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His eye has been destroyed
and he has been transferred
by the Ministry of Health
to Egypt for medical care.

So far, doctors in Egypt
have been unsuccessful at
removing the bullet and the
child may need to travel to
Europe for further treatment.

The Israeli Elections: Breakthrough or Business as Usual?

With the lowest voter turnout in the nation's history, Israeli voters went to the polls for Parliamentary elections last Tuesday while the Hamas cabinet was formally accepted and sworn in. The members of the Palestinian Legislative Council from the Gaza Strip teleconferenced with their West Bank colleagues. They could not travel to Ramallah as Israel had imposed a complete border closure on Gaza and the West Bank, and the Israeli authorities have already threatened the Palestinian Prime Minister Haniyeh with arrest as a "terrorist."

Although in the runup to the Israeli voting, various candidates hailed the election as "historic," nearly 40% of the Israeli electorate chose to stay home. Some political analysts feel the indifference was prompted by the notion that a centrist Kadima victory was a foregone conclusion. Regardless, by Tuesday evening, Kadima head Ehud Olmert claimed victory, and proclaimed a mandate to continue Ariel Sharon's policies of "disengagement" in the West Bank, imposing final borders unilaterally "if necessary."

Early projections showed Kadima leading in the tally, but lacking enough votes to govern alone. Israeli law mandates the leading party now has six weeks to form a ruling coalition among the dozen or more other parties represented.

Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank have been both pessimistic and indifferent to the Israeli elections. In the past, a change in the ruling party of Israel often was followed by tangible changes in Palestine. Now, however, many Palestinians from both the West Bank and Gaza feel the party label on a new Israeli parliament matters little. The most important judgment, many point out, has already been rendered by the United States and the European Union which has condemned the Hamas government as terrorist. Most Palestinians foresee a future where Israel is likely to continue its border closures, bombing attacks, imposed food shortages, and building the illegal apartheid wall in the West Bank.

The Israeli Arabs, about 20% of the Israeli population, are Palestinians who remained in Israel after the 1948 Nakbah (the Catastrophe) forced three quarters of a million Palestinians to become refugees. On paper, they have full citizenship rights, but in fact, face heavy discrimination in jobs, housing, health care and education. The four main Arab parties made a concerted effort to get out the vote among their communities, fearing that voter frustration, a possible hardline Islamic boycott, and competition from Zionist parties might lead to a drop in the number of Israeli Arab members of the Knesset.

Reached by phone at her Jerusalem home, one Israeli Arab would only speak anonymously. "I don't have hopes for the future," she said. "I think the situation will just get worse and the Israel government will finally go to open war with Hamas."

Her sentiments were echoed by Abu Khaled, 27, from Gaza City: "The Israeli elections don't matter at all. Whoever wins, our situation will remain as it is. There is nothing to encourage optimism," he said. "The Israelis will vote for occupation -- which is actually redundant. The fact is we are occupied by Israel right now and are likely to remain so."

The only note of optimism was sounded by Jamal Baker from Gaza City, who considered most of the Israeli threats as election propaganda. "It can't possibly all be true long-term. The border closures, the food shortages, this was part of Kadima's campaign. It will end when the elections are over."

Dr. Salah Al Bardawil, spokesman for Hamas list at PLC, said about the the Kadima win:"Olmert's program is simply an extension of Sharon's policy. It's the same mentality and the same thinking. But we've noted that virtually all the parties concurred with harming Palestinians, insisting on Judaization for Jerusalem, and on imposing a unilateral solution. Unfortunately, I don't think that this government wants a peaceful solution. When the centerpiece of their proposed program is confiscating half of the West Bank land, maintaining the apartheid system and the wall, imposing starvation and siege -- well, these are not indicators of good intentions. Of course," he added, "they will present their propaganda to the world, calling Palestinian resistance terrorism, hoping to earn the support of the international community. We will have to be untiring in our work to reveal the falsity of the Israeli policies."

On the question of recognizing Israel, Olmert's pre-condition for any negotiations with Palestine, Dr. Al Bardawil said, "Recognition has to be mutual. The Israelis are not recognizing a Palestinian state, so how are we to recognize them? They refuse to recognize Hamas. The Israelis speak of borders, but what borders? The 1967 borders or the borders they are creating now with the apartheid wall?"

"Obviously," he continued, "we don't have a war technology remotely equal to Israel's. Nonetheless, we are a people under occupation and international law gives us the right to resist. Israel is untiring in its talk about its right to defend itself. We have the same right and the biggest aggression on the Palestinians is the Israeli occupation. Even though we have stated our willingness to declare a long-term truce if Israel will negotiate honestly with us, finally we will defend our land with our bodies if we must."

Hopeful, indifferent, or despairing, the words of Palestinian citizens or even government spokesmen will never change the facts on the ground. At present the overwhelming balance of power is on the Israeli side, and recent history has demonstrated that only sustained international pressure can stop Israel's imposing collective punishment on the civilian populations of the West Bank and Gaza.

23 March 06