AboutPierre-Alexandre De Bavay M.A. Expertise I can answer any question that deals with geopolitics, political stability and the role of big powers in the Middle East. My strongest background deals with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but I have a good knowledge of the region going from the Caucasus to Egypt, the Arabic Peninsula and Central Asia. Even if your question does not directly deal with this, I will try to answer it anyway.
Experience I worked for the Center for American Studies in Brussels and for the European Institute for International Relations as political analyst.
Organizations CAS, EIIR
Education/Credentials BA Political Science
MA International Relations
MA American Studies
I am puzzled at Israel not being able to win the publicity or perhaps one could call it the propaganda battle. It seems that most nations are against Israel. Even if Israel defeats Hamas militarily, they will probably lose the propaganda war. The debate usually goes this way: Israel is responding militarily to the Hamas rockets. They have a right to defend themselves. (I agree.) The Hamas rockets and most negative opinion is in response to "the treatment of the Palestinians." The latter would include: detainment of thousands of Palestinian prisoners without a fair trial, "the continued Israeli occupation, which culminates in punishing a whole population and forcing them into inhumane circumstances," "Palestinian workers in Israel have been facing economic hardship and a deterioration in living conditions as a result of the Israeli policy of closure and which denies them access to work in Israel," and a number of other charges.(I am quoting from internet sources.) Although I am suspicious of these charges, I rarely hear them answered. What is the truth about Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, and why can't that truth be broadcast widely? For instance Israel could hold a special press week, inviting all the world press (CNN, CBS, AlJazeera, etc.) to the Palestinian territories, and thereby show the world once and for all what the situation really is. What's your opinion? Thank you!
ANSWER: Hi David,
I think you have got a point when you speak about Palestinians living and/or working in Israel because this state counts several thousands of Muslims which are actually Israeli citizens. Now your question dealt with the treatment of such minority in the present context. I do not think that the Israeli government did truly implement discrimination rules or exclusion for Palestinians. This population does indeed face some "charges" as you say but I do not think that the Israeli government can handle for 100% the situation in the occupied zones are at the borders.
The reality of a conflict is rarely predictable and it would be quite naive to think that a state can control all its troops. For example, as regards the number of civilian casualties among Gaza inhabitants, I think that Israel is really trying to avoid collateral damage. That is not the case for Hamas who has been lauching rockets during months with the simple idea of destruction. They did not even care wether their rockets were hitting civilians or not.
As regards the socio-economic dimension for Palestinians, the situation is not very clear either. We know for sure that the wall built by Israel to protect the country a few years ago also created trouble since it prevented sometimes some Palestinians to reach schools, farms or workplaces. Therefore, it could be said that the wall is an evidence of socio-economic discrimintation. But the question would be : was that the effect the Israeli government was looking for or a undesirable consequence ?
Considering your idea of special press week in the Palestinian territories, I'm afraid that Israel would not see that as useful. Firstly, Israel might be accused of propaganda because only allowing a certain category of images or reports. Secondly because Israel does not occupy such territories the same way as they did at the time when they had colonies (that means before Ariel Sharon decided to retreat from the West Bank and Gaza).
Finally, I would say that even such press event could be organized, that would not really change the opinions. This is because every individual gives his own interpretation of images and hardly switch opinion. This argument concerns mainly the Israeli and Palestinian populations : if a Palestinian sees one of his brother being jailed after having killed an Israeli soldier, he will only consider the fact that his borther was jailed not that an Israeli was murdered. Same logic for Israelis.
Hope this helps,
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: A very thoughtful and well-balanced response. You will get a high rating from me. I also received a different answer for the same question. It follows in quotes. I would be most interested in knowing any comment you might have about it, in as much or as little detail as you wish.
"Greetings David, and thanks for your question. As a human rights worker who lived in this area for four years, the simplest way I can put it is that these charges are true, as attested to by dozens of human rights agencies, including Israeli-led human rights agencies (such as B'Tselem, the Rabbis for Human Rights, and the Israeli Committee Against Housing Demolitions). It would probably be rather embarrassing for Israel to answer these charges, so they feel it is better to ignore them.
In the current Gaza crisis, Israel is responding militarily to Hamas rockets, which is allowable under international human rights law; but they are choosing not to take adequate precautions to protect the civilian population from harm in their military strategy, and as the UNRWA, Human Rights Watch, and the above-mentioned Israeli agencies have reported this week, Palestinian civilians, including many women and children, have borne the brunt of the deaths and injuries. The civilian population has also not been given the option of leaving the area of fighting, because the borders are closed. There is also the need to respond to the threat proportionately; if only a dozen Israeli soldiers and civilians have been harmed or killed in this crisis, there's no reason the Israeli military should have killed over a thousand Palestinians.
So, these are the primary concerns, and you may be interested in looking at the websites of the agencies I've mentioned above for more information. I hope this helps!
peace, "(I have withheld the writer's name)
Answer Hi again David,
Well I agree with what you have quoted meaning that there are have surely been human rights violations made towards Palestinians. The question would therefore be : is the Israeli government willing to orchestrate such violations or is it a ground based and independant reality ? I think we should not underestimate the autonomy of Tsahal because Ehud Olmert certainly does not know everything about the way the situation has been evolving in the Palestinian territories and especially in Gaza. Of course Israel would be very embarassed to admit that the army is regularly responsible for human rights violations.
But admitting that Israeli troops are always following this logic would be a mistake too. The situation is not the same everywhere : the border with the West Bank is not as "hot" as the one with Gaza and Lebanon and there are merely no serious tensions at the moment. That means that Palestinians bordering Jordan do not face the same treatment than the ones who are suffering from Israeli bombings and invasions.
The situation in Gaza is also very difficult to examine : I'm pretty sure that if Israel would not care at all about civilians there would have already been much more Palestinian casualties. At the same time, the Israeli government leads an invasion : a war without innocent victims is utopic (which does not mean that I find legitimate the way Israel is behaving). But the fact that Hamas militants are hiding behind children and among civilians makes situation even more complex. By doing this, Hamas soldiers are partly responsible for what happens to the Palestinians in Gaza.
In my opinion, this war won't lead to anything concrete. Hamas will progressively come back once Israeli troops will leave Gaza (and they will). But on the other hand, was there really any other solution to prevent rockets to harm innocent Israeli citizens?
