Hypocrisy
or over Israel There is no disputing the undesirability and even the illegality of the Israeli interception of a Lebanese passenger plane. It does not however, he in the mouths of those who, in this country and others, have regularly, consistently, and slavishly backed the Arab cause, now to vent their spleen upon Israel. Nor, indeed, has any Western government which in the past has merely wrung its hands and done nothing about skyjacking and other terrorist operations carried out by Arab guerrillas operating from protected bases in Arab countries, and comforted and cossetted by the governments of those countries, the right to point a finger at Mrs Nleir and General Dayan. It is time to have done with nanny-like hypocrisy in the discussion of Middle Eastern affairs.
Skyjacking and the hijacking, terrorism and murder, the blind, insensate, self-preoccupied criminality of the Arab guerrilla organisations constitute a standing threat to the lives, not merely of everybody who travels on an international airline, but now, of everybody who spends any time In an air terminal as well. Even that does not state the whole of the threat: post office workers who may have to handle letter bombs; pedestrians in the streets of Rome who are near exploding ear bombs; innocent individuals in embassies and trade missions around the world — all these are In peril from the thugs of Arab nationalism. And as long as these threats persist, these enemies of travel, trade and humanity enjoy the protection and succour of every Arab government with the exception of Jordan. Certainly, the Palestinians have had a raw deal from history. Certainly, their lot is a hard one. But however raw their deal, and however hard their lot, their conduct as raiders on the international scene is inexcusable, and deserves condign punishment as often as they are caught. Likewise, the attitudes and actions of the governments who protect them merits such punishment as the international community can mete out, including especially the imposition of air travel sanctions.
There is no getting away from the fact that Israel is in a state of war she is fighting for her lite. Again and again she has appealed to the members of the international community to do something — even if merely in their own interests — about the guerrilla threat; and again and again her appeals have met with silence. Not only is Israel a more civilised country than any of her Arab neighbours, in the sense that it is a country feeling and thinking like those western countries which are themselves victims of Arab terrorism, but it identifies with our western civilisation, and feels itself a part of our culture, responding to our opinions and trying to live up to our standards: it is only in desperation that the Israelis break the code of behaviour as they did last weekend; and when they break it there is an instant outcry in Israel, of a kind that simply would not be permitted in any of the Arab countries except, possibly, Lebanon. That Israel has been driven to these lengths Is a mark of the ineffectiveness and blindness of the western response to Arab terrorism. Israel will become increasingly desperate, increasingly militant, unless something is done. And if she breaks out into war again the greater part of the blame will lie not on her shoulders but on ours,
