| |
Harder for
Palestinians
By Ferry Biedermann
JERUSALEM - People in the Middle East agree on
one thing these days: the September 11 attacks helped
Israel and hurt the Palestinians. Israel now feels
itself closely enveloped in the US camp. Palestinians
feel more than ever before that the US sees them as an
enemy.
"Many Palestinians feel that our struggle
with Israel has become part of this larger confrontation
between East and West, between the US on one hand and
the Arab world and Islam on the other," says Ziad Abu
Amr, chairman of the political committee of the
Palestinian Legislative Council. Palestinians identify
with other Arabs and Muslims, as they feel under attack
everywhere, he says.
"The operation in
Afghanistan and the threats against Iraq make most
people angry," says Abu Amr. "They feel that what is
going on here is a part of the general pattern."
Gerald Steinberg at the Bar-Ilan University near
Tel Aviv agrees that Israel has accepted the notion that
its fight against Palestinians is a part of the broader
fight against terror.
"Immediately after
September 11 people here hoped for more understanding
and a sense of identification with what we are going
through," says Steinberg. "In the weeks and months
following the attacks many people were disappointed that
did not materialize. Since the Passover attacks in April
that has changed completely and now our fight is seen as
similar to theirs."
Palestinians widely believe
that the government of Ariel Sharon received a "green
light" from the Bush administration to deal firmly with
the Palestinians mainly because of the events of
September 11.
"The US was desperately looking
for allies in its fight against terrorism and Israel has
always been a strategic ally," says Abu Amr. "Sharon
pretty much has a free hand to do as he likes now."
The American position is not entirely the result
of September 11, Abu Amr admits. "The suicide bombings
that some factions carried out may also have something
to do with it," he says.
Steinberg dismisses
talk of a green light. "The concept is misleading, that
is not how things happen," he says. Steinberg does
accept that the US administration may take a more
sympathetic view of Israeli actions now. "They are now
themselves talking about targeted killings in Iraq, [so]
they cannot very well criticize us then for using those
tactics."
But Israel does not rely on American
approval for its actions. "The governments of Israel
have always acted in what they feel is the national
interest if they really thought action was necessary,
regardless of approval or criticism from foreign
governments," Steinberg says.
Steinberg believes
that the events of September 11 have affected the
internal debate among Palestinians far more. "The
discussions that we hear about now over whether to cease
the attacks on Israelis can partly be ascribed to the
effects of September 11," he says. "A group, mostly of
intellectuals and moderates, understand that it is not
in their interest to be identified with al-Qaeda."
Abu Amr sees the isolation of Yasser Arafat as
the most significant result of the changes over the last
year. "That was an Israeli policy objective, not an
American one," he says. "After September 11 Sharon
succeeded in getting it adopted by Bush."
Abu
Amr says the mistrust and even hatred among Palestinians
towards the US has deepened over the past year. "They
feel the Israelis would not have been able to do what
they did without international support," he says,
commenting on the harsh measures against the Palestinian
population.
But both Steinberg and Abu Amr agree
that Europeans have taken a different view of the
conflict, and that the gap between them and the
Americans has widened significantly.
Abu Amr
says Palestinians see the Europeans in a different light
from the Americans. "Europe has a much clearer view of
what is happening here," he says. "They recognize that
we are waging a legitimate struggle against occupation."
Israelis have at the same time developed a new
animosity towards European countries. "The Europeans
somehow remain blind to the dangers of terrorism, even
after September 11," says Steinberg. "Their appeasement
causes a lot of damage. The US and Israel agree on that
and hope to be able to convince the Europeans of that."
Israelis have remained worried about copycat
actions since the September 11 attacks. Earlier this
week the police intercepted a car with 600 kilograms of
explosives. It was the largest bomb ever discovered and
the police suspect it was intended for a showcase attack
over the Jewish New Year.
"The Palestinians are
definitely interested in carrying out a similarly
spectacular attack," says Steinberg. "They have tried to
blow up the main petrol storage area near Tel Aviv and
now we've had this 600 kilogram bomb." Many fear that
sooner or later some group will succeed.
(Inter
Press Service)
|
| |
|
|
 |
|
