Last week, Israeli soldiers killed 12-year-old Mohammed al-Durah in the Gaza Strip as he crouched by his father, armed with nothing but his cries. A French television crew captured this shocking image and displayed to the world the terror Palestinians have lived with for 50 years. The recent violent uprisings in the Middle East were triggered by Ariel Sharon's visit to Haram Al-Sharif (the Temple Mount) in the Old City of Jerusalem, but have roots in the expulsion of more than three million Palestinians from their homeland in 1948 and 1967.
Why did the visit of one man to a holy shrine cause so much bloodshed? During Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon, Sharon served as Israel's defense minister and orchestrated the massacre of thousands of Palestinians, including women and children, in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila. Last week, Benjamin Netanyahu — Sharon's rival for Likud Party leadership — declared he had political ambitions after being cleared of fraud charges. Attempting to gain Israeli support, Sharon deliberately incited Palestinian feelings of humiliation at one of the holiest shrines in Islam. Palestinian youth responded by throwing rocks. Israeli troops chose gunfire.
The history of the country now called Israel is a complicated one. The fact remains that millions of Palestinians were kicked out of their homes — often at gunpoint — and exiled from the land of their fathers and forefathers. The majority of Palestinians now live in squalid refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Egypt, or as displaced citizens of western nations. The three million Palestinians remaining in the "Occupied Territories" of the West Bank and Gaza Strip live without basic human rights. Israeli soldiers have increased military checkpoints to guard Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. Moreover, soldiers have also restricted Palestinians' movement and use of the country's natural resources, denied them access to Jerusalem and inhibited their efforts to form a free and economically independent nation. Since 1994, Israelis have arrested more than 13,000 Palestinians and have bulldozed more than 800 Palestinian homes.
With this in mind, can we blame the Palestinians for rising up against an Israeli government that has repeatedly — since the peace process began in 1993 — pushed back the date for Palestinian independence? According to reports by the BBC, the public neglects to recognize the major sacrifices made by Palestine during the peace process. Palestinians "yielded 75 percent of their country in 1948 and the remainder in 1967, including Jerusalem. They are the 'occupied,' as recognized in international law by all major governments, even the United States. [They are] not the 'aggressors.' "
The American media often offers a one-sided view of events in the Middle East. The U.S. government continues to give Israel the largest foreign-aid package of any country in the world. In a U.N. Security Council meeting on Saturday, the United States delegation attempted to veto any condemnation of Israel in its excessive use of violence against the Palestinians. The council passed the resolution, 14 in favor, none against. The United States was the only abstention.
Americans should pay more attention to international law and U.N. Resolutions 242 and 338, identifying Israel as a "belligerent occupier" and calling for Israeli withdrawal from the "Occupied Territories." Pressuring Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to control the Palestinian masses and to abide by Israel's dictated terms for peace will not lead to a lasting and just compromise.
In the past week, more than 80 Palestinian civilians, the majority under the age of 25, have died, and another 2,000 people have been injured in continuing violence. Mohammed al-Durah was just one of many victims. America must cease to place blame on Palestinians and begin a more evenhanded approach to end the oppression of an entire people. Nawal Atwan and Zeyna Kamalick are members of the Princeton Arab Society. Aliya Shariff is secretary of the Princeton South Asian Students Society. They can be reached at nlatwan@princeton.edu, kamalick@princeton.edu and ashariff@princeton.edu, respectively.
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