ISRAEL/ Suite 101 -- The continuing violence in Israel and the occupied territories underscores the difficulties facing the region and the “peace process.” Every day brings new stories of violence on one side or another - Israelis retaliating for a Palestinian “terrorist” attack, the Palestinians retaliating for Israeli “aggression.” A check of headlines in the Jerusalem Post, probably the most influential and least biased paper in the area, shows that on average at least 60 percent of the major stories deal with the Palestinian-Israeli violence.

The New Intifadhah

The Palestinians call their actions “the new intifadhah.” The Arabic word intifadhah means “shaking off, shuddering, tremor,” indicating that the Palestinians are attempting to shake off the Israeli occupation. The new intifadhah recalls the Palestinian violence of the late 1980’s, when throwing stones at Israelis became almost a rite of passage for Palestinian youth.

A recent article called into question the rationality of throwing stones at Israeli soldiers armed with assault rifles. One must understand Palestinian rage, much of it tied to recently elected Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. When Sharon was the Minister of Housing in the late 1980’s, he was the major proponent of a tactic called "block busting." He, Sharon, would move into an apartment in a traditionally Palestinian area of old Jerusalem. As a cabinet minister, he was entitled to have government security protection. His security officers would confiscate the surrounding apartments in the name of security, and soon the block became predominantly Jewish. Other Jewish families would move in to take advantage of the proximate security. The neighborhood's character changed quickly. This was blamed on Sharon, whose stock in Palestinian eyes has always been low since an Israeli government inquiry blamed then-Minister of Defense Sharon for turning a blind eye to Lebanese Phalangist massacres of hundreds of Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila camps in September 1982.

This Palestinian rage is fanned by the impotence that Palestinians feel when faced with overwhelming Israeli power. However, this a battle the Palestinians cannot win. The Israelis will stop the violence, albeit with their own violent actions. These actions will turn the tide of public opinion against them.

Israeli Reactions

After several mortar attacks on Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces invaded a small portion of Gaza, a move that government officials said was aimed at stopping the mortar attacks, withdrawing only after the United States called the Israeli incursion into Gaza “excessive and disproportionate.” Although the Palestinians cited the Israeli withdrawal as an admission of wrongdoing, Israeli troops conducted two more incursions.

Last week, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights passed four resolutions condemning Israel’s "disproportionate and indiscriminate" use of force, three dealing with the Palestinian issue. The United States opposed all three resolutions.

Israel was criticized for its use of violence, torture and sanctioned killing. One of the better-known weapons in the Israeli arsenal is rubber bullet. The name is a misnomer. While many countries in the world use a rubber or plastic bullet for quelling public disturbances, these are overwhelmingly non-lethal. The standard riot device is a plastic projectile with a small piece of metal to facilitate x-ray detection, allowing doctors to quickly locate and treat any penetrating wound caused by the bullet.

The Israeli rubber bullet has gone through several iterations. In the late 1980’s the Israelis developed a plastic projectile with no locating metal piece. When these bullets were used, the Israelis accompanied the wounded to the hospital and confiscated the bullets once they were removed from the victim. Today’s rubber bullet is actually a steel ball with a thin coating of rubber or plastic, equivalent to a .30 caliber slug.

Israel has also mounted lethal operations against Palestinians known to have committed violent acts. Based on excellent intelligence, Israeli forces, including helicopters, have been able to kill several intifadhah leaders. Additional lethal attacks have been mounted on Palestinian Authority facilities in Gaza.

The outlook?

The prospects for a quick solution are dim. The Israeli electorate sent a strong message by electing Likud Party hard-liner Ariel Sharon as prime minister. The 1999 defeat of Likud’s Benyamin Netanyahu brought Labor’s Ehud Barak to power. With Barak came hopes that the Labor Party would be able to advance the peace process. When Palestinian Authority chairman Yasir ‘Arafat failed to stop the violence in 2000, the Israelis replaced Barak with Sharon, who campaigned on a tough-stance against the Palestinians, as well as a general unwillingness to negotiate with Syria.

Unfortunately, it appears that the region has been plunged into a downward spiral of violence. Each side reacts to the other’s actions. Thus far, neither side has indicated a willingness to be the first to halt its operations against the other. The outlook is dimmer for the Palestinians, for eventually Israeli military power will quell the violence. To do this, though, will probably mean more lethal operations, armed incursions, destruction of homes, and detention.