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This is how the moderates look
By Gideon Levy

Haim Ramon has made a big comeback. As if renewing the Hebrew language, he has coined the term "infrastructural oxygen" - Israel should strike a blow at Gaza's infrastructural oxygen. Faithful to his suggestions in the Second Lebanon War ("It is permissible to destroy everything"), he is now the progenitor of the doctrine advocating cutting off the electricity, fuel and water supply to Gaza. Ramon is very proud of his demonic plan: "It's the first time the government has discussed these types of proposals," he said. In his eyes, the legal aspect is "hallucinatory"; there is no difference between Hamas and Al-Qaida. And what will happen if this cutoff of water and electricity to Gaza is not effective? "Until we try, we'll never know," the minister told an interviewer. That is, we are dealing with an experiment on human beings. As we all know, Ramon is a representative of a centrist party and is considered one of the party's moderates.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is a moderate, too. She also supports the Ramon doctrine. She says that, "It is inconceivable that life in Gaza continues to be normal." In the view of the moderate foreign minister, life in Gaza is "normal" - it seems she has no idea about what life is really like there - and a cutoff of supplies will bring an end to the Qassams. The hungry, thirsty and suffocating populace will exert pressure and, hocus pocus, there will be no more Qassams.

These crazy ideas have elicited fewer arguments among us than the proposals to require bicycle riders to wear helmets. The whole debate was conducted in a dignified manner: One person proposes cutting off electricity, while another suggests putting an end to the supply of cigarettes and perfume. No one expresses any opposition or calls out in protest - all we have to do is hear the position of the legal advisors, to decide and then to execute. Avigdor Lieberman, Shaul Mofaz and Avi Dichter have become superfluous: The moderates are doing the necessary work. Israeli discourse has become monstrous - and the terrible thing about it is that these are no longer the proposals of the loony fringes, but rather of the centrist stream. How does the right-wing put it? "There are no moderate Palestinians." Well, there are no moderate Israelis. When it comes to us, the center is the right in disguise.

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But, as luck would have it, just as this incitement to commit war crimes was being raised, a report was issued at the end of last week by Human Rights Watch, a reputable and unbiased American organization. The report mentions evidence that Israel Defense Forces officers were responsible for committing war crimes in Lebanon and that Israel seriously violated international law in indiscriminately killing hundreds of citizens. Ramon and Livni's proposals have prepared the ground for the next report. After implementing the Ramon plan, the call will intensify to boycott Israel and bring those responsible for the next crime to trial.

There is no room for debating legal nuances: Inflicting intentional harm against a civilian population constitutes a war crime. And 40 years of occupation in Gaza has not ended - it has only changed form. But Ramon's path is not only illegal and immoral, it is also ineffective. How long will we continue to believe that striking a population will make it more moderate? Are 40 years of bitter experience not enough to teach us that the opposite is true?

Another question: Is Gilad Shalit's fate more dear to us than the fate of the children of Sderot? Why is it permissible to negotiate with Hamas when it comes to Shalit, while the option of similar talks with the group on a cease-fire - the only way to ensure the safety of Sderot's children - is considered heresy? The parents in Sderot should have been the first to call upon the government to reach a cease-fire, instead of dispatching the IDF into Gaza and carrying out Ramon's zany proposals.

We should recall for a moment the last electric blackout we experienced. In June 2006, the Israel Electric Corporation implemented electric outages lasting several hours - just several hours. All hell was raised: Telephone exchanges collapsed as people stuck in elevators called for help; a resident of Ofakim who was attached to an oxygen machine was hospitalized in serious condition. Are Livni and Ramon prepared to realize the significance of cutting off "the infrastructural oxygen" for days and weeks? Are they ready to take responsibility for doing so after the world has had its say and perhaps even takes action? Several convicted statesmen are already sitting in the prisons in The Hague.
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  1.   WHEN WILL THE MUSLIMS LEARN THAT THAT ARE NOT UNIQUE 10:43  |  PAUL HARRIS 09/09/07
  2.   JUST PUT AN END TO JEWISH MAJORITY CONCEPT 11:11  |  indrajaya 09/09/07
  3.   Yawn. Same Old, Same Old 11:20  |  Natan 09/09/07
  4.   Inflicting more crimes against Palestinians 11:24  |  Jules Kadish 09/09/07
  5.   Pride Goeth Before A Fall 11:36  |  Natallie Durson 09/09/07
  6.   WHEN WILL MUSLIMS LEARN THAT KILLING CIVILLIANS WON`T BRING PEACE 11:37  |  Mitch Iginer 09/09/07
  7.   And how would Israel react if the EU imposed blanket sanctions? 11:42  |  Clickfool 09/09/07
  8.   GIDEON LEVY 11:51  |  Alex C. Wolosky 09/09/07
  9.   Paul H. once again demonstrates his foolishness 11:58  |  Brian Freund 09/09/07
  10.   Moderate 12:08  |  rose 09/09/07
  11.   Levy 12:10  |  j10 09/09/07
  12.   Suffering of civilians 12:11  |  Gabe 09/09/07
  13.   Haim Ramon, Tzipi Livni,...chol hachavod! 12:16  |  Akiva Patysh 09/09/07
  14.   For Akiva Patysh # 13 12:22  |  Clickfool 09/09/07
  15.   Hague should indict IDF leadership 12:28  |  Michael 09/09/07
  16.   There is no such thing as an Arab moderate or innocent civilian. 12:42  |  Uzi 09/09/07
  17.   Is all fair in war.....? 12:51  |  Esther 09/09/07
  18.   name calling = journalism? 13:02  |  Akiva Patysh 09/09/07
  19.   #9 THE CHISTRIAN FREUND BELEIVES IN TURNING THE OTHER CHEEK 13:06  |  PAUL HARRIS 09/09/07
  20.   #14 the yellow steak and anonynimity go hand in hand 13:10  |  victor hardman 09/09/07
  21.   War Crlimes go both ways 13:10  |  Tzfonit 09/09/07
  22.   Clickfool, the American veto is the thing... 13:14  |  Silvienne 09/09/07
  23.   #6, Mitch Iginer, When will Israelis learn? 13:17  |  Silvienne 09/09/07
  24.   On the contrary 13:17  |  Victor 09/09/07
  25.   Akiva Patysh, time you left for Israel... 13:18  |  Silvienne 09/09/07
  26.   #16, Uzi 13:20  |  Silvienne 09/09/07
  27.   For Uzi # 16 13:23  |  Clickfool 09/09/07
  28.   Paul Harris 13:25  |  Marilyn 09/09/07
  29.   It just isn`t good enough, Victor # 20 13:37  |  Clickfool 09/09/07
  30.   For Victor # 24 13:42  |  Clickfool 09/09/07
  31.   victor hardman 20 13:55  |  realism 09/09/07
  32.   #28MARYLIN RECORDS APOST ON OZ 13:55  |  PAUL HARRIS 09/09/07
  33.   #20 ( Hic)--tor Vardhead in Tel Aviv. 13:59  |  Labhras 09/09/07
  34.   When will Levy learn the same lesson? 14:04  |  David Teich 09/09/07
  35.   How about G. Levy to Durban II? 14:16  |  Bozaglow 09/09/07
  36.   Self preservation or self annihilation 14:26  |  Cham Gorenstein 09/09/07
  37.   Gideon`ve leraned from his Dad German civilians were innocent 14:30  |  Absolute Sweden 09/09/07
  38.   Marilyn.. 14:33  |  Silvienne 09/09/07
  39.   Gaza electricity 14:34  |  Michael 09/09/07
  40.   When will Gideon Levy write anything against arabs??? 14:36  |  Z Lando 09/09/07
  41.   No Need for Such Drastic Measures in Gaza 14:41  |  Ronnie Wolman 09/09/07
  42.   There will never be any separate Arab political entity 14:44  |  Uzi 09/09/07
  43.   When will Gideon Levy learn... 14:50  |  Steven 09/09/07
  44.   In Japan, Hiroshima created moderation 15:04  |  Joe 09/09/07
  45.   Levy: Appeaser Extrordinare 15:09  |  Rebecca Sharp 09/09/07
  46.   For Labhras # 29 15:14  |  Clickfool 09/09/07
  47.   Punishing Gaza 15:16  |  Hadas 09/09/07
  48.   Indrajaya # 2 15:28  |  ChanahS 09/09/07
  49.   The other way 15:29  |  North American 09/09/07
  50.   #33what apity michael doesnt know wwhat he is writing about 15:34  |  victor hardman 09/09/07
  51.   # 31 Gorenstein 15:34  |  North American 09/09/07
  52.   So Levy,Israel Has No Right to ANYTHING? 15:38  |  Jane 09/09/07
  53.   #29 klabarse exhibits his skills in sfa again 15:41  |  victor hardman 09/09/07
  54.   Uzi 15:44  |  truth 09/09/07
  55.   Joe THAT was a disgusting comment 15:47  |  Ronnie Wolman 09/09/07
  56.   Sure to work plan for painless end to the Israeli occupation: 15:49  |  Uzi 09/09/07
  57.   On ClickFOOL and the EU 16:01  |  Jonathan S 09/09/07
  58.   #22 the anti semites unite in hate ways to destroy israel 16:07  |  victor hardman 09/09/07
  59.   #43 Where Jane goes wrong 16:18  |  Johnboy 09/09/07
  60.   WHEN WILL THE MUSLIMS LEARN THAT THEY 16:20  |  Nechama 09/09/07
  61.   Only Muslims can teach Muslims moderation 16:20  |  Oren 09/09/07
  62.   When will Gideon Levy learn? 16:23  |  Jonathan S 09/09/07
  63.   BETWEEN DANNY RUBENSTEIN AND LEVY 16:24  |  indrajaya 09/09/07
  64.   No Occupation = "Infrastructural Oxygen" 16:34  |  Yaakov Ish Tam 09/09/07
  65.   Levy`s arogance 16:35  |  Gene 09/09/07
  66.   "Jewish majority" ? 16:37  |  Guershom 09/09/07
  67.   What`s happening to you, Victor? # 48 16:37  |  Clickfool 09/09/07
  68.   Israeli Moderates 16:42  |  Kevin 09/09/07
  69.   Gaza`s civilians are source of attacks, Hamas does their will. 16:45  |  bernard ross 09/09/07
  70.   Chanah and history 16:55  |  truth 09/09/07
  71.   jane and inverted logic 16:59  |  truth 09/09/07
  72.   Hiroshima and Nagasaki - sorry to say so but 16:59  |  J.M.Jordan 09/09/07
  73.   MODERATION IS THE LAST THING ISRAEL NEEDS 17:03  |  indrajaya 09/09/07
  74.   ren Im sure many Muslims want to Moderate 17:03  |  Ronnie Wolman 09/09/07
  75.   Besides: #8 Alex C. Wolosky has it absolutely right 17:09  |  J.M.Jordan 09/09/07
  76.   Paul H #9 17:12  |  Brian Freund 09/09/07
  77.   Israel NEEDS an ASS KICKING 17:14  |  PAUL 09/09/07
  78.   So Johnboy Also Denies Israel`s Right to ANY Self-Defense 17:15  |  Jane 09/09/07
  79.   Nukes on Qassams 17:23  |  Joel 09/09/07
  80.   Those Arrogant Jews Think They Can Live Like All Other People 17:24  |  Jane 09/09/07
  81.   #8 which is the territory that doesnt belong to us alex? 17:26  |  victor hardman 09/09/07
  82.   War crime? 17:32  |