A Preordained Bombing: somebody has to stop the cycle of revenge

31 July 2002

Today's horror at the campus of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem was a preordained bombing.

From the moment when PM Sharon ordered the lethal Air Force bombing of Gaza, cutting off a promising effort to achieve a cease-fire and arousing a Palestinian demand for revenge, it was clear that this moment was coming and that even the Israeli Army 's control over all West Bank cities cannot prevent it.

There is no justification for the indiscriminate murder of random Israeli civilians, as there was no justification for the killing of Palestinian children which today's act was supposed to avenge. Somebody has to stop the cycle of revenge and counter-revenge.

Further retaliations contemplated by the government of Israel, and in particular collective punishment of family members of suicide bombers by deportations, house demolitions and the like, can only further fan the flames.

The only way to break the cycle of bloodshed is to renew and intensify the efforts to achieve a cease-fire, so as to prevent further attacks on civilians. A cease-fire is now a practical possibility - though no cease-fire can long endure without a clear, visible prospect for an end to the occupation.

Adam Keller, Gush Shalom Media Release,
© Gush Shalom http://www.gush-shalom.org/

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