17th March
Bethlehem.
As we sat in the living room of a local family we joked that when we had visited them last week, the shooting happened in the Jewish College in West Jerusalem that killed eight Israelis and now just a few minutes walk from where we sat, a few minutes beforehand, Israeli commandos had turned up in an unmarked car and killed four men from their wanted list. Of course, the timing of our visits were coincidental but the timing of the Israeli operation, considering the fact these men had been on the wanted list for many years, brings the assumption that it was in retribution for the Jerusalem shootings.
Retribution layered atop retribution seems to exemplify well an aspect of the situation that has been unfolding for over a century in this region. And there can be no doubt that the shootings in Jerusalem were in retribution. Despite the absurd denials of Israeli spokespersons, the events in Gaza were foremost in the mind of the man who felt taking the lives of people he has come to view as his enemy was an appropriate response.
It should go without saying that it was not an appropriate response, but it should also be pointed out that his was not the only crime. For the killing of ‘terror suspects’ is a clear example of extrajudicial killing – guilty until proven innocent. The concept should jar inside us, as an intrinsically wrong and dangerous precedent to set.
Why is it that Israel does not arrest some of these ‘terrorist masterminds’ –they successfully arrest plenty of the foot soldiers?
The claim was made, for Israel is aware of these awkward questions, that an arrest had been planned for the four men, but when it was seen they were carrying assault rifles they decided to shoot them instead. This is not plausible for two reasons. The first is that it is simply not believable that it was seen they were carrying assault rifles. Even in Bethlehem, the sight of four men in a car carrying assault rifles would be a remarkable one. Secondly, if the men were carrying weapons out of sight, which is very plausible, is that a great surprise considering their status as wanted? Therefore, why was it a surprise to the Israelis carrying out the ‘attempted arrest’? And what did the Israelis do to find out whether they were armed? Did they make the first move, perchance?
It is very convenient to plan an arrest, when you can bank on a particular surprise that instantly converts the mission from a judicial one to a murderous one.
The rule of law is regrettably absent from this land, and the people here are the ones who suffer. If Israel would set the good example of seeing through the judicial process when it comes to people she considers terrorists, then the murky waters of late night, or in this case early evening assassinations would be clearer. But considering the awful success rate of fair trials against terror suspects in Britain and the USA, it would undoubtedly leave Israel with fewer enemies than she may like.
The response to these four killings has been large. Because the four men were from different groups, most people here in Bethlehem feel a political connection to at least one of them, in addition to a nationalist connection to them all. Three days of strikes were announced, meaning that almost all shops were closed, temporarily returning Bethlehem to the ghost town of previous years. Concerns over renewed shooting attacks between Bethlehem and the imposing nearby settlements have resurfaced, possibly explaining why the normally well-lit Har Homa is lurking under semi-darkness after most of the street lights have been switched off. Tension hangs in the air after dark now, as all here await the next installment of this macabre epic saga, but there is one thing that seems to be guaranteed and it is something so simple as to be often forgotten. No one is benefiting from any of this.
It may appear odd that the Palestinians organized a strike that affected only Palestinians in response to an act by Israel, but the sad truth is this is all they can do. It is similar to the situation that has resulted in a cut-off of fuel supplies to the Bethlehem area. Recently, Israel announced that it would only allow fuel supplies to cross into the Bethlehem area from the Turqumia checkpoint northwest of Hebron. This means that the previously 11 kilometre journey the oil tankers make will be increased to 114 kilometres. This, on top of the cost of higher crossing fees and longer waiting times at the new checkpoint, would create a significant increase in costs and therefore raise fuel prices further than the already high rate of inflation. The Palestinian Authority (PA) understandably rejected this new procedure, and announced it would not accept goods from only this checkpoint. And Israel’s response? Ok, so don’t accept them then, they simply said. There is no pressure on Israel to back down, for it is happy to not sell goods to the Palestinians, so what will eventually happen is that the PA will back down, and the quality of life in the Occupied Territories will continue to dwindle.
Unless of course, the pressure bears down on Israel from outside, because this is really the only place that has both the ability to act and the clear vision to see what it happening. This applies to the entire situation with regard to Israel and the Palestinians but the outside world will only see it, if it cares enough to look.
For a more detailed account of this story, see the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem’s study at http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/view.php?recordID=1286.
