Why does Israel publicise its crimes? [Archives:2007/1036/Opinion]
Mohammed Al-Ariqi
The criminal usually commits his crime according to a prior plan and then tries to conceal the evidence in order to evade punishment for what he commits. But Israel alone has been behaving in an irregular away which is totally different from the rule of criminals, as it commits its crimes in the public eye and takes pride in them even though such crimes carry sanctions under numerous international laws, conventions and agreements.
A few days ago, the Israeli Space Channel aired a documentary film, which was announced for the first time, disclosing scenes in which the Israeli army killed 250 wounded Egyptian soldiers following the fighting which took place in the Sinai Peninsula in 1967. As the film was screened, some Arab newspapers described shots of Egyptian soldiers raising their hands without arms in gestures of surrender. Other shots showed Israeli troops, working under the command of Benjamin Elyizer, who is the current Minster of Infrastructure in the Israeli cabinet. At that time, Elyizer ordered his soldiers to kill the Egyptian prisoners of war.
The second crime was that of the Israeli 34 day war against Lebanon in July last year. To this day, the conflicting factions in the Lebanese government are debating over the war some of whom claim that Hezbollah gave Israel just cause to wage the war after the Shi'ite Islamic group held two Israeli soldiers captive. This was the same logic used in the addresses and analyses of those who call themselves realistic and ideal Arabs.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Ehaud Olmert, appeared to put an end to the controversy after he acknowledged that he declared war last year against Hezbollah. He claimed that under an emergency plan, which he approved four months before the war which devastated Lebanon and provoked controversy in Israel, he had taken a decision to eliminate Hezbollah. Olmert revealed, however, that the war couldn't help him reach his pre-planned goals.
From these facts, a question is being raised about why Israel turned to publicise all its hostile acts and military and civil crimes. The answer is simply that Israel is not very capable of earning the sympathy of the world public opinion.
Israel need not show its' alleged innocence for various reasons. Firstly, Israel's crimes and brutal acts, which it exercises before television cameras, are not welcomed by world public opinion, particularly certain sections of Western public opinion who have become convinced that Israel is an enemy of peace. The second reason is that Israel does not care about earning the sympathy of Western public opinion since Western governments back it and never oppose any Israeli act. The third reason is that Israel doesn't fear any reactions from Arabs rather it has a shared joint strategy with the U.S. to fight Arabs and defeat them psychologically. The fourth reason is that Israel doesn't fear any international sanctions or consequences because the world has no supreme court or legal body able to penalise Israel for its crimes against humanity. Israel itself is able to establish numerous courts and fabricate hundreds of charges against innocent people.
But, if the Arabs have the commitment they can defend and reclaim their rights because Israel is not that great a power. And, I think that Israel cannot now escape the ramifications of the unlawful killing of Egyptian prisoners of war since Egypt has become stronger with a growing population, numerous press institutions, and legal and civil community organisations.
Mohammed Al-Ariqi is a Yemeni journalist and secretary editor of Al-Thawrah daily newspaper.
Source: Al-Thawrah daily newspaper
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[archive-e:1036-v:14-y:2007-d:2007-03-26-p:opinion]
