Huwaida Arraf* talks about the International Solidarity Movement's efforts to protect the Palestinians from Israeli oppression The newest threat to Israel's massive security establishment -- that is, the entire Israeli state project itself, most significantly the settlements and military bases throughout the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem -- is an unarmed, multi-ethnic, multi-national entity called the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). In recent weeks, this Palestinian-led movement of Palestinian and international activists pursuing civilian-based, direct action, strategic unarmed resistance to the Israeli occupation, has come under attack by Israeli forces and the Israeli government. First there were the attacks against the international activists -- threats, intimidation, the shooting of Caiohme Butterly in the leg in Jenin, then her deportation; a few months later the Israeli military killed Rachel Corrie, 23-year-old American citizen; less than three weeks later Israeli soldiers shot Brian Avery, 24-year-old American citizen, in the face, and six days later shot Tom Hurndall, 21- year-old British national, in the head; all of these victims were protesting against or trying to stop Israeli military aggression against Palestinian civilians. Then Moshe Yaalon, the Israeli chief of staff, stated that the Israeli army would arrest and deport ISM activists, which led to at least seven arrests in the last month. Last week, the ISM office in Beit Sahour was raided and equipment and files were damaged and looted by Israeli soldiers. And in the latest measure, any foreigner wishing to enter Gaza must now sign a form relinquishing the Israeli army of its obligations under international law, and even Israeli law, in agreeing that their lives as civilians are at the mercy of the army and its vast array of weapons -- and that any injury suffered is in no way the responsibility of Israel. How can the Middle East's "only democracy" sanction murder by agents of the state in this way, and get away with it? Only with the conspiracy of silence of the international community. In order to support any form of oppression or aggression, particularly one tied into the identity and national character of a state or a people, intellectuals and propagandists are regularly lined up to discredit those who wish to speak out and organise against oppression. This was true of apartheid South Africa, of race-based theories to justify slavery and segregation in the United States and the West, and most destructively in the science of eugenics that justified the racial and ethnically organised slaughter of millions in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. Religion, too, has often been drafted to support such projects of colonisation, domination and apartheid around the globe. That these forces have been massed against the Palestinian people and their supporters over time is well- known. The latest target is the ISM, but the attempts to discredit this movement fall short. Calling us terrorists, or claiming that we justify or aid terrorism are the shallow voices of those whose discrimination and oppression are made all too apparent by white, American and European faces and voices who speak out against atrocities committed in their name (the so-called war on terror) and certainly with their money (Israel simply cannot maintain occupation and oppression without the billions of aid dollars from foreign supporters -- both governmental and private). ISM is a danger to the Israeli project of occupation, discrimination and apartheid-like rule, though not because internationals stop bulldozers or tanks with their bodies. Rather ISM is a threat to the foundation of the Israeli project of land confiscation, ethnic- and racial-based policies and laws, home demolitions, military domination and the mass roundup and arrest of civilians because we've created the space for internationals to see it, live it, and speak out about it not as Palestinians, but as Americans, Britons, French, Italians, Belgians, Germans, Spaniards, Canadians, and dozens of others. And it is a threat to Israel's ability to control the agenda of the dominant global discourse (when have you heard an Israeli official or propagandist mention the word Palestinian without the word terrorist somewhere nearby?) in the media, in government and in policy circles. Simple point -- security for Israel is an accepted requirement for peace, while Palestinian civilians are killed every day by the fourth most powerful army in the world. Israel can only maintain this dominance by silencing all other points of view -- the ISM has become therefore the loudest voice Israel needs to silence. But occupation is not going to be defeated by words alone; occupation, oppression and domination are going to be dismantled the same way they were erected -- through the action of people. Settlements were built and occupied by civilians going and building them and living in them. Yes, the Israeli army provided cover and uses these settlements as bases for operations. But, ultimately it is the will and effort of over 400,000 Israeli civilians to choose to live and build in a certain space. Palestinians and internationals together can retake that land and those spaces by taking massive, civilian-based action against them. The latest project is the Apartheid Wall being constructed by the Israeli government to block off the West Bank and Gaza from Israel -- all the while confiscating more land and water resources for annexation to Israel. This wall, like the Berlin Wall, can be brought down with hands -- the hands of Palestinian, international and Israeli civilians working together to resist occupation. It takes numbers and organisation and discipline and strategy. But ultimately it cannot fail. Yes, Israel can shoot at these civilians, and probably will, but Israel also shoots and kills civilians in their own homes and in their cities. So, why should the battleground be in the middle of Nablus or in the middle of the Jenin Refugee Camp? These are not the contested spaces and the areas of contestation are the settlements, the military bases, the bypass roads, etc that predominate the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Taking the civilian-based resistance to the civilian-dominated occupied areas of the occupied territories will radically alter the balance of power in this conflict in favour of the Palestinian freedom struggle. Together with internationals this struggle must be taken up. Yes, there are many buts that people can bring up, and no, there is no guarantee for success. So, why should we Palestinians take up the struggle in this way? There are many reasons, among them: 1. Because this form of struggle relies on our greatest strength and resource -- ourselves and our national community. And this form of struggle places control in our hands and upon our shoulders -- even if they shoot at us, even if they teargas us, even if they erect fences -- it is only up to us if and when to stop and on what terms. 2. That our goal of a free Palestine should reflect the values and morals of ourselves as a people and as a community, and that our struggle should reflect these values. Committing suicide is not one of these values, nor is killing any civilian. This tactic only aids and supports the efforts of the Zionist project. Our struggle must be based on our legitimate rights and values and we should not cloud nor distort that claim by resorting to the tactics of our oppressors. 3. Tactically-speaking, the Israeli military is prepared to deal with military threats -- it is not prepared to deal with non-military tactics and strategies. This was apparent during the first Intifada, and led to international outcry and even internal Israel debates over the government's use of force. Now, with the starting point of massive international solidarity for the Palestinian people, realised on the ground by the ISM, such a massive movement would significantly affect foreign governments because their own citizens are mobilised to act in support of the Palestinian people. 4. Israeli occupation is based on control, thus the proliferation of checkpoints, roadblocks, identity cards, imprisonment, intimidation and violence. Only by rejecting these methods of domination can we overcome these tactics -- current efforts in the Intifada have only created more of these elements of control. We must utilise a strategy that makes these means of control moot. 5. The Israeli army can be defeated by strategic, disciplined unarmed resistance, utilising the effective resources Palestinians can mobilise -- including international participation. In April 2002, international activists with help from Palestinians were able to out-manoeuvre the Israeli military during two of its biggest and most important military operations in recent Israeli history. At the Presidential Compound in Ramallah, we walked past the Israeli military three times, despite threats and shooting. At the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, we made our way through sniper-ridden alleys and tank- patrolled streets to break through the cordons of the Israeli military, delivering food and water to the trapped people inside and putting a kink in the plans of the Israeli Army. The International Solidarity Movement was created to be a resource for the unarmed resistance to Israeli occupation by providing the Palestinian people with a resource, international protection and a voice, with which to resist, nonviolently, an overwhelming military occupation force. The ISM is now under direct attack from the Israeli military and government -- the violence, slander, threats, arrests and raids -- and we don't expect the attacks to let up. This should not dissuade, but rather motivate people into action. The ISM plans to continue bringing international civilians to the occupied Palestinian territories (and unless Israel decides to completely close its borders to all tourists, we can do so) and will continue to organise with the belief that the hearts, minds and collective action of a united civilian force -- Palestinians and internationals together -- can defeat an oppressive military force. We call on people everywhere to join. * Huwaida Arraf is a founder and coordinator of the International Solidarity Movement. She is a Palestinian-American who returned to Palestine in April 2000. In May 2002 she was arrested by the Israeli authorities and sent out of the country for leading an ISM group into the Church of the Nativity. She returned however, and continues to organise with the ISM.
