For
anyone who actually pays attention to what the U.S. government
officials say at their seemingly endless press conferences, last
weeks comment by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had to have
struck a raw nerve with anyone who values the future of Palestine.
According to an official Department of Defense transcript, Rumsfeld
had the following to say about the Occupied Territories:
My
feeling about the so-called occupied territories are that
there was a war, Israel urged neighboring countries not to get
involved in it once it started, they all jumped in, and they lost a
lot of real estate to Israel because Israel prevailed in that
conflict. In the intervening period, they’ve made some settlements
in various parts of the so-called occupied area, which was
the result of a war, which they won. (Italics added)
One
cannot argue with Mr. Rumsfeld about certain points in his defense.
To begin with, he is correct that there was a war, the 1967 June war
between Israel, Egypt, Syria and Jordan (and several other countries
although these were the principal actors). It is also true that
Israel prevailed in the conflict and that in the intervening period
there have been settlements in these areas. However, that is where
reality and Mr. Rumsfeld’s discourse end their similarities.
For
those who are not familiar with this war, a brief explanation is
necessary since it has defined the fate of the Middle East for the
last thirty odd years. In June 1967 Israel, without warning,
launched a surprise attack on Egyptian forces located in the Sinai
and an almost simultaneous attack on Syrian forces located in the
Golan Heights and elsewhere. Jordanian forces launched a
counterattack to try and relieve some of the pressure being placed
on the Egyptian and Syrian forces, but this was also met by the
Israelis and countered. The war ended six days after it began with
Israel in control of the Sinai, Gaza, the Golan Heights and the West
Bank.
Not
that it really matters much to U.S. foreign policy (except where
Iraq is concerned), but the U.N. had a few things to say about this
aggressive war. In Security Council Resolution 242, the U.N. called
for “the immediate withdrawal from territories occupied” as part
of a broader effort to bring about a peaceful resolution to the
issues facing the countries. Israel ignored it then, and has
continued until this day to implement the U.N. Security Council
Resolution. Apparently, Mr. Rumsfeld is either ignorant about this
or has chosen, as I suspect, to conveniently ignore it as any
pro-Israeli pundit will do when discussing the Occupied Territories.
The
most disturbing fact in this whole sorry affair is the blatant
avoidance of seeing the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights for
what they are: territories occupied by an aggressive military
force during a war, a war in this case started by Israel.
Flashback
to 1990 when Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait and declared that it was
Iraq’s 19th
province, is there
any difference between this and the Israeli annexation of Arab East
Jerusalem claiming that Jerusalem has always been the “undivided,
eternal capital of Israel”? Apparently while Iraq has been
lambasted and punished for their offensive (as well they should have
been), Israel over the years has parlayed this seizure of land into
their current status as “defenders of democracy in the region.”
How can Barak or Netanyahu manage not to laugh when they claim that
Israel is the only democracy in a sea of totalitarian regimes, all
the while denying to over three million Palestinians the right to
leave their houses, houses that some families have lived in
generations before the first disciple of Herzl ever set foot in
Palestine?
Mr.
Rumsfeld, perhaps you have never been to Palestine and if not then
that is the only reason I can excuse your commentary on the current
situation. This territory is not disputed: the children I watched
being shot by Israeli troops had no dispute as to whose territory it
was. The Occupation, in the eyes of countless mothers who have lost
countless sons so that Israel could make space for a few thousand
fanatics is nothing short of overt aggression. In the twenty-first
century, we as humans should find that totally unacceptable.
The
author encourages your comments. Please e-mail him at aschettino@islam-online.net
