First, I want to thank the many kind readers who responded with words of encouragment to my recent post regarding my frustrations. I want to assure them I don’t plan to shut down this blog, nor stop fighting for peace.
This article by Danny Rubinstein is a first in a series of reactions to the Yassin assassination.
“It is very possible that the assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin will be the final nail in the coffin of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza. Just recently there were attempts to rehabilitate, even slightly, the PA security forces: The Palestinian National Security Council, headed by Yasser Arafat, published a plan for imposing law and order in the Strip, and the Palestinian media reported on special forces that had begun patrolling the streets of Gaza.”
The other night I had a discussion with Asaf about what Sharon’s motivations might be. Asaf pointed out to me that motivations belong to the realm of psychology. Since we aren’t inside Sharon’s head, any discussion of his motivation is pure speculation.
But we can judge Sharon’s words and actions, as well as their consequences. We can also look to his past actions to gain some insight into the present.
It is worth recalling that Sharon played a key role in the founding of the Hamas. His professed goal at the time was to undermine the secular Fatah, which he saw as responsible for the Intifada.
As noted many times before, it would have made far more sense for Sharon to hand over Gaza to Abu Ala two years ago, as part of the agreement Shimon Peres negotiated with Abu Ala. And at the time Sharon scotched the deal saying “Nezarim was as important to Tel Aviv.” Now Sharon is doing everything he can once again to undermine the PA (i.e the secular Fatah) and make sure the Hamas takes over when Israel withdraws from Gaza. Once again he is favoring Hamas over Fatah.
The two justifications put forth by the Israeli government for killing Yassin are 1) to prevent more terror attacks and 2) to undermine the Hamas’ organizational structure. If the situation were not so serious, one might think that this is some sick joke. The idea that assassinating Yassin is going to save any Israeli lives is worse than absurd. As we say on Purim “Nahafoch Hu” – the reality is upside down. And the response of the Palestinian street clearly shows that the more Hamas leaders Israel kills, the more Hamas just gains in strength and popular support. In fact, over the past three years of Israeli crackdowns on the Palestinians Hamas has become more and more influential, and the Fatah movement, once the “sole representative fo the Palestinian people,” is losing strength.
Of course the Islamicist Hamas is far less amenable to a negotiated two-state solution than the secular, nationalist Fatah movement. A Hamas take-over in Gaza makes Sharon’s argument that there is no point negotiating with the Palestinians because “there is no one to negotiate with,” a self-fulfilling prophecy. Also, the continued Hamas violence allows him to justify Israel’s brutal treatment of the Palestinians. So by his actions, Sharon indicates that he prefers Hamas terrorism to any negotiated settlement that would require a significant withdrawal from the West bank and the establishment of a truly independent Palestinian state. Whatever his motivations, Sharon’s actions are leading Israel down a path of endless violence, misery and death. He is not just an incompetent leader, but a truly evil man.