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To Paleos, third intifada as unlikely as peace | |||||||||
2010-08-31 | |||||||||
A repeat of the Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, that erupted in 2000 when U.S. President Bill Clinton's peace diplomacy failed, is ruled out in the near-term by many Palestinians, including those who fought in the last one. Weak and divided, the Palestinians appear neither willing nor able to wage another sustained, organised uprising against Israeli occupation in the foreseeable future. Over 500 Israeli civilians died in 140 Palestinian suicide bomb attacks from 2000 to 2007. More than 4,500 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the same period. Many Palestinians question what the bloodshed achieved.
Relative, if fragile, stability has even reached the Gaza Strip. Run by the Hamas movement, it remains an "enemy entity" to Israel.
Hamas's critics argue that the group's current policy differs little from that of Abbas's Palestinian Authority: it is seeking to halt attacks that will draw Israeli reprisals. That's a comparison Hamas rejects. Part of an alliance including Syria and Hezbollah, Hamas is still committed to fighting Israel but argues that Gaza is in need of calm to recover from a devastating Israeli offensive 20 months ago.
"The Palestinian Authority has taken many steps to destroy the roots of any new Intifada," said Zakaria al-Qaq, a political analyst. "Not just by targeting the Islamists, but also any party that might think of doing anything." Political commentator Samih Shabib added that there is little appetite among Palestinians for another uprising. "There is no popular conviction that an Intifada is the right thing and there is no party in the field to launch it," he said. "The Intifada had deep lessons for the Palestinians: that the use of weapons will lead to Israeli incursions, killing, destruction, economic, political, social siege and without any benefit," he said.
Zakaria Zbeida, a prominent figure in the uprising, said another Intifada was inevitable unless the Palestinians could secure an acceptable peace agreement -- something he believes unlikely. But it would need time to break out. "Maybe in four, five or seven years. But in the near future, no," said Zbeida, who was spokesman for the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade in the West Bank. "Resistance needs a political umbrella. That is not present now," he said. | |||||||||
Posted by:Steve White |
#2 Knowing the Isslami Nazi mentality I must agree with Zbeida on this issue. I just hope our leaders have learned the lessons and will retaliate massively at the first sign of such "intifadah". I predict that if this happens, the west bank will be turned into a hellhole and hope the first bomb has Zbeida's address etched on it. |
Posted by: Elder of Zion 2010-08-31 17:21 |
#1 This doesn't mean that the Paleos have learned their lesson The question is "have Israel learned the lesson?". |
Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2010-08-31 05:05 |