From a Jenin, to a Jerusalem tragedy

the scenes at the funeral of journalist shireen abu akleh are like the killing itself: a travesty that brings shame to israel.

one would think after decades of conflict that israel might have learned from these things. evidence shows that israel has learned some things, such as the use of intelligence and precision in conflicts with Hamas in Gaza. But in the west Bank and jerusalem, the situation is more complex.

overlapping systems of authority – the army, the police and intelligence services – leaves gaps in broader policies. it is still not known if abu akleh was killed by a bullet fired by the idF or by palestinian gunmen. For many people, though, that doesn’t matter – because she was killed during an israeli raid and these were events that israel set in motion. and then israeli authorities didn’t respect the funeral.

the excuse is that palestinians at the funeral shouted slogans, carried palestinian flags and threw objects. For law enforcement, however, every problem is often a nail and every solution is the hammer.

people will say that israel had no choice but to use force. they will say that it’s about the broader message of who runs jerusalem. indeed, the massive outpouring for the funeral was unlike anything seen in jerusalem in recent memory. But, then again, a country that prides itself on good intelligence should have known that.

the assurances of “control” are but an illusion. during last year’s conflict with Hamas, many cities that had mixed jewish and arab populations descended into chaos. this included

attempted lynchings and attacks. In truth, half the country is on the brink of violence.

The chaos is barely kept in check by security forces. Unfortunately, this reality is never addressed. A feigned sense of “everything is fine” percolates into discourse. It’s far easier to ignore the problems – including the fact that Israel’s relatively new government is as tenuous as can be.

On the sidelines is the opposition that ran the country for a decade. That opposition, symbolized by Benjamin Netanyahu, preferred the status quo. The motto lauded strength – asserting that the “strong survive” and the weak will not.

But that motto means the “strong” have to fight to keep the status quo. As such, pesky little issues – like masses of illegal weapons in the Negev – fall by the wayside. Not every problem can be dealt with at the same time.

In that line of reasoning, half of the neighborhoods in east Jerusalem are deemed lawless, and their clashes with police are considered the norm. But don’t worry, the argument goes, this doesn’t affect central Jerusalem.

Indeed, the old border between Israel and what was Jordan is still a sensitive issue. So when the funeral for Abu Akleh seemed to upset the status quo, the system took action.

When certain lines are crossed, the system asserts control by any means necessary. This is the explanation for the scenes of beatings at a funeral. To say that 55 years of conflict is part of this story – especially the last 15 years since the Second Intifada – is an understatement.

The managing of this conflict is affected by the motto that underpins israel’s policies. “Strength and not weakness.” That means that the baton – namely, a show of strength – is always readied in case someone doesn’t fall in line. And whatever awaits beyond the line (ie. Israel’s borders) can be managed. The last months of terror attacks in Israel – in Bnei Brak and Beersheba in March, Tel Aviv in April or Elad in May –

were supposedly exceptions. 19 people killed. Exceptions.

And when there are exceptions, there are responses. Thus, the raids in Jenin. Jenin was chosen because it is perceived as a lawless city outside of the Palestinian Authority’s control. Its lawlessness means that it is also considered to be a center of resistance. That is what brought the IDF there on May 11.

That is what brought Abu Akleh there as well. She wrote last year of her experience there: “It was like going back to 2002 when Jenin lived something unique, unlike any other city in the West Bank. Towards the end of Al-Aqsa Intifada, armed citizens spread out all over the city and publicly dared the occupation forces to raid the camp.

“On every street, people ask the crew, ‘are you from the Israeli press?’ ‘No, we are from Al Jazeera.’ The yellow Israeli vehicle plates raise suspicion and fear. The car was photographed and the photograph was circulated several times before our movement in the city became familiar to inhabitants.”

Jenin gunmen fired a hail of bullets at the IDF on May 11, the day Abu Akleh was killed. This was not a surprise. The place is festooned with firearms. People there are well-armed; they have been for decades.

“During the counterterrorism activity in the Jenin Refugee Camp, massive fire was shot toward Israeli forces by tens of armed Palestinian gunmen,” the IDF said later that day. “The terrorists also hurled explosive devices toward the soldiers, endangering their lives.”

“The soldiers responded with fire toward the sources of the fire and explosive devices; hits were identified,” they added. “The IDF is investigating the event and looking into the possibility that the journalists were hit by the Palestinian gunmen.”

Abu Akleh’s funeral was in Jerusalem on May 13. She was brought to the Greek-Catholic Church for the funeral.

But, even at a funeral, the public could not put aside the reality.

It was a large gathering, with Palestinian flags and a mass awakening of righteous anger over the killing of the journalist. It is a sordid reminder of the last lines of Fortinbras in Hamlet: “Take up the bodies. Such a sight as this becomes the field, but here shows much amiss. Go, bid the soldiers shoot.”

Unfortunately, this land has seen – and will likely continue to see – too many funerals and too much shooting.