Al-Diyar, Lebanon, September 26
Just when you think the actions of the Israeli government could not get any worse, Israeli policymakers succeed in breaking their own record for moral indecency. The most recent controversy is a claim made by several Israeli commentators about the possible outbreak of another round of fighting in the Gaza Strip. This prospect, according to some Israeli pundits, has nothing to do with Israel’s security; rather, it centers on a need to test new Israeli weapons systems in the battlefield. Although startling, what you are reading is correct: the Israeli military and its largest weapons manufacturers want to use a war in Gaza to test their newest technologies before selling them to buyers abroad. The same observers also noted that yet another incentive for war is the investigations facing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Television reports of fighting in Gaza would surely deflect attention away from Netanyahu and rally Israelis around their flag. Israel will use excuses such as “self-defense” and “preemptive attack” to justify its actions, and the international community, led by the United States, will back the Israeli claims. Despite horrendous human rights violations, no one will hold Israel accountable. It will gain more and more legitimacy to continue its persecution of Palestinians, who are already locked up in open-air prisons. Until someone in the Arab world stands up to Israel and takes it upon himself to confront the latter’s brutal policies, the Palestinians will continue to serve as human targets used by the Israeli army for training purposes. –Hussam Kunfani