KARACHI, Feb 1: Palestinian activist and author Ghada Karmi ‘said on Saturday she thought Palestine was at the back of the Iraqi crisis and she feared a massive “transfer” of the Palestinian population.

Delivering a lecture on “Palestine: in the shadow of war”, organised by the Dawn Group of Newspapers at a local hotel, Dr Karmi said it was difficult to say what was on the mind of Ariel Sharon, but she thought Israel could resort to what the Zionists did in 1948.

There was talk of Arabs in Israel being pushed into Lebanon, because America’s war on Iraq, she said, could provide Sharon with an opportunity to achieve his aims.

Author of several books, including In Search of Fatima,, Dr Karmi, based in London, said a resolution of the Palestinian issue on the basis of two states was not viable. Instead, she proposed the idea of one state for the two peoples on the basis of democratic equality.

Dr Karmi said an American attack on Iraq would set an extremely dangerous precedent in the conduct of relations among sovereign states and would raise questions about the viability and credibility of the United Nations.

She expressed her horror over reports that President Bush had signed an order authorizing the use of tactical nuclear weapons if the Iraqi government used chemical or biological weapons on American or allied forces. This had brought the world to “the threshold of a serious threat. It is a very crucial moment.”

She was of the view that American unilateralism would endanger the world order and would mean that if the US took issue with any government, it would use military power to enforce its will whether or not the world body put its seal of approval on it.

Dr Karmi believed that “Iraq is the wrong target. It is not a threat to anyone, certainly not to the West. The Iraq issue is to distract attention from Palestine, which is the real issue.

“Had it (Palestine problem) been resolved we would not have faced this situation. But the US support for Israel has made it impossible”, said the London-based Palestinian activist whose family had to flee to Britain in 1949 when the Zionist terrorist squads of Menachem Begin were killing Palestinians and demolishing their houses. The real problem, she said, was Israel of which the Palestinian people were the casualty. She said that owing to brutal terrorism of the Israelis there had been a massive exodus to neighbouring countries and far beyond. One possible aim of the American war on Iraq could be to create a new regional arrangement with Israel being turned into a regional superpower.

Dr. Karmi said that Sharon’s policy had pushed about 40 per cent Palestinians living in Israel to the poverty level while the rest were being forced to seek refuge in neighbouring countries.

She was critical of those Arab states who were willing to offer bases and other facilities to the US in its imminent war against Iraq and said the way for the Arabs to prevent the war was to deny military facilities to the Americans. The US could use its air power on its own, but for land invasion it would need the help of the Arab states.

She said some Arab governments feared that denying facilities to the US could mean the end of their regimes. She thought they should not be afraid of this. If they were overthrown, they would become heroes in the eyes of their people.

She was appalled by the Saudi proposal that President Saddam Hussain should be facilitated into going into exile and held the view that it would further destabilize the region. In fact, she said the idea was mooted by those who waned to create divisions among the Arabs.

Replying to a question, Dr Karmi declared that the Oslo peace process was “finished and it is not possible for the Palestinians to accept any kind of Oslo. They want occupation to end and a state of their own.”

Elaborating her proposal of one state for both Palestinians and Israelis Dr Karmi said the two-state solution was not viable because of the infrastructure development the Jewish entity had carried out in respect of water resources, road networks and the Jewish settlements on the West Bank and the Gaza strip. Instead she emphasized the need for one country for the two people based on secular ideas of democracy.

Such a state, she said, would lead to the end of Zionism and would result in a resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Replying to a question about the rise in suicide bombings Dr Karmi said these were due to the absence of effective resistance. Had there been effective resistance, that would not have happened, she said.

Asked to comment on Osama bin Laden’s role in 9/11, she said that although there was no conclusive evidence of his involvement those who used this method had not realized the serious consequences of their action. War on Iraq was also a consequence of that act, which was very negative, she said.

Earlier, Mr Salim Asmi, Dawn’s UK and Europe editor,introduced dr Karmi, he said, was in the forefront of the Palestinian struggle before it was recognised by the West.

Ms Ghinva Bhutto, who reviewed Dr Karmi’s book for Dawn’s Books and Authors section, lamented the plight of Palestinians over the years and praised their struggle against Israeli occupation.

She said the main responsibility for violence in Palestine rested with the “godfathers” of Israel.

Assistant Editor Ms Zubeida Mustafa welcomed Dr Karmi.

At the end of Dr Karmi’s lecture Chief Executive Officer of Dawn Group Newspapers Mr Hameed Haroon paid tributes for her pioneering role in advocating the Palestinian cause.

KU: Earlier, addressing students of the international relations department, Karachi University, Dr Karmi said the question of replacing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was first raised by Ariel Sharon who wanted to humiliate and degrade the Palestinian leader.

She said that Mr Arafat was most charitable in giving concessions to the Israelis. She said that Sharon wants to block any settlement that would lead to a change.

She said that nobody could replace Arafat. Marwan Baghouti who could do so was detained by the Israelis.

While dealing extensively with the overall Palestinian problem in the backdrop of the Iraq crisis, Dr Karmi also referred to the ineffectiveness of the OIC and the questionable policies of the Arab countries.

Dr Karmi also referred to the growing public opposition in Britain to President Bush’s Iraq policy and said if the Arabs had conducted themselves better, the situation would have been better.

She said the real problem is not the dictator of Iraq but Israel-Palestinian relationship. Ms Karmi was concerned over the abuse of smaller nations rights by the big powers and in this context she mentioned Palestine and Kashmir where human rights and values are abused every day.

Former ambassador Masood Mahdi spoke on the support given to the Palestinian cause by the Muslims of South Asia in the formative phase and also discussed the implications of the Iraq crisis for West Asia and the regions beyond.