DisasterPhilosophy

Injustice and double standards...
Category: News and Politics

Palestinians are labeled terrorists for struggling against the occupation. And lately, they are accused of being governed by a "terrorist" government.

These accusers fail to remember that Hamas was established in 1987; and that the occupation of the Gaza Strip and West Bank started 20 years before that. They fail to note basic facts, or purposely overlook them. Some of these facts, required for any objective outlook on the situation, are that Palestinians:

-are not occupying the land of another nation.

-are not uprooting another nation from their homes.

-are not constructing illegal settlement in another country's land.

-are not violating international law on a daily basis.

For some, it is convenient to get caught in the daily incidents, and forget the roots and basics of the conflict. They prefer to muddle in the symptoms of the case, and ignore the cause. For others, it is easier to blame the victim rather than face up to the strong aggressor.

And so, Palestinians are faced with a strange situation where the aggressor is praised for its crimes under the heroic notion of "self defense;" while Palestinian self defense is demonized as "terrorism."

It is extremely difficult not to reach the conclusion that there are two sets of values and scales applied to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On the one hand, Israelis are given vast leeway and space, allowing them to commit war crimes without international retribution. And on the other hand, Palestinians are not allowed to commit a single act, deemed as a mistake by those that apply double standards, without paying a heavy price.

The international community has become accustomed to viewing occupation actions as "self defense" and Palestinian reactions as "terrorism." That is why the international community is vocal when demanding that Hamas "renounce violence," while not issuing a single statement condemning the death and murder of Palestinian civilians, and the confiscation and destruction of their property.

The Palestinian people are aware of, and are tired of, the double standards adopted by some countries in the international community. If violence is to be renounced, then it is the violence of aggression and occupation, not the resistance of the victims.

As far back as 1948 Israel made a promise to repatriate 100,000 Palestinians - but it was a broken promise. Though admitted into the UN on the condition that it implemented the resolution, Israel continues to refuse to allow refugees back. Even in the face of compelling historical evidence from Arab and Israeli historians, Tel Aviv still denies its responsibility for them.
All refugees have just three options: to be repatriated, to be absorbed into the host country or to be invited to a third country.

All the parties to the peace process acknowledge that finding a just solution for the refugees is fundamental to achieving a durable peace for the region.

This repeated reference to the right of return means that, under article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, it becomes an "international custom" or a " general principle of law recognized by civilized nations".

Ambiguous resolution?

It has been argued that Resolution 194 is ambiguous, but subsequent resolutions affirm that Palestinian repatriation is a matter of right. Resolution 3236 refers to the: "Inalienable right of the Palestinians to return to their homes and property from which they have been displaced and uprooted."
On the other hand, the Zionist demand that the refugee issue be resolved on the basis of external resettlement and the annulment of the right of return.

The passage of time, rather than reducing the importance of the refugee situation, has made it all the more urgent due to the growth of the Diaspora and decades of inaction. Neither time nor space constitutes genuine obstacles to their return – but both have been used as arguments against repatriating them. Returning to our Palestine is not a dream according to any Palestinian refugee. They are holding the keys of their homes and still wait to return To Jerusalem and the occupied territories around.