From: rakeshb@stanford.edu
Date: Thu Feb 20 2003 - 16:50:05 EST
Le Monde Diplomatique February 19, 2003 >> >>Threats of forced mass expulsion >> >>Israel: a new Palestinian diaspora >> >>The repugnant idea of the 'transfer' of the Palestinians - meaning their >>total expulsion - now appeals to many Israelis. The Israeli army and some >>settlers are already organising 'mini-transfers' in the West Bank, and any >>serious new threat to Israel (for example, missile attacks from Iraq at war) >>could precipitate the brutally enforced expulsion of millions. >> >>by Amira Hass* >> >>A European diplomat spotted a road sign in Israel's Jordan Valley in >>December, showing that the road had been renamed Gandhi, which was the >>nickname of General Rehavam Zeevi, founder of the far-right Moledet >>(Homeland) party. Zeevi, who had publicly called for Palestinians to be >>"transferred" to Arab countries, was killed in 2001 by a gunman from the >>Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Was the sign an example of >>cynicism or just a joke in bad taste? It stood just before the road cuts >>east to the Allenby Bridge linking Israel and Jordan, indicating the way >>Zeevi's "transferees" might have to take. >> >>Just before his assassination, and soon after another Palestinian suicide >>attack, Zeevi said in a radio broadcast that the only solution to Israel's >>problems was the "approved transfer" of its Arab population. He clearly felt >>he then had the necessary support to deliver this unambiguous message, >>although he had been obliged to keep it secret for years. >> >>The real problem is that Israelis do not view the suicide bombings as part >>of the Palestinian struggle to end Israel's occupation, nor do they see them >>as revenge for the aggressive tactics of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). >>(According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, military action has caused more >>than 2,000 Palestinian casualties, at least 1,500 of them civilian.) >>Israelis see the attacks as proof that the Palestinians are determined to >>destroy the state of Israel, and to kill Jews because they are Jews. In this >>climate the expulsion of the Palestinians is touted as a security measure, a >>humane response to an intractable problem. The Israeli authorities are doing >>nothing to check the momentum of such plans. >> >>Which populations will be "transferred" remains deliberately unclear: >>Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank? Those in the refugee >>camps? Or all Palestinians between the Mediterranean and the Jordan river, >>including Israel's Arab citizens? >> >>Limor Lavnat, the Israeli education minister, legitimised the debate when >>she ordered schools to observe the anniversary of Zeevi's death. Anti-Arab >>slogans appeared across the country: "No Arabs, no attacks"; "Transfer >>equals Peace"; "Palestine is Jordan". One poll found that 20% of Israeli >>Jews would consider voting for the extreme-right Kach party if it were >>legally permitted to field candidates. (Kach was founded by Rabbi Meir >>Kahane in 1973: in the early 1980s it won one seat in parliament, getting >>just 1.5% of the vote. Kahane was barred from standing for election in 1988 >>and the party was banned after the February 1994 massacre in Hebron.) >> >>Some 73% of those who live in the Jewish settlements, euphemistically known >>as development towns (1), believe that Israel should encourage its Arab >>population to leave. This rises to 76% among Jews from the former Soviet >>Union and to 87% among religious Jews. >> >>With the assistance of foreign recruitment firms that publish job ads in >>Arab newspapers, Moledet activists have been encouraging Palestinian workers >>to find work abroad - to demonstrate that Palestinian emigration is somehow >>legal, feasible and humane. They acknowledge, though, that "transferring" >>hundreds of thousands of people voluntarily would be impossible: an >>operation of that magnitude would have to be compulsory. Professor Arieh >>Eldad, the IDF's former chief medical officer, is the second candidate on >>Moledet's electoral list. Eldad makes a distinction between voluntary and >>approved transfers: the first category assumes that all Palestinians would >>agree to emigrate, even though Eldad acknowledges that it is unlikely that >>any fellah would leave his land of his own accord. He also believes that any >>approved transfer would require international support, which Moledet >>actively seeks. >> >>Some rightwingers would go even further: they see a link between "transfer" >>and the intifada. Effi Eitam, who heads Mafdal, the National Religious >>party, would like to see Israel exert sovereignty over all territories >>between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean. A Palestinian state would be >>established in Jordan and the Sinai. The Palestinians would then have to >>choose their status: either "enlightened" residents of Greater Israel or >>"obscure" citizens of a Palestinian state. "I wouldn't use the term >>transfer," Eitam explains. "I don't see it as a political option, nor do I >>find it morally acceptable." Yet he describes war as a game with different >>rules (2). >> >>Although Eitam, a former brigadier general, claims not to seek a military >>confrontation, he believes when war breaks out, "many Arab citizens will not >>stay here". He also draws parallels between Israel's war of independence and >>the expulsion of 800,000 Palestinians in 1948-1949. >> >>Zvi Katzover, mayor of the Kiryat Arba settlement outside Hebron, is more >>upfront. He is one of the founders of Gush Emunim (Bloc of the Faithful), >>spearhead of the settlers' movement. In an interview after the Israeli >>military assault on Hebron, which left 12 Israeli soldiers and three >>Palestinians dead, Katzover said: "When the big war begins and the Arabs run >>away from here, sooner or later we'll be back in the [Hebron] houses" (3). >>He was referring to homes inhabited by Jews before the 1929 massacre of >>Jewish residents in Hebron. >> >>Most Israelis still view those who back expulsion as a tiny minority with >>unrealistic and immoral objectives. Newspaper columnists and writers of >>letters to papers condemn the proponents of "transfer", although more and >>more Israelis approve their efforts. Likud and most other rightwing parties >>avoided the issue during the election campaign. But given this minority's >>attempts to stir up public opinion, one wonders if Israel's political and >>military leaders have planned for the worst-case scenarios. Are Israel's >>democratic forces powerful enough to stop the scheme before it is too late? >> >> >>All Palestinians, whether Israeli Arabs or those in the West Bank or Gaza, >>remember the 1948 expulsion and unceasingly vow: "This time we won't let >>them drive us out." The Palestinians are well aware of the danger, though >>their legal expertise and their links to the international community on both >>sides of the Green Line separating Israel from the occupied territories >>provide some protection. >> >>Before the 28 January elections the rightwing-majority central election >>committee sought to disqualify the list of candidates submitted by the >>National Democratic Assembly (NDA), an Arab party, together with two >>individuals: the NDA leader, Azmi Bishara, and Ahmad Tibi, of the Ta'al >>party (Arab Movement for Renewal). The attorney-general, Elyakim Rubinstein, >>who denounced Bishara for advocating the destruction of the Israeli state >>and for supporting terrorism, also tried to ban Kach's former leader, Baruch >>Marzel, who ran for the far-right Herut (Freedom) party. Herut has toned >>down its statements on expulsion, though it refuses to condemn those who >>promote "voluntary transfer" by offering the Palestinians work abroad. >> >>The Israeli left organised rallies to fight the proposed ban affecting Arab >>legislators. These were sparsely attended even though the civic rights of >>20% of Israel's Arab population - the NDA's supporters - were at stake. The >>supreme court finally stepped in, ruling on 9 January that the NDA could put >>forward candidates. Democracy in Israel was boosted and a mass Palestinian >>boycott of the elections averted. >> >>Israel's attorney general has come out against the "transfer" scheme but has >>refused to take action against its proponents. This prompted a Labour member >>of the Knesset to call for an official investigation into "voluntary" >>emigration, noting that Israel's anti-racist legislation prohibits any >>distinction between voluntary and compulsory "transfer". Young Labour >>activists have joined in a campaign to stamp out racist slogans, launched by >>Courage to Refuse, a group of soldiers who refuse to serve in the occupied >>territories (4). Some Labour party veterans resent the refuseniks, branding >>them anti-Zionist traitors. >> >>Others on the left who oppose the refuseniks' efforts are loath to see the >>Israeli army controlled by the right, and by hardline Jewish settlers all >>too ready to make "transfer" a reality when the time comes. Several surveys >>indicate that the number of Jews from the former USSR in Israeli combat >>units has risen significantly, as has the proportion of religious >>rightwingers in the upper echelons of the military. Both groups are avid >>supporters of "transfer". >> >>The presence of military pacifists in the occupied territories has not >>prevented "mini-transfers". Faced with non-stop harassment from their 500 >>Jewish neighbours and a round-the-clock military curfew designed to protect >>settlers, many Palestinians have moved out of the ancient city of Hebron. In >>the northern West Bank 180 Palestinian villagers in Yanun were forced to >>abandon their homes and relocate after increased harassment from the >>neighbouring Jewish settlement of Itamar. Other expulsions have taken place >>because of the construction of Israel's infamous wall (5). Though such >>"mini-transfers" have come to the attention of the Israeli public and >>resulted in demonstrations, the loss of land and homes over the past two >>years has left the Palestinians feeling dispossessed. >> >>"Internal closure" has meant 2.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank and 1 >>million Gaza residents confined to their towns and villages. The IDF, still >>trying to quell the violent uprising that broke out in September 2000, has >>prohibited the Palestinians (except for a few special permit-holders) from >>using primary roads, leaving their villages or travelling to larger centres. >>Palestinian towns are hemmed in by roadblocks, fences, iron gates, mounds, >>tanks and military vehicles. This has hindered movement, but has done little >>to stop those who enter Israel to carry out attacks. To avoid the >>checkpoints many Palestinians have moved to the cities to work. Anyone >>travelling in Israeli-only sections might get the impression that the >>expulsion has already happened: the roads, Palestinian villages, lands and >>orchards, are deserted. >> >>Tormented by the fear of more attacks, Israelis still reject the notion that >>internal closure is a form of collective punishment, which only leads to >>increased support for the suicide bombers. Senior military officers describe >>the policy as reversible and say it will be discontinued when the >>Palestinians finally renounce terrorism. Meanwhile closure dovetails nicely >>with the "definitive agreement" espoused by the same rightwing parties that >>have dodged the issue of transfer. Russian Jewish supporters of Yisrael >>Beitenu (Israel Our Home), currently allied with Moledet, have proposed >>creating isolated prison-like enclaves with no territorial contiguity. The >>size of the enclaves is the only thing that separates this plan from the >>Palestinian state envisioned by the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon. >> >>Some fear that military intervention in Iraq by the United States might >>create a climate that could lead to the mass expulsion of Palestinians, >>especially if Baghdad attacks Israel with chemical weapons or if the >>Palestinians show support for Saddam Hussein. Should either of these happen, >>things could rapidly get out of control. But to achieve its objectives, the >>US needs stability in the Middle East, and mass expulsions would have the >>opposite effect. >> >>Others worry that a Palestinian group will carry out a lethal mega-attack. A >>senior officer, sounding fearful, expressed doubt that the army would or >>could stand in the way of local initiatives to expel the residents of >>Palestinian villages thought to be harbouring terrorists. To illustrate this >>he recalled how the Israeli authorities and the IDF refused to take action >>against Jewish settlers who had forcibly prevented Palestinians from >>harvesting their olive crops. >> >>Yet those Palestinians who send their young to Israel on bombing missions or >>to launch a possible mega-attack do not seem to understand that such actions >>could lead to mass expulsion. In extreme circumstances a majority of the >>Israeli public and many Western nations might look favourably on extreme >>countermeasures. Palestinian and Jewish fundamentalists have expressed >>similar beliefs that a great war may be the only way to change history. >> >>Over the past two years the Jordanian government has tightened regulations >>on West Bank and Gaza residents who enter its territory. Jordan envisages >>huge influxes of Palestinians fleeing the miseries of Israeli occupation, >>and other dire scenarios. Its fears are understandable: as the daily >>Ha'aretz reported on 28 November, Sharon has offered no assurances that >>Israel will not expel the Palestinians to Jordan, on the grounds that such a >>suggestion is offensive. This prompted Jordan's prime minister, Ali Abu >>al-Ragheb, to point out the Israel-Jordan peace treaty prohibits expulsions >>of any kind. But the proponents of "transfer" take a dim view of treaties. >> >>Until now Israelis and the international community have not shown much >>interest in the "mini-transfers" and other relocations within the occupied >>territories. But opposing such illegal and dangerous practices is extremely >>necessary, since the threat of mass expulsion is all too real. Recent >>developments in Israel are disturbing: fundamentalist and apocalyptic >>beliefs are on the rise, moral considerations have disappeared from politics >>and the IDF has devised new forms of oppression. With international >>passivity and the absence of Palestinian leaders capable of guiding the >>resistance to the occupation, these are discouraging signs. >> >>* Amira Hass is the correspondent for the Israeli daily Ha'aretz. She is >>based in Ramallah. >> >>(1) These mushroom towns are similar to France's former villes nouvelles >>(new cities, or suburban housing projects). >> >>(2) Ha'aretz, Tel Aviv; 22 February 2002. >> >>(3) Quoted in a television interview on Israel's Channel One on 27 November >>2002. >> >>(4) See Joseph Algazy, "Irael's army refuseniks", Le Monde diplomatique, >>English language edition, March 2002. >> >>(5) See Matthew Brubacher, "Israel: walled in, but never secure", Le Monde >>diplomatique, English language edition, November 2002. >> >>Translated by Luke Sandford
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