The 'who's to blame' argument gets brought up continuously in
the discussion of Israel and Palestine. I see posts on Facebook and Twitter, articles in newspapers and online, blogs and general discussion every day as to which side is more culpable. It seems that there is very little hope
of finding a consensus on the subject of who is more to blame for the situation
as it is today. Supporters of each side have their version of what atrocities
occurred and who was the aggressor during the formation of Israel. What is more
important is what is actually happening on the ground now. Are human rights
being abused? Are acts being committed in violation of international law? The
answer to both of these questions is yes.
Palestinians have been living under occupation for over 40
years with systematic human rights abuses committed against them. A separation
wall has been built and continued settlement construction occurs, both illegal
under international law. No one denies that rockets are being fired at Israel
by Hamas but the severity of response due to the concept of ‘needing to defend
oneself’ is wholly disproportionate. The Israeli government is continuing to
occupy the West Bank and maintaining the blockade on Gaza. That is not self-protection,
it is collective punishment of all Palestinians and is just unfathomable and
unjust in whatever context you think of.
Myself and the other
volunteers meet people every day that have been arrested and put in jail with
no charge, who have been shot or injured by the army, or know someone that has
been killed. These events aren't isolated incidents, they happen almost daily
and have been for over 40 years. The wall cuts through the middle of the town
and people have told me their friends are on the other side and they haven't seen
since the wall was erected, or they cannot visit the mosque in Jerusalem during
Ramadan or even that the checkpoints refuse to let ambulances through.
This is not some historical contextual argument to decide
who is better or worse, that discussion will be argued by the different sides
indefinitely. Yet that argument is a moot discussion when faced with the
reality as it is for Palestine right now. A reality that millions of Palestinians
are living in which is now into its 2nd and 3rd
generation with people dying every day. The ‘blame game’ of past events can be
played but it pales in comparison to the continued human rights abuses, transgressions
of international law and the deaths of innocent people that currently occur.
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