SEATTLE: Two Palestinians blew themselves up in a crowded Tel Aviv street on Sunday, Jan 05. As a result, many people lost their lives. Some of the casualties had little or nothing to do with the bitter Middle East conflict altogether; they were foreign workers.
As expected, the bombings provoked worldwide condemnations. Few in the international community who condemned the bombings as “terrorist”, however, felt compelled to raise questions, to challenge both parties to resolve the bloody conflict peacefully. Many even provided Israel with a pretext to unleash hell on the Palestinians in response. And no one, no one at all bothered to spend a few minutes to examine the reports of the Palestinian Health Ministry, counting the Palestinian deaths in the preceding months; 75 lives in December 2002 alone.
The purpose of this article is to challenge the humanity of the so-called "international community", in particular, the United Nations and the European Union, to honor the lives of Palestinians and Israelis alike, as if they were equal, according to similar definitions and interpretations of international law.
As expected, the bombings provoked worldwide condemnations. Few in the international community who condemned the bombings as “terrorist”, however, felt compelled to raise questions, to challenge both parties to resolve the bloody conflict peacefully. Many even provided Israel with a pretext to unleash hell on the Palestinians in response. And no one, no one at all bothered to spend a few minutes to examine the reports of the Palestinian Health Ministry, counting the Palestinian deaths in the preceding months; 75 lives in December 2002 alone.
The purpose of this article is to challenge the humanity of the so-called "international community", in particular, the United Nations and the European Union, to honor the lives of Palestinians and Israelis alike, as if they were equal, according to similar definitions and interpretations of international law.