Why is Palestine Synonymous with AK-47?

-A man wearing a mask
-An AK-47

Somehow it doesn't matter what the situation is, what the scenario is, who's broadcasting the message; the image the Palestinians have transmitted, universally to the world, is that when you think Palestinian, you should think AK-47. This weapon, alternatively known as a Kalashnikov, has become the trademark of low budget guerrillas, insurgents, and by extension Islamic terrorists. Hezbollah, the Lebanese terrorist faction that has infiltrated Lebanese government, uses the weapon on its flag, as stern a testament as any to the violent ideals of the faction.

But as the Palestinian government continues to insist upon legitimacy, continues to demand national recognition, continues to decry the state of Israel, and continues to lay demands on a negotiation table with violence and terror as their only currency, they continue to intentionally perpetuate the image of a masked, Kalashnikov armed guerrilla.

As much as I would love to say it is increasingly difficult to maintain an image of sympathy for a group who broadcasts itself with ski masks and checkered scarfs touting automatic rifles, the West continues to prove that professionalism and strict rules of engagement are not what society looks for in a "hero", but an underdog that ambiguously fires into crowds of people.

Perhaps most perplexing is that it is not simply Hamas that tries to identify itself as scarfed militants, but the entirety of the Palestinian people and their supporters continue to create a symmetry with the AK-47. It is reaching the point that the simple word Palestine ushers in thoughts, pictures of this weapon, as though the Russian man who invented it had done so as a mechanical metaphor for these people; and while it would be easy to blame Western Media for this phenomenon it is impossible to deny the culpability of the Palestinians themselves in this.

The freedom and independence already enjoyed by the Palestinian National Authority does not appear to be sufficient however as the Palestinians demand just as loudly for the annihilation of the state of Israel. Perhaps the only thing more constant than the portrayal of militant fighters with Kalashnikovs is the demands for the dismantling of an entire nation. There is a bitter irony in this - as Israel was among the first nations established by the mandate and rules of the United Nations and has so far labored not to deviate from these rules, and yet still it is among the few nations to be openly called upon for annihilation. Absent, of course, is the international condemnation of these demands.

Perhaps a more amusing irony is the economic ruin that would be assured to the Palestinian movement in the wake of this goal's success. According to the World Bank, 53% of the Palestinian National Authority's budget is dependent upon foreign aid - and in light of Israel's sanctions against them following the election of Hamas the economy nearly shut down. Indeed, checks remained unwritten for government posts until the Palestinian Civil War started and the sanctions could be lifted from the West Bank.

This comes from the same organization whose people danced in the streets and on car tops when it was announced that planes hijacked by Islamic terrorists rammed into the World Trade Center - celebrating an attack on the nation that leads the world in foreign aid sent to the Palestinian territories (at $224 million in 2003). Yes, even dwarfing the total contribution of the Arab League. While it would likewise be theoretically convenient and consistent with the conspiracies of the West to state that it is thanks to the pressure of Israel and other Zionists for the economic woes of the Palestinians, but it has already been confirmed to be a result of blatant corruption, overly zealous spending, high wages, and bizarre investments.

Like much of the region until the formation of Israel, the land often remains untilled, a collective malaise the likes of which not seen since Jimmy Carter shrugged off his responsibilities as President, and an absence of industrial or commercial drive continues to create a national income based entirely around welfare. Rather than attempt to attract business ventures, build up a viable economy, or turn to the agriculture which the Israelis have clearly demonstrated as feasible, Palestinian funds continue to be spent on Kalashnikovs.

And tragically - that is the image the Palestinians want.

Why does a national movement have to be synonymous with a type of automatic weapon?