Israel pulls out of reoccupied strip

By Kesava Menon

MANAMA (BAHRAIN) APRIL 18. While violent confrontations between Israel and the Palestinians continue, and although a special spin is being given to a controversial Israeli action taken on Monday night, there is for the first time a sign that there are limits beyond which Israel will not be permitted to go. Following harsh criticism by the U.S. Secretary of State, Gen. Colin Powell, of its decision to re-occupy a portion of Palestinian territory, Israel pulled its troops out of the enclave. This U.S. intervention, while welcome, falls short of the level of involvement that the Palestinians and the Arabs in general expect from it.

On Monday night Israel had sent its troops to occupy a slice of territory near the town of Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip. This area had been handed over to full Palestinian control almost at the beginning of the Oslo processes and its re- occupation signalled an escalation of Israel's measures against the Palestinians. The troops were sent in after Palestinian militants (Hamas has claimed responsibility) fired mortar shells that landed near the Israeli town of Sederot. Although the shells did little damage, Israel felt that it was justified in occupying Palestinian land, in the process levelling orchards and farmlands. They hoped to sanitise this stretch of ground on the Gaza Strip/Israel border so that militants could not launch attacks and they also hoped to send a ``deterrent'' signal to the Palestinian Authority.

In a statement yesterday, Gen. Powell was quoted as saying that the Israeli action was excessive and disproportionate. While Gen. Powell did try to ``balance'' his statement by criticising the Palestinians for having provoked and precipitated the crisis, the condemnation of the Israeli action became the more noteworthy element of his message. Israel began pulling its troops out of the enclave soon after this statement. The pull-out was reported to have been completed by this morning.

At the time the action was taken a senior Israeli military officer was quoted as saying that the occupation could go on for an indefinite period of time. Israel's Foreign Minister, Mr. Shimon Peres, appeared on CNN today to give a different spin to events. According to him the officer had been misquoted and the plan was actually for a limited action to clear the area of militants. Holes can easily be picked in Mr. Peres' statement since it would have made little sense for Israel to send in its army into the tract if the only purpose was sanitise it for a very limited period of time. In the overall context, it was clear that Israel had been stung by the U.S. criticism and was making the best it could of the affair.

While Gen. Powell's statement was the first sign of some even- handedness in the approach of the new administration it is clearly not enough. The sequence of events shows that the U.S. administration understands that there are limits beyond which it cannot condone Israeli action and it also shows that Israel will listen when Washington speaks. This will whet the appetite in the Arab world for more American outspokenness. What the Palestinians and the Arabs in general would like to see is that this is not a one-off and that the U.S. administration will get more involved in the Israel-Palestine conflict and that it will do so with a greater sense of impartiality.

U.N., U.S. worried

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Section  : International
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