The Israeli army yesterday shot dead a Palestinian militant accused of responsibility for suicide bombings. The killing came in the midst of Palestinian talks in Cairo, believed to be aimed at ending attacks on civilians in Israel. Now any chance of a ceasefire may disappear amid revenge attacks for his death.
A familiar pattern of events has taken place.
Palestinian groups met to discuss a ceasefire that
would end attacks on civilians inside Israel; during
the talks, the Israeli army went and killed Iyad
Sawalha, an Islamic Jihad commander wanted in
connection with several suicide bombings (first piece
below). On the heels of this killing, Palestinian
gunmen broke into a kibbutz inside Israel and killed 5
civilians, including two children. Israel claims that
the gunmen were associated with the Al Aksa Martyrs'
Brigade, although this has not yet been confirmed. In
what might have been a failed bombing attempt, a car
had exploded hours earlier, killing two Palestinians.
Israeli soldiers then fired 4 missiles into a shop in
Gaza City; nobody was killed (second piece below).
This pattern of events has become almost routine,
except of course to the relatives of the victims, for
whom it is a unique horror. The Al Aksa Brigade (if
they prove to be responsible for the attack) has
obviously already given up on the possibility of a
ceasefire, and Islamic Jihad is likely to retaliate
soon as well. All this is entirely predictable. What
is unpredictable is how events might have unfolded if
Israel had taken the ceasefire talks seriously and had
made a goodwill gesture in return, like ending deadly
violence towards wanted suspects. Perhaps the
ceasefire attempt would have failed, but perhaps it
would have ultimately succeeded. At the very least,
this was another opportunity to protect Israeli
citizens that the Israeli government chose not to
take. – JN
Piece 1:
Ceasefire hopes dashed as Israel kills militant
By Justin Huggler in Jerusalem
The Independent
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=350665
10 November 2002
"The Israeli army yesterday shot dead Iyad Sawalha, a
senior Palestinian militant it has accused of
responsibility for the deaths of 31 Israelis in two
suicide bombings. The killing came in the midst of
talks between officials of Yasser Arafat's Palestinian
Authority and militants in Cairo, believed to be aimed
at ending attacks on civilians in Israel."
Piece 2 :
Five killed in attack on Israeli kibbutz
AP
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=351018
11 November 2002
"Palestinian gunmen broke into an Israeli kibbutz
killing five people, including two children, Israeli
officials said."
SOURCE : Jewish Voice for Peace
A Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) is a San Francisco Bay Area grassroots organization dedicated to the human, civil and economic rights of Jews, Palestinians, and all peoples in the Middle East.
http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org.
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Qu'Israël applique les résolutions des nations-unis d'abord et sans conditions après on verra. La Palestine est colonisée depuis 100 ans. D'abord progressivement ensuite massivement. La Palestine n'a jamais été une terre sans peuple ! Elle fut colonisée comme l'Amérique Latine par l'Espagne. N'en déplaise aux zionistes et crypto-zionistes qui se déguisent parfois en juif pour la paix. (Ceci ne vise pas les juifs pour la paix (mais quelle paix) mais bien ceux qui se font passer pour eux).
Victor
Les commanditaires israéliens d'assasinats "ciblés", tout autant que les commanditaires de cet attentat-suicide sont complices. Leur ennemis communs sont la paix et la justice.
Tel-Aviv, 11/11/2002
Once again a tragic and painful day.
The attack in which five random civilians were killed, two of them children, terrible.
The Israaeli media emphasize as an additional dimension of horror the fact that it happened in Kibbutz Metzer, a place known for its inhabitants' committment to peace. Indeed, we use to see Metzer kibbutz members in peace demonstrations. Moreover, the Kibbutz maintains in everyday life good relations with the neighboring Arab villages: a particularly close partnership with the village of Meiser, near which the Kibbutz was founded in the early 1950's; and since 1967 also with the West Bank village Kapan just across the Green Line.
It scarcely matters whether Metzer was a randomly chosen target; whether the attack was a deliberate attempt to sabotage the talks held in Cairo between Palestinian factions, aimed at putting an end to such attacks. In either case it is a heavy blow to any however hesitant effort to get out of the hellish situation.
The "dire retaliation", was already announced by the newly-appointed Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz, will doubtlessly add still another blow, and the cycle of revenge upon revenge upon revenge seems never-ending.
The one ray of light in this dark moment is the continuing committment of Kibbutz Metzer to the cause of peace and coexistence - a commitment which the inhabitants of Metzer are reiterating again and again whenever the issue is touched upon by the avid representatives of the media who descended upon the stricken kiubbutz.
GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - http://www.gush-shalom.org/
For more information:
Adam Keller, Gush Shalom spokesperson
info@gush-shalom.org