A Solution is a Long Way Off

Life in Gaza has always been hard, however this summer it was especially bad. On the 8^th of July Israel launched Operation Protective Edge, which was supposed to be an effort to uproot terrorists in the Gaza strip. The invasion lasted 50 days and resulted in the deaths of 1,523 Gazan Civilians and 557 Gazan militants according to the UN, compared to 66 Israeli soldiers and six Israeli civilians. The invasion, followed by the largest land grab in history by the Israeli government, has hardened the views of many Europeans against Israel. Since the fighting in Gaza this summer the United Kingdom, France and Spain all had symbolic votes on the recognition of Palestine, and all went heavily in favour of Palestine. Sweden went one step further and formally recognised Palestine, making it one of the first western countries to do so. To make matters worse for the Israelis a European Court took Hamas off the EU’s terrorist list. When it comes to the PR battle in Europe, Israel is losing badly.

The Israeli government has been riddled with internal tensions over the past year, which culminated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling for fresh legislative elections to be held early this year. At the same time he fired Yair Lapid and Tzipi Livni from their cabinet positions. Both are political moderates who support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. What Netanyahu is hoping for is to form a coalition of the more nationalistic parties in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) following the elections in March. If you thought Israel was acting horrifically already, if Netanyahu gets what he wants, the next few years will be much worse.

In a sign of increasing radicalness a bill that would make Israel the “home state for Jewish peoples” and would effectively mean that non-Jewish Israelis would become second class citizens in their own country has been introduced to the Knesset. The bill is hugely controversial and has divided Israel, including the coalition government. Although the Cabinet has officially backed the bill, 14 voted in favour and six against, it revealed just how divided the coalition had become. The Cabinet debate was held in private, but the arguments over it could apparently be heard down the corridor. Critics of the bill include Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin who said that the bill played into the hands of “Israeli’s enemies”. If the bill passes, it will only heighten tensions between Israeli and Palestine and further harm its relationship with Europe.  

How the World Should Deal With Israel

Israel has one again defied international law, and violated the rights of Palestinians by grabbing over 400 hectares (988 acres) of land in the West Bank. Israel made no attempt to justify its actions, it simply declared the land “state land”, and that was basically it. It is the biggest land grab in over 30 years and it comes just after Israel and Gaza reach an agreement to end 50 days of bloodshed that left almost 1,500 Gazancivilians dead!

The continued existence and expansion of the settlements is in direct violation of international law, specifically UNSC (United Nations Security Council) resolution 446. So how can we prevent further Israeli land grabbing in the West Bank? A military attack by other countries is clearly out of the question as that would result in a massive death toll on both sides. For the Palestinians, attacking Israel is a terrible idea considering how strong Israel’s military is and how weak their own military is! I feel that this means that the only option is to pursue diplomacy and peaceful protests. Here are a list of things we should do:

1.       Continue to work within the UN for diplomatic resolutions

2.       Boycott Israel (don’t buy Israeli products)

3.       Pressure your government to sanction Israel

4.       Peacefully protest in the West Bank/Israel

1. One of the most effective ways of doing diplomacy in the modern world is through the UN. It can be used as a mediator in disputes, condemns human rights violations, and membership of the organisation is the most commonly accepted definition of a country. Unfortunately there is a major stumbling block at the UN: America. The US is a permanent member of the UNSC, which means that it can veto any resolution that the council votes on. This means that going through the Security Council would be very difficult for Palestine, due to America’s unconditional support for Israel. It also means that Palestine is unlikely to become a full UN member anytime soon, as the process to become a full member requires a Security Council resolution.  

2. A boycott of Israeli products would be a great step, as hurting a country’s economy is one of the best ways you can make its leaders more amiable to a peace deal. The sanctions on South Africa were a major reason for the Apartheid state collapsing. As an individual it can be quite difficult to find out where all your products originate. So what you should do instead is try and pressure companies into no longer stocking products that are from Israel. If you are in the UK visit www.boycottisrael.org.uk for more information on how to boycott Israel.

3. Arguably the best thing you can do, if you live outside Palestine, is to put pressure on your government to take a stance against Israel. Whether that comes in the form of sanctions or an arms embargo, it would be hugely beneficial to the Palestinian cause, especially if your country is powerful. If you live in America this will be more difficult, as it is the most pro-Israeli western nation. Yet being a pro-Palestinian voice can do a lot of good, and change only happens when people demand it! The countries in which you can do the most good are ones with a pro-Israeli government and an anti-Israeli populace. Which countries fall under that category? Well every Western nation, apart from the US. Britain is arguably the easiest target, as of the EU countries polled, Britain had the most negative view of Israel (72% of Britons had an unfavourable view). Considering that the UK is one of the most powerful countries in the world, and has one of the largest economies, having the UK on the side of Palestinians would be a blow to Israel. So what are you waiting for? Write to, or call your MP/representative and get things going!

4. Peacefully protesting your oppressors is not an easy thing to do, and it takes a lot of courage, but it is the best way to win. Part of the reason for the success of Martin Luther King and the civil rights protesters in America in the 50’s and 60’s, other than the obvious morality of their cause, was the images of peaceful protesters getting violently beaten by police officers. Protest by getting Palestinians to enter settlements or march on cities like Jerusalem. Whatever you do, do not attack Israel. Violence rarely succeeds when you’re being oppressed. Every time Hamas fires a rocket into Israeli territory, or a bomb goes off in Tel Aviv, it gives Israel a justification to attack. They always lose the moral high ground with the disproportionate counter attacks. According to a YouGov poll, 62% of Britons believe that Israel committed war crimes in the recent Gaza conflict. Despite this, it allows Israel defenders to ignore the hardships of the Palestinians, because Hamas is also targeting Israel.

Using peaceful solutions will not be easy, and it will not be quick, but as you have the moral high ground, you will win.

Review 2012

Well what a year we’ve had! There has been the most expensive Presidential Election of any country ever, Greece has gone from bad to worse, the Arab Spring continues in Syria and here in Britain we entered into a double dip recession. Although I don’t feel that 2012 was the year of change that 2011 was, it will still go down as important in the history books. The shooting of a 15 year old girl by the Pakistani Taliban sparked outrage in the country. The attack could help to stop people joining the terrorist organisation! The Palestinian-Israeli conflict took a turn for the worse after Israel killed one of Hamas’ leaders and Israel was furious when Palestine had its status upgraded in the UN.

The year saw a change of leadership in China and France and Greece choose a new government for its sinking economy. It was confirmed that in 2013 the EU will get a new member, Croatia, whilst the Eurozone crisis continued to rattle on.  

The year ahead of us will be the sixth since the economic crisis began and still there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Predictions are that the Eurozone economy has shrunk by a small amount in the past year, the same is true for Britain. What stopped the crisis that began in 2007 being worse than the 1929 crash was the economies of the developing nations, particularly Brazil, China and India. Unfortunately their economies are beginning to slow down, China has stopped producing double digit growth for the first time in a decade and India and Brazil are below 5%. Although European countries would kill for growth figures like those, the world economy depends on them being very high. The US has just fallen off the fiscal cliff (although a deal should be one the way) and Europe’s economy is expected to shrink again this year, if the developing nations’ economies do start to slow this could have cataclysmic knock on effects.

We are living in a time of change, what happens over the next year could prove very important in the long run.  

Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

The relationship between Israel and Palestine is no better at the end of 2012 than it was at the start. Israel continued with its, illegal, settlement program in the West Bank, forcing Palestinians off their land. The Israelis suffered two major defeats at the UN this year, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) voted by a very wide margin to allow Palestinian membership of the club. Naturally Israel and the US voted against, but only 12 other nations joined them whilst 52 abstained and 107 voted to allow it membership. On the 29^th of November the UN took a vote on whether to upgrade Palestine to “non-member observer state”, a title also held by the Vatican. The vote went even better for Palestine, 138 nations voted for the measure whilst 41 abstained and only nine nations voted against.

The relationship between Israel and Gaza, the thin strip of land bordering Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, flared up again after Israel assassinated Ahmed Jabari, a leading member of Hamas. The ensuing attack and counter-attack resulted in hundreds of deaths (nearly all of which were on the Palestinian side) and there were fears that Israel was going to launch a ground invasion of Gaza. Thankfully a deal was brokered between the two, but a lasting ceasefire is a long way off.

In my opinion, the only way that this conflict will ever get sorted is if the UN gives Palestine full recognition. The US and Israel claim that this will make relations more difficult, but their point doesn’t make much sense. How can a deal really be reached when Israel is on a higher footing than Palestine, until both sides are even a deal will not be reached. The votes in the UN show that Israel is losing international support, Israel kills many more civilians than Palestine, Israel constantly breaks UN rules; most notably the settlements. I do appreciate that Israel is surrounded by hostile neighbours, but treating the Palestinians the way they do only weakens support for Israel in Europe and around the world. If Israel truly wants deal, they should start negotiating with the Palestinian leaders.

Palestine state no. 194

Palestine has succeeded in upgrading its position in the UN to 'non-member state' in a historic vote I. The UN General Assembly. The measure was passed 131 votes to 9, with 41 abstaining. What is particularly notable is the way in which countries did (or did not) vote. Importantly, old allies of Israel such as Germany, Australia and the United Kingdom all decided to abstain rather than back Israel. Other allies such as France, Spain and Italy actually voted for the measure!

Although this does not go as far as many Palestinians would like and create a fully fledged state with all the same rights and responsibilities that its neighbour Israel has, it is still hugely important. The vote will strengthen the hands of the Palestinians in future talks and will allow for Palestine to join some UN institutions. One of the more direct benefits, that even Israeli supporters can agree is advantageous, is the boast it will give to the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas has been losing support to the more militant Hamas, a group the US and Israel label as terrorists. The successful vote in the UN should bolster support for him and help avoid a radical government.

In many way this vote can be viewed as the world's increasing frustration with Israel. It is losing many countries that were once steadfast supporters. Of the countries who did support it, the only two with serious power are Canada and the US. It's not hard to believe that without the unconditional support from the US to Israel, that Palestine would already be a UN member. One of the most contentious Israeli tactics is the building of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which the UN has condemned as illegal. Even the USA has grown tired of Israel on this front, during his first term in office Obama said that the settlements must be stopped

As I've said before, there is a long way to go until peace is achieved in the Middle East, but this is a step in the right direction.

Israel-Gaza Attacks

Violence has returned to Israel and Palestine after the Israelis killed Hamas’ top military official, Ahmed Jabari, in a rocket strike last week. The situation turned from bad to worse when both sides pounded each other with rockets and missiles. Many feared an escalation was possible when rockets from Gaza managed to reach Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, both cities are usually safe from rockets. Yet the reality is that this situation is much worse for Gaza, already 130 Palestinians have been killed, the vast majority of which have been civilians. This is significantly lower than the number killed on the Israeli side, the figure is still in single digits. Until today a ground invasion by Israel appeared imminent with Israel amassing tanks and troops on the border as well as calling up over 70,000 reservists. With the world watching the situation seemed completely out of control. Then today good news began to roll in with both sides announcing talks towards a ceasefire that would take place today or tomorrow. Unfortunately that ceasefire has not come and both sides continued shelling each other throughout today, with far more devastation occurring on the Palestinian side of the border.

The President of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, has been an important mediator in the past few days, attempting to get Israeli and Palestinian officials talking over a deal to end the violence. Although he is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, an organisation with many links to Hamas and he is very pro-Palestinian, he does not want to appear confrontational. He is trying to show support for Hamas whilst respecting the treaty with Israel, in trying to broker a peaceful solution he has invited regional players such as the Qataris and Turks to negotiate with the Israelis and Palestinians in Cairo. The ceasefire may not come for a while yet, but the most important thing he can do is to try and stop a ground invasion occurring. It would turn the international community against Israel, cause the death of hundreds, maybe thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians, and make it impossible for Egypt to maintain a relationship with Israel. The latter could further destabilise the Israel-Palestine relationship further and bring the whole region crashing down.

Nobody knows how long this conflict will last for; hopefully a ground invasion will be avoided. Regardless of when a ceasefire does happen, the situation in that region will not improve until Palestine is recognised as a sovereign state with all the protections and international recognition that nationhood affords. Peace in this region may be several centuries off, but it can never come if we never work for it. 

Israeli rockets land in Gaza
Source: Guardian