The Intifada

The Intifada

The third anniversary of the al-Aqsa Intifada has passed. Justin Huggler of the Independent chronicles some of the terrible costs since Sharon's infamous visit to the Temple Mount:

At least 2,197 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli security forces. Figures on how many were civilians are hard to find, but a large proportion were civilians: at least 123 were militants assassinated by the Israelis, but 84 innocent Palestinian bystanders were killed in those assassinations. And 399 of the Palestinian dead were children, 200 of them younger than 15.

Despite three years of carnage, there is no indication either side has an exit strategy. The Israeli invasion and reoccupation of West Bank cities did not work. Nor did imprisoning thousands of Palestinians. Nor has a relentless campaign of 123 assassinations stopped the suicide bombers coming. Israelis continue to die when they get on the bus to go work or school, when they go out to a restaurant or a nightclub.

And life has become miserable for the vast majority of Palestinians. They too die on their way to work or school, hit by an Israeli helicopter rocket as the "collateral damage" of an assassination, hit by shrapnel in their homes during gun battles in the streets outside between the Israeli army and militants, or hit by the live ammunition Israeli soldiers fire at Palestinian children throwing stones at their tanks.

Millions of Palestinians are trapped inside cities surrounded by the Israeli army, unable to move freely because of roadblocks. The Palestinian economy has collapsed and there is now serious child malnutrition in the occupied territories. Yet the Palestinians marching yesterday vowed to continue their armed resistance. The militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad have rejected any new ceasefire - so, for that matter, has Israel.

Huggler does not mention the number of Israelis killed, which is around 860. The Israeli economy has also collapsed, but not nearly to the degree experienced in the West Bank and Gaza. Whether there is a way out of this nightmare remains to be seen.