Opinion Editorials, May 2006, To see today's opinion articles, click here: www.aljazeerah.info
Human Price of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine
Israeli daily aggression on the Palestinian people
Mission and meaning of Al-Jazeerah
Cities, localities, and tourist attractions
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Starving Palestinians: What such a surrealist view?
By Salim Nazzal
Al-Jazeerah, May 26, 2006
In the ancient epic of Babylon, Gilgamesh goes through a long journey to the cedar Mountains searching for the tree which gives him the eternal life. In the middle of the forest stands the big monster Khambaba with his monstrous power to prevent Gilgamesh to obtain the tree of life.
Myths, as we learnt from the French Strauss, reflect the degree of the human development. We do not need to use Jack Dreda deconstruction theory to understand the current policy of the biggest power on earth, but, indeed the view seems more surrealist than we have ever dreamt.
Our concern here is to point out to a frightening idea which is to prevent a whole nation to live. Recalling recent past events may help us to see the whole picture.
The United States of America launched an initiative for democracy in the Middle East. Mr Bush devotes much of his time to be a Guru in lecturing Arabs about the importance of democracy.
In Palestine, decent and well conducted elections took place and Hamas won it. The American reaction was to boycott the elected government because this government does not recognize the Israeli occupation.
The American campaign continues to punish all the Palestinians because they conducted good elections, and because the elections brought an unfriendly party to the Israeli occupiers.
As far as history is concerned, we have not seen one single episode where the occupied are punished like in this case. To make the picture clearer, imagine if Nelson Mandela was asked to recognize the Apartheid state in South Africa as a condition to be recognized.
If we return to Gilgamesh epic, America plays the role of Khambaba who prevents the tree of life for Palestine. As a Palestinian, watching my nation occupied, starved and humiliated, I wonder how many fair Americans are willing to tell Bush to stop playing the Khambaba role!
Dr. Salim Nazzal is a Palestinian Norwegian researcher. The author of (Educating Palestinians in exile. 1993). He has written extensively on social and political issues in the Middle East. E mail:gibran44@hotmail.com
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| Earth, a planet hungry for peace |
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| The Israeli Land-Grab Apartheid Wall built inside the Palestinian territories, here separating Abu Dis from occupied East Jerusalem. (IPC, 7/4/04). | ||
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank, like a Python. (Alquds,10/25/03). |