Protecting the Most Valuable Resource

The latest violence in the Middle East suggests that there is a fundamental problem with the way that people view each other and their political and economic goals. Violence is seen as the only method by which an individual can achieve their political, economic and human rights. Yet, by participating in the violence, these individuals are causing further problems and are attacking the very goals they are seeking for themselves. They are depriving themselves and their children of the most precious resource; the freedom from violence.

Human rights and the basic dignities that people have come to expect for themselves has a high cost, but it shouldn't be so high that it comes at the expense of others. The Palestinians have had their rights limited for over 70 years; first at the hands of the Ottomans, then the British, then at the hands of their Arab brethren and then by the Israeli occupation that has not granted them the ability for self-determination as a people. Palestinians are a people without a nation, yet they are on the cusp of finally achieving this goal that was first established in 1947 but thwarted by the Arab attack on Israel in 1947-8.

The attacks of Palestinians on the Israelis have led to a deadly circle of violence that only feeds the hate and animosity between the Israelis and Palestinians. Extremists on both sides see the violence as an excuse for their continued insistence that their respective leaderships not to give in to any demands of the other side for recognition and respect of ideas. It has legitimized the violent reactions to violence on the part of the others; feeding a frenzy that neither side appears willing to stop. Lost in the process is that the vast majority of people living in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza simply want to live in peace with their fellow human beings; something that most people take for granted.

Violence has achieved its greatest impact in derailing the peace process and entrench the views that neither side has lived up to their commitments under the Oslo Accords and Wye Conference Agreement. Palestinians and Israelis alike bolster this view when their representatives go on the record blaming each other for the violence and lack of movement in the negotiations towards a final agreement. The Palestinians go on the record stating that they will unilaterally declare independence in May 1999 if the Oslo Accords are not adhered to while the Israelis say that they will use whatever means possible to prevent that occurrence. Both statements speak to the tremendous lack of respect and recognition that both Israelis and Palestinians have a right to exist.

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