Israel's Pavlovian Reactions, Statement by European Jews on Divestment, New Book By Norman Finkelstein

true, we are never going to get anywhere until the international community states firmly that collective punishment like this is not self-defense.

In a way, Yossi Beilin of Meretz makes a similar point in the article below
from today's Ha'aretz. beilin points out the self-defeating nature of such
draconian measures, as they only increase the numbers of Palestinians willing,
even eager in their hopeless ness and rage, to engage in murderous acts. Further,
the big show of the Gaza withdrawal amounts to little gain when Israel is simultaneously
undermining Mahmoud Abbas' efforts to create a unified and accountable Palestinian
government (albeit one firmly controlled by Fatah, a major Abbas goal, but
also one which recent West Bank elections confirm is consistent with the will
of the Palestinian majority) which can control the attacks. Abbas can only
do this if the people believe that his program has some hope of success. As
long as the Sharon government continues to undermine those efforts with unilateral
actions extrajudicial executions and sharp crackdowns in the Occupied Territories,
Abbas is doomed to failure. -- MP]

Beilin: Israel's Pavlovian reaction to attack plays into terrorists' hands By Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service, 10/17/2005

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/635389.html

Meretz-Yahad Chairman MK Yossi Beilin lambasted on Monday the government's reaction to the shooting attack in Gush Etzion that killed three and wounded another seven on Sunday, saying it was playing into the hands of the Palestinian terrorists.

"The government's reaction is the Pavlovian reaction, the much expected reaction which plays exactly to the tune of the Palestinian terror groups," Beilin told Israel Radio.

Both the Israeli left and the right warned that "the disengagement would be interpreted as an escape from terror, and that the terrorism would pass from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank," he said. But the left insisted that "without immediate tight cooperation with the Palestinian Authority, what will happen would be worse than before the pullout from Gaza."

Instead of tightening cooperation, Beilin said, "[Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon cancels meeting with [PA Chairman] Mahmoud Abbas, [Defense Minister Shaul] Mofaz ends all defense cooperation with the Palestinians, we're bringing back the curfews and the roadblocks."

This in turn, Beilin said, increases hatred and will for revenge among Palestinians." The Hamas and Islamic Jihad are rubbing their hands with delight - this is exactly what they wanted to happen as a result of yesterday's attack."

"We are returning to 2002 2003 with eyes open wide before the mistake," he said, referring to the height of the second Palestinian intifada.

Right wing MKs: Pullout set stage for attack

Right-wing critics of Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip held Prime Minister Ariel Sharon responsible for the attack, saying the disengagement had set the conditions for renewed terror in the West Bank.

"The prime minister, who fled from Qassam attacks in Gush Katif, is bringing terror into Gush Etzion," MK Binyamin Elon (National Union) told Army Radio.

MK Ehud Yatom (Likud) also blamed Sharon, saying a wave of terror had been expected following the evacuation.

MK Zvi Hendel (National Union) said Sharon had permitted the bloodshed of Israelis. He added that the Palestinians now believe that they have convinced Sharon to pull out of Gush Etzion, in addition to Gush Katif.

MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) also denounced the disengagement as a key factor leading to the attack, and called on the government to check if the weapons used in the attack had been smuggled out of Egypt in the wake of the disengagement.

The Yesha Council said Israel's ease of conditions for Palestinians since the disengagement had created the situation allowing for this attack. They called on the government to close all West Bank routes to Palestinian traffic, saying the roads had been opened even though this had posed a security threat to Israelis.

Gush Etzion settler leader Shaul Goldstein said the period of relative calm since a cease-fire was declared in February had provided only an illusion of peace. He added that this attack was a clear warning of a new wave of attacks to come.

[JPN Commentary: The document "No Other Way" was agreed upon in the annual plenary session of European Jews for a Just Peace (EJJP). It is detailed and well conceived, offering the rationale for taking such measures which highlights: 1- Their non-violent nature, and 2- The fact that the need to resort to these steps is a result of the failure of other means. It also declares emphatically that opposing the Israeli occupation of Gaza, the West Bank, East- Jerusalem and the Golan Heights is not and cannot be construed as anti-semitic. On the contrary, looking to endow Israel with special rights because it is a Jewish state is an attitude which smacks of anti-semitism (because it sees Jews as being different from the rest of humanity).

The document suggests a gradual implementation of economic pressure, starting
with focusing on products made in settlements, and on enterprises connected
to the Israeli military-industrial complex, etc. with the idea that should
these steps prove insufficient - escalation towards a more general boycott
will need to take place. - RG]

[JPN Editors' Note: The EJJP declaration below mentions refuseniks, and also does so in connection with the Israeli group New Profile. Rela Mazali of New Profile, and a JPN editor, adds the following note: "New Profile is a feminist group that sees itself as part of a broad, varied, worldwide anti-militarist movement of conscientious objectors, draft resisters, draft avoiders, war resisters and -- in general -- Refusers. The term "refuseniks" (borrowed from its original and ill-related usage for Jewish citizens of the former USSR who were refused permission to emigrate to Israel) was circulated for exclusive use--to designate Israeli reserve soldiers or prospective conscripts who refuse selectively to serve the occupation. Given its intended, exclusive meaning, it is a term that New Profile members avoid using."]

No Other Way

EJJP Annual Plenary Session calls for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against the Occupation

To all appearances every political action against the ongoing Israeli Occupation and its illegal elements has been outmanoeuvred by the occupying power. For thirty-eight years massive land and water confiscation, roadblocks, extrajudicial killings, closures, curfews, and collective punishment have taken place in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in contravention with international law. Oppression, segregation and humiliation, house demolitions, and the construction of the annexation wall in the West Bank and the walls in the Gaza Strip determine the daily life of the occupied Palestinian people.

To all appearances the Israeli government, throughout the years of Occupation, has felt it is entitled to breach the Charter of the United Nations as well as the rules of international law, and has allowed itself to ignore and violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Fourth Geneva Convention, and even the International Humanitarian Law of Den Hague. It has allowed itself to do so under the eyes of the international community

To all appearances the United Nations and the international community as a whole have ignored the fact that Israeli governments and military forces have been taking the law into their own hands in the Occupied Palestinian Territories of the West Bank (which includes East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip, as well as the Syrian Golan Heights for many decades.

In view of the intolerable situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories the 2005 Annual Plenary Session of the European Jews for a Just Peace (EJJP) reaffirms the rules declared in Amsterdam 2002, the final resolution of the Annual Plenary Session in Brussels 2003, and the final resolution of the Annual Plenary Session in Paris 2004.

Specifically, EJJP: Expresses its continuing concern with the grave situation for the Palestinian people living in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Emphasizes the inadmissibility of the annexation of territories that were conquered and occupied by the Israeli army during the course of the War of 1967, contravening international law, Emphasizes the illegality of the perpetuation of the war by keeping the Occupied Palestinian Territories under the command of the Israeli military forces, Emphasizes the illegitimacy of settling and thereby colonizing the Occupied Territories and separating them according to colonial needs by the construction of annexation walls in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip Emphasizes the illegality of establishing a new status quo by the occupying power, according to the Charter of the United Nations and all United Nations resolutions subsequent to the War of 1967

The 2005 Annual Plenary Session of the EJJP

Recalls that the fulfillment of the principles of the United Nations Charter requires the establishment of a just and lasting peace between both Israel and the future Palestinian state which must be based on the preconditions that were expressed in the EJJP Amsterdam Declaration in 2002.

All Member States of the United Nations in their acceptance of the Charter of the United Nations have undertaken a commitment to act in accordance with Article 2 of the Charter. Israel, as a powerful state occupying the land of another people, is an equal member of the international community and must be held accountable for its policies and actions in the light of accepted international norms as are all other nations. Any other approach to the State of Israel would indeed imply the kind of intolerable distinction that inevitably must be termed "anti-Semitic". Furthermore, if the international system of justice is to keep its authority and meaning for the international community Israel must be compelled by all political means, including non-violent pressure, to end the Occupation.

If Israel succeeds in Defying the Fourth Geneva Convention and in making its Occupation permanent, Locking an entire population behind walls that have been judged illegal by the International Court of Justice, Perpetuating the denial of the Palestinians