In one of the most offensive pieces of journalism I have seen in a while (which is saying alot), Jonathan Cook from the International Herald Tribune argues that the PLO Arabs will not achieve their aims through non-violence.
The arrival in the Middle East of Arun Gandhi, preaching his grandfather Mahatma Gandhi’s message of love, brotherhood and nonviolence to conflict-weary Israelis and Palestinians, has raised tentative hopes that the bloody conflict may be entering a more reflective phase.
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But few Palestinians are likely to embrace peaceful protest as a way of attaining statehood – not because Palestinians are hellbent on mindless retribution against Israelis, but because nonviolence is unlikely to be effective as a strategy.—-But for most of the 37 years of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, the Palestinians were nonviolent – and it did them little good. Israel simply entrenched the occupation, illegally moving hundreds of thousands of settlers on to Palestinian land.—-The sad truth is that over the last four years, in the second intifada, the Palestinians have learned that there is no necessary correlation between the violence they inflict on Israelis and their own suffering at the hands of Israeli forces. Despite the current lull in attacks on Israelis, Palestinian deaths continue daily.Palestinians also now understand that violence is the surest way to get their struggle noticed. Bombing buses is immoral, but it makes the front pages, reminding the world that there is a conflict. When Palestinians alone are the victims, the world switches off.
Conversely, when Palestinians adopt peaceful strategies, the news media can barely stifle their yawns.
While Cook does not openly advocate violence, the implication is clearly there, since he is not optimistic about the Israeli Left.
But this is not surprising, given that this is the same Jonathan Cook who spoke of Israeli war crimes in Jenin, despite the fact that the PLO Arab were caught lying about the non-existent “massacre.”
