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INTERNATIONAL

Time to break from Gaza reruns

  • 18 July 2014

The Palestinians in Gaza are unable to seek refuge. Unlike international visitors they have no route of escape. They must hide, run, survive the barrage of attacks from the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).

The reason for their predicament is simple: they are Palestinians. It is a status that they cannot escape, a label they are burdened to carry through no fault of their own, but which nevertheless threatens their lives.

The latest round of attacks on Gaza is not an isolated incident or bout of violence. It is part of a larger ongoing trend that has persisted for over 60 years. Thus it will come to an end soon, and the Palestinians (of Gaza) will begin the process of rebuilding their lives. Like the violence, it is a process to which they have unfortunately grown unaccustomed.

This is not all that Palestinians have grown accustomed to. For those living in the West Bank there are also the regular interruptions to water, electricity and telecommunication services. There's the incursions of the IDF into Palestinian cities, cities which are notionally under the full authority of the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Then there are the travel restrictions placed upon Palestinians. As noted above, from Gaza, there is no leaving (unless the need for emergency health care arises). From the West Bank, only those in possession of the requisite Jerusalem residency ID card or a special permit are allowed to leave. The official reason for these impositions upon the lives of the Palestinians is 'national security'. 

It is a rationale that has been repeatedly invoked by Israel during the latest conflict. While security concerns have their place, and national security provides (but one) raison d'être for the existence of the state, it has its limits. The mass arrests that have occurred (totalling more than 1000) and deaths in Gaza are but the most recent examples of how Israel has crossed the line of actions permitted under the pretence of national security. 

Such actions cannot be justified on these grounds indefinitely. It seems clear that the real goal is not national security but to weaken the PA and the morale of Palestinian people in preparation for the next round of peace talks that will inevitably take place. Weakened, the PA will have little choice but to accept what it is offered. 

Israel may obtain what it seeks, a weakened negotiating partner. This will not be an entirely new development. The PA
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