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01/02/2006:

"The Spoils of War"

...We are nearing the end of the fourth decade of Israel's chronic war of occupation of Palestinian lands. The web of corruption spun by this festering wound has had plenty of time to reach into the deepest nooks and crannies of both Palestinian and Israeli societies.

America's decisive support of Israel's war, including more than 100 billion dollars and dozens of UN vetoes, has ensnared us in the same web. To sustain the unending flow of money and materiel, American politics has had to yield to the ways of the war: lies, denial, and intimidation.

At this point, it's difficult to understand anyone's surprise or indignation at the state of Palestinian society in the territories. What would your community be like, after suffering nearly a century of colonial hell under the British and the Israelis, being driven off your land and made stateless refugees nearly sixty years ago? If now you were being fenced and walled inside the scraps of your last refuge, could your once strong and resilient social fabric resist unraveling into corruption, gang warfare, and economic destitution?
counterpunch.org