Stirrings in Regard to Occupation of Palestine

On January 26, 2016, Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon gave a blistering account of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem now entering into its 49th year to the Security Council.

It was perhaps the strongest condemnation of the occupation ever delivered by the head of the United Nations or indeed by any national leader. “ Palestinian frustration is growing under the weight of a half-century of occupation and the paralysis of the peace process,” Ban told the security council of the UN. He then went on to link the violence in the West Bank to the occupation when he stated “Security measures alone will not stop the violence. They cannot address the profound sense of alienation and despair driving some Palestinians – especially young people”. Ban Ki-Moon was, however, careful by condemning the violence but at the same time pointing out that its cause is the originating violence of the occupation and repression of the Palestinian people. “It is human nature to react to occupation, which often serves as a potent incubator of hate and extremism”, said the Secretary General. The remarks of the Secretary General were all the more poignant in that Israel recently announced that it would appropriate a large tract of land in the West Bank near the border with Jordan. It also announced the building of 150 new settlements buildings.

In reaction to the announcement by Ban Ki-Moon, the US Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Powers said that the US also strongly opposed settlement activity. She told the Council : “Steps aimed at advancing the Israeli settlement program…. are fundamentally incompatible with the two-state solution and raise legitimate questions about Israel’s long-term intentions”. Seldom has a US official in such a high position been more blunt in its condemnation of the continuing occupation. The reaction of Israeli authorities, however, were nothing short of hostile. Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the words of Ban Ki-Moon were giving a “tailwind to terror”. He stated in response: “The Secretary General’s remarks provide a tailwind for terror. There is no justification for terror. Those Palestinians who murder do not want to build a state, they want to destroy a state and they say this openly.”

To add to Netanyahu’s woes, the European Union had unanimously adopted a tough resolution prior to Ban Ki-Moon’s foray criticizing Israeli settlement activity in the occupied territories. It did this despite Israeli attempts to get some members of the EU to block it. Yet another surprising development in the present fracas over the occupation was the statements of the US Ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro. Shapiro condemned Israel for applying law differently for Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank. While the statement of Shapiro was supported by the State Department, he was attacked pretty viciously by Netanyahu and the Israeli television which referred to him as a “yehudon” a disparaging term applied to those in the diaspora who are considered not to be sufficiently pro-Israel.

Shortly after the UN developments, a group of mainly young Jewish activists called Jewish Voices for Peace and a group of progressive Jews in New York City called “Jews say No” produced a bogus copy of The New York Times on Feb 4, 2016. They printed and distributed 10,000 copies of this bogus edition which carried articles such as “Congress debates aid to Israel,” “In the Footsteps of Mandela and King: A Non-violent Movement Gains Ground Ten Years On.” “IDF Generals blames Israeli Government for Recent Violence.” “Senator Schumer calls for End of US Aid to Israel.” “Mayor De Blasio Confronts Islamophobia following trip to Israel” and a faux editorial entitled “Our New Editorial Policy: Rethinking Israel-Palestine." This latter development suggests that a profound change is taking place in the American Jewish community in regard to the occupation of Palestinian lands by Israel and the repression overall of the Palestinian people. These developments have to be taken in conjunction with the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions(BDS) movement in many different parts of the developed world, especially North America and Europe. Israel cannot get away with impunity in what it is doing to the Palestinian people any more. Netanyahu may have hoped a while back that by giving lip service to a two state solution while implanting settlements at an ever increasing rate in the West Bank and Jerusalem that the Palestinians would cede total control of their homeland territory with the acquiescence of the rest of the world. But that dream may be coming to an end. Netanyahu was defeated in his efforts to achieve a military invasion of Iran and the destruction of this supposed threat and now he is faced with opposition on multiple fronts in regard to the occupation and the brutalization of Gaza and the West Bank. Certainly the things they are a-changing.

Michael Drohan is a member of the Board of the Merton Center and Co-Chair of the Editorial Collective.

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