Sabella: The attack by Hamas was ‘horrific’ but collective punishment of Palestinians is pointless
From Bethlehem, the Catholic leader, a former Fatah representative, hopes for a way out but admits that the voices of dialogue are "losers". He fears a ground invasion will trigger action from Hezbollah and Iran. In the West Bank, the Israeli army blocks roads and isolates villages to stifle Palestinian protest. AsiaNews publishes excerpts from his address to the Council of Europe today.
Strasbourg (AsiaNews) - For Palestinians, the attack by Hamas is “something horrific”, as are the stories coming from Israel about the attack against a kibbutz and from Gaza where the homes of civilians have been destroyed and innocent people killed by air strikes, this according to Bernard Sabella, executive secretary of the Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees of the Middle East Council of Churches and a former Fatah representative.
Speaking to AsiaNews, he laments the fact that proponents of dialogue are the losers from the clash of radical forces. Critical voices are targeted, accused of being against “the national consensus, the people."
Instead, "wise" people are needed, but at present there is no way out of the tragedy and the prospect of Israeli ground action in Gaza, with US support, will “trigger an even greater reaction from Hezbollah and Iran.”
Meanwhile, Israeli troops in the West Bank have sealed off roads and isolated villages to stop any mass protest by Palestinians in the event of an invasion of the Gaza Strip.
Today the Palestinian Catholic scholar will speak to the Council of Europe. AsiaNews publishes broad excerpts from his address:
The Mea Culpas that Europe expects from the Palestinians and in particular from the President of the Palestinian Authority miss the point of the tragedy that we have been facing for a long time. There is no justification to the killing and targeting of any and all civilians and defenceless people, especially children under international humanitarian law and under our respective religious prescriptions.
The equation nowadays speaks of horror stories on the Israeli and Palestinian sides. The scenarios for days to come do not offer consolation or respite.
A friend of mine from West Jerusalem offered on her lamentation from Jerusalem's desperate hope that the killing will stop and that maybe out of all this pain we can finally find the understanding that violence and military might will never be the answer, will never bring us the peace, justice and security that we all crave, Palestinians and Israelis alike.'
Another friend from Bethlehem spoke of an Israeli friend of his who informed him that a close member of his family has been kidnapped by Hamas, not to speak of the desolation and devastation experienced by so many, including whole families. A friend of his from Rafah in the Gaza Strip told him that his cousin, her husband and their children were killed when their residential building was bombed by Israeli planes.
The whole population of Gaza and in fact of Palestine is being punished as a complete and full siege on the Gaza Strip took effect withholding fuel, food, water and medicine to the entire population. The UN Chief has expressed distress on the imposition of a total siege on the Gaza Strip with his clear condemnation of the Hamas attack, reminding the world that this most recent violence does not come in a vacuum... The reality is that it grows out of a longstanding conflict, with a 56-year-long occupation and no political end in sight.' Europe is also punishing all Palestinians by withholding financial humanitarian aid to the Palestinian Authority that essentially and only goes for building schools, water wells, solar panels, assistance to families in need and easing the consequences of continued occupation, among many other projects, according to the EU website.
Some, unfortunately, may want to see the Palestinians punished all of them without exception for the actions of Hamas. To these I would say that inviting desolation and destitution on the Palestinians will serve no one, instead you should put your minds on how to advance prospects for a peace that we all miss in the Holy Land.
When some speak of the need to restore international order in light of the failure of the Oslo accords and even of the Abraham accords, Palestinians and others wonder what kind of a new order is envisaged if it continues to turn a blind eye to legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to a state of their own that would end the occupation. Where, in this new international order, would we place the international resolutions and conventions that speak of the need to end occupation and for Palestinians to exercise their legitimate rights for a free state living in peace with its neighbors?
I end by emphasizing my admiration for the values of the Council of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly that stress on the upholding of human rights, rule of law and democracy. These values cannot be accomplished in the Palestinian case, without an end to Israeli occupation through a negotiated peace process that currently appears untenable. Piero Fassino, Rapporteur for the Middle East in the Parliamentary Assembly, in his concluding remarks on the current war remarked stability and security in the Middle East cannot be achieved through arms. At this moment, everything must be done to halt the conflict and reopen the path to a negotiated solution that can ensure the security of Israel and the creation of a Palestinian state.'
May all heed his call and the call of all wise persons at this time of great sadness and desolation for all of us in the Holy Land.
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29/04/2020 15:01
30/10/2023 14:35
