Palestinian resistance needs to have some lim
ANEWVOICE - 21.11.2002 16:25
In contrast to most of the Arab press, an editorial in the Daily Star, of Lebanon, calls for an Arab moratorium on attacks such as the infiltration and murders carried out by terrorists in Kibbutz Metzer last week
In contrast to most of the Arab press, an editorial in the Daily Star, of Lebanon, calls for an Arab moratorium on attacks such as the infiltration and murders carried out by terrorists in Kibbutz Metzer last week. The article, entitled "Palestinian resistance needs to have some limits", declares that "the right to resistance should not be used as a moral fig leaf to disguise heinous acts as righteous ones. Sunday´s grisly assault on a kibbutz in northern Israel cannot be justified on any grounds..." It calls the "deliberate slaughter of innocent women and children" a "dastardly undertaking under any circumstances..." The article acknowledges that the problem is endemic to the groups facing Israel, including Yasser Arafat´s Fatah: "The kibbutz affront was claimed by the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an offshoot of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat´s mainstream Fatah faction, but Hamas and Islamic Jihad have also carried out attacks against civilians."
Furthermore, the Lebanese editorial explains, such terrorism is "an exceedingly bad idea: The nature of such attacks dictates that their effect will not be to further the liberation of Palestinian land but rather to delay or even prevent it altogether." Practically, "war on any occupier is a demanding challenge that requires both scientific discipline and an artistic sense in choosing targets. Singling out civilians betrays a profound misunderstanding of both, especially when the occupier enjoys so many advantages in the propaganda war," the article states.
The Lebanese daily calls on Arabs of the Palestinian Authority to "think twice about whether they want such acts to be carried out in their name...." The editorial asks, rhetorically, "Who really wants to tell their children and grandchildren that they shed the blood of the helpless - or even supported others who did so - during the long and difficult struggle against injustice?" There is a model for such morally motivated Arabs, the Daily Star points out - Israelis: "Like the Israeli military reservists who have refused to serve in the Occupied Territories, they need to consult their consciences."
Yet, there is another model, aside from the Israeli reservists refusing to serve in the IDF, for the Arabs to emulate: "[L]ook north to Lebanon, where Hizbullah took the concept to new heights of professionalism. Commitment, experience, and training were key ingredients in the winning formula here, but so was irreproachable target selection." According to the newspaper, "So rigid was the high command in its instructions that attacks be restricted to combatants that when Hizbullah fighters assassinated Hashem Aql, a senior commander in the Israel-allied South Lebanon Army militia, they risked failure and capture by waiting to detonate their bomb to ensure that his son would not be harmed."
Ending with a philosophical quotation, the Daily Star declares, "Palestinian resistance is a worthy cause, and the Israeli military has certainly committed its share of atrocities. But these are not reasons to set aside the rules of civilized combat. On the contrary, they are further proof of the wise advice dispensed by Friedrich Nietzsche: ´He who fights monsters should look into it that he himself does not become a monster. When you gaze long into the Abyss, the Abyss also gazes into you.´"
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