For The Sake of Life, Kill the Myths in Palestine and Israel!

For The Sake of Life, Kill the Myths in Palestine and Israel!
Mshari Al-Zaydi

01/09/2005

"Our existence is tied to that of resistance," said Sheikh Mohamed
Yazbak of the Shura (consultative) council of Hezbollah in Lebanon as
he discussed the future of the armament of his organization within
Lebanon during a funeral service in Libya , Western Biqaa. Israel
appoints a religious figure (the identity of whom is always concealed)
as commander of the Special Forces (Sieret Mitkal), which carries out
operations including assassinations. Abdulaziz Al Hakim, the head of
the Iraqi Supreme Shi'a Council asserted during a meeting with an
Iranian official that the blood of the martyrs was the basis of
victory against the former Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, rather than
American intervention. Hamas leader Mahmoud Al Zahar, with reference
to Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, said that resistance should continue
in the West Bank, and that the disapproval against Israeli presence in
Palestine is as strong as ever. Mohamed Al Dayf, (Abu Khaled) the
fugitive leader of the Ezz El Din Al Qassam brigade promised to carry
out operations inside Israel in Jaffa, Akre, Haifa, Safed, not merely
in response to Israel's actions but to drive it out completely.

So what is the common element that binds all these statements
together? They all indicate that they are engulfed with idealist
demands rather than seeking realistic demands of regular people. Let
us not forget that the very word "realistic" is subject of cursing for
many who consider it a low and despicable standard of achievement.

Could the fanatical Jews live in peace? Could they live in a secular
climate with secular aspirations? Could the Mujahideen of 'Hamas' and
'Jihad' live only for the sake of life, instead of playing on
nostalgia and imagination? Is it true that Hezbollah's presence is
based on the concept of resistance? Could those obsessed with the
imaginative notion of popular Shi'a fundamentalism in Iraq bypass the
manic concepts of revenge and sacrifice causing blood, blood, and more
blood? I'm not discussing the details, events and the course of
political conflict here, but rather attempting to address the spirit
behind the conflicts, as this is the real cause of the continuation of
such violence.

I state as a given fact that the Palestinian issue is just and fair as
a cause for a people who rightfully seek to inhabit their occupied
land and establish their own independent state. However, with the
widening increase of the balance of power tremendously for the sake of
Israel, most Palestinian forces recognized from a realistic
perspective the right of Israel to exist. This recognition was not
different from any political settlement throughout history including
the history of Islam.

Thus, in November 1988 the Palestinian Independence Document was
created in Algeria. It had defined the limits of demands and the
limits of the Palestinian dream, a state within the 1967 borders. Even
Marwan Bargouthi was struggling for this defined goal. There was a
large, but not complete consensus on this goal, namely a Palestinian
state on the land that remained after the well-known U.N resolution to
divide Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state. On this foundation,
the peace process was launched and since the Madrid conference, has
been crippled several times due to Israeli obstinacy and to the
actions of Palestinian fundamentalism that sought to continue
fighting. Because the Palestinian fundamentalists do not believe in
the foundation of the peace process, they see that any settlement is
religiously prohibited because for them the entire land of Palestine
is an Islamic site that was forcefully annexed by the Jews.
Furthermore, as Hamas and "Jihad" have stated, "All Muslims are
obliged to wage Jihad in order to regain Palestine and drive the
occupiers off its soil." From here, we can clearly note that Hamas's
strategy is based on maintaining the fire of conflict in order to
destroy the secular basis for settlement.

One of Hamas's documents entitled, "Conflict with Zionism in Hamas's
belief" says, "Hamas sees that the best way to manage the conflict
with the Zionist enemy is to mobilize all the efforts of the
Palestinians towards raising the banner of Jihad by all possible
means. We must also maintain resistance until the necessary conditions
for settling the conflict is completed with the rise of the Arab and
Islamic nations." With such perspective and thought that puts the
whole matter in an incredibly religious and "infinite" framework, it
is hard to perceive an end to the conflict as it is a conflict of the
mind rather than of reality. In fact, under such a perspective reality
is twisted and shaped to suit belief and ideology. Therefore, Israel's
withdrawal from Gaza becomes nothing but evidence of the success of
Hamas and Jihad, and is completely independent from Abu Mazen's
achievement of a political deal to regain parts of the land via
political means. If Israel commits acts of killing, invading, or
demolishing, Hamas leaders will quickly declare that Israelis do not
want peace. On the other hand, however, if the Israelis take the
necessary steps towards peace, Hamas will claim that the move is "just
a trick," just as the member of Hamas's political bureau, Ismail
Haniya had said about Israel's withdrawal from Gaza.

In the same way, one is obliged to pose the following question with
regards Lebanon. Was Hezbollah's aim to liberate part of Lebanon,
which is internationally recognized, or rather to continue the
confrontation with Israel to maintain the glowing image of the freedom
fighter and to use it to control the political picture of that region?
In this respect, I recall a story that the prominent Palestinian
journalists Nazeer Megalli, and 'Ali Al Saleh, both from Asharq Al
Awsat once told me. They said that back in May 2003, while they were
the guests' of late Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, he said that,
"Hezbollah exaggerates in assessing its role. What made Israel decide
to leave South Lebanon was the pressures of Israeli public opinion
which the Palestinians successfully helped in forming. With regards to
Hezbollah's military skills, it was we who trained them." If we set
aside Abu Amar's ridicule, we can clearly see that these statements
carry an objection to the attempts of organizations such as Hezbollah
to ridicule the realistic non-mythical perspective in Lebanon and
Palestine. Such ridicule is apparent in Iraq as we witness blatant
insistence to transform the conflict into one based on religion and
myths.

Under such obscure climates; the task of Abu Mazen becomes extremely
difficult especially that his counterpart, Sharon, is himself not free
from the Zionist myths, despite usually opting for pragmatism at the
suitable moments. Abu Mazen, however, is a man who is armed merely
with hope and realism, in comparison to the catchphrases, clichés, and
military attire of Yasser Arafat. We do not seek to defend Fatah and
attack Hamas and Jihad, especially as everyone is aware of the mere
dialogue of Fatah and the corruption within the Palestinian authority.
Perhaps, the inability of Fatah to establish peace is because it
remains unable to forget or change the previous mentality of war. As
for Sharon, the more he tightens control on the freedom of
Palestinians and especially that of workers, the more Hamas and Jihad
will carry out their suicide operations. The more Sharon pursues the
Zionist mythical dream, the faster the prospect for peace will abandon
the Arab world.

It is disappointing that most parties become obsessed with fairy tales
and illusions, especially in the case of Eden Nathan Zaada. This
19-year-old Israeli was a follower of Rabbi Kahane and opened fire on
innocent Palestinian passengers on a bus in Galilee. What would truly
be terrifying is if members of every religion and ethnicity who seek
to protect such illusions are victorious over those who are pragmatic.
Such dreams could easily destroy all hopes and attempts for peace and
stability. To break out of a dream can be more difficult than
achieving it; this remains the biggest challenge.


Mshari Al-Zaydi
A Saudi journalist and expert on Islamic movements and Islamic
fundamentalism as well as Saudi affairs. Mshari is Asharq Al-Awsat's
opinion page Editor, where he also contributes a weekly column. Has
worked for the local Saudi press occupying several posts at Al -Madina
newspaper amongst others. He has been a guest on numerous news and
current affairs programs as an expert on Islamic extremism.


URL: http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=2&id=1492