Palestinians primary victims in ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Date
11/7/2024 7:29:44 AM
(MENAFN) I once failed to fully grasp the depth of the Palestinian people's suffering, but today I recognize them as the primary victims in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While children on all sides are tragically caught in the destructive consequences of a war driven by the misguided ambitions of adults who promise a better future but only bring death and despair, it is the Palestinian people who bear the brunt of this tragedy.
In 1998, my professional relationship with the Israeli government, which had been carefully developed since 1994, came to a sudden and unexpected end. Under pressure from the United States, Israel severed its intelligence ties with the UN Special Committee. By this time, the original team, led by Moshe Ya’alon, Yaakov Amidror, and my host, had been replaced. The new Israeli leadership, including Amos Malkin and Amos Gilad, immediately ceased intelligence-sharing with the Committee. I visited Israel for the last time in June 1998, where I received a briefing on the abrupt shift in policy. Two months later, I resigned from my role with the Committee, unable to continue my mission for disarmament.
Despite this sudden end to my collaboration with Israel, I have always maintained a deep respect for the Israeli people and the nation as a whole. Even when I saw individuals like Amos Gilad dismantling the hard-earned progress my team and I had made, dismissing evidence that the threat from Iraq had diminished and resurrecting the notion of Iraq as a significant danger, I did not place blame on Israel as a whole. Rather, I focused on the actions of specific individuals, notably Benjamin Netanyahu, who had taken office as Israel's prime minister after Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination.
Netanyahu's political failures led to his removal from office in 1999, when Ehud Barak succeeded him. However, in 2002, Netanyahu reappeared on the political stage, testifying before the U.S. Congress about Iraq's alleged nuclear weapons program. Despite no longer being in office, Netanyahu's former prime minister status gave unwarranted weight to his statements. He insisted there was "no doubt" that Saddam Hussein was advancing toward nuclear weapons, warning that this would enable terror organizations to obtain nuclear capabilities.
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