|
When
Ariel Sharon became prime minister of Israel in February of
2001, he promised the people of Israel “peace and
security.” Earlier
this spring, Sharon received the fine honor of being dubbed
a “man of peace” by key player, President George Bush.
This, while back home in the Middle East, something
looking quite the opposite continues to take place.
Perhaps a basic understanding of what is accepted as
“peace” and its opponent “war” is appropriate.
Note the following definitions from American Heritage
Dictionary:
Peace:
1.
The absence of war or other hostilities.
2.
An agreement or a treaty to end hostilities.
3.
Freedom from quarrels and disagreement; harmonious
relations.
4.
Public security and order.
5.
Inner contentment; serenity.
War:
1.
A state of open, armed, often prolonged conflict carried on
between nations, states, or parties.
2.
A condition of active antagonism or contention.
In
light of these definitions, let us consider what has
actually taken place on the ground while the “man of
peace” has been in charge of Israel, as opposed to the
rate of violence before his term.
Since Sharon has been in power, there have been 97
suicide attacks carried out, as opposed to 4 attacks in this
Intifada before Sharon.
479 Israelis have died since Sharon took over, 47
before him. Reserve
units have been called up, disrupting daily lives, to send
more Israelis into dangerous positions.
Civilians are terrified to ride buses or frequent
popular public places.
Incredible amounts of money are spent on security
measures that no one has faith in.
It is also appropriate to note that Sharon’s path
to peace has brought the death of 1349 Palestinians, 182 of
them children, with 68 international law-breaking
assassinations, and 749 home demolitions.
Illegal
occupation, city-wide sieges, house arrest, theft of land
and personal property, murder of innocent standbys, siege of
hospitals, demolition of ambulances, assault of journalists
and foreign aid workers, prevention of medical aid,
demolition of religious buildings as well as roads and
fields, shut-off of water and electricity, and the denial of
food to civilians are Israeli Defense Forces basic methods
of operation as well as atrocities of war.
This is accomplished at the hand of Ariel Sharon who
promised peace and security.
And at the end of the day there is no peace and there
is no security.
Indeed,
it is difficult to bring about peace while one is busy
fueling the fires of war.
Article
1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from December
1948 states that “All human beings are born free and equal
in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscious and should act
towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”
It is the position of PHRMG that if peace is truly
the goal, adherence to human rights laws is an absolute
fundamental foundation that cannot be abandoned.
And when it is, as is the current situation between
Israelis and Palestinians, it is no longer the way of peace.
PHRMG
beckons the Israeli government, the United States, the
international community, and the Palestinian Authority to
make true efforts on the ground to secure human rights.
The current path has cost too many tragedies on both
sides.
Statistics
from PHRMG, B’tselem, LAW
|
