Toward A Third Intifada

This article was first published in the Baltimore Sun, 28th May 2006, and is a modified version of the preceding article.

Toward a Third Intifada
Fred Schlomka – Kfar Saba, Israel

Besides cementing relations between Israel’s new prime minister and President Bush, Olmert’s ritual visit to the White House was little more than a photo opportunity. While Bush seems to understand that negotiations are a prerequisite to any successful redrawing of Israel’s borders, he also described Olmert’s unilateral ideas as “bold”. As he hedges on supporting the Israeli “convergence” plan, Bush is also pushing legislation intended to isolate the new Palestinian government with sanctions and further impoverish its people. At the same time Israelis continue to thicken the settlement blocks and prepare for partition of the West Bank. Ongoing construction of settlements, completion of the “security fence”, and the unilateral redrawing of the country’s borders are not a move towards a just peace, or the establishment of a viable Palestinian state, but an attempt to separate Israelis from the bulk of the Palestinian population.

The Hebrew term ‘Hafrada’ which means “separation” or “apartheid” has entered the mainstream lexicon in Israel and determined much of the government policies since the Oslo process began in 1993. Ever increasing restrictions on Palestinian movement and employment during the 1990s, combined with settlement expansion that doubled the number of Jewish settlers, set the stage for the eruption of the Second Intifada, or uprising, in 2000. Palestinian employment also plummeted during the mid-nineties when Israel initiated the policy of replacing Palestinians with migrant workers from Africa and Asia. These workers now account for about 5% of the population of Israel and have virtually eliminated the need for cheap Palestinian labor. The resulting economic hardship, combined with military incursions, an Orwellian labyrinth of permits, roadblocks, and Jewish-only roads, paralyzed Palestinian society and made a mockery of the Oslo Agreements.

Hafrada has since entered a new state of development. Using Palestinian acts of terror as justification, successive Israeli governments increased restrictions on Palestinians and built the “Security Fence”, cutting a wide swath through the West Bank and effectively annexing tens of thousands of acres of prime agricultural land and key aquifers, in addition to the settlement blocks. Then came last year’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza leaving behind the most impoverished enclave in the eastern Mediterranean. Not content with withdrawal, and with US support, Israel has largely cut off the area from the outside world though a sea blockade, a no-fly zone, and a border with Egypt subject to continuing Israeli control. Thus the “withdrawal” from Gaza has only served to separate the imprisoned population from their Israeli guards while deepening their isolation.

The Bush administration and Mr. Olmert’s refusal to fully engage the Palestinian Authority only continues US and Israeli policy. They have been telling us for years that ‘there is no partner’, and as a result no serious negotiations have taken place since the Camp David and Sharm El-Sheik meetings between President Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak in 2000. The current Hamas-controlled Palestinian Authority now provides a convenient pretext for Israel to continue their 5-year policy of no negotiation and unilateral action. As Israel and the USA tightens the matrix of control, Palestinian anger may erupt again. Once the new Hamas security forces have sorted out their differences with the Fatah-controlled police, they might turn once again to the common enemy. Hamas could cancel its fifteen-month truce. The Israeli Army’s recent show of force and arrest of Hamas official Ibrahim Hamed in the West Bank city of Ramallah only adds fuel to the fire, and demonstrates that Mr. Olmert has learned little from the experience of his predecessors. These military incursions and continuing repressive measures will only serve to stir the pot and ensure the next uprising. Israelis want peace and quiet, and are less interested in peace with justice, unfortunately the ongoing government tactics will bring them neither.

Without hope for a real peace in the horizon most Palestinians are turning inward, seeking ever-elusive ways to keep their families intact and put food on the table. But make no mistake, as conditions for Palestinians continue to decline, and Israel moves ahead with the partitioning of the West Bank, further revolts from the beleaguered population are inevitable. Israelis are also turning inward, but the Third Intifada could be looming in front of them like an approaching tsunami, and their ignorance of its arrival echoes the complacency prior to the Intifadas of 1987 and 2000.

Fred Schlomka is an Israeli businessman and a board member of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD). He is a 2003 Fellow of the Echoing Green Foundation in New York and the founder of Mosaic Communities in Israel. Email: fred@schlomka.com

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