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October
5, 2004 Oops, Israel did it again By Baha Abushaqra Since its inception, Israel has propagated narratives to divert the attention of the international community from its unwavering determination to dodge international law. At a time when Israel's armored tanks and apache gunships are pounding the Palestinian refugee camps in Gaza, killing "militants" and civilians, it is convenient for Israel to foment distractions. Two of them are now brewing. Israel has accused the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) office in Gaza of allowing its relief vehicles to be used by Hamas to transport rockets. Israel has a shady picture to "prove" it. UNRWA provides essential educational, health, and other social services to the Palestinian refugees who now number well over four million scattered in Gaza, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. On Monday, in a letter to the Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, the head of UNRWA in Gaza, Peter Hansen, called the allegations "malicious propaganda," and demanded an apology. "It is appalling that ... the government of Israel would put out such deliberately inciteful, false and malicious propaganda," the letter said. UNRWA says the object in the picture is likely a stretcher, not a rocket. As a spinoff to this episode, Mr. Hansen told CBC reporter Adrian Arsenault in an interview on Sunday: "I am sure that there are Hamas members on the UNRWA payroll and I don't see that as a crime." He added, "I don't know whom they are, but I can imagine there would be people with all sorts of sympathies, just as there are anywhere." Israel is accusing UNRWA of collaborating with Hamas. Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization in Canada. Consequently, the Canadian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying "if it turns out that Hansen's statements were not taken out of context, and in case they represent the position of UNRWA, we are deeply concerned and will request clarifications from Mr. Hansen and the United Nations." Canada donates $10 million to UNRWA in aid every year. Israel has long accused Peter Hansen of "pro-Palestinian bias," and Israel supporters have the quotes to "prove" it. For example, in April 2002, during "Operation Defensive Shield" - known as the "Jenin massacre" for Palestinians - he demanded that Israel "end this pitiless assault on civilian refugee camps." If we look closely at Mr. Hansen's statement to CBC reporter Adrian Arsenault, there is no evidence of clandestine Hamas involvement with UNRWA. Mr. Hansen says that he is sure that there are Hamas members on the UNRWA payroll because he "imagine[s] that there would be people with all sorts of sympathies [working with UNRWA], just as there are anywhere." And he must be dead on. Hamas is an umbrella group that, not unlike UNRWA, provides social and humanitarian services in the impoverished West Bank and Gaza towns and refugee camps. But it also has a military wing -- Ezzedin Al-Qassam Brigades. Mr. Hansen must be accurate because, as Time magazine notes, "Hamas is now believed to directly represent the political views of one in three Palestinians, and its actions carry the support of an overwhelming majority." Indeed, Hamas will be contesting in the upcoming Palestinian municipal, legislative and presidential elections, scheduled to begin in December, as will be Islamic Jihad, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and Fatah -- all the major political parties in Palestine. Time magazine notes that 90% of Palestinians believe that Hamas should be part of the post-withdrawal government in Gaza, assuming Israel actually withdraws from Gaza. Canada has outlawed Hamas on the grounds that its Ezzedin Al-Qassam Brigades branch is a terrorist organization. Canada has also outlawed Islamic Jihad. However, even though Fatah has its own military wing, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, it is not outlawed, presumably for political reasons (Yasser Arafat is the head of Fatah). Increasingly, all Palestinian factions are collaborating closely and on all fronts. There are joint "martyrdom operations." Under a national unity government, following the December elections, any remaining artificial split between Palestinians will dissipate. Ironically and tellingly, the Bush administration, which claims it wants to spread democracy in the Middle East, is brushing off the upcoming elections, and so is the Paul Martin government for that matter. And Israel, the "only democracy in the Middle East," is actively degreasing the wheel of democracy in Palestine with checkpoints, curfews, and raids on the polling stations ever since the voter registration drive was kicked off on September 04. After all, a subservient dictatorship is worth a thousand democracies. The Canadian government could continue to swallow the Israeli narrative hook, line and sinker and cut off a desperately needed funding for UNRWA, or continue to walk that fine line between providing humanitarian aid and cutting off funding to outlawed organizations. At any rate, this recent cacophony over an alleged UNRWA-Hamas connection is yet another narrative in the psychotic Middle East conflict. Baha Abushaqra is a regular contributor to PalestineChronicle.com |
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