verse. But for Dr Abuelaish it exhibits some kind of divine purpose and he sees himself as an instrument of that purpose. In case this is misunder- stood, the book portrays a man of common human qualities: vehe- mence, passion, calm, dignity and anger. In person, these are under- pinned by humility. His reaction to the tragedy is, he
says, “God’s blessing. He does not leave us to collapse or lose our ration- ality, but gives us the opportunity to take the challenge and equips us with the means to do so.” He continues: “I was seconds away
from my daughters’ room and if I had been delayed I would have been killed. In God’s wisdom he meant me to carry a message and it’s what I said at that time: Gazans were seen as numbers, and no one was seeing what was happening to innocent civilians by the [23 days of Israeli] incursion. Gazans needed a human face and to be seen as human beings, so that their reality could be understood and to see a human face in those girls. Why they were killed, only God knows.” There are strong biblical and Qur’anic res- onances in his utterances. For example, he talks of sacrifice: that his daughters gave their blood in a noble cause. He talks of the prophets, Jesus, Muhammad, Jacob, Moses, who teach kindness, wisdom, mercy. In the book, Dr Abuelaish compares him- self to Job of the Talmud and Bible (Ayoub of the Qur’an) whose faith is tested. He writes: “God had given me my daugh- ters as a trust and now they were taken back. What happened was part of God’s plan and that to hate would negate the precepts of the
Gaza surviving on the underground economy of the tunnels. The debate, I feared, would detract from the urgent need to promote Palestinian unity and form a government capable of rising above factional interests. It was the Arab Spring that forced me to
reconsider this position and recognise the reality that the Palestinian people cannot be expected to endure for much longer the humiliation of being an occupied, stateless nation. Inspired by the events in Egypt and Tunisia, Palestinian youth expressed a similar desire for dignity and self-determination as they took to the streets of Ramallah and Gaza calling for national unity and the freedom to govern their own lives. There is undoubtedly a risk that a successful bid for statehood could give rise to immediate and unrealistic expectations in the West Bank and Gaza, and be the spark for a new intifada as people see little change on the ground. But the risk of violence is even greater, I fear, if the Palestinian call for international recognition is rejected. One does not have to spend much time
Qur’an to accept suffering patiently and to forgive. As a believer, I feel I have been chosen to reveal the secrets of Gaza, the truth of the pain of dislocation, the humiliation of the occupation and the suffocation that comes from a siege, so that once and for all Palestinians and Israelis can find a way to live side by side.” He remains sustained by an early belief
that Israelis are human beings who share, both religiously and temperamentally, much with Palestinians. This he found, when he was 14 and never having met an Israeli, while he had worked one summer for an Israeli family and recognised their humanity and warmth. Another formative influence, also as a child, was when he stayed in an Israeli hospital. He was impressed not only by the work of doctors and nurses but also by the free and easy attitudes between the sexes. Dr Abuelaish is fond of medical analogies. When explaining that peace is not the absence of conflict, he points out that “health is not
in the region to appreciate the deep frustration people feel because of the failure of past negotiations to effect any real change in their lives. Even those who have benefited from the
recent upsurge in economic activity in the West Bank are under no illusion of the fragility of the current situation. They know their economy is built on donor consumerism and that overnight they could so easily lose their jobs, their cars, their homes.
Recent polls suggest that up to 70 per
cent of Palestinians predict a new intifada unless the deadlock is broken and the situation on the ground changes soon. As in Tunisia, a random incident could ignite a wave of unstoppable protest. A return to street violence is in no one’s interests, least of all Israel’s. The Palestinians need to see evidence that politics can be a more effective way of achieving real change than the gun and the bomb.
■Oliver McTernan is the director of Forward Thinking, a charity devoted to promoting a more inclusive peace process in the Middle East.
Dr Abuelaish and his children four months after the attack. Picture: AP Photo, Khalil Hamra
the absence of infirmity and disease – it is social, mental and spiritual health”. He grew to see himself, and does all the more today, as a bridge between two sides. Before the tragedy he and his chil- dren had decided that they would emigrate for five years to Canada, where he had been offered a job and where they now live. The children could grow up unhampered by ten- sion, violence and restraints and take up opportunities they would never have in Gaza.
Dr Abuelaish has now created Daughters
for Life, a foundation that allows women and girls more influence by opening up education through scholarships for school and higher education throughout the Middle East, including, of course, Israel. He believes that a greater place for female attitudes in the area will change values overall. He says: “Those throwing stones or firing
rockets were not born doing that, so what was the context? It was war, suffering and deprivation, and as long as there is occupation and oppression people go two ways – silence or violence – but the Palestinians have strug- gled for their freedom. I don’t ask a patient, ‘Why are you a patient?’ because that is deter- mined by their environment – their housing, their lifestyle. What we want to change is the environment, the context in which people live. We believe in each other [Palestinians and Israelis] and in our ability to share this Holy Land … It’s all about the will to solve the problem, rather than the determination to keep the anger front and centre.” He supports the two-state solution and sees the issue as one of implementation. “The ball is in Israel’s court. The Israeli public understands that,” he says, notwithstanding that Hamas, now governing Gaza, refuses to recognise the state of Israel. “We have to ask what the Israelis are scared of because the countries around them have been there for centuries, but they will never have security unless Palestinians are safe and secure. You cannot be an oppressor and feel safe; you will always feel threatened. “In the Middle East, no one expected all that has happened: that the border [at the Rafah, Egypt-Gaza crossing] would be opened,” he says. “A few years ago Israel was on the Left, now it is on the Right; but this can change because the Right cannot achieve safety and security – and that is against Israel’s interests and it is self-destructive. To hope is to live and if we look around us at this world, we see it is always changing, that noth- ing is permanent.”
I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity by Izzeldin Abuelaish is published by Bloomsbury at £16.99.
■Terry Philpot is a writer and editor. 1 October 2011 | THE TABLET | 5
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