Oct
9, 2023
Behind
all this lies Israeli arrogance; the idea that we can do whatever we like, that
we’ll never pay the price and be punished for it. We’ll carry on undisturbed.
We’ll
arrest, kill, harass, dispossess and protect the settlers busy with their
pogroms. We'll visit Joseph’s Tomb, Othniel’s Tomb and Joshua’s Altar in the
Palestinian territories, and of course the Temple Mount – over 5,000 Jews on
Sukkot alone.
We’ll
fire at innocent people, take out people’s eyes and smash their faces, expel,
confiscate, rob, grab people from their beds, carry out ethnic cleansing and of
course continue with the unbelievable siege of the Gaza Strip, and everything
will be all right.
We’ll
build a terrifying obstacle around Gaza – the underground wall alone cost 3
billion shekels ($765 million) – and we’ll be safe. We’ll rely on the geniuses
of the army's 8200 cyber-intelligence unit and on the Shin Bet security service
agents who know everything. They’ll warn us in time.
- Israel's leaders have been eternally judged. What are they thinking now?
- Israel must first bring home its own
- With each round of fighting in Gaza, more 'collateral damage,' and more futility
We’ll
transfer half an army from the Gaza border to the Hawara border in the West
Bank, only to protect far-right lawmaker Zvi Sukkot and the settlers. And
everything will be all right, both in Hawara and at the Erez crossing into
Gaza.
It
turns out that even the world's most sophisticated and expensive obstacle can
be breached with a smoky old bulldozer when the motivation is great. This
arrogant barrier can be crossed by bicycle and moped despite the billions
poured into it and all the famous experts and fat-cat contractors.
We
thought we’d continue to go down to Gaza, scatter a few crumbs in the form of
tens of thousands of Israeli work permits – always contingent on good behavior
– and still keep them in prison. We’ll make peace with Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates and the Palestinians will be forgotten until they’re
erased, as quite a few Israelis would like.
We’ll
keep holding thousands of Palestinian prisoners, sometimes without trial, most
of them political prisoners. And we won’t agree to discuss their release even
after they've been in prison for decades.
We’ll
tell them that only by force will their prisoners see freedom. We thought we
would arrogantly keep rejecting any attempt at a diplomatic solution, only
because we don’t want to deal with all that, and everything would continue that
way forever.
Once
again it was proved that this isn’t how it is. A few hundred armed Palestinians
breached the barrier and invaded Israel in a way no Israeli imagined was
possible. A few hundred people proved that it’s impossible to imprison 2
million people forever without paying a cruel price.
Just
as the smoky old Palestinian bulldozer tore through the world’s smartest
barrier Saturday, it tore away at Israel’s arrogance and complacency. And
that’s also how it tore away at the idea that it’s enough to occasionally
attack Gaza with suicide drones – and sell them to half the world – to maintain
security.
On
Saturday, Israel saw pictures it has never seen before. Palestinian vehicles
patrolling its cities, bike riders entering through the Gaza gates. These
pictures tear away at that arrogance. The Gaza Palestinians have decided
they’re willing to pay any price for a moment of freedom. Is there any hope in
that? No. Will Israel learn its lesson? No.
On
Saturday they were already talking about wiping out entire neighborhoods in
Gaza, about occupying the Strip and punishing Gaza “as it has never been
punished before.” But Israel hasn’t stopped punishing Gaza since 1948, not for
a moment.
After
75 years of abuse, the worse possible scenario awaits it once again. The
threats of “flattening Gaza” prove only one thing: We haven’t learned a thing.
The arrogance is here to stay, even though Israel is paying a high price once
again.
Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bears very great responsibility for what happened,
and he must pay the price, but it didn’t start with him and it won’t end after
he goes. We now have to cry bitterly for the Israeli victims, but we should
also cry for Gaza.
Gaza,
most of whose residents are refugees created by Israel. Gaza, which has never
known a single day of freedom.
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