The escalation of military action by Israel in the occupied occupied territoriesunder the pretext of securing the release of a kidnapped Israeli soldier hasexceeded all bounds. No decent human being can avoid being shocked atthe bestiality of these actions, including indiscriminate bombing,
destructionof homes and buildings, bridges and roads, and of civilian infrastructure. The aim of this activity is to bring the Hamas Government presently at the helm of the Palestinian Authority to its knees and to offer surrender (and become indistinguishable from the Fatah ?). There are reports of an Israeli poll that found an overwhelming majority of those who were asked whether or not they were in support of the military activity, were in support. In other words, the total grip of the media and other organs of propaganda have created such a seige mentality among the general population in Israel, that they have supposedly come out in support of the Government’s barbaric policy.
It is clear that the present state of affairs in Israel and in the occupied territories serve only the ruling elite there and the interests of the US, the prime backer of the ruling elite in Israel. Such a state of affairs cannot be in the interest of the population of Israel, and obviously less so of the population of the region, especially of the Palestinian people. Having established violence as the cornerstone of the policy with which Israel wishes to deal with the Palestinian people, and propagating the myth that the Arab world is hell-bent on destroying it, it wishes to legitimize its own brutal occupation of the occupied territories, and more importantly of its annexation of Jerusalem. Government after Government of Israel, irrespective of which party or coalition is in power carried out precisely these policies. The concomitant subjugation of the entire nation of Palestine, of generations of its people born and died in refugee camps, scattered all over the world as practically stateless refugees, is a reality that the world has to contend with. Under the aegis of the imperialist strangulation of the region, with the complete inefficacy of the UN, the tragedy of the Palestinian people continues to unfold. Matters being such as they are, it would be no exaggeration to say that these attacks on the Palestinian people is an attack on all the peoples of the world.
What are Indian people to do in this situation? They must demand of their Government that they should have no dealings with Israel as long as it continues this kind of fascist, aggressive, warmongering and bestial behavior. It has been noted that India now has military ties of a far reaching nature with Israel, and collaborates in training of security forces. If the progressive forces in India were to turn a blind eye to Israel at this point, then when tomorrow as the Indian state carries out its own ‘anti-insurgency’, ‘anti-Naxalite’ activities on an escalated scale, there will be no where to turn to. The time has come to state unequivocally the opposition to violence as a means to settle differences between countries and Governments acting in the name of their peoples, and all other parties.
by B. Ananthanarayan
