New hero found by Palestinians
Hopefully the ceasefire in Lebanon and Israel will hold, but Palestians have found a new hero from the ranks of Hezbollah.
"It's impossible to speak with Waleed Ayyoub without constant interruptions. The 33-year-old artist in Ramallah is busy dealing with requests for the fastest selling portrait in the West Bank - that of Hasan Nasrallah.
'Nasrallah is a hero, I want to hang his picture in my salon,' says Mohammad Taha, 27, who has come from Jerusalem to buy one of these ubiquitous posters from Ayyoub.
Portrait posters of the Hezbollah leader are hanging everywhere in Ramallah, covering the walls and shop fronts and plastered across T-shirts and demonstration banners."
Bush and Blair will see this as evidence of a connection between Hezbollah, Hamas and Al Quaeda but the article makes it plain that whoever stands up to Israeli intimidation of Palestinians will be a hero irrespective of religion. Christians, and non-religious citizens join with Muslims in their feeling that at last someone is recognising their predicament and standing up for them. It is not acceptable for those resisting intense harrassment and persecution to be equated with terrorist organisations while failing to recognise state bodies use of terror as a weapon.
"All over the city, secularists, Christians and Muslims alike refer to the Hezbollah leader as Palestine's newest and truest hero.
'I am secular in principle,' says Zakariya Muhammad, a Ramallah-based writer. 'But Nasrallah's war is a resistance war against Israel and against the US attempts to reshape the Middle East in their interests.' "
It is the inability of Western leaders to see the outcomes of foreign policy which is so dangerous to civilians everywhere. Clearly economic interest dictates the agenda and consistently overrides humanitarian need. Needless to say Hezbollah's actions in targetting civilians leaves no moral highground. There is an urgent need to take a close look at combat procedures and needs as has been done in the light of investigations into practices and procedures in World War II when a change in policy to target civilians arguably lessened the effectiveness of campaigns.
Children from Hebron have been asking for a war crimes trial to be held.
Posted by John Tyrrell at August 14, 2006 11:35 AM
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