THE history of colonialism contains many scenes of half-naked
men with spears charging machine guns — but even they could
hope to see off some of their enemies. Israeli's April war in
Lebanon — like the US-British-Europcan Gulf war of 1991 — goes
far beyond that.
This war was fought on one side from a position of military and
technological superiority so overwhelming, so absolute, that the
other side was all but defenceless. There were no Israeli army
casualties in the April war! It was as someone described the
carnage at the end of the Gulf war, "like shooting fish in a barrel".
Israel, the regional super power enjoying overwhelming tech-
nical-military superiority, set out like an unfeeling giant to upend
a large part of Lebanese society, wrecking its economy and try-
ing thus to force the Lebanese government to suppress anti-Israeli
guerrillas operating from its territory. Half a million people were
overnight turned into refugees by systematic Israeli bombing. That
was the intention.
Conducted by politicians who will have to answer to an electorate
and therefore have to minimise their own casualties, Israel's war
was a high-tech computer game affair. The universal horror when
they blasted the UN refugee centre at Qana, killing dozens of
civilians, seems to have given some in the government pause
for thought. But Israel's display of the dementia of naked,
unrestrained power has been as gross as it was out of all proportion
to the events which allegedly triggered it.
Yet disgust and horror are not enough. It is necessary to keep
the overall picture in mind. This April war and the Qana massacre
do not stand alone, but in a long chain of the Arab-Israeli con-
flict.
Politics extrapolated from the last atrocity are always one-
sided politics. Two months ago, the atrocities were by Muslim
fundamentalists against Israeli civilians, 56 of whom died in four
bombings in Israel's cities. Extrapolate from that and, like many
Israelis, you will wind up on the other sides. We need an all-sided
view.
We say that the Palestinians should have full independence,
without Israeli interference, in the areas where they are the
majority — now!
Yet, there is no force strong enough to realise that. The peace
accord that gave limited autonomy to Palestinian Arabs may, if
it survives, develop into full self-government for the Palestinian
Arabs. That is the best chance. That is why it is — despite its
immense limitations and inadequacies — the most hopeful devel-
opment in the Middle East since 1948.
If it is destroyed, it is likely to give place not to something bet-
ter, but to something regressive and worse.
It is the goal both of the Muslim fundamentalists Hamas and
the Iranian-financed Hizbullah and of their Jewish equivalents to
destroy and abort the movement towards accord, thereby sub-
verting the all too slow progress towards Palestinian autonomy.
The Jewish chauvinists want to clear "Eretz Israel" of Arabs, the
Muslim fundamentalists to destroy Arafat and clear 'Arab Pales-
Muslim fundamentalists to destroy Arafat and clear 'Arab Pales-
tine' of Jews.
In so far as winning the late May Israeli elections determined the
decision to launch "operation Grapes of Wrath", the Israeli
government might — if it were candid — claim that it thereby
acted to secure the real interests of both Jews and Arabs by
ensuring that the Israeli government is not overthrown and the
drive for normalisation of Israeli/Palestinian relations weakened
or destroyed along with it. That may even he electorally and
politically true.
If it is, it’s a terrible comment on the state of our world that
in order to increase its chance of winning an election in the only
democracy in the whole region, an election on which may
depend so much, a government feels obliged to unleash the
most savage destruction on a neighbouring country.
In fact, what Israel has done is watered the poisoned vines of
Arab revanchism with the blood of its helpless victims.
Socialists must condemn Israel. We must back the Palestinian
demand for full independence in the areas in which they are the
majority. We must support those Israelis who oppose chauvin-
ism and work for a just settlement with the Palestinian Arabs.