Palestine, the Middle East and the problem of suicide bombers

Speech by Jenny Tonge MP delivered to 2004 Dacorum Lloyd Memorial Lecture on Thu 27th May 2004

Ladies and gentlemen, it is a great honour to be asked to deliver the 2004 Dacorum Lloyd Memorial Lecture.

I know that I have become a somewhat controversial figure in recent months, so can I say before I begin that the opinions and thoughts I share with you are personal and do not represent official Lib Dem policy, even though many of my colleagues may share my views.

I must also extend a huge welcome to anyone here from the Israeli Embassy who seem so interested in all I say and do nowadays. I hope I make your evening worthwhile.

As Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats for International Development from 1997 until October last year, I have gained much experience in humanitarian and development issues and have become fascinated by the causes of conflict - and terrorism - in our world, and even more so of Western Governments' wrong footed and often crass way of dealing with the problem.

I also, I may add, have over 30 years experience as a doctor in the NHS, which gives me more insight into the way people behave and react in different situations.

I have become more and more depressed by the vicious circle of deprivation and poverty leading to conflict and civil war and more poverty fanned by politicians using patriotism or religion to exhort further violence.

Patriotism used to be the last resort of a scoundrel - it is now religion which takes pride of place, especially I suspect in the minds of some Western leaders. No names.

Because modern communication is accessible now intermittently to most people in the world, the 2/3 of the world who live in poverty can see how we live and would like to live that way too.

I well remember being flown into Southern Sudan in 2002. A part of the world reduced to the Stone Age by decades of civil war. In a small mission centre there, I found a flickering TV set run off a generator. Around the TV stood twenty silent Dinka tribesmen, dusty, ragged but still a proud tribe. They were watching the Queen Mother's funeral. Imagine the contrast. Imagine the difference with their lives. Not difficult to see envy and fury develop, at the extravagance of our lives compared to theirs.

Many people in the third world now see is as the selfish west, gobbling world resources, cheating on trade and agriculture agreements to impoverish them further, refusing adequate aid.

Added to that they see the Western Government's arming and supporting evil dictators, for their own ends - Saddam Hussein a recent example, and yet talking about democracy and the rule of law being paramount. Do you think they cannot see our hypocrisy?

Of course, all poor people do not resort to conflict or terrorism whatever is the best form of reaction for them. But if they do not do it themselves they will often embrace or support terrorist groups, and hold them in some awe.

Osama bin Laden and Al Qaida may be the embodiment of evil to George Bush and Tony Blair. He exploits his religion and his fellow Muslims and has wreaked havoc on the life of us all in the West, but to many people in the poor world, especially in North Africa, Asia and the Middle East, he is becoming Robin Hood, fighting for the poor and dispossessed.

All these factors and all these thoughts of my own came flooding back during a visit to Israel and Palestine last year.

Before then I had tried always to keep a balanced view, accepting right and wrong on both sides, trying to grapple with the intricate history of the conflict since Joshua first stormed Jericho and the Canaanites were ethnically cleansed.

Tried, oh so hard, to see the positive, see the good and support the "Road Map" to peace, which is now quoted by our government as if the "Road Map" itself was the endpoint, not just the beginning of a bloodsplattered, bumpy and tortuous track to a two-state solution.

I do not want to lecture you on the history of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. That would need a series of lectures and many of you will know your history better than I do. Suffice to say that after the most appalling act, probably in human history, that of the Holocaust before and during the Second World War, an act which I think, as a doctor, has done immense psychological damage to generations of Jewish people. We must never forget.

After the Holocaust, the Allies bowed to Zionist pressure to give the Jews their Promised Land, in Israel.

Tragically it meant that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes and many still remain in slum refugee camps.

Many agreements, wars, treaties since then have been to no avail.

At the two extremes, the Zionists want a Greater Israel - the whole of Palestine - to prepare for the Armageddon and the coming of the Messiah, and the Fundamentalist Islamists want to drive the Israelis back into the sea to win back their land of Palestine.

The vast majority of Israelis and Palestinians want peace and two states living side-by-side in harmony.

But the situation now, as I saw last year is this:

Israel has been occupying Palestine, illegally since 1967 war, - reason - for its own security.

Palestine land has been taken for new Israeli settlements and settlers roads which only they can use.

Water supplies have been channelled towards Israel, who now controls all water.

Palestine streams are polluted by sewage from settlements, Palestinians in Bethlehem when I was there in February were getting water through their taps once a week whilst all around them in the settlements which now surround Bethlehem, Israelis had sprinklers on their lawns.

Olive groves, orange and lemon groves have been destroyed, sometimes to build roads, sometimes for 'security' purposes - terrorists hide in olive trees apparently.

Farmers who manage to grow anything watch their produce rot at checkpoints or en route to the towns.

There are over 700 check points in the Occupied Territories. I have waited between one hour and one day to get through.

Any because they cannot cross our or use settlers roads, Palestinians take days to circumvent all the obstacles put in their way, to do relatively short journeys. Families are cut off from each other, children from schools, the sick from hospitals and help.

The Security Wall/Fence, which you will have heard so much about, has taken much more Palestinian land as well as the best aquifers underground. On each side of the Wall there is a vast no-mans land of bulldozed houses and shops. Lookout points on top of the Wall keep the Palestinians under constant surveillance as do the lookout points which surround the settlements.

Remember Sharon's "grab every hilltop." Every settlement is on a hill, looking down on the Palestinians like modern fortresses. In Gaza the situation is far, far worse. To prepare for Prime Minister Sharon's proposed withdrawal from Gaza, a huge area on the Egyptian border is being bulldozed, thousands are homeless, 40 people have been killed - the number is rising.

If Israel does withdraw from Gaza it will be surrounded by 1- 2 miles of waste land up to the Egyptian border, the sea - on which they can only fish up to 5 miles out incidentally, and the fortified Israeli border fence to the North East. All water is controlled by Israel, indeed wells have been dug on the Israeli side of the border to catch the water flowing towards Gaza.

The inhabitants of Gaza are in an open prison.

Can I add one more factor: the Palestinians know and can see the affluent and comfortable lifestyle led by Israelis in the settlements and in Israel and yet a large percentage of them are unemployed, destitute and malnourished. They are also humiliated daily by young soldiers at checkpoints. Made to wait for hours in the hot sun, sometimes strip searched. I saw our driver verbally abused by a solider and as his papers were handed back to him they were deliberately flung on the ground, requiring our driver to scrabble around in the dirt picking them up. As he did so, another solider in a military truck nearly drove over his hands. An action accepted with a shrug and great dignity by our man, but with fury from the two British MPs he was driving.

It was reflecting on those experiences, I had last year, and my fury at the actions of an illegal occupying power who broke the 4th Geneva Convention with impunity, it was those reflections which led to my now famous remark that if I had been a Palestinian mother and grandmother, living for decades in those conditions with no hope for the future, I might have considered becoming a suicide bomber.

Suicide bombers are a relatively recent phenomenon and have caused great suffering to Israeli's. 900 of them have been killed during this intifada and the fear is palpable. People have been blown up on buses, in shops, at checkpoints. Body parts and blood all over small shopping areas. Parents terrified to let their children out. Adults always looking behind and around to see if anything suspicious is going on. Let us not forget this, as I try to analyse why this awful phenomenon has occurred.

The Palestinians, under the yoke of occupation, want to fight back but how?

· Their police forces and security installations are in disarray - police stations have been bulldozed.

Worth remembering that $300m worth of damage has been done to Palestinian infrastructure paid for by the EU - the damage done by Israel.

Policemen get shot at by snipers when they are wearing uniform.

· They have no army.

Some smuggled weapons but no tanks, helicopter gunships, F16s.

In February, I asked members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade why they would not stop using suicide bombers - "give us proper arms to fight and we will stop tomorrow" they replied.

· Do not attack civilians then?

But over 3000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli snipers, rockets and bulldozers during this intifada.

We cannot get at soldiers except at checkpoints - comes the reply…

· Peaceful resistance then - withdraw labour, go on strike.

But unemployment is so high - 70% in Gaza - it would have little effect and would make the humanitarian situation worse for the Palestinians.

· Ok, organise demonstrations - peaceful ones.

Yes they did. In Gaza last week Israeli tanks opened fire on a peaceful demonstration against house demolitions. Ten people were killed, dozens of injuries, many children. Tom Hurndall, UK peaceworker, was shot last year protecting little children in the sights of snipers.

· Last, but not least, introduce good governance, replace Arafat. The Israelis will not negotiate with him, so replace him.

But Arafat is the democratically elected leader of the Palestinians and we are promoting democracy. The P.A. has had all authority taken away with the destruction of public buildings and security bases by the Israelis. The people look instead to organisations like Hamas. Terrorists they may be, but they are widely respected and regarded as incorrupt - a strange adjective when you consider they also organise suicide bombers via the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade!

So why do seemingly ordinary young Palestinians volunteer in droves to become suicide bombers?

· The frustration and deprivation I have described.

· The anger against the Israeli occupation and humiliation.

· There are no great football teams or popstars in the OPT - leisure facilities are practically non-existent.

I would recommend Elizabeth Laird's book, "A Little Piece of Ground". The story of some youngsters trying to create a precious football ground out of bombsites.

The heroes in the OPT are the suicide bombers. Their pictures are everywhere. Those final poses in headband, with gun across the chest, combat kit, resolutely gazing into the camera. Some of them will have had friends or family killed or seen their family home bulldozed, or as is happening in East Jerusalem, "claimed" by Israelis, with legal documents in hand, who wish to live there.

There is much talk of 'indoctrination' of children in the schools - whilst I have not seen or heard direct evidence of this, I am sure individual teachers will be expressing their views to their pupils. But 'indoctrination' lies all around Palestinian children from their birth. They live in a land of daily violence and destruction. That is their indoctrination.

And then there is religion:

Islam promises paradise to anyone who dies a martyr for their people, and heroism and accolades for their families. We may mock this, but many religions promise paradise and many young people are exhorted to give their lives for their country.

Another very interesting book, just published, is "Army of Roses", by Barbara Victor. Yassar Arafat called women suicide bombers his 'army of roses'. The book argues that women suicide bombers have an extra factor which is a life of misery or one which has broken the strict mores of the Palestinian family. Infertility, divorce, extramarital pregnancy. Many, many poignant stories of girls preferring the promised 'paradise' as a martyr, to rejection on earth.

I have talked to many Palestinians about this and I am sure it is partly true, but much exaggerated for propaganda purposes, as are the 72 virgins and the demonisation of Islam. This is wicked and dangerous. Islam has its fanatics as do all religions, but we all know that the vast majority of Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, even animists, for goodness sake, have a common core of humanity and a desire for a peaceful existence.

But these are the many factors which create suicide bombers in Palestine. Many of them apply elsewhere. The people who blew up the Twin Towers seemed well educated enough, probably not fanatical Islamists. They had lived the good Western life for many years. What was their motivation? Were they inspired by Islam or by bin Laden? Was it a desire to fight back against Western culture, greed and decadence? I don't know.

What I do know is that in the case of Palestinians, the only factor which would truly make a difference and which we can influence is to end the occupation of their land. Withdraw, Israel, to the pre-1967 boundaries given to you after the Holocaust. Then we can talk.

The conflict between Israel and Palestine may not be the only factor contributing to world terrorism today, but I contend it is a major one.

In Sudan recently, I noticed that the television was constantly pumping out scenes from the OPT. Violence and mayhem being perpetrated by Israel against Muslims. That was the message. It had more coverage than Iraq - but that, of course, is also mayhem perpetrated by the USA (i.e. Israel's sponsor) against Muslims. I am told that this is true of all public broadcasting all over the Middle East.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a problem and my contention is this: This war against terrorism cannot be fought with armies and missiles and bombers. Those methods simply cause more terrorism as we have seen since the war with Iraq. This war must be fought by tackling the causes of terrorism:

· By spending more on alleviating poverty and deprivation.

· By controlling arms sales and earning money some other way.

· By engaging with other cultures and religions and giving them equal value to ours.

· Above all by curbing our own greed, and trying, through international treaties and trade agreements, to share the world's resources with all of its peoples.

Call it idealism if you will, but it is the only way.