It seems like everything we Americans accept regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict directly opposes what the rest of the world thinks.

When Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon criticizes Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, President George W. Bush immediately agrees. This, despite Sharon’s contradictory assertions that Arafat is both “extremely dangerous” and “irrelevant.” In a Jan. 29 press release, the European Union made clear that it did not accept such erroneous claims. Sweden’s foreign minister said “it is very dangerous if the United States is supportive of the Israeli government . instead of supporting peace talks.”

When Sharon demands that Arafat combat terrorism, Bush immediately agrees. This, despite the fact that Sharon’s tanks have Arafat under siege in his office as Israel’s army cripples Palestinian security forces, making it impossible for Arafat to meet Israeli demands.

But Arafat does not suffer alone. Since September 2000, Israel has waged what the United Nations calls a “bloody military campaign” against Palestinians. The brutal tactics of repression used on Palestinian civilians – home demolitions, assassinations, uprooting trees and segmenting the Occupied Territories into 220 ghettos – prompted the U.N. General Assembly on Nov. 20, 2001 to issue a statement asserting that Israel’s actions “are illegal and have no validity.”

Israel’s argument is that in a war on terrorism any act is valid. But the occupation is 35 years old – the longest in modern history – and the current conflict began a full year before the “war on terrorism” was a household term. Our friends in Europe understand: on Feb. 6 France’s foreign minister noted “we are threatened today by a new simplism, which consists in reducing everything to the war on terrorism. We cannot accept that idea. You have got to tackle the root causes, the situations, poverty, injustice.”

Palestinians maintain that the root cause of the conflict is Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land, and the inhumane treatment inflicted on Palestinians daily. Israel, on the other hand, remains in the moment, ignoring causes, focusing on its next attack. It’s hard to tell who is right. This is why, on Dec. 15, 2001, the U.N. Security Council voted on a resolution condemning terrorism and calling on both sides to accept their responsibilities under existing agreements. The resolution also proposed sending a team of international monitors to the Occupied Territories, to find ways of bringing the two sides together.

That resolution was vetoed unilaterally by the United States, because its alleged purpose was to “isolate” one of the parties. Since the resolution condemned assassinations, excessive force and property damage, the United States had a point – those charges only apply to Israel.

Why, as the rest of the world condemns Israeli aggression and supports Palestinian rights, is the U.S. silent?

Perhaps we have been lied to, misinformed by individuals who talk peace but play at war. At an academic institution like GW, such misinformation is tantamount to hypocrisy. We have a duty to ourselves to seek out as much information as possible, from well respected, internationally based sources like the U.N., Amnesty International and the Red Cross Society. Once research determines the reality of the situation, the first step to peace becomes clear: we must obey the call for international observers to monitor the situation in the Occupied Territories and determine, according to international law, the proper course of action.

-The writer, a senior majoring in English, is a member of the Arab Student Association.