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Israel's act of war is inexcusable
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| Contributor | Guy |
| Last Edited | Guy Jul 03, 2006 01:10am |
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| Category | Editorial |
| Media | Newspaper - Guardian |
| News Date | Sunday, July 2, 2006 07:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | The brutal reaction to Corporal Shalit's kidnap has implications far beyond the Middle East
In a conflict as long-standing and bloody as the one in the Middle East, both sides know the rules and the impact of their actions on their enemies. The Palestinian factions, including Hamas militants, which captured Corporal Shalit last Sunday, will have known that Israel would respond fiercely, but also how the reaction would undermine Palestine's emerging common front. And Israel, in turn, knew precisely the impact of its incredibly disproportionate response, both on its enemies and on the political balance within its own society.
Which is why, whatever the outcome, last week was so depressing. The calculations have been made by those opposed to any long-term deal. Israel's destruction of Gaza and illegal political detention of members of the Palestinian government and parliament were to teach Hamas a lesson. But it was not the lesson Hamas needs right now as it gropes its way towards political reality and acceptance of Israel's right to exist. Israel is now less safe than it was. It has betrayed its own deep hunger for a settlement and peace.
Israel has frequently resorted to the doctrine of disproportionate response: not an eye for an eye, but 10 or 20 Palestinian deaths for every Israeli loss. Twelve years ago, Yitzhak Rabin sealed off the West Bank to allow Israeli special operation units to rescue kidnapped Corporal Waxman. That operation ended in his death, but even by those standards, what happened last week was extraordinary. |
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