Jenin attack: Young Palestinians want 'freedom and rights,' not a 'mini-state,’ says Baskin
Israel's military operation continues in the north of the West Bank with at least 10 Palestinians killed, 100 wounded, and 3,000 displaced. Speaking to AsiaNews, the founder of the Israel/Palestine: Creative Regional Initiatives notes that the conflict is now at a "dead end”. He slams the expansionism of the Netanyahu government, hostage to extremists, while criticising the Palestinian Authority’s old and corrupt leadership, the United States’ inaction and China’s shallow “show”.
Milan (AsiaNews) – Israel’s expansionist policy is aimed at preventing the creation of a Palestinian state rather than increasing the number or size of settlements.
For Gershon Baskin, an Israeli political activist and leading expert on the conflict as well as a columnist for the Jerusalem Post, “blocking the birth of a state" is like "stopping the future" of the Palestinians, forced to remain "under Israeli control without political rights".
For Baskin, who is also the founder of the Israel/Palestine: Creative Regional Initiatives (IPCRI), while Jenin is again engulfed in violence, amid devastation that looks like a repeat of Operation Defensive Shield 20 years ago, we should to look at "many young Palestinians who are no longer focused on a nation, but on equal rights.”
For them, “the issue has changed. The new generations no longer want a mini-state without an economy; the prospects their parents spoke about no longer make sense. They aspire to freedom.” Meanwhile, the Israel government “provokes" them through “settler violence, taking land, preventing shepherds from raising their flock", with the military regularly “protecting the settlers and their attacks".
Military escalation
For the past couple of days, a large-scale operation has been underway in Jenin, the largest since the Second Intifada, with at least a dozen drone attacks in the northern West Bank city, the heart of the revolt and violence.
More than a thousand Israeli soldiers are engaged on the ground, breaking into homes, even mosques, looking for armed fighters.
Israeli officials have denied reports that they ordered the evacuation of the refugee camp; however, thousands of Palestinians - at least 3,000 according to some sources - have left the area for fear of further escalation.
The toll from yesterday's raid is at least 10 Palestinians killed, more than 100 wounded with at least 20 in serious condition, Israeli military sources report.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres “is deeply concerned about the developments in Jenin,” reads a UN press released. “[A]ll military operations must be conducted with full respect for international humanitarian law.”
Palestinian authorities have, for their part, decided “to stop all contacts and meetings with the Israeli side” as a result of “Israeli aggression on Jenin," a Palestinian official said.
While Palestinian authorities have decided to "interrupt all contacts and meetings with the Israeli side" following "the ongoing aggression in Jenin,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu says the operation in Jenin "will continue as long as necessary, until the mission is completed,” a view shared by opposition leader Yair Lapid.
Territories and occupation
Over the past 55 years, since the 1967 war, Israeli has pursued a policy of "occupation of the territories". Between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, Palestinians live under Israeli military control, without democracy, without freedom and without collaboration.
"This is the root of all problems,” Baskin explains. “Jenin is an area with many Israeli settlements, with a large refugee camp, as well as a large presence of activists from all different political movements.”
“People are tired, but at the same time they have more freedom to do things, to get weapons themselves, to move. Nablus is a large city, in the north of the West Bank, surrounded by some of Israel's most radical and extremist settlers,” Baskin explains.
“But this is not only about Jenin or Nablus" but covers "all the occupied territories". The latter “are about to explode" due to "anger and frustration" that pushes towards "greater armed activism.”
In Jenin (where Shireen Abu Akleh, a Christian journalist, was killed last year), “weapons abound, and the Palestinian Authority seems to have less control of the city, especially the refugee camp.” But this is everywhere, and the armed escalation has "widespread support across the West Bank".
With the political process stalled and no negotiations, prospects for change are nil. People are frustrated and the new generations have no memory of the Second Intifada, while the Oslo Accords are "ancient history", long buried.
The violence also affects minorities, especially Christians whose religious and secular leaders have repeatedly denounced a climate of intimidation and hatred.
“Ultraright-wing, Jewish supremacists, racists hate Christians as they hate me,” Baskin explains, “because they consider me a threat to them as they are a threat to me.”
The Israeli government is hostage to fanatics because Netanyahu "is weak and has to face protests" over proposed reforms to the justice system while trying to satisfy the radical right; if not, “everything collapses”.
What is more, "in recent months he has lost popular support and is no longer at the top of the polls.” If an election were held today, “Benny Gantz would win.”
The prime minister was shrewd enough to bring down the previous government and "exploit the far right to come to power, but today, he is weaker.”
US and China irrelevant
According to the US-born Israeli activist, the only player that could intervene is the United States but the administration of President Joe Biden does not want to so close to the next US elections.
Of course, in recent months the White House has sent "strong" messages, like not inviting Netanyahu to the US after his latest stint as prime minister. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has also been vocal about settlements and settler violence. Yet, like the Europeans, who are in an even weaker position, the Americans just make “statements, but do nothing concrete".
Amid the tensions, American Jews have so far helped to legitimise the protest movement against the proposed "disastrous" justice reform since they tend to be more "liberal and democratic,” against Bibi’s policies, but "they do not have the strength to push for change”.
Internationally, there is a “decline in support for Israel" due to "the policies adopted by the government", while on the Palestinian side, there is a “corrupt and aging leadership that no one seems to be able to replace".
“Abbas controls the elections and wins and the Americans are happy to see him stay in power because, after all, he is a moderate and with him it is possible to work on security issues", but this is bound to change, eventually.
For the peace activist, "We are at a dead end, with no alternatives.” But “Neither can defeat the other. On the short run, the conflict is permanent, while on the medium, it is impossible to predict developments.”
“The violence will continue, blood calls blood, and more and more people will be killed on both sides,” he warns. Violence is a means for leaders on both sides to stay in power. The permanent war can be used to justify “their authority".
Lastly, there is China, which has recently boosted its diplomatic activity in the Middle East as evinced by its mediation between Iran and Saudi Arabia, who reestablished diplomatic relations.
“Beijing is not in a position to mediate between the parties and lead the peace process. Basically, China is not interested in an agreement, but only wants to stick it to Biden and America now that US power is losing ground in the Middle East.”
On the Israeli-Palestinian issue, China’s presence will have no effect on the ground; for Baskin, it is “just a show" for international public consumption.
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26/10/2022 14:45
12/02/2018 16:15
