It's only one house

[ProgressiveMuslim]

Dec. 3, 2008
MICHAEL MANEKIN , THE JERUSALEM POST

(snip)

What other explanation could there be for all the commotion? It is important, though, to keep in mind that we are not talking about the evacuation of the entire settlement of Hebron (which consists of fewer than 1,000 extremist settlers in an area of some 500 square meters), but of one building deep inside the city that has been considered illegal almost from day one.

It is also important to remind ourselves that if the settlers are evicted (and that is by no means a certainty - there is already talk of postponing the evacuation to a much later date), Hebron will continue to be a place that embodies the worst of Israel's occupation policies. Hebron will still be a place where Palestinians are prevented legally from walking on their own roads, a city with sections that have become virtual ghost towns as a consequence of Israeli policies.

Palestinians will continue to suffer daily from harassment by soldiers and from the fact that the Israeli authorities do little to prevent settlers from attacking them, destroying their property and harassing their children.

As soldiers who served in Hebron, we at Breaking the Silence have long been aware of how things work there. We have seen firsthand how the policy of separation, paired with the absence of law enforcement vis-a-vis violent settlers, has affected the lives of tens of thousands of Palestinians. We, too, have become subject to regular harassment and abuse from these settlers as we guide tours in the city. This will not change if and when the building is evacuated.

NONE OF this is to say that eviction of the settlers from the "House of Peace" is unimportant.

If they are allowed to remain, it will be another nail in the coffin of the rule of law in the West Bank (and how many more nails does that coffin need?). We must pressure our government to enforce the law and evacuate these illegal settlers.

(snip)

That is why we will remind them and ourselves that the occupation is only becoming more permanent. For every settler house that is demolished, dozens more are being built. We must remember that the Palestinians of Hebron will still be deprived of basic human rights, because they were born in a city where the lives of settlers are worth more than theirs.

Finally, we must remember that as Israelis, we have a long struggle ahead of us, one that involves hundreds of "houses of peace." We cannot call ourselves a society that upholds the values of human rights and democracy until we deal with these bigger issues, instead of focusing on just one house.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1227702420036&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

[subsuelo]

1. destroy and steal one at a time

No matter how long it takes - steal all the land from the natives. That has always been the strategy

[shira]

2. always been the strategy?

was that the strategy with the Sinai, southern Lebanon, and Gaza before Israel gave them up hoping for peace?

[subsuelo]

3. The strategy hasn't always worked out as planned

Those pesky native Palestinians just won't, like, go away or something.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[eyl]

7. Since when are there Palestinians

(a significant number, anyway) in the Sinai?

[ProgressiveMuslim]

5. Israel was driven out of Southern Lebanon, and moved settlers out of Gaza before strangling it.

You call the bantustan-ization of Palestine a hope for peace?

Interesting terminology.

[shira]

8. Sinai, Gaza, and S.Lebanon

were clearly gestures for peace.......Hamas and Hizbollah have made it clear they want none of it. Had Hamas/PA done something constructive with Gaza, like no war but state-building and working towards peace, there's no question that Israel would be pulling out of most of the W.Bank by now.

[azurnoir]

6. The settlers have been removed for now

but there will another house and the cycle or part of it will repeat