[News] The Facts About Hamas and the War on Gaza

[Anti-Imperialist News]

http://www.counterpunch.org/

January 13, 2009


Seeing Through the Lies


The Facts About Hamas and the War on Gaza

By NORMAN FINKELSTEIN

The record is fairly clear. You can find it on 
the Israeli website, the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs website. Israel broke the ceasefire by 
going into the Gaza and killing six or seven 
Palestinian militants. At that point­and now I’m 
quoting the official Israeli website­Hamas 
retaliated or, in retaliation for the Israeli 
attack, then launched the missiles.

Now, as to the reason why, the record is fairly 
clear as well. According to Ha’aretz, Defense 
Minister Barak began plans for this invasion 
before the ceasefire even began. In fact, 
according to yesterday’s Ha’aretz, the plans for 
the invasion began in March. And the main reasons 
for the invasion, I think, are twofold. Number 
one; to enhance what Israel calls its deterrence 
capacity, which in layman’s language basically 
means Israel’s capacity to terrorize the region 
into submission. After their defeat in July 2006 
in Lebanon, they felt it important to transmit 
the message that Israel is still a fighting 
force, still capable of terrorizing those who dare defy its word.

And the second main reason for the attack is 
because Hamas was signaling that it wanted a 
diplomatic settlement of the conflict along the 
June 1967 border. That is to say, Hamas was 
signaling they had joined the international 
consensus, they had joined most of the 
international community, overwhelmingly the 
international community, in seeking a diplomatic 
settlement. And at that point, Israel was faced 
with what Israelis call a Palestinian peace 
offensive. And in order to defeat the peace 
offensive, they sought to dismantle Hamas.

As was documented in the April 2008 issue of 
Vanity Fair by the writer David Rose, basing 
himself on internal US documents, it was the 
United States in cahoots with the Palestinian 
Authority and Israel which were attempting a 
putsch on Hamas, and Hamas preempted the putsch. 
That, too, is no longer debatable or no longer a controversial claim.

The issue is can it rule in Gaza if Israel 
maintains a blockade and prevents economic 
activity among the Palestinians. The blockade, 
incidentally, was implemented before Hamas came 
to power. The blockade doesn’t even have anything 
to do with Hamas. The blockade came to­there were 
Americans who were sent over, in particular James 
Wolfensohn, to try to break the blockade after 
Israel redeployed its troops in Gaza.

The problem all along has been that Israel 
doesn’t want Gaza to develop, and Israel doesn’t 
want to resolve diplomatically the conflict, both 
the leadership in Damascus and the leadership in 
the Gaza have repeatedly made statements they’re 
willing to settle the conflict in the June 1967 
border. The record is fairly clear. In fact, it’s unambiguously clear.

Every year, the United Nations General Assembly 
votes on a resolution entitled “Peaceful 
Settlement of the Palestine Question.” And every 
year the vote is the same: it’s the whole world 
on one side; Israel, the United States and some 
South Sea atolls and Australia on the other side. 
The vote this past year was 164-to-7. Every year 
since 1989­in 1989, the vote was 151-to-3, the 
whole world on one side, the United States, 
Israel and the island state of Dominica on the other side.

We have the Arab League, all twenty-two members 
of the Arab League, favoring a two-state 
settlement on the June 1967 border. We have the 
Palestinian Authority favoring that two-state 
settlement on the June 1967 border. We now have 
Hamas favoring that two-state settlement on the 
June 1967 border. The one and only obstacle is 
Israel, backed by the United States. That’s the problem.

Well, the record shows that Hamas wanted to 
continue the ceasefire, but only on condition 
that Israel eases the blockade. Long before Hamas 
began the retaliatory rocket attacks on Israel, 
Palestinians were facing a humanitarian crisis in 
Gaza because of the blockade. The former High 
Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, 
described what was going on in Gaza as a 
destruction of a civilization. This was during the ceasefire period.

What does the record show? The record shows for 
the past twenty or more years, the entire 
international community has sought to settle the 
conflict in the June 1967 border with a just 
resolution of the refugee question. Are all 164 
nations of the United Nations the rejectionists? 
And are the only people in favor of peace the 
United States, Israel, Nauru, Palau, Micronesia, 
the Marshall Islands and Australia? Who are the 
rejectionists? Who’s opposing a peace?

The record shows that in every crucial issue 
raised at Camp David, then under the Clinton 
parameters, and then in Taba, at every single 
point, all the concessions came from the 
Palestinians. Israel didn’t make any concessions. 
Every concession came from the Palestinians. The 
Palestinians have repeatedly expressed a 
willingness to settle the conflict in accordance with international law.

The law is very clear. July 2004, the highest 
judicial body in the world, the International 
Court of Justice, ruled Israel has no title to 
any of the West Bank and any of Gaza. They have 
no title to Jerusalem. Arab East Jerusalem, 
according to the highest judicial body in the 
world, is occupied Palestinian territory. The 
International Court of Justice ruled all the 
settlements, all the settlements in the West 
Bank, are illegal under international law.

Now, the important point is, on all those 
questions, the Palestinians were willing to make 
concessions. They made all the concessions. 
Israel didn’t make any concessions.

I think it’s fairly clear what needs to happen. 
Number one, the United States and Israel have to 
join the rest of the international community, 
have to abide by international law. I don’t think 
international law should be trivialized. I think 
it’s a serious issue. If Israel is in defiance of 
international law, it should be called into 
account, just like any other state in the world.

Mr. Obama has to level with the American people. 
He has to be honest about what is the main 
obstacle to resolving the conflict. It’s not 
Palestinian rejectionism. It’s the refusal of 
Israel, backed by the United States government, 
to abide by international law, to abide by the 
opinion of the international community.

And the main challenge for all of us as Americans is to see through the lies.
Norman Finkelstein is author of five books, 
including 
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1859844421/counterpunchmaga>Image 
and Reality of the Israel-Palestine 
Conflict,<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0520245989/counterpunchmaga> 
Beyond Chutzpah and 
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/185984488X/counterpunchmaga>The 
Holocaust Industry, which have been translated 
into more than 40 foreign editions. He is the son 
of Holocaust survivors. This article is an edited 
extract of the views of Finkelstein given at 
<http://www.democracynow.org/>DemocracyNow.org. 
His website is <http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/>www.NormanFinkelstein.com



Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

415 863-9977

www.Freedomarchives.org  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20090113/3103426a/attachment.htm>