Comments on: Uprooted settlers pardoned by court – why not Palestinians?

By: aristeides

aristeides — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:26:38 +0000

Then we disagree, Aaron. I see the actions of the court as speaking directly to the current WB settlers, a clear promise.

By: Aaron the Fascist Troll

Aaron the Fascist Troll — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 04:17:06 +0000

Forgot to say, the above was in reply to Aristeides.

By: Aaron the Fascist Troll

Aaron the Fascist Troll — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 04:15:33 +0000

I don’t see the Gaza disengagement as parallel to the current civil disobedience in Judea and Samaria, and I don’t think most others see it that way, either. For one thing, there’s much less sympathy for the current lawbreakers. For another, what’s going on now is much less serious. The disengagement campaign, so to speak, ended when Hamas took over Gaza, southern Israel came under fire, and the plans for further withdrawals from parts of Judea and Samaria were scrapped. In that sense the “disengagement conflict” is over, while minor state/settler conflicts will go on indefinitely.
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Your view is similar to the argument over amnesty for draft resisters after the Vietnam War. Opponents argued that it would encourage draft evasion in future wars. Right or wrong, in both cases the fear of future lawbreaking is separate from the fact that the war/campaign is over.

By: Jazzy

Jazzy — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 20:02:45 +0000

Interesting – a recent law graduate who believes in abandoning the rule of law instead of enforcing the law equally…as long as that means making life harder for Zionists, of course. I hope you realize that taking these positions actually hurts your credibility. Kind of like saying that racist anti-Arab internet comments are meaningful (and thereby tacitly acknowledging that racist anti-Jewish comments in mainstream Palestinian politics are even more meaningful). American activists lawyers tend to actually works within the confines of the law to achieve their goals…so if civil rights lawyers are your model, then you’re not imitating them very well. You’re just engaging in naked political advocacy. So why did you even bother going to law school?

By: aristeides

aristeides — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 17:12:13 +0000

I think there is a real problem. The settlers have gone out of the state’s control, like the marching brooms in the Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

By: Anne O'Nimmus

Anne O'Nimmus — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 17:03:17 +0000

@DirectRob
Oh, it’s not “unofficial state policy”. It’s VERY official, from the beginning of the whole project and onwards, just undeclated.

By: directrob

directrob — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 16:37:08 +0000

I do not believe the state has a problem with the settlers. They are the means to implement unofficial state policy.

By: aristeides

aristeides — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:13:23 +0000

Aaron – the conflict between state and settlers is far from over. Gaza was a single battle, but the war is escalating on the West Bank, and the participants are the same group – sometimes even the same individuals, recividist settlers who have moved from one patch of Palestinian land to another. This ruling is speaking at least as much to them as to the settlers from Gaza. It’s a promise to them – do whatever you want, commit whatever crimes, you’ll never have to pay for it.

By: Aaron the Fascist Troll

Aaron the Fascist Troll — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 12:51:35 +0000

Like the earlier article by Haggai Matar, this article ignores one of the most important characteristics of amnesties such as these: they typically deal with resolved conflicts, or else they are part of the resolution itself. The conflict between the state and the Gaza settlers is over, with no outstanding claims on either side; the settlers were decisively defeated. In contrast, all or almost all of the examples given by the author concern ongoing, unresolved conflicts. That’s why amnesty would not be appropriate for those cases at this time.
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If there will ever be a real resolution to the war, or (as in the Gaza disengagement) a resolution to certain well-defined spheres of the conflict, then I think there will be amnesty for Palestinians and their supporters directly involved, as well as for settlers and their supporters directly involved. In the case of a real resolution to the war, an amnesty would likely be popular. Personally, I’d be happy with an amnesty on that great and inconceivable day for even the bloodiest terrorists. But not now.