BIRZEIT, West Bank: Diplomacy is the only solution, says human rights expert George Giacaman. However, this diplomacy is affected by the regional and international political scene, whether it’s in Egypt, Israel or the United Sates.
In an interview with Bitterlemons.org, Giacaman explained how the Egyptian government has to balance between its role as a mediator between Israel and Hamas and the demands of its population; and how the upcoming elections in Israel and the current presidential transition in the United States have affected the decision making mechanism leading to this war on Gaza.
Giacaman teaches in the MA program in Democracy and Human Rights and the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Studies at Birzeit University. A collection of his writings from the second intifada appeared in 2008.
Bitterlemons: Egypt is getting very heavily involved in the mediation efforts.
Does Egyptian mediation hold the key to forging a ceasefire?
George Giacaman: One has to see what’s behind the headlines. As far as the Hebrew newspapers are concerned, Israel is putting pressure on Egypt by continuing the bombardment of Gaza. So Palestinian lives are being sacrificed in order to pressure Egypt.
Egypt’s problem is that the more Palestinians are killed, especially civilians, the more the domestic situation boils over and threatens the regime. In addition, Israel is blackmailing Egypt to ensure its own security, particularly vis-à-vis arms smuggling.
The odd situation here is that the occupier is asking the occupied and neighboring states to secure its occupation, even though it is the aggressor.
There is almost total silence on this by western governments, in particular the US.
Hamas wants an end to the siege and seems focused on the Rafah crossing. Does this not add to the pressure on Egypt?
That’s correct but Hamas is not focused only on the Rafah crossing. You have to keep in mind that the truce was supposed to end on Dec. 19. The party that broke the truce was the Israeli government when on Nov. 4 the Israeli army entered Gaza and killed six Palestinians. Israel expected retaliation, but not just that: according to the Israeli media, the military operation we see executed now was planned six months ago.
So in a way this was a premeditated attempt to provoke an incident that would ultimately lead to an invasion, and this is exactly what happened. It’s not an accidental thing. The timing – during the last days of George W. Bush and before Barack Obama who may not be quite so accommodating to Israel – was important. This whole offensive is more about the intentions of the Israeli government than Hamas’.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas has said he might accept international troops in Gaza and the West Bank. Hamas is opposed. Is this a non-starter?
Hamas is not opposed to international troops as long as they are stationed not only in Gaza but also the West Bank. Israel refuses this because it wants to get rid of Gaza while continuing its theft of land in the West Bank and expanding its settlements there. For this, it wants no observers around.
Do you think diplomatic efforts are now seriously in swing?
The question now is how long until an agreement is reached, because eventually an agreement will be reached. If you look at the present siege tactics of the Israeli army they are simply circling around and making the odd incursion into built-up areas. I think what Israel might do if there is no agreement in the next few days is occupy a small portion of an area of Gaza City, but not the whole area. As has been clearly stated in the Hebrew press, the Israeli government is concerned about casualties among soldiers, which might backfire politically.
There is a division of opinion in the Israeli government. Tzipi Livni and Ehud Barak are both keen to end the military operations now since they are facing elections next month. Ehud Olmert, who is not running for re-election, is not.
In a way, Israeli electoral considerations are being played out in the Gaza Strip.
How important is the inauguration of Barack Obama next week?
If the Israeli offensive continues after the inauguration then Obama will be faced with an immediate problem. I understand that the Bush administration told the Israeli government to end this offensive before Obama takes over.
The question is if in the remaining seven days there will be a political agreement and if not, what will Israel do given its reluctance to engage in a full occupation. I suspect Israel wants to end it before Obama takes over.
In the end, is there anything but a diplomatic solution?
No. In fact, if you take things at face value, Hamas’ and Israel’s positions are not that far apart. Israel’s declared position is to stop the rockets, something Hamas is willing to do provided border crossings are open. This is not hard to achieve. The undeclared positions have to do with the Israeli government wanting to improve the conditions of the truce and what we are witnessing now is a bloody negotiation to improve truce conditions. The Israeli government understands it cannot make Hamas disappear. -Bitterlemons.org
