There is plenty of bloodguilt to go around, but Israel, with the greatest power, bears the greatest responsibility to act justly and to right the wrongs of occupation.
It is no surprise to note that there has been great wrong done by many different nations, peoples, and interests in this tiny area of the world. European nations have much to answer for in the centuries of systematic anti-Semitism, and a Holocaust that resulted ultimately in the expulsion of innocent people from their land.
In a sense, the Palestinian people are paying for the sins of the West. Arab nations in the region exercise a well-publicized hatred for Israel but a much less well-publicized disdain of Palestinian refugees and would-be immigrants. And the US and Canada too often believe unquestioning support for Israel is the only policy option in the region.
In the region itself, everyone with whom we met – Israeli and Palestinian – acknowledged that their “side” had shed innocent blood. This did not surprise us.
But several things did surprise us:
Many of us still thought of Israel as tiny, fragile, and justifiably afraid of being “…pushed into the sea” by the might of the surrounding Arab nations. But the present reality is quite different. Israel, the size of New Jersey, maintains the fourth most powerful military establishment in the world. It boasts a GNP greater than Jordan’s and Syria’s combined. It holds a nuclear arsenal that is reputedly newer and larger than that of France (including two missile submarines cruising the Mediterranean).
The huge disparity in military, political and economic power between Israel and the Occupied Territories makes it difficult indeed to uncritically accept “survival” or even “national security” as justification for present Israeli actions in the Occupied Territories.
As one might expect in this kind of power imbalance, the ratio of Israeli to Palestinian civilian casualties is also unbalanced. During the last seven years, for instance, Palestinians have endured more than six times the number of civilian deaths.
B’Tselem, the respected Israeli human rights organization, reports the following fatalities between September 2000 and July 2007:
- Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces: 4,187
- Palestinians killed by Israeli civilians: 41
- Israeli civilians killed by Palestinians: 704
- Israeli security forces killed by Palestinians: 320
- Palestinian minors killed by Israeli security forces: 846
- Israeli minors killed by Palestinians: 119
- Palestinians who took part in hostilities and were killed by Israeli security forces: 1,322
- Palestinians who DID NOT take part in hostilities and were killed by Israeli security forces: 1,991
- Palestinians killed, unclear if taking part in hostilities: 594
These numbers do not include Palestinians who died after medical treatment was delayed due to restrictions of movement (forty-six verified cases), twenty-nine Palestinian citizens of Israel killed by Israelis, or nine Israelis killed by Palestinian citizens of Israel.
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