Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1376560
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 MAY 2021 INTERVIEW The real problem is not Hamas, but the Israeli occupation On May 14, European Com- mission President Ursula Von der Leyen tweeted: "Very concerned by the situation in Israel and Gaza. I condemn in- discriminate attacks by Hamas on Israel. Civilians on all sides must be protected. Violence must end now." This seems to cement an international per- ception that there is an 'equiv- alence' between the violence perpetrated by both sides in the conflict. How do you respond to the underlying implication that Hamas is equally responsible for the current situation? Of course, as you – and most of the Maltese community – al- ready know, this is not a war be- tween Hamas and Israel. That is, however, how the international community is trying to put it. Israel tends to depict Hamas as a religious faction – in order to frame the dispute as a religious disagreement. This is what is happening right now: the international commu- nity is trying to 'put it on Ha- mas', to make it out as a religious conflict between Hamas and Is- rael. But this is absolutely not the reality. Hamas are part of the Pales- tinian people. They are defend- ing the Palestinians' right of freedom. But the problem that started between the Palestinian people and Israel is not about Hamas. It's about East Jerusa- lem. That is the core problem. Today's conflict started in Je- rusalem. It began with the evic- tion of Palestinian people from their homes in East Jerusalem: which is in breach of interna- tional humanitarian law. These people have been living there, with contracts, since the 1950s. They own the land they live on. The Israelis, however, took ju- dicial resolutions to evict those people from their own homes, and give the land to settlers: in order to build more Israeli set- tlements in the Arab area. That's where the whole tension started. After that, we had Is- raeli aggression against Muslim prayers, during the Holy Month of Ramadan– and even against the Orthodox Christians, in the Holy Week of Easter: which this year coincided with Ramadan. So there was a lot of tension in Jerusalem, during the holy month of Ramadan. And what happened on Eid al Kabir, the last Friday of Ramadan – that's a very holy day, for Muslims – [was that] 300 Palestinians were wounded, inside the Al Aqsa Mosque. That is what precipitated the new demonstrations against Is- rael. Confronted with this, the Palestinians could not stand still; they had to demonstrate, in the West Bank, in Gaza, in all the occupied territories… they had to shout out, with their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. When you have roadblocks, and check- points around the Mosque area, [it means that] people were not granted access to their religious beliefs. We believe that Jerusalem is a holy city for all religions: in- cluding Jews, Muslims and Christians. It is not just for one religion. It should be free for all religions equally… And yet, the European Union – alongside the United States, Russia and others – is an impor- tant power-broker on the inter- national stage. Any hope of a meaningful solution to the Mid- dle East crisis would presum- ably have to depend, to some degree, on its diplomatic input. Are you concerned, then, that this distortion – as you describe it – may impact the chances of a peaceful solution? In reality, we have received many different signals from the European Union; many differ- ent codes, and press releases… some of them have called for a cessation of aggression; some of them have called for a stop to the violence, or for a ceasefire… what we really need, however, is a call for the end of the [Israeli] occupation. That is our main problem. Our problem is not aggression today, or the need for a ceasefire right now. What we need is a solution to the real problem, which is the occupation of Palestinian land. The tension will never stop – our people will never stop fight- ing for their rights: either peace- fully, or in any possible way. But what we really need is a stop to the aggression against our peo- ple, by having an independent Palestinian state. As you said, the US adminis- tration is a big player in the re- gion. They have good relations with Israel; and we are sure that – with all due respect to other players - the USA is the most in- fluential power on Israel. Since the new administration has been in place, we have not really had a chance to communicate with them… after four years of having cut off relations with the former administration. Nonetheless, we have just received a message last week from [US President Joe Biden], who sent a personal message to Palestine's ambassador to Malta, H.E. FADI HANANIA, admits to being frustrated by the international community's 'double standards', in confronting the escalation of violence in the Middle East. But he remains hopeful that a two- state solution is still viable Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt JAMES BIANCHI