74. Jerusalem, 2000 - Premonitions
In which Eleanor is spooked.
Israel retreats from Lebanon. Palestinians are jubilant. Eleanor is worried.
Eleanor
26 May, 2000
I can’t shake off the sense that something is going to go horribly wrong. I don’t know where, or when or how. I hope I’m just being moody.
The speed of the Israeli retreat from Lebanon has shocked all of us. It all happened so fast. The Palestinians are triumphant and jubilant. The Israelis? That I don’t know. All the Palestinians I know—both contacts and friends—are remarking on what Hezbollah’s determined resistance has done. I fear the radicalization of the young this will bring, and how it will embolden Hamas. Jacob had the connections with Hamas, rather than Francois or I. But he’s just gone back to South Africa, having finished up his posting too. Now it’s just me, Nagla, Wissam and Tariq.
I remember conversations with Mahdi back in Pretoria, how violence does seem to work. It sets the terms of the debate. It forces the other party to react. And as they react harshly to stem the violence, the true nature of their brutality becomes more and more obvious. It eventually becomes impossible to sustain, and finally the only solution is to retreat. And apartheid ends.
All of which means I have a terrible fear that things are going to get much worse, much worse here.
Bonus Material
Deleted Scene: Kilimanjaro
Deleted Scene: Stoned
