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Whither apartheid Israel?
But as efficient and brutal as the Israeli military occupation forces are, no nation would keep quiet and stand idle when its rights to existence and a decent life are threatened.
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Palestinians hurl rocks at an Israeli army bulldozer, during confrontations in the occupied-West Bank city of Jenin, on Jan. 26. The Israeli raid on the West Bank’s Jenin refugee camp killed nine Palestinians including an elderly woman, Palestinian officials said, also accusing the army of using tear gas inside a hospital. (AFP/Zain Jaafar)
W
e should all know by now that no international condemnation will move Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the violence committed by his forces against Muslim worshippers praying inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
He does however appear to respond to violence. Last week Netanyahu banned all visits by non-Muslims to the mosque compound, which houses tombs considered sacred by Jews. The ban, which will last until the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan on April 20, came after a series of rocket attacks launched against Israel, not only from Gaza as in the recent past, but now also from southern Lebanon and Syria. This buys reprieve, albeit short. Muslim Palestinians can pray in peace in Al-Aqsa for the remainder of Ramadan. What happens after that remains to be seen.
We should also know by now that violence begets violence. This has been the story of the Jewish state built based on the ever-shrinking Palestinian territories and the ever-expanding Jewish settlements. But as efficient and brutal as the Israeli military occupation forces are, no nation would keep quiet and stand idle when its rights to existence and a decent life are threatened.
In the absence of any hope for peace, resorting to violence, intermittently, is the only way for some Palestinians to survive and keep their dignity, even if it leads to death. And the only way to subjugate a nation under occupation is for the Israeli defense forces to get ever more brutal. This is a never-ending cycle.
Amnesty International last year called Israel’s governing of Palestinian territories an “apartheid system” that is filled with contradictions. Going by the experience of “white only” South Africa, these inner contradictions will sooner or later unravel and undermine the entire state.
We are already seeing signs of this with the now almost daily massive street protests in Tel Aviv against Netanyahu’s planned judicial reforms. If passed, these reforms would give the government effective control over the appointment of Supreme Court judges and allow parliament to overrule many decisions of the court.
The reforms will remove any remaining effective democratic checks and balances against the government. This is a much bigger threat to Israel’s existence than the violence that has been coming from the Palestinians.
If the reforms pass, this would give the government greater power that it could use against Palestinians under its occupation and against all Israeli citizens. They too can soon forget about their own freedoms when living in a police state.
Ironically, Netanyahu returned to power in November, to serve a historic sixth term as prime minister, thanks to the Israeli electoral process. He now heads what is described as Israel’s most right-wing coalition government in history that includes parties with an extreme Zionist agenda. Peace is now even further away with the coalition parties rejecting the two-state solution as proposed by the international community and demanding the complete annexation of the occupied West Bank.
Netanyahu’s judicial reform plans are polarizing Israel like never before. We will be watching closely the development in Israel and hope that something good will come out of this process.
Much is in the hands of the Israeli people. They elected this government, and they too can bring it down. But even this window of opportunity is closing soon if the reforms are passed. Netanyahu is leading a coalition government with a slim majority in parliament. Another snap election cannot be ruled out, and decent peace-loving Israelis should know who they should vote for next time around.
Indonesia, and the rest of the international community, can do little beyond making more condemnation of every violence Israel commits against Palestinians. The Israeli government rarely responds to international pressure, whether from left- or right-wing persuasion. Netanyahu’s idea of responding to violence with violence would only lead to more deaths on both sides.
The Israeli people must now decide on what kind of leaders they deserve.
