What can begin to explain a suicide bomber? We look at the horrific deaths of innocent civilians, and we wonder this all the time. What we usually ask ourselves though is why someone would choose those targets. What we should be asking ourselves is why is a person willing to die to achieve these targets.
There comes a point when a person would rather die than live in the situation that they are in. This is vital to understand. If we can separate that point, understand its origin, then we can eliminate terrorism.
I am speaking of the conflict in Palestine, of course. This is the last country in the Middle East to still experience colonialism – except for Iraq, but that is a recent phenomenon. Have you ever thought of the conflict as a colonial one? If you haven’t, you should. Consider that during the first half of the 20th century, Palestine received an influx of European immigrants. These immigrants declared a state in 1948 on land in which they were a clear minority. To this day, these immigrants control a land that belongs to a native people who were suppressed by the use of violence. Does this sound colonial yet? That’s because it is. Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan all became independent of the colonial powers that controlled themselves in the midst of the 20th century. Palestine however still remains in that stage, resisting an occupation by a foreign entity.
It’s hard not to think of this conflict in a colonial context when you think about the population of Israel in the region. Like a drop of water in boiling oil, it is in a place where it doesn’t belong and has only caused problems since it got there.
Of course the Palestinians are going to resist Israeli occupation. Israel has taken land from the Palestinians and has not given a drop back. The Palestinians have resisted the influx of Europeans for years before 1948. And now that Israel continues a 37-year occupation of internationally recognized territory and is building an apartheid wall that will grab even more land, the Palestinians will only continue to resist.
Israel has a problem: It cannot give up on its colonial nature without giving up on its Jewish character. This is a problem that could only have been expected when a minority declares itself the ruler of a majority population. However, Israel cannot withdraw from the territories it took and go back to its mainland like France did with Vietnam or Algeria or Britain did with India, because Israel created its homeland. The idea itself is paradoxical. There is no place to retreat to because their colonialism started before their statehood did. There is no other situation like it in the world.
All that considered, and understanding the conflict in its colonial context, what can be done? Well the answer is hard to swallow for Israel, but it is its only choice. Israel cannot control the Palestinians with violence and must negotiate and be willing to make concessions that will end the conflict once and for all.
Israel, being the stronger party, dictates the discourse of the relationship between itself and the Palestinians. If it treats Palestinians as violence being the only language they understand, then they will only respond in that very tongue. A philosopher on resistance said, “Colonialism is violence in its natural state, and it will only yield when confronted with greater violence.”
Israel will have to face a difficult decision. It will have to consider giving up its Jewish character or continue facing resistance from the Palestinians.
Of course many of you are thinking about the suicide bombings and wonder if I consider that “legitimate” resistance. It is easy for any of us to answer this now. However we cannot dictate our morals upon a society that has been consistently demoralized.
The suicide bomber gives his life when he sees no other options. When he sees most of the world supporting him but still no justice, and when he has tried negotiation but has seen nothing positive, he is disenfranchised from the system and resorts to what is the only option left for himself.
The suicide bomber decides to give his life at the point when dying is better than living. Israel can control that. Sure, people will say that they are brainwashed by religion, but what brings them to that? What makes a non-religious person believe giving his life will bring him to heaven? Something pushes him to this and Israel controls that as well. Am I to believe as well that female suicide bombers are doing this to get to heaven and meet their 72 black-eyed virgins?
There is obviously much more to suicide bombers than that. The nature of resistance is what one has to understand to see a way out of this. You have to realize that you can only push people so much before they start to push back. Israel passed this point over 50 years ago. Now the ball is in their court and they have to make some fundamental decisions. They must begin tearing down walls and building bridges. But Israel cannot expect security by continually repressing Palestinians; too many Palestinians have passed the point where death is better than life, and they are waiting their turn. It is truly sickening, but what is worse is that Israel can stop this at any time; its government simply chooses colonial policies that do otherwise.
Yousef Munayyer is a Collegian columnist.
920 words
Photo Bendee: Yousef Munayyer
