Israel's brutal incursion into Rafah has produced calls for sanctions from far off places. Emad Gad writes on one source of discontent In recent days the international campaign against the destructive military operations by Israeli occupation forces in Rafah and its refugee camp has gained greater momentum. Many are speaking up to demand an end to these operations which are a clear violation of international law and may be considered war crimes and crimes against humanity. With the increased ferocity of military operations and Israel's revelation that it intends to demolish a few thousand Palestinian homes to enlarge the security corridor along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, international rejection of these policies has also widened in scope. Israeli organisations are acting to stop these operations, saying that they constitute war crimes and may subject Israel to international sanctions. Israel continues to behave as if it is above international law, and the United States will not permit a Security Council resolution to set up an international court to try Israeli officials. Nevertheless, there are increasing fears in Israeli circles that a day will come when Israel may find itself before an international tribunal, particularly with the widening scope of house demolitions and the increased aggression against the Palestinian people. Israeli Minister of Justice Tommy Lapid made no bones about the Israeli plan to widen the security corridor, which will require the demolition of hundreds -- perhaps thousands -- of homes in Rafah when he warned of the danger this poses to Israel. Lapid went so far as to say that Israel may be expelled from the United Nations and have sanctions imposed against it. The Israeli Committee against House Demolitions has demanded that the demolitions stop immediately. Committee officer Prof Jeff Halper says that Israel has demolished about 1,200 homes in the Gaza Strip over the last three years. Pointing out the disproportionate, arbitrary Israeli response to the death of its soldiers, Halper describes Israeli military actions as state terrorism, directed against an isolated, occupied civilian population with the use of full-scale attacks on crowded residential areas with planes, missiles, tanks, bulldozers and infantry troops, sometimes entailing the destruction of entire neighbourhoods. "In presenting the deaths of the soldiers as a 'terrorist attack', the Israeli government conceals entirely the fact that they died as part of a military force invading Palestinian towns and cities as part of a brutal 37-year occupation by Israel that shows no signs of ending," Halper writes. "The occupation, the Israeli peace camp stresses, constitutes the infrastructure of terror." At the same time, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan strongly condemned the demolition of homes in Rafah, stressing that it is a violation of international law. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) noted that house demolitions are a form of collective punishment, while the European Union also condemned the demolitions and called on Israel to stop immediately. Meanwhile, the Jewish American president of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn, also attacked the demolitions. "Israel's military operations pertaining to the demolitions of thousands of homes in Rafah are reckless, and leave tens of thousands of people without a roof over their heads," Wolfensohn told the Maariv newspaper. He added, "as a Jew, I am ashamed of this kind of treatment of people." Following the Rafah operations, international calls have been heard to impose sanctions on Israel. The Norwegian Oil and Petrochemical Workers Union (NOPEF) called on all parties and political forces in Norway to adopt for a complete boycott of Israel. In bringing the idea before the government, NOPEF President Lief Sande said that the decision grew out of discussions that have continued for years but which was reinforced by the recent Israeli massacres in Gaza. Sande said he hoped Norwegian political parties would adopt the NOPEF's suggestion by drafting concrete steps in a working plan for a full boycott of Israel as a response to the incomprehensible killing of civilians, house demolitions and clear violations of Palestinian human rights. Sande said several plans had already been proposed to apply pressure on Israel, including condemnations and calls for a boycott but that none had garnered the necessary international approval. He wondered how Israel has escaped an international resolution to impose sanctions for so long. NOPEF's initiative was welcomed by political parties in the Norwegian parliament, with the head of the Centre Party (Senterpartiet), Aslaug Haga, saying the plan would be presented to the government. Haga said she hoped Norway would adopt the proposal and present it to the EU and the UN to produce a resolution that would oblige other nations to deal firmly with Israel. She suggested that Norway start by initiating discussions with other nations that agree with its vision to find a formulation that could be proposed in international forums. The plan also met with strong encouragement from the Socialist Left Party. But party President Kristin Halvorsen said that it would be difficult at the present time to produce a resolution for a full boycott of Israel. Instead, she suggested a ban on selling or buying weapons from Israel. Halvorsen also asked the Norwegian government to take practical steps to pressure Israel into resuming the peace process or to implement an arms ban. She said she hoped the international community would adopt an arms ban which would prevent Israel from using its weapons against Palestinian civilians. The idea of a boycott met with the approval of the Norwegian public which does not appear to be enthusiastic about Israeli attempts to improve Israel's image in Scandinavian countries. In conjunction with the Friends of Israel Association in Norway, Israel recently transported the remains of a bus to Norway that was blown up by Palestinians on 18 June 2002, in an attempt to convince Norwegians that its operations are a form of self-defence. While Norwegians gave a tepid reception to the bus display they were more receptive to a counter-campaign launched by the Palestinian community in Norway at the site of the bus exhibit. There, Palestinians distributed photos and publications explaining the crimes of Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinian people. Clearly, Israel's escalating aggression against the Palestinian people and the commission of new crimes has begun to cement an international force that demands that it be held accountable for these crimes. It has also revitalised Israeli movements and organisations working to stop the aggression, defend the rights of the Palestinian people and support efforts aimed at a political settlement to the conflict. These efforts will certainly receive greater impetus in the coming period but they require greater Arab efforts to open up to international forces defending the Palestinian people, and Arab civic action to improve the Arab media's discourse on the other. Arabs must also develop a vision that would incorporate the use of political tools and civil action in the struggle. This is what Arabs Against Discrimination is attempting to do through its various activities, including its Web site at www.aad-online.org
