Israeli Settlement Policy Burdens Palestinians

To the editors:

“Divestment on Top of Terror,” by Avi. D. Heilman ’03 (Oct. 25) makes the implication that the Israelis are somehow burdened with the responsibility of placing the Palestinian population under occupation. He claims: “We do not want to rule over three million Palestinians, we do not want to prolong a war that kills children and women and soldiers.” But the policies of the Sharon government and the actions of the Israeli military wholly contradict these claims. The presence of settlements on Palestinian land forces the Israeli military to maintain a constant presence in the West Bank and Gaza. The creation and military protection of settlements serves absolutely no security function and only serves to place both Israelis and Palestinians at risk.

It would seem as if the war Heilman does not want to participate in is really being waged house by house, settlement by settlement, by Israeli policy. So just as we must condemn and delegitimize terrorism perpetrated by Palestinian extremists, we must also point out the insanity of the settlement policy. While Heilman may feel the burdens of military action as a soldier, he must also recognize the burden of the Palestinian population being slowly constrained from all sides by Israeli territorial expansion.

Erol N. Gulay ’05

Oct. 25, 2002

The writer is co-chair of the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee.