Coming Soon – Total War On Gaza

June 23, 2007

How will the Cheney and Olmert administrations now solve the problem of the still legaly existing and popular elected Hamas government in Palestine?

The Palestinian Pundit has a relevant translation:

This news item appeared today in the reputable Al-Akhbar paper in Lebanon.

It says that the decision for decisive action against Hamas in Gaza has apparently been taken at many levels involving local and outside powers. The military component of the plan will be what Olmert will outline to Abbas, Abdullah and Mubarak next Monday in Sharm El-Sheikh, in Egypt.

Western and American sources in Cairo have revealed the existence of a draft joint U.S.-Israeli plan which will be proposed in that meeting. The plan includes political and military measures to force Hamas out of Gaza. Olmert will be pressing his Arab counterparts to let him carry out a "limited" military strike in Gaza to destroy Hamas’ "infrastructure" and to end its control in Gaza. Simultaneous with that military operation, Israel will be targeting Hamas’ leadership and both its political and military cadres.

An Egyptian official said that Egypt and Jordan are unlikely to agree to the plan. Western sources said that Cairo is concerned that such Israeli intervention would increase tension along Egypt’s borders.

Israel’s Radio stated that Olmert has proposed that a Saudi official attend the forthcoming summit to convey the impression that the Arab world stands behind Abbas. It is worth noting that the Saudi king will be in Cairo on Monday.

Sounds quite believable to me, though I would doubt that the Saudi king will join the game.

The Egyptian dictator will agree, because Congress is threatening to cut some of the US funds he is collecting. The Jordan king may agree if he gets a brand new Playstation 3.

But the Saudi king would to have repudiate the deal he made a few month ago in Mecca with Abbas and the Hamas leader Haniye over the unity government. I find it hard to believe that he will do so while Hamas calls to re-form the unity government simply get shunned.

The planed action itself, is of course simple bloody murder. While the occupation in Iraq to some extend followed the model of the occupation of Palestine, now the learning relationship has turned. The increasing brutal assaults on Iraqis, including all-out air war, may now be copied for the destruction of Gaza and the few Palestinian outlets left in the West Bank. One wonders if Abbas could survive that.

Posted by b on June 23, 2007 at 19:45 UTC | Permalink

Comments

For anyone, Americans at least, interested in learning more about Hamas, the guy who knows as anyone is one booktv twice this wkend. Link

Posted by: jj | Jun 24 2007 2:11 utc | 1

Hamas war chief reveals his plans for Gaza peace

‘We forgive any Fatah official who wants to return and help us improve lives in Gaza,’ he said. ‘But ‘Alafu’ [the Islamic idea of forgiveness] can only be given once. If they do not stop their activities, then there will be no mercy.’
He admitted ‘Alafu’ will not apply to Mohammed Dahlan, currently in the West Bank. ‘He can never come back here. Everyone in Hamas is ready for Dahlan to return, and the supporters of Dahlan who do anything will be met with force.’
While the Hamas Executive Force – the blue-uniformed paramilitary troops on the streets – conduct most of the policing and security operations, Abu Obieda and his Qassam Brigades have other more pressing issues. ‘We have a lot of clan violence in Gaza and we are working to stop families from fighting each other over past things,’ he said. ‘But we also are working very hard for the release of Alan Johnston, the BBC journalist.’
…
The other major issue is resistance to Israel. Hamas has asked all militant groups to halt rocket attacks into Israel for now, with some success.
‘To shoot rockets into Israel is not a goal of Hamas; it is not a real target,’ he said. ‘But when Israel attacks us, it is our only way to respond. We do not hope to kill people in Israel with these rockets but it’s a necessary response.’
Abu Obieda said he was personally negotiating with Islamic Jihad, a militant group that fires the most rockets. And, typically, he eschews both inter-Palestinian violence and ceasefires with Israel. ‘We all understand that we need to wait until provoked. Maybe one week, maybe one month, but they will come and provoke us. But for now, we need to fix the economy, provide the security for the people of Gaza and the foreigners who want to come here, and fix the problems with the families. We can’t do anything before we do that.’

Posted by: b | Jun 24 2007 10:01 utc | 2

For those who wish to understand why the newly anointed Abbas government is unlikely to be able to gain anything of substance for the Palestinian people except an influx of cash from the US, this article, Everything is Possible by Israeli Yigal Bronner, is recommended reading. It provides the context for understanding how in all likelihood, Israel will ensure that whatever cash is provided to Abbas will not be allowed to be used to develop any kind of meaningful Palestinian collective existence, because according to the rules of the game, that is simply never to be allowed. Individual wealth, yes. Collective–national–prosperity, never.
The article nicely sums it up the dynamic of zero-sum existence that has been put into operation in Israel/Palestine, where all the benefits are seized for one people and none are allowed for the other. It is this dynamic that people who have not been to the region and lived in the occupied territories simply would have no way to even imagine. Despite it all, the author even has an optimistic perspective, which is pretty rare to find nowadays. Not sure how realistic it is, but it’s nice to see that at least someone still has even a sliver of hope for a different type of reality.

Posted by: Bea | Jun 24 2007 15:32 utc | 3

The EU, Arab States, the US, the UN, all International bodies never lifted a finger to help the Palestinians, except to provide ‘aid’ – for health, schooling, even road building, etc.. – keeping them alive in their miserable circumstances or in the first modern large scale concentration camp where ppl can reproduce freely, get minimal education, food, etc. (Gaza) but cannot leave (say..some do nonetheless…) or in the West Bank, similar.
UN resolutions were ignored by everyone.
Arab states indeed received refugees and treated them not badly, not well either.
The EU and the US have paid tremendous amounts to keep this situation static, and appear to have ‘clean hands.’ We pay for those poor ppl, no one wants ‘peace’ etc. It is all a sham.
Nobody can condemn Israel – a racist apartheid state, militaristic (that is a euphemism), in breach of International law on any point one can think of, aggressing its neighbors with impunity (e.g. Lebanon 06), living off handouts, of exceptional cruelty, etc. etc.
No one dares offend the US – the nukes are ready to go. Disapproving murmurs about Israel or Zionism must be quashed immediately. In the EU there are laws that see to that. They all buckled, even Switzerland. (Here there is good hope the laws will be overturned .. as the populist right has gained considerable power, anti-semitic they are not?, libertarian they are?…)
The occupation – of the ‘territories’ – killed Israel in a way, turned it into an oppressor who had to live with that status from then on. Historically, inevitable: genocide, expropriation, razing, existed from the start… but the daily wear and tear, for decades and decades, is another matter: it corrupts the people, renders them blind and helpless, sadistic, paranoid, afraid and angry, under threat, ready to kill…
Talking to Israelis is a hallucinating experience, they literally think Arabs are rats to be exterminated, spout all kinds of superficial blah about race, genes, intellectual accomplishments, Al Quaeda, Bin Laden who is a folk hero, a TV poster boy who is ready to send Nukes: a mirror image sent out with perfect innocent candor.
Note. I have visited Israel but now the few Israelis I know are expats – they would never dream of bringing up their children in such a savage place and prefer the superb health coverage, safe houses, great parks, etc. elsewhere..but hope the US will nuke Iran. They are confident, they think they control the US, it will happen.

Posted by: Noirette | Jun 24 2007 18:09 utc | 4

“Crying out loud and weeping are
notes in a nursing mother’s song.
Just a little beginning, a whimper
and she’s there with her soft breast.
Zion, lizard-skin stepfather, is mad.
Cry out! Do not be stolid and silent
with your pain, o’ Palestine! Lament,
let the milk of loving flow into you.
The soaking rain and the gentle wind
are ways the clouds have to sooth us.
Soon your stepfather’s head will rot
on a pike, as you palanquin goes by.”
— Jala al-Din Robi

Posted by: Hupp Twothree | Jun 24 2007 19:35 utc | 5

Poll: Racist Views Among Israelis Towards Arabs Have Risen Sharply in the past 2 Years
‘Marriage to an Arab is national treason’
Recent poll reveals steep rise in racist views against Arabs in Israel; many participants feel hatred, fear when overhearing Arabic, 75% don’t approve of shared apartment buildings

Over half of the Jewish population in Israel believes the marriage of a Jewish woman to an Arab man is equal to national treason, according to a recent survey by the Geocartography Institute.
The survey, which was conducted for the Center Against Racism, also found that over 75% of participants did not approve of apartment buildings being shared between Arabs and Jews. Sixty% of participants said they would not allow an Arab to visit their home.
Five hundred Jewish men and women participated in the poll, which was published Tuesday.
According to the survey, racism against Arabs in Israel has seen a sharp rise since a similar survey was conducted two years ago….
About 40% of participants agreed that “Arabs should have their right to vote for Knesset revoked”. The number was 55% lower in the previous survey. Also, over half of the participants agreed that Israel should encourage its Arab citizens to immigrate from the country.
Over half of the participants said they would not want to work under the direct management of an Arab, and 55% said “Arabs and Jews should be separated at entertainment sites”.
‘Arab culture inferior’
Participants were asked what they felt when they overheard someone speaking Arabic. Thirty-one percent said they felt hatred, while 50% said they felt fear.
Over 56% of participants said they believed that Israel’s Arab citizens posed both a security and a demographic threat to the country.
When asked what they thought of Arab culture, over 37% replied, “The Arab culture is inferior.”

Posted by: Bea | Jun 24 2007 20:20 utc | 6

You knew it was coming…

RAMALLAH: Iran played a “big role” in Hamas’ seizure of Gaza from Palestinian security forces earlier this month, Palestinian Intelligence Chief Tawfiq al-Tirawi charged on Sunday. Both Iran and Hamas swiftly dismissed the accusation as “lies.” “Iran has played a big role in what happened in Gaza. Dozens of members of Hamas have been trained in Iran, and Hamas smuggled in weapons through tunnels not to fight Israel but against the Palestinian Authority,” Tirawi said. “The whole plan has been carried out in coordination with Iran, and Iran has been informed of every step.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas previously accused “foreign elements” of orchestrating Hamas’ takeover, but it was the first time that a senior official explicitly blamed Iran.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri retorted that “Tirawi’s accusations are lies,” while acknowledging that Hamas enjoys good relations with the Islamic Republic as well as other Muslim states. “Hamas is proud that it enjoys … strategic depth in the Arab and Islamic world at a time when Tirawi’s friends are vaunting their relations with the [Israeli] occupation and the United States.”

Posted by: Bea | Jun 24 2007 22:07 utc | 7

NY Times and Washington Post Get Slammed for Publishing op-eds by Hamas official

Posted by: Bea | Jun 25 2007 2:39 utc | 8

Why give advance notice like this? It to enforce a kind of hegemony of miltarism. “We are doing this no matter if the public in Israel or the US supports it”. It also is a terrible tactical mistake, as hamas can go scrambling every which way; makes you wonder if they need to keep their enemies alive and fighting, so the land grabbing can continue wholesale.

Posted by: bellgong | Jun 25 2007 6:53 utc | 9

NYT should have been slammed – for making it an OpEd rather than taking press release, interviewing the guy, filling in background & making it a front page article. I interpreted the choice, when I read it in hardcopy, as NYT saying well… we have to cover this, but yuck we don’t want to touch him w/a 10′ pole, so f-it, we’ll just call it an OpEd.

Posted by: jj | Jun 25 2007 8:28 utc | 10

I find this fascinating, particularly in light of the possibility that in the eyes of BushCo, the whole line about “Iran is behind Hamas” could potentially provide yet another pretext for attacking Iran… Also the probable blowback within the Arab world is becoming clearer.
Haaretz: Iranian news agency breaks gov’t line, slams Hamas actions in Gaza

A recent article in Iran has overstepped the government line in criticizing the way Hamas took over the Gaza Strip. An article by the Iranian Baztab News Agency last week stated that during the takeover of the Strip, “serious mistakes” of historical proportions were made by the organization’s activists.
The serious acts harmed Hamas itself, as they did the entire Palestinian people, the article said.
The argument presented by the article is not typical of the mainstream opinions expressed by the Iranian media, which backs Hamas and its actions, in keeping with the regime’s official line of vigorous support for the organization.
However the publication of the article by the Baztab News Agency is very significant, since the agency is owned by Mohsen Rezai, the former commander of the Revolutionary Guards, who still holds a senior position in Tehran.
Meir Javedanfar, an Israeli expert in Iranian affairs who has recently written a book about President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, believes the article shows that “warning bells” have begun to ring in Iran about the implications of events in Gaza. There is concern that a separation between Gaza and the West Bank will lead to a major backlash against Hamas by the Arab countries. The article also raised the question of whether the decision to take over Gaza was made in Iran.

It’s evident that the Palestinian areas are rapidly becoming yet another playing ground for the U.S.-Iran struggle for regional power. So who were the winners and who were the losers in the Gaza “coup”? Anyone care to comment? The only thing that is clear to me is that the people of Gaza themselves won’t experience much relief any time soon, and that a fractured Palestinian government cannot deliver anything for the Palestinian people as a whole except for more disappointment.

Posted by: Bea | Jun 25 2007 14:55 utc | 11

Sorry to keep posting about this topic but I find it riveting. Here is an in-depth piece from the UK that describes some very disturbing developments in the West Bank. This is bound to have some really bad internal blowback, I would think, for Abbas:
Fatah Vows to Wipe Hamas from the West Bank

In the past week, Hamas-controlled city councils, including that in Nablus, have been disbanded by decree of militant Fatah members.
Hundreds of Hamas activists have been rounded up – some arrested by official Palestinian security services, others bundled off by shadowy militias. Masked gunmen kidnapped Ahmed al-Khaldi, the justice minister in the Hamas-dominated government, as he left a mosque after prayers in Nablus on Friday.
Also on Friday, Mr Abbas ordered a review of all private organisations and businesses in the Palestinian territories ahead of an even broader crackdown on Hamas-affiliated groups. Dozens of Hamas-run charities, businesses and political offices have been set on fire at night.
Meanwhile Gaza has become more isolated than ever, with Israel – which controls most of its border – unwilling to let its people flee the new, Islamist regime developing within.

It’s a long and important piece with lots of detail. Read the whole thing at the link. Definitely a situation to watch very closely.

Posted by: Bea | Jun 25 2007 15:09 utc | 12

Please don’t stop posting Bea. I’m riveted as well.
I’m appalled by the behavior of everyone in that arena; evicting families from Jerusalem, burning Hamas business and offices, essentially imprisoning a million people in Gaza… The horror!
Thank you for your work. This is a historical time in the Middle East and it is difficult to understand what is going on without sources such as those you post. Thanks!!

Posted by: Jake | Jun 25 2007 16:05 utc | 13

bea
post & links like your own are the lifeblood here – there can never be enough – more & more – please

Posted by: r’giap | Jun 25 2007 17:17 utc | 14

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