported above, the site of the Masjid al-Aqsa has special significance for all Jews, but especially so for Zionists. For this reason, Zionists have fought for a pure Jerusalem and have worked to "purify" it of Christian and Muslim elements. According to many fanatical Jews, the Masjid al-Aqsa should be destroyed at once. While virtually all Zionists agree with this view, some base themselves upon political reaons while others use religious reasons. Whatever the reason, there is one inescapable fact: Zionists consider the existence of the Masjid al-Aqsa a large obstacle to their vision for the future.
Given this reality, in the recent past radical Zionists have made many attempts to destroy the Masjid al-Aqsa. In fact, some groups are devoted entirely to this mission. Since 1967, these groups have attacked the Masjid al-Aqsa more than 100 times and, in the course of these attacks, have killed many Muslims during their ritual prayers. The first attack was carried out by Rabbi Shlomo Goren, a chaplain of the Israeli Armed Forces, in August 1967. Goren, who would later become chief rabbi of Israel, entered the Muslim holy site with 50 armed men under his supervision. On August 21, 1969, Zionists opened fire directly on the mosque, destroying a pulpit made of wood and ivory. The UN saw fit merely to condemn the incident, a direct attack on a Muslim place of worship.
On March 3, 1971, followers of radical leader Gershon Solomon also took aim at Haram ash-Sharif. Although they retreated after a gun battle with Palestinian security forces, they were undeterred and launched a similar attack 3 years later. The ensuing battle was put down crudely by Israeli units. Then, in 1980, approximately 300 members of the radical terrorist group Gush Emunim took up heavy arms and attacked the mosque. Two years later, an Israeli carrying an American passport made his way into the mosque with an M-16 assault rifle and opened fire on the Muslims praying there. Following this tragic event, in which two Palestinians died and many more were wounded, no one asked how an armed man could have gotten through the "barricade" formed around the mosque by Israeli soldiers. The assailant was tried and held for a short time, all the while boasting that he had "completed his duty." That same year, a pupil of the infamous terrorist leader Rabbi Meir Kahane attacked the mosque with dynamite.
The tales of such attacks do not end here. On March 10, 1983, members of Gush Emunim scaled the walls of Haram ash-Sharif and tried to set off explosives. These terrorists were taken into custody and released several months later. Shortly after this attack, a group of radical Jewish terrorists armed with numerous explosive devices, including dozens of grenades, dynamite, and 12 mortar shells, tried to blow up the Masjid al-Aqsa. Then, in 1996, a new Zionist plan directed at the mosque came to light. Having failed to achieve their goals with armed attacks, the Zionists attempted to destroy the mosque from below, and began digging a large tunnel beneath it. Their excuse for the digging was "historical research." The incidents listed here are just a few examples of how the radical Zionists are targeting the Masjid al-Aqsa for destruction. The Palestinian people have shouldered the responsibility of protecting these holy sites and Jerusalem itself on behalf of the world's Muslims, and it is they who have personally endured these attacks. Thus their reaction to Sharon's scandalous visit, performed as a mere power ploy, is very important. The violence that Sharon started by violating Muslim holy land with a guard of 1,200 soldiers shows no sign of abating. Figures demonstrate plainly the heights to which this violence, pioneered by Sharon and continuing under his leadership, has reached.
94- Ian Gilmour, "Israel's
Terrorists," The Nation, April 21, 1997, emphasis added. |
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