Victory for aggressors a mirage

Who are the casualties of Israel's war on Gaza? Primarily they are Palestinian civilians. There is no comparison between the number of Israeli victims of Al Qassam rockets and the hundreds of slain and thousands of injured Palestinians who were targeted by one of the top armies in the world today. It is important to remember that while Hamas was launching mostly crudely made missiles onto far-away towns and settlements, Israel was responding with an arsenal of sophisticated and precise killing tools.

The UN, the Red Cross and scores of other humanitarian agencies operating in ground zero have confirmed that civilian deaths and injuries among Palestinians have reached alarming levels.

There are horrific accounts of civilians being deliberately targeted by Israeli tanks, F-16s and Apache gunships. The lethal fire-power that Israel possesses in this unequal confrontation is beyond question. Schools, mosques, kindergartens, clinics and food convoys have been hit. Medics and doctors have not been spared as well. The Israeli killing machine has performed without constraints, impunity and with no regard to international conventions, laws and agreements.

It is a documented fact that war crimes have been committed in Gaza. Regardless of who the victims are, and the circumstances of their deaths, the international community is legally and morally bound to investigate the possibility of war crimes and breach of humanitarian law taking place in Gaza.

The international community is also a casualty of this war. The UN Security Council and its five permanent members are guilty of allowing the Israeli aggression to go on. It is unthinkable that the world body would take its time, argue over semantics and finally adopt a weak resolution, ironically rejected by both Hamas and Israel, while a bloodbath continues to take place in Gaza.

The war on Gaza has claimed many political victims as well. One is the two-state solution which has been the cornerstone of the Olso and Washington agreements of the 1990s.

The moderate Arab camp, along with the PNA, which has actively sponsored the Arab Peace Initiative over the past years, was being cornered. Mass protests all over the Arab world and beyond have eroded remaining support for a peaceful conclusion to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

The European governments too have lost whatever remained of their credibility and clout. As the Israeli assault entered its second week, the EU and individual governments appeared paralysed and unable to take a unified stand. The Bush administration played a shameful role in providing Israel with the political and diplomatic cover it needs to prolong its military operation against the Gaza population. To say that America's image was dealt a further blow is a hyperbole.

Massive demonstrations and rallies all over the world have exposed the widening gap between official and popular stands. This has allowed two regional powers to gain ground in a vitally important region. Turkey has scored high among angry Palestinian supporters, and Iran has fortified its anti-Israel stand across the region.

Biggest loser

Israel may turn out to be the biggest loser. Soon it will have to accept a ceasefire and face the fact that while it may have dealt a heavy blow to Palestinian civilians and the strip's infrastructure, it will still have to deal with the reality of its 40-year occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. The results of the Israeli elections will reflect the culmination of its Gaza war, but whoever wins will have to ponder a political way out for Israel. In light of what happened in Gaza that political course will bring Israel back to the basic issue which it had tried to avoid for many years - occupation.

In light of the enormous human cost that Israel has levied in the past few days, the core issues of its conflict with the Palestinians have not changed. As such Israel, in strategic reckoning, is the biggest loser. It is the ultimate causality of this war although spilled Palestinian blood will never justify it.

Osama Al Sharif is a veteran journalist and commentator based in Amman.