Israel advocates peace in face of violence
By Adir Levy
Feb. 25, 2003 9:00 p.m.
I have a few pounds of dynamite strapped around my waist. My
goal is to murder and maim as many innocent civilians as possible.
Try to stop me.
The first problem you’ll have is identifying me. One in
five people living in Israel is Arab, and my body is my weapon. You
cannot know by looking at me that I am about to commit one of the
most heinous crimes ever.
Let’s say, by chance, you catch a glimpse of a wire coming
out of my jacket. You can try to tackle me. In response, I’ll
blow myself up. You and others will die. You can call the police.
By the time they arrive, I’ll blow myself up. Many people
will die. Others will sustain irreparable injuries that will leave
them blind, deaf and handicapped for life.
How do you stop terrorists who are bent on destroying your life
and the existence of your nation, which you treasure so dearly? How
do you effectively stop suicide-bombers?
Israel is facing this exact problem, among many others. It is
surrounded by 22 Arab nations, which combined contain 800 times the
territory of Israel and 50 times the population. Most of these
nations desire the destruction of Israel. Israelis know that the
terror won’t stop unless a solution is found.
Israel wants peace because of the effect the Palestinian
intifada (“uprising”) has had on its people. The
citizens of Israel are scared to go to restaurants, shopping malls
and other public places for fear of another bombing. Tourism, one
of Israel’s largest industries, has drastically declined for
the same reason. These and other issues have had a detrimental
effect on the Israeli economy. Israel has entered its worst
recession ever, and the recession is deepening.
Israel wants peace because it is a peace-loving nation. Its
track record is evidence of that. It has only fought wars in
self-defense, and it has already signed peace treaties with Egypt
and Jordan ““ two neighboring countries that Israel has fought
multiple wars against.
Israel wants peace and is willing to create a Palestinian nation
to prove it. Both the current Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, and his
predecessor, Ehud Barak, have publicly stated their desires for the
formation of an independent Palestinian state. The support for such
a concept is monumental. Since the creation of Israel there has not
been an independent Palestinian state. Israel is willing to make
this concession to the Palestinians, while Egypt or Jordan have
not, though both had the opportunity to do so.
Israel wants peace, but cannot attain it until the murder and
maiming of its citizens unconditionally stops. The United Nations
Resolution 242 states every country has the “right to live in
peace.” A common lie about Resolution 242 is it states Israel
must withdraw to pre-1967 borders and remove all Jews who have
settled in the West Bank and Gaza strip. A reading of the
resolution shows it says no such thing. In fact, Lord Caradon and
Arthur J. Goldberg, two authors of Resolution 242, have stated that
it by no means implies a complete withdrawal to any specific
borders.
To support the murder of innocent civilians as a means to
achieve a political goal is morally repugnant. Yet Yasser Arafat,
the leader of the Palestinian people, has done just that. He has
attempted to form alliances with Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, two
major terrorist organizations, by offering members posts in his
cabinet.
Arafat does not want the formation of a Palestinian state
side-by-side with Israel; he wants to take Israel over in its
entirety. He has even begun to convince his constituency that the
goal of the current intifada is the elimination of Israel, as
recent polls suggest.
So, how do you stop a suicide bomber? The only way is to stop
him before he “suits up.” The military operations
Israel is conducting and the checkpoints Israel has set up are not
only morally justified, they are morally required.
They are designed to minimize terrorist activity, and, in
effect, drastically reduce the death toll of innocent civilians.
Palestinian terrorists have even hidden in ambulances and disguised
themselves as pregnant women, making the operations and checkpoints
even more necessary. Once terrorist attacks against Israelis cease,
and the Palestinian leadership goes through the reform it so
ardently needs, the formation of a Palestinian state will
ensue.
Israel wants peace. It is about time the Palestinian leadership
led its people to want the same thing.
