Terror Is A Dead End

MILLIYET- Columnist Hasan Cemal writes on the Palestinian issue. A summary of his column is as follows:
It must be stressed one more time that the policy Sharon is pursuing is a dead end. Prime Minister Sharon’s policies based on violence did not open and are not opening the doors of security for Israel, as violence begets more violence. Due to these policies radical Islam and religious fanaticism are growing and support for bin Laden is increasing. It must be pointed out that a political solution must be found to the problem, not a military one. Israel has to stop its military offensive, withdraw from Ramallah and the West Bank at once, and lift the siege of Yasser Arafat. In addition, a cease-fire must be announced, the two sides must sit at the negotiating table with no preconditions and Arafat must denounce the suicide bombings coming from the Palestinian side (which has resulted in the deaths of 111 Israeli citizens) and also avoid encouraging the bombers in one way or another. However, it is still impossible to enter into any meaningful negotiations with an olive branch in one hand and a weapon in the other. Therefore hostilities must cease. The tragedy of the Palestinians should not be forgotten. It is impossible to understand today’s events while ignoring the sufferings of refugees who were driven out of their land with the establishment of the Israeli state in 1948. But one should not be a captive to the past. The state of Israel is a historical fact. Unless the Palestinians accept the presence of the Israeli state, no peace can be achieved. In the same vein, the Israelis have to accept the presence of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. Palestinians believe that they have made the utmost concessions by accepting the presence of Israel as a state on Palestinian lands. Some of them are not even satisfied with this. Those who would like to eliminate the Israeli state are mainly seen among the religious fanatics. Suicide bombing is not conducted only against the occupation of Israel, their ultimate aim to terminate the Israeli state itself. They have differences of opinion among themselves. Some believe that this should be done in stages. They believe that the first stage should be proclamation of an independent Palestinian state. Those who oppose Israel in this way are not satisfied with half-solutions. They think that Israel should be attacked with all kinds of violence and terrorism and that in time the Jews will lose the desire to live on these lands, and an Islamic order could be founded on the Israeli territory. Therefore, terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hizbullah, and their actions of terrorism in Israel must be evaluated properly. A Palestinian-Israeli peace may not suit the purposes of these organizations. Saddam wouldn’t like it either. Neither will Tehran. Therefore, all these forces and regimes are in favor of the spreading fire in the Middle East, as it leads to the strengthening of radical Islam in Arab and Islamic countries. However, if the Zionist enemy is eliminated, radical Islamic opposition will turn on the ruling powers in these countries. Slogans are not enough to bring a lasting and fair peace to the region. Maybe former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is right in saying that some crises can only be managed, not solved.

SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION