Across the pond

‘Hell on earth’ was how the senior UN rep in Gaza described today’s scene after the bombing of the UN school killing 25 innocent teachers and children and after the 1.4 million Palestinians living in the cramped conditions of Gaza have spent 10 days under Israeli bombing and are now facing the tanks in their streets. Over 400 Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured. A few of them no doubt Hamas militants who have been firing their pip squeak rockets at Israel. But the majority civilians and members of the police force, who have been doing the job of police forces everywhere, not firing rockets at Israel.

Thus far the Israeli casualties have not reached double figures. Israel launched this undeclared and brutal war because of the rocket attacks, which had killed less than ten Israelis over the last few months. Those rocket attacks should be stopped but Hamas is now the elected government of Palestine and its leaders have been trying to reconstruct their devastated homeland – not wage war on Israel.

Since the last Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a total of 11 Israelis have been killed. This contrasts with the 1,290 Gaza civilians, including 222 children, killed by Israeli Defence Forces between 2005 and 2007. These figures come from a four page article in today’s Guardian, by Avi Schlaim, who served in the Israeli armed forces, but is now a Professor of Industrial Relations at Oxford University.

His conclusion is that Israel has become a rogue state with an utterly unscrupulous set of leaders.

Meanwhile, when Simon Peres, the Israeli President was asked by Channel Four News this evening whether he was concerned by the condemnation of the international community, he told them that the world supported the Israel invasion. It was only the British who condemned it!

What matters to Israel of course is that the US has not so far condemned Israel’s actions. George W Bush in the last days of his rule has stood by them. President elect Barack Obama has stuck to the US constitution, that America can’t have two Presidents at once. But at least yesterday he was moved to tell reporters that he ‘will plenty to say’ when he assumes office.

Presumably that is why Israel has launched its invasion now. Because they know that they could not rely on the US supporting such brutality after 20 January.

The tragedy is that the current Israeli leadership is stuck in time warp. Their fears for their won security were very real in the 1950s and 1960s when they were surrounded by increasingly powerful and well-armed Arab nations, who might conceivably have wanted to conquer Israel and expel the Jews.

But the for the last forty years there has been no threat to Israel’s security.

And today, Eqypt, which under Nasser was a threat to Israel, is now like all the other rich Arab states, quite prepared to live with Israel. (Despite the occasional fiery speeches even the President of Iran, has done nothing tangible to threaten Israel.)

There is no threat to Israeli security if the Israelis allow the Palestians to live in Gaza and on the West Bank. But there will be no peace until there is a political solution.

The Israelis today are calling for an embargo on arms for Hamas.

But the world tomorrow will be calling for an embargo on arms sales to Israel.

David Miliband, Britain’s young Foreign Secretary, is showing signs of becoming his own man at last. He actually made a clear statement today condemning Israeli actions, while still also condemning the Hamas rocket attacks.

What Obama will do I know not. But all these years the Israelis have been relying on the support because of the power of the American Jewish vote. They still have that from the Jews of my generation, who all have relatives who were murdered or relocated by Hitler’s Germany or Stalin’s Soviet Union.

But not many of them are still alive. And many of the young Jews I know are as horrified as I am at the bully boy tactics Israel has unleashed on another oppressed people.