Conservative humorist PJ O’Rourke traveled to the Palestinian territories in 1988 after the intifada, or uprising began. It started in Gaza the year before, and he wanted to witness it. He reported what he saw in his book, ‘Holidays in Hell’ (2000), a chronicle of the worst conflict zones in worse. He called Palestine the worst.
It’s useful to know that Gaza’s problems did not start last week, but it is even more encouraging to know that regular Americans who actually travel there with open eyes can see the light. He did not shy from calling the occupation, settlements and refugees what they are.
O’Rourke wrote a description of Gaza that is as true today:
The Palestinians in these camps were displaced by the 1948 war — the one Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint won in Exodus. Since then they’ve been “temporarily” sheltered by the jack-off UN; ruled first by useless Egyptian bureaucracy, then by cold- hearted Israeli military fiat; ignored by the Western bloc; exploited by the Eastern bloc and just left there, like live bait in a geopolitical leg trap by their fellow Arabs.
In Gaza City, he observed how Israeli disregard for Palestinians seeped into the basic institutions of society:
The Israeli-administered hospital in Gaza City, where Arabs wounded in the rioting are treated, was a pile of shit… The hospital waiting room looked like the “Colored” waiting rooms used to look in bus stations Down South.
He was stunned by the cruelty by which Israeli soldiers ruled over the Palestinians, witnessing first-hand beaten and shot Palestinian youth at the hospital, a manifestation of Yitzhak Rabin’s broken bones policy of excessive force against unarmed revolters. He called it “bullshit”:
This is barbarism. I’ve covered a lot of rioting and pushes-come-to-shoves, and there is no excuse for this kind of civilian-hammering by soldiers and police.
As far as Wikipedia knows, he’s a fellow at the Libertarian Cato Institute and is writing away. I wonder if he would have a sympathetic word to say today.
Related posts:
- 60 Years Later, Nakba Front Page News
- Gaza: five days and sixty years of steadfastness
- 60 years ago
- Palestine Week at UNC
- Palestine’s Lost Generations
I’m sure those Gaza settlements are really a thorn in the side of the Gazans. And the Israelis policing them. I finally understand why the rockets never stopped.
Posted by Roy | January 8, 2009, 7:06 amThe rockets never stopped because Israelis withdrew from all the settlements and made Gaza into an open-air prison instead
Posted by Shafiq | January 8, 2009, 8:08 amO FUCK YOU!! I GUESS THAT YOU HAVE NO CLUE WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT… THE FUKIN PALESTINIANS WANTED THEIR FUKIN STRIP AND ISRAEL HANDED IT OVER TO THE PALESTINIANS… AND WHAT DOES ISRAEL GET? THEY GET MORE ROCKETS AND ATTACKS FROM GAZA…
THOSE PALESTINIANS HAVE NO MORALS AND ISRAEL IS A ONDERFUL COUNTRY THAT VALUES LIFE.
THE PALESTINIANS DON'T VALUE LIFE… THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT THEIR FUKIN VIRGINS IN HEAVEN..
FUK PALESTINE AND IRAN…
ISRAELHATERS ARE LIFE HATERS THAT DONT CARE ABOUT DEATH…
GO TO ISRAEL YOURSELF AND LOOK AT THE GREAT YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN SERVING IN THE BEST ARMY IN THE WORLD…
THE ISRAELI ARMY LOVES LIFE AND THEY TRY TO NOT KILL PEOPLE…
BUT THOSE ARABS LOVE DEATH… THANKYOU PALESTINE FOR RUINING THE JEWISH LAND!
Posted by ISRAEL LOVE | February 5, 2010, 3:26 amIt's an open-air prison because the rockets never stopped.
Israel made changes. Gaza did not. Israel is supposed to make more changes — make all the changes that Hamas demands — and then hope that Gaza will finally stop making war on it.
Well, I don’t see it happening that way. Gaza is delusionally operating as if it gets to call the shots. They don’t have the power, and they don’t have the moral high grounds.
And the Arabs aren’t helping them because they’re now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Iran.
Posted by Roy | January 8, 2009, 8:36 amDidn’t it?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4741427.stm
They don’t have the power but they do have the moral high ground. Easing border restrictions was an instrumental part of the recent 6-month truce, something Israel did not keep to.
Posted by Shafiq | January 8, 2009, 8:54 amAnother thing, Hamas is not an Iranian proxy, its an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood movement.
And I’m not expecting Israel to unilaterally give in. I do expect it to however, if it really wants peace, talk to Hamas directly, see what they want and sign a written agreement where both sides makes concessions. This has to come from the Israeli side because as you said yourself, Israel has the power.
Posted by Shafiq | January 8, 2009, 9:22 amExactly, Israel has the power.
Pulling a few thousand settlers out of Gaza but then moving to put a blockade on the territory, while at the same time controlling its borders, airspace, and access to the sea, constitutes an occupation.
Either Israel gives the Palestinians under its occupation Israeli citizenship (which countless Palestinians I talked to in the West Bank had no qualms with), or they give the Palestinians a viable state. The choice is Israels.
Israel has the power.
Posted by Super Sayyin | January 8, 2009, 10:00 amDO YOU NOT HAVE A BRAIN???
THE STUPID PALESTINIANS DONT EVEN WANT TO MAKE THEIR OWN FUKIN STATE…
THEY JUST WANT TO KILL THE JEWS… AND KILL ISRAEL
Posted by ISRAEL LOVE | February 5, 2010, 3:27 amEasing border restrictions was an instrumental part of the recent 6-month truce, something Israel did not keep to.
Israel did ease border restrictions. They just didn’t lift them completely.
The rockets never stopped. They paused to let Israel withdraw, then resumed. And they only paused because the rocketers killed a Palestinian kid (to absolutely no outrage from Kabobfesters).
Another thing, Hamas is not an Iranian proxy, its an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood movement.
I’m not talking about their origins. I’m talking about who owns them now.
I do expect it to however, if it really wants peace, talk to Hamas directly, see what they want and sign a written agreement where both sides makes concessions.
Maybe they will, maybe they won’t. I don’t see why Israel has to initiate it, though. The fact that they have the power to continue to pound Hamas makes it seem like Hamas should be the one to sue for peace.
Posted by Roy | January 8, 2009, 11:39 amSuper,It's not up to Israel to confer statehood. They don't have that power. What they have is the power to continue to fight.The sequence of events is:1. War ends2. Government re-established in occupied territory3. Occupation endsThat's just how it works.
Posted by Roy | January 8, 2009, 7:50 amHamas condemned the attacks and did honestly try to maintain the ceasefire . As far as I’m aware, this was a lone rocket attack so why wasn’t the border reopened? Its not like closing the border would have stopped the rocket attacks.
And the reason Israel has to initiate talks is because no-one is currently talking to Hamas. All the peace negotiations have not one Hamas member. How can Mahmoud Abaas and Egypt represent Hamas if they hate it? Israel should start talks to stop the killing of innocent people on both sides if not for any other reason.
Posted by Shafiq | January 8, 2009, 1:47 pmRoy, Israel can’t confer statehood, but Palestinians can not declare a state of their own until it has full control of the territory (I’m not sure about this, but the Israeli who told me this seemed certain about it saying its International Law)
Posted by Shafiq | January 8, 2009, 1:50 pmThere were other rocket attacks during the ceasefire. I will grant that they were pretty sparse from mid-June through October. Hamas claims Israel broke the truce in early November, and resumed rocketing.
why wasn’t the border reopened?
I don’t know. I think Israel should have done more to try to normalize things, but they’ve got a pretty big bee in their bonnet about Hamas. They do have concerns about the smuggling of weapons, as well as about manning the crossings, where their people are vulnerable.
no-one is currently talking to Hamas
I think Israel wants them to surrender first. As I pointed out, Hamas keeps trying to come to the table as an equal, after rejecting all previous peace deals and waging war on Israel with the goal of its destruction. I don’t think prospects for talks are very good unless Hamas is first defeated.
Palestinians can’t declare a state of their own, either. It requires some international accord. 96 countries recognize a state of Palestine already, but setting the official borders and getting universal buy-in is a matter for the UN.
How can Mahmoud Abaas and Egypt represent Hamas if they hate it?
The same way Barack Obama can represent the Ku Klux Klan.
I appreciate you having this discussion with me.
Posted by Roy | January 8, 2009, 3:01 pmI understand why Israelis would want their government to stop the rocket attacks (which are unacceptable whichever way you think about it), but going into Gaza, bombing it and generally treating Palestinians like s**t is counter-productive, its just going to breed a future generation of rocket firers.
And we all know that without the US, Israel and the important European nations recognising a Palestinian state, it can’t be legitimised.
I thing ceasefire negotiations should go the whole way and find a way of ensuring lasting peace. Hamas can be persuaded to renounce violence. If Hamas signs a written agreement to renounce violence, destroy all their weapons, form a unity government with Fatah until elections can be held and recognise Israel in return for a return to 1967 borders, freeing all Palestinian prisoners, removal of settlers, and Israel’s recognition of an independent Palestinian state, all within a year or two, wouldn’t this ensure lasting peace? Or am I living in a dreamland?
Posted by Shafiq | January 9, 2009, 1:39 amRoy, I also appreciate you taking time to answer my questions. Thank You
Posted by Shafiq | January 9, 2009, 1:41 amIf Hamas signs a written agreement to renounce violence, destroy all their weapons, form a unity government with Fatah until elections can be held and recognise Israel in return for a return to 1967 borders, freeing all Palestinian prisoners, removal of settlers, and Israel’s recognition of an independent Palestinian state, all within a year or two, wouldn’t this ensure lasting peace?
It sounds prety good to me. I think Hamas should try offering it as terms of surrender. I suspect Israel will have their with modifications issue with the borders, but at least it would be a chance for the Palestinian side to look like it’s trying.
In my opinion, continuing to make war against Israel is the most counter-productive thing that Palestinians can do. Surrender, and the victors will help rebuild (see Japan and Germany after WW II). But they’re not going to help you while you make war; they’re going to continue to destroy you. That’s what war is about.
Posted by Roy | January 9, 2009, 6:22 amIt could work but I have doubts about Israel’s commitment to peace .
Posted by Shafiq | January 9, 2009, 1:30 pmISRAEL ONLY WANTS PEACE… THE PALESTINIANS WANT WAR… DONT ALL OF U ANTISEMITES UNDERSTAND ANYTHING??
Posted by ISRAEL LOVE | February 5, 2010, 3:29 amIsrahell prefer war over peace.
The only peace israhell wants is a piece of every Arab land.
Posted by Mahmoud El-Yousseph | February 5, 2010, 4:13 am