Impotent on “Israel”

Source: Al Ahram Weekly, 8-14/06/2006
By Salama A Salama
I will not waste your time with comments on actresses taking on the veil or parliamentarians taking off their shoes. Absurdities such as these only serve to divert our attention from the real issues, from the horrors surrounding us in this region, and from our own ineptitude in domestic and foreign policy alike.
Absurdity wins when no one wants to face the real issues, such as the murder of two Egyptian policemen at the border by "Israeli" fire. This isn`t the first time. In late 2004, the "Israelis" shot three Egyptian soldiers in the Salaheddin area. Egypt made no fuss back then and is unlikely to make any now. We`ll bury our victims in silence. You know why? Because we have no way of calling "Israel" to account. How, I wonder, would the "Israelis" have reacted had it been us shooting them? How would they have reacted had we killed even one "Israeli" soldier? Need I to say more?
When was the last time we`ve done anything about "Israel's" arrogance? We just wait for Ehud Olmert to tell us what to do. Depressingly enough, Olmert was met with open arms in Sharm El-Sheikh only hours after the murder of the Egyptian soldiers. The story of our soldiers straying across "Israeli" borders is hard to believe, to say the least. And what is Olmert offering us exactly? The "Israeli" prime minister is just re-wording the proposals Sharon made at a meeting with President Hosni Mubarak and President Mahmoud Abbas at Sharm El-Sheikh nine months ago. The only new thing is that he`s thinking of resuming contacts with the Palestinian Authority. Regardless, he`s going to keep the Palestinians under siege and get on with unilateral action.
Many in Egypt think that the more we trade and normalise with "Israel" the better our relations with the US will be and the more the "Israelis" would be willing to make peace. I doubt it. "Israel's" continued aggression in the West Bank and Gaza has triggered bombings in Sinai, and now we`re told Palestinians have been involved in these bombings. Evidently, "Israel" is stirring things up and hoping to see civil war erupt among the Palestinians.
The humanitarian emergency in Gaza and the West Bank is taking on Darfurian dimensions, with the US and "Israel" punishing an entire nation for bringing Hamas to power. The Bush administration is getting European and Arab countries to collude in a scheme to starve the Palestinians and bring down the Hamas government. And let`s assume that Hamas is removed from power, what next? In all likelihood, Iraq-style domestic strife would ensue. Hamas is not going to take kindly to its removal from power. Consequently, Gaza and the West Bank would begin attracting the fighters of Al-Qaeda and Hizbullah. The resulting turmoil would burn "Israel" and Arab countries alike.
A few days ago, UK academics took a stand. The Association of University Teachers decided to boycott "Israeli" academics because of the latter`s support of educational apartheid polices and the separation wall. The decision took us by surprise, for we gave up a long time ago. We`re only good at playing host to Olmert in Sharm El-Sheikh. When it comes to "Israel", we`re not even using the stick and carrot tactic. We have no sticks, apparently, and no carrots.