Bibi's bloody road back to Oslo
To many people, the opening of the "Hasmonaean tunnel" expressed Netanyahu's irresponsible goal of setting fire to the
Territories and thus bringing to a halt the progress of the Oslo agreements. Tikva Honig-Parnass of Jerusalem's Independent
Information Center suspects that the opposite is true; that is, that Netanyahu needed this step to deliberately get the Oslo
This is the traditional style of the Israeli right, which is coarser, more arrogant and more exhibitionist than the Labour establishment. Prime Minister "Bibi" Netanyahu's rightist clique are lovers of nationalist symbols, believers in military power - and thus not ready for a bit of generosity toward the granting of even symbolic independence to the Palestinians.
- * Palestine/Israel process out of the deep-freeze and then to enforce it according to his style. SINCE NETANYAHU'S RISE TO POWER, pressures from the extreme right, both secular (in his own party) and religious (the National Religious Party and the extremists among the settlers) have been pushing him to discontinue the Oslo process. At the same time, the Americans and the heads of the Israeli military forces are pressing "Bibi" to implement the agreements, warning him against the danger of a loss of legitimacy for Arafat's regime even within the Fatah movement and the possibility of an outburst of Intifada (rebellion).
The opening of the tunnel, which allegedly dates from the Hasmonaean monarchy (163-60 B.C.), was supposed to raise widespread enthusiastic support in Israel. The Hasmonaean monarchy, thanks to their revolt against the Hellenistic Seleucids, has been granted a place of honor in the complex of myths created by Zionism during its search for historical and religious legitimacy. "We touch here the very bedrock of our existence," Netanyahu declared
In this way he turned back and relegitimized the basis which has always been necessary for every colonial project of Zionism.
The current agenda includes the speeded up Judaization of Jerusalem, especially by close co-operation with fanatic Jewish fundamentalist organizations obsessed with buying up property in the Old City and East Jerusalem. One of these groups (which also funded Netanyahu's election campaign financed the excavating of the tunnel, which had been started under the Labor government.
What was not planned by Netanyahu was the force of the Palestinian response. This went way beyond "disturbances which will last a day or two" as he expected.
The mistaken assumption that the political process would destroy Palestinian resistance, both military action and mass uprising, by means of a mercenary Palestinian army completely alienated from its own people was one of the pillars of Oslo It has been inflated by the Israeli establishment (Labor as well as Likud),
These mistaken assumptions, which are deeply rooted in the Israeli perspective of the Oslo agreements, were reflected in the public discourse following the bloody events.
First, most of the time, the recent events Reprinted from Al-Ahram English Weekly, are perceived as obeying Arafat's orders, and Cairo. secondly, at the centre of this discourse, we 8 International Viewpoint find astonishment and anger that Palestinian police defend their own people, instead of siding with the Israeli army.
Netanyahu's assumption that Israel could do on the ground whatever she wanted without any serious resistance, was also supported by the belief within the Israeli establishment that it could count on Palestinian security forces which, during recent months, had successfully co-operated with Israeli intelligence against Islamic and Left-wing opposition organizations.
But there is no doubt that the natural racism common to the position of any colonizer blinded him from seeing th strength of the dedication and determination which the Palestinians have revealed, expressing the terrible rage which has buil up towards the Israeli occupation and also towards the Palestinian Authority because of deep disappointment with Oslo: the tunnel served just as a trigger.
The sacrifices and the blood which followed the opening of the tunnel may pave
This is a joint victory for Netanyahu and Arafat. Netanyahu enjoys increased trust from the extreme religious right and the fundamentalists who pressed for the opening of the tunnel. Fortified with this good will Bibi can now claim that he has no choice but to continue to implement the Oslo accords
On the other hand, the "proofs" that have supposedly accumulated following this new Palestinian uprising will enable him to attempt to enact the agreements according to his own rhythm and "style"
Most of all, he has been given a pretext to demand amendments to the agreements: "adjustments" in the redeployment plan in Hebron, and strengthening direct military rule by Israel, which is currently surrounding the main cities in the West Bank with assault tanks.
Meanwhile, Yasser Arafat has won a temporary renewal of support from broad sections of the Palestinian people. But don't be mistaken: this support is conditional. Arafat needs to prove that the Oslo agreements answer the national Palestinian interests.
And this is impossible. The heroism of September will be etched in the collective memory of the Palestinians, and will strengthen their stand against the Oslo plan for an apartheid state, which is being erected before their very eyes. *