Free Muslims Call for Dismantling of Hezbollah not Destruction of Lebanon
The Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism calls on the United
States government to take an active role in limiting the fighting
in Lebanon to Hezbollah and for Arab governments to demand that
Hezbollah be dismantled.
Several days ago the Hezbollah militia attacked the Israeli
military and kidnapped two soldiers hoping they can exchange the
soldiers for Hezbollah hostages imprisoned in Israel. Israel
responded by attacking Lebanon's infrastructure. Israel has
destroyed oil depots, bridges, seaports, electric transformers, air
port and otherwise did enormous damage to Lebanon in the hope that
the destruction of Lebanon would persuade the Lebanese government
to dismantle Hezbollah and replace the militia with Lebanese
soldiers.
The Free Muslims have been calling for the dismantling of Hezbollah
for the last three years. We recognize that Hezbollah's loyalty is
to Iran and not Lebanon. This is why Israel's attack on Lebanon's
infrastructure rather than just Hezbollah is shortsighted, immoral
and counterproductive. Israel's fight is with Hezbollah and not
Lebanon nor the Lebanese government which has no control over
Hezbollah.
The irony is that Israel itself recognizes that Lebanon is too weak
to control Hezbollah but nevertheless holds Lebanon liable. If
Israel wants to dismantle or destroy Hezbollah Israel has to do it
itself by attacking the militia directly.
Lebanon is headed by a pro-western, pro-American government that
would love for Hezbollah to disappear. The goal of the United
States and Israel should be to strengthen the Lebanese government
not weaken it. If Israel focuses its attack against Hezbollah the
Lebanese government will be in a better position to dismantle
Hezbollah and control the border with Israel. If Israel continues
to attack non-Hezbollah infrastructure more and more Lebanese,
including the Christians, Sunnis Muslims and Druze may unite behind
Hezbollah.
Posted July 16, 2006 by Kamal Nawash There is NO Military Solution for the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict
A recent cartoon in the July 7th edition of the Washington Post
showed an Israeli and a Palestinian playing tennis but rather than
tennis balls they were striking bombs at each other. In a caption
by the Palestinian side of the court are the words "Palestinian
reprisals" for the wrongs committed by Israel and on the Israeli
side is a caption that read "Israeli Reaction" to the wrongs of the
Palestinians. The cartoon goes on to show the referee being
represented by the angle of death, a skeletal figure wearing a
black hood and holding an ax while the caption at the other end of
the bombed-out tennis court read "unwinnableton." With a simple
cartoon and a few words, the Washington Post did an excellent job
of describing the most recent crisis and the general conflict
between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
For the last 60 years, the Palestinians and Israelis have attacked
each other and justified their attacks as retaliation for the
wrongs committed by the other. The most recent events are no
exception. Israel has attacked Palestinians in Gaza, killing
approximately 50 Palestinians, destroyed bridges, electric
transformers and otherwise caused enormous damage to Gaza and the
1.5 million Palestinians who live there. Israel says their actions
are in retaliation for Palestinian militants holding hostage an
Israeli soldier and the killing of two other Israeli soldiers. The
Palestinian militants justified the killing of the two soldiers as
retaliation for the 20 Palestinian civilians who were recently
killed by Israeli bombings and the Palestinians also justified
holding the Israeli soldier hostage as retaliation for the
thousands of Palestinian hostages in Israeli jails. Israel in turn
justified the bombings that caused the 20 civilian deaths as
retaliation to the home made rockets that Palestinian militias have
fired at Israel. The Palestinians have justified the firing of the
rockets as retaliation for Israel's unwillingness to recognize
their recently elected government and for not allowing financial
aid to reach the Palestinians. Israel justified the sanctions
against the Palestinians as retaliation for the election of a HAMAS
led government that refuses to recognize Israel's right to
exist.
If one was to accelerate backward the tit for tat retaliations one
would hear the Palestinians say that they are fighting an
occupation that has treated them inhumanly. The Israelis would
respond that the occupation was a response to an imminent attack by
Arab countries. The Palestinians would respond that Israel occupied
Palestinian territory for expansionist reasons. And to that
argument, Israel would argue that they occupied Palestinian land in
self-defense.
If one was to again reverse the tit for tat retaliations several
decades to 1948, one would hear the Palestinians complain that
Israel stole their land, kicked them out of their homes and turned
them into refugees. Israel would respond that the United Nations
divided historic Palestine to create a home for the Jews and it was
the Palestinians who refused to accept the U.N. mandated division
of historic Palestine. The Israelis would further argue that when
Israel was created it took in Jewish refugees from all over the
world and that the Arab countries should have also taken in the
Palestinian refugees. To this argument the Palestinians would say
that it was they who did not want to be settled in Arab countries
because they have a home called Palestine and that they want to
return to their home.
The point behind this partial chronology is to illustrate that
there is no military solution for the Palestinian Israeli conflict.
Tit for tat retaliations will NEVER solve this conflict. At the end
of the day, the dispute between the Israelis and the Palestinians
goes back to the creation of Israel which the Israelis see as a
joyous day and the Palestinians see as a catastrophe because the
creation of Israel dispersed the majority of Palestinians all over
the world and caused a refugee crisis. Thus, a solution to the
Palestinian Israeli conflict will ONLY emerge from truth and
reconciliation and not from violence. Israelis and Palestinians
must confront their past by engaging in a national dialogue on a
person to person level and not just government officials.
Without a doubt, Israelis, Palestinians and their supporter will
respond to this article by saying "we tried negotiations but the
other side did not want peace." Well, if Israelis and Palestinians
put the same effort in reconciliation as they do in retaliation
they may actually have peace today.
For the last two years, the Free Muslims Coalition has called on
the United States government and Arab countries to become more
involved in helping the Israelis and Palestinians settle their
disputes. When President Bush took office his administration took
the position that the U.S. will not deal with a Palestinian
government headed by Yasser Arafat. At that time, the second
Palestinian uprising was raging and the Bush administration felt
that Arafat was fueling the uprising. In 2005, Arafat died but the
uprising continued and neither the Palestinians nor the Israelis
have peace.
Without a doubt both Palestinians and Israelis want peace but they
simply don't know how to achieve it. This is why the United States,
the Arab countries and the rest of the world must do all they can
to facilitate reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. If
the peacemakers do not facilitate a negotiated settlement between
the Israelis and Palestinians this conflict will certainly become
more violent and will continue to destabilize the Middle East.
Posted July 11, 2006 by Kamal Nawash