“A few days after Rabin’s assassination, Shimon Peres invited the leaders of Meretz to discuss the guidelines of the government. The representatives of the left-wing party wanted the document being drafted to express support for the Palestinians’ right to self-determination. None of them expected that, more than two years after the agreement regarding mutual recognition between the State of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, the architect of Oslo would have a problem making such a declaration. To their great surprise, Peres gave them a look full of reprimand. “Do you understand that this means a Palestinian state?” he asked. “Absolutely,” replied the guests in unison. “And who told you that I’m in favour of a Palestinian state?” replied the prime minister offhandedly. “I believe in functional compromise.”
“Ten years after Rabin’s assassination, we have an Israeli political leader [new Labor chairman Amir Peretz] who considers the occupation a moral, security and economic burden, a man who is in no need of internal or external pressure to leave the territories. Finally, peace has emerged from the back benches and returned to centre stage.
“Palestinian neighbours: You have a partner, don’t let the fanatics harm him.”
There has always been a partner in the Palestinians but the Zionists and Western media have convinced the public otherwise. Not anymore. People no longer believe Israel when it talks about a marauding Palestinian rabble. The Palestinian people have finally acquired a humanity that cannot be ignored. Israel, on the other hand, continues its immoral occupation.
Gaza, meanwhile, is in danger of becoming a “giant prison“, according to James Wolfensohn, the West’s special envoy on post-disengagement Gaza. Israel’s main benefactor, the USA, continues its disastrous occupation of Iraq. It’s the blind clique leading the morally bankrupt. And Australia stands ready throughout it all to offer guidance and support. Brave, little, irrelevant Australia.
The myths are ending and Israel stands accused in the dock.