It is rare, and often unthinkable, for a western diplomat to lash out at Israel and its treatment of Palestinians under occupation. And when it comes to United Nations secretary-generals, they are expected to be seemingly impartial, cautiously calculating and deliberately vague when voicing an opinion about who to blame for derailing the peace process, Israel’s illegal building of colonies in the Occupied Territories and its uneven response to provocations from Hamas in Gaza or attacks against colonists by Palestinians in the West Bank. For most of his tenure as UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon was no exception to that rule — until a few weeks ago, that is.
Addressing the Security Council last January, Ban had referred to the Palestinian attacks as rational human response to “the weight of a half century of (Israeli) occupation and the paralysis of the peace process”. He condemned rocket fire from militant groups in Gaza into Israel and called for an end to incitement, but said that “as oppressed people have demonstrated throughout the ages, it is human nature to react to occupation”. He urged both sides to save the two-state solution, but he also described colony construction as “an affront to the Palestinian people and to the international community”.
This was certainly the most severe criticism of Israel as an occupation power and the most sympathetic understanding — some would say justification — of Palestinian reaction in consequence, by Ban since he took office in January 2007. The arrogant and often confrontational Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, was quick to respond by assailing Ban and accusing him of encouraging terrorism. “Palestinian murderers do not want to build a country — they want to destroy a country and say so openly,” he said. “They want to murder Jews wherever they may be, and say so openly. They do not murder for peace and they do not murder for human rights ... The UN has long lost its neutrality and moral power, these comments by the secretary-general do little to improve its standing,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying.
Netanyahu’s reaction was expected, to which Ban responded in a New York Times op-ed piece titled ‘Don’t shoot the messenger’ few days later, by insisting that he had “pointed out a simple truth: History proves that people will always resist occupation”. He reiterated his condemnation of terrorism but added that “it is inconceivable, though, that security measures alone will stop the violence. As I warned the Security Council last week, Palestinian frustration and grievances are growing under the weight of nearly a half-century of occupation. Ignoring this won’t make it disappear”. The South Korean diplomat added: “No one can deny that the everyday reality of occupation provokes anger and despair, which are major drivers of violence and extremism and undermine any hope of a negotiated two-state solution.”
Ban was not backing down even though he was challenging a state that had notoriously evaded international rebuke, let alone punishment with impunity. He again criticised what he called illegal colonies in the West Bank and Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes. “Palestinians — especially young people — are losing hope over what seems a harsh, humiliating and endless occupation. Israelis are also reeling from near-daily attacks and losing sight of the possibility of a comprehensive peace with the Palestinians,” he wrote.
His is an accurate and bold description of what is behind the latest wave of violence in the West Bank, carried out mostly by young and desperate Palestinians against mainly Jewish colonists and Israeli soldiers. Netanyahu, who heads the most right-wing government in Israel’s history, has responded with ruthless measures: Shoot-to-kill orders to occupation soldiers, road blocks in occupied East Jerusalem, house demolitions, mass arrests of activists, economic strangulation of Palestinian towns and cities and yet more colony construction and expropriation of West Bank lands.
In the meantime, Netanyahu has rebuffed every attempt by the UN, the United States, the International Quartet, France and the European Union (EU) to kick-start the stalled peace process. For his government, the Oslo agreement is dead and buried and any future negotiations with the Palestinian National Authority will have to take place with no prior conditions and without any reference to past deals and understandings.
Unfortunately, there has been little reaction, outside Israel, to Ban’s latest awakening. The Arab world is embroiled in a series of regional crises that the Palestinian question receives minimum attention and almost no diplomatic support. Israel has met every modest move to make it accountable for its occupation and colony expansion with harsh and excessive reaction; as was the decision of the EU to label goods produced in West Bank colonies. And when it came to Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom’s demand for an investigation into the deaths of Palestinians involved in a spate of attacks on Israeli troops and civilians, the Israeli government simply decided that she was not welcome in Israel, calling her remarks “a mix of blindness and political stupidity”.
Ban’s remarks can only be described as politically correct and even sincere, despite the fact that they are a bit too late. He is to leave his post at the end of the year and some believe that his sudden anxiousness with Israeli occupation and Palestinian sufferings, which shyly acknowledged the right of Palestinians to resist occupation, is his way of clearing his conscience and setting the record straight.
It is indeed sad that such awakening happens only as diplomats and officials are about to leave their posts, underlining the fact that most realise that taking a moral stand on the Palestinian issue would curtail future career development. What is unfortunate, as well, is the fact that the UN and its chief have little, if any, weight over the future of the stalled Middle East peace negotiations and the imploding two-state solution.
For Palestinians, Ban’s words will resonate since they correctly diagnose the disease, justify their reaction and suggest a remedy, as feeble as that remedy looks today. Ban’s explanations also underline the fact that Palestinians have been let down and abandoned by the international community for decades and that the world does indeed apply double standards when dealing with Israel’s flagrant violations. For Israel, Ban’s warnings may be rejected by the government, but one hopes that they will encourage Israelis to recognise that their leaders are pushing them towards an unavoidable abyss.
Osama Al Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman.
