Israeli hostage crisis a case of double standards

"In western thinking, killing civilians from the air hardly counts. Detonating roadside bombs is 'terrorism;' dropping them from the air is 'counter-terrorism.'" - Eric Margolis

Israel’s aerial bombardments are supposedly in response to the capture of Gilad Shalit, the 19 year old Israeli soldier, but bombing the Palestinian’s will not solve the current crisis. Instead the bombings will only exacerbate an already tense situation. Why is it that Israel can hold Palestinian prisoners with impunity, but when Palestinians do the same, they are labeled terrorists? There is an obvious case of double standards at play.

Israel’s strategy of isolating and refusing to negotiate with a democratically elected government is not helping their matters. Negotiating a release of prisoners may plant the seed that may lead to further negotiations and potentially reduce tensions between both governments. The Palestinian government, on the other hand, must use open lines of communication instead of sending mixed signals regarding the captive soldier.

However, it seems Israel’s strategy of labeling the Palestinian government as “a gang of terrorists and criminals” works in their favour. By using the previous stigma attached with Hamas, the Israeli leadership can discredit the government in the eyes of the international community while continuing their imperialist quest. Unfortunately, such an approach will make the Palestinians more desperate leading to further violence and bloodshed.

Copyright Aurangzeb Qureshi 2006