The Washington Post today gives op-ed space to Aljazeera.net reporter Laila El-Haddad. She has nothing favorable to say about Israel’s decision to give up all its claims to Gaza, to destroy Jewish communities — homes, farms, shops, synagogues and cemeteries — in exchange for no concessions whatsoever.
Israelis hope that with their offending presence removed, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will be able to transform Gaza into a decent place. Few have confidence that will happen; many expect Gaza will become more than ever a terrorist base.
Ms. El-Haddad complains about the very real inconveniences that she and other Palestinians experience at border crossings between Gaza and Israel, as well as those imposed on Palestiians by Israel’s security barriers along the West Bank.
Nowhere in her essay does she mention the reason for these inconveniences. She writes not one word about terrorism, about suicide bombers who have crossed into Israeli communities to commit acts of mass murder. She has nothing to say about the violence that has been directed against Israelis for more than half a century.
Apparently, she believes the suffering of a Palestinian mother standing in line is infinitely greater than the suffering of an Israeli mother standing next to a grave.
So long as this is a dominant perception among Palestinians it is difficult to imagine a solution to the conflict.