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Sbaihat: Sharon desires attacks
Snipped for spittle.After a ârelativelyâ long period of ârelativeâ calm, the cycle of violence between Palestinians and Israelis erupted again. Contrary to the way it is portrayed in the media, the hostility did not start with Thursdayâs bus bombing in west Jerusalem, but with Wednesdayâs incursion by the Israeli army into Gaza city, that left 13 Palestinians dead. Hence, the Jerusalem bombing came as a surprise to no one; even casual observers could have anticipated it. snip A situation would further uncover Sharonâs failure to maintain âsecurityâ with his hard-line war policies. Such mediations have been successful in securing two Hudnas last year that lasted for 56 and 26 days, until each came to an abrupt end after an Israeli armyâs incursion into some Palestinian town, leaving scores dead, and many destroyed houses. Killing Palestinians in the street is guaranteed to make militant groups reject the idea of a cease fire, at least temporarily. The first stage of a prisoner swap was completed yesterday between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah under a German mediation that lasted three years. This swap is largely viewed in the media, the Israeli in particular, as a defeat to Sharonâs government, as it finally acknowledged the weight the group has in the regionâs military balance after decades of refusing to negotiate with it and regarding it as an outlaw "terrorist organization." With news of the swap dominating many of the media outlets, the Israeli government needed a more dramatic story to cover it; that being the death of Israelis, which is proven to be an outcome of the killing of Palestinians. Timing, in a sense, played into the hands of Ariel Sharon. Since the Middle East conflict and its successive âpeace processesâ were entirely left out of the presidentâs State of the Union address, Sharon got the hint: "Bush is more concerned with remaining in office after November than he is with Palestinian and Israeli blood being exhausted," said Palestinian MP Abbas Zaki. The Bush administrationâs focus on the election campaign puts it in no position to attend to the Middle East, let alone the miserable failure of Bushâs "Roadmap" over the past several months. Sharon understood that with the US administration and media consumed with the election and campaigning talk, he is operating in the dark, his ideal environment. After the Israeli attack on Gaza Wednesday, a Palestinian militant said he would "hit inside Israel, until the Israelis make Sharon regret this incursion." A response came, whether it was the full or a partial response is to be seen over the next few days. The bombing in Jerusalem was an expected and desired (by Sharon) outcome of the Gaza incursion, and the emerging fact is Sharon will soon have as much Israeli blood on his hands as he does Palestinian. What a spray of hoopoe droppings. Posted by: Korora 2004-01-30 |
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