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The Split In Israel And The War Of Al-Aqsa
What is the reason for the 'Al-Aqsa Deluge', as Hamas had named its terror operation against the Zionists?
On October 8 Alastair Crooke, one of most experienced Middle East hands, wrote in AlMahadeen:
"Israel" has shattered into two equally weighted factions holding to two irreconcilable visions of "Israel’s" future; two mutually opposing readings of history and of what it means to be Jewish.
The fissure could not be more complete. Except it is. One faction, which holds a majority in parliament, is broadly Mizrahi — a former underclass in Israeli society; and the other, largely well-to-do liberal Ashkenazi.
Mizrahi are mostly the original Middle Eastern Jews and often on the religious far right, Ashkenazi are mostly liberal European ones. The current Netanyahoo government is the first which includes far-right Mizrahi ministers.
Most Mizrahi follow the Sephardi religious rites. They want an religious state based on Jewish law. They are as radial as ISIS.
The high court of Israel has 14 Ashkenazi judges and one Mizrahi one. It is one of the reasons why the Netanyahoo government wants the parliament to be able to vote down high court judgements. There have been large, U.S. sponsored 'regime change' protests in Israel against that move. The leaders of the military and security services, mostly Ashkenazi, have also opposed the government move against the court.
I therefore think that it is quite possible that there was intelligence pointing to the Hamas attack, but that it was not revealed to let Netanyahoo fall into a trap. We have however no evidence that there were reasonably precise intelligence warnings, or that they were held up.
There are already demands for Netanyahoo to go. If only for his long term sponsoring of Hamas as a counterweight to the more secular Fatah Palestinians. Should he no longer be prime minister the courts will take up the three bribe cases against him which are currently pending. He would likely end up in jail.
Another reason for Hamas' success was the fact that three of the four infantry battalions, with 800 soldiers each, that usually guard the Gaza strip, had been moved to the West Bank to protect right-wing Zionist settlers during a religious holiday. This allowed for Hamas' easy breach of the fence.
Back to Alastair Crooke on the real motive of the Al-Aqsa flood:
Well, the Right in Netanyahu’s government has two long-standing commitments. One is to rebuild the (Jewish) Temple on ‘Temple Mount’ (Haram al-Shariff).
Just to be clear, that would entail demolishing Al-Aqsa.
The second overriding commitment is to the founding of "Israel", on the "Land of Israel". And again, to be clear, this (in their view) would entail clearing Palestinians from the West Bank. Indeed, the settlers have been cleansing Palestinians from swaths of the West Bank over the past year (notably between Ramallah and Jericho).
On Thursday morning (two days preceding Al-Aqsa Flood), more than 800 settlers stormed the Mosque Compound, under the full protection of Israeli forces. The drumbeat of such provocations is rising.
This is nothing new. The First Intifada was triggered by (then) PM Sharon making a provocative visit into the mosque. I was a part of Senator George Mitchell’s Presidential Committee investigating that incident. Even then, it was clear that Sharon intended the visit to fuel the fire of religious nationalism. At that time, the Temple Mount Movement was a minnow; today it has ministers in Cabinet and in key security positions — and has promised its followers to build the ‘Third Temple’.
So, the threat to Al-Aqsa has been building for two decades, and today is reaching an apex. And yet US and Israeli intelligence didn’t see resistance coming, and nor did they see the settler violence building in the West Bank?
What happened on Saturday was widely expected and clearly extensively planned.
There is by the way no archaeologic evidence, none, that a Jewish 'Temple' ever existed in Jerusalem. If it did, it was most likely not on the hill of Al-Aqsa but one of the six other ones.
Al-Aqsa is holy to all Muslims, Shia and Sunni alike. Its destruction would inevitably lead to war. The West is clearly underestimating what forces calls like this one can rise:
Khalid Aljabri, MD د.خالد الجبري @JabriMD – 11:52 UTC · Oct 13, 2023
Friday sermon from the Grand Mosque in Mecca prays for the “liberation of Al-Aqsa Mosque” in Jerusalem.
This is significant for two reasons:
• Audience of 2 billion Muslims.
• Such sermons have been significantly censored under MBS. Today's sermon was likely pre-approved.
Video
Israel has used White Phosphorus on the people in Gaza, another war crime. Israel has given all people in north Gaza, 1.1 million human beings, 24 hours to move to south Gaza. That is impossible and will not happen. It is an attempt of ethnic cleansing.
Caitlin Johnstone @caitoz – 10:52 UTC · Oct 13, 2023
If there were two million Jewish people trapped by Christians in a giant open-air prison and placed under total siege, being told that half of them had 24 hours to relocate into the other half or be killed, nobody would have any confusion about what they were witnessing.
If Israel makes, as announced, a ground attack on Gaza, Hizbullah in Lebanon is likely to attack Israel. The U.S. has allegedly let Syria know (via France) that Damascus, and President Assad personally, would be attacked if that were to happen. This is a miscalculation. It is far from certain that Assad, or even Iran, has the means to hold Hizbullah back.
A U.S. attack on the government of Syria would bring Russia into the war. Iran would also respond which is exactly what some of the neocons want.
The war could easily escalate further from there.
Neue Einheit on the war in Palestine http://www.neue-einheit.com/ for some reference to an above comment of mine. Yes, the site is shadowbanned by google and google translate won’t translate their webpages.
On the war in Palestine
Islamist Hamas terror and Zionist state terror – two sides of the same coin
Uwe Müller October 10, 2023
Hamas’ attacks against the Israeli civilian population, the indiscriminate killing and taking of civilians hostage is inhumane and reactionary. This has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with a legitimate fight against the Israeli state and its terror against the Palestinians. There cannot and must be no support or justification for this from progressive forces.
It is justified that the Palestinians defend themselves against the terrorist state of Israel. How else are they supposed to get out of the almost hopeless situation in the Gaza Strip, in the West Bank or in various refugee camps, where they are largely dependent on alms and humanitarian aid and are constantly further constricted by Zionism’s aggressive settlement policy with its racism and constant attacks and provocations? Such as the attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in May 2021, which, according to a Hamas representative, was the specific impetus for planning the current terrorist operation. Countering Israeli state terror with Islamist terror against civilians from Hamas or Hezbollah is not only a war crime, but also a dead end. This only leads to more terror against the masses and oppression of the people on both sides.
Revolutionary, democratic and even military resistance by the Palestinians against Israeli state terror is justified and necessary. However, the reactionary, inhumane ideology and approach of the Islamists of Hamas or Hezbollah – with their supporters from various sheikhdoms, Iran and various imperialists including even the Zionists – is the complete opposite of this. [Annotation]
Of course, one cannot ignore the fact that the State of Israel is a product of British and later US imperialism to dominate the Arabian Peninsula – essential to control over oil and natural gas – which from the outset was based on war, terror and the expulsion of the people local Palestinians based. One should also not forget that for years Israel has fought and undermined the democratic liberation struggle of the Palestinians under the leadership of the PLO using all means (war, terror, continued land theft, corruption, support of Islamist forces such as Hamas).
Every attack by Hamas or Hezbollah is responded to by the Israeli military with massive bombings and so-called punitive operations, in which thousands of innocent civilians have already been killed. The Gaza Strip is repeatedly sealed off and more than 2 million people are taken hostage.
However, the current development is not really surprising. For decades now there has been an intensification or provocation, one terrorist act after another. However, the scale of the current attacks is new and striking, and many are also asking the question why Israel did not see Hamas’ massive military buildup coming, since they supposedly have the best secret service in the world. Egypt is also said to have warned against this.
Why are these massive attacks by Hamas now? This terror against civilians, which of course forces Israel to react and defend itself. This has to do with both the geopolitical situation and the internal contradictions in Israel itself.
Not just since the war in Ukraine, no, since the global economic crisis of 2007/08, the contradictions between the imperialists, between the USA and Russia, between the USA and China, between the so-called “West” and the countries in Latin America and Africa have been intensifying and Asia. The capitalist states are seeking – as they have done several times in history – a way out of the crisis by putting pressure on the masses worldwide, and are not afraid of war. Distraction from internal contradictions through external attacks. This applies to both Hamas and the Israeli state.
For months, a significant part of Israeli society, including members of the military, have been demonstrating against the judicial reform of the Netanyahu government coalition. And now? First of all, yesterday’s snow. No more demonstrations, Netanyahu is aiming for a government of national unity, and opposition leaders have already declared their fundamental willingness to do so. Everything is now geared towards the war against Hamas. There is already massive bombing, with no regard for civilian casualties, ground troops are being gathered and the Gaza Strip has been completely sealed off, electricity, water, food and fuel supplies blocked. The border with Egypt was also closed. Over 2 million civilian Palestinians are imprisoned and taken hostage. Even in the UN facilities in Gaza they are not safe. The UN rightly criticizes this approach as a war crime.
Netanyahu’s statements give rise to fears of the worst. He even said that the Middle East would be different after the war. Do the Zionists want to completely drive the Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip and occupy the area? Do you want to expand the war to Lebanon or even against Iran? You can’t rule that out. The terror of Hamas is now followed by the terror of the Israeli Zionist state.
As always, the people are footing the bill in this war, on both sides.
We are further away than ever from a solution to the Palestinian question; the danger of a conflagration and the expansion of the war is great. Although the Iranian leadership denies active involvement, it expressly welcomes Hamas’ terrorist actions.
All progressive forces are called upon to put a stop to terror against the masses. That’s easy to say, but how are you supposed to get there given the current situation? How to get out of this vicious circle of terror against the masses?
We wrote back in 2002, and unfortunately it is still relevant today: “The Palestinians essentially have only one choice, namely to return to their democratic program, to isolate Islamism, and then to deal with the people of Israel, who are participating in a civil one are interested in working together to find a solution, and that ultimately means the overthrow of Zionism as a whole. Otherwise this slaughter, including this slaughter among civilians, will continue, feeding the fundamentalism and racism of both sides and blocking any progress.” (from: The Fate of the Palestinians and the Year 1982)
As I said, they have deteriorated. Some nuggets of brilliance might remain but this is bad, reducing it to “both sides are equally bad,” making abandoning Islam a prerequisite for success, attempting to hold the army of the oppressed to a higher moral standard than the one of their oppressors, I could go on. There’s no nuance here and the author doesn’t even delve into the differences between an obvious third world country such as Iran, a perhaps-maybe first world contender like China and the chief parasite of the world, namely the United States. And this from an organisation who used to write on these things brilliantly in the past.
I could even do a detailed breakdown but it’s a bit like shooting fish in a barrel.
Posted by: Tichy | Oct 14 2023 13:37 utc | 947
Neue Einheit on the war in Palestine http://www.neue-einheit.com/ for some reference to an above comment of mine. Yes, the site is shadowbanned by google and google translate won’t translate their webpages.
On the war in Palestine
Islamist Hamas terror and Zionist state terror – two sides of the same coin
Uwe Müller October 10, 2023
Hamas’ attacks against the Israeli civilian population, the indiscriminate killing and taking of civilians hostage is inhumane and reactionary. This has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with a legitimate fight against the Israeli state and its terror against the Palestinians. There cannot and must be no support or justification for this from progressive forces.
It is justified that the Palestinians defend themselves against the terrorist state of Israel. How else are they supposed to get out of the almost hopeless situation in the Gaza Strip, in the West Bank or in various refugee camps, where they are largely dependent on alms and humanitarian aid and are constantly further constricted by Zionism’s aggressive settlement policy with its racism and constant attacks and provocations? Such as the attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in May 2021, which, according to a Hamas representative, was the specific impetus for planning the current terrorist operation. Countering Israeli state terror with Islamist terror against civilians from Hamas or Hezbollah is not only a war crime, but also a dead end. This only leads to more terror against the masses and oppression of the people on both sides.
Revolutionary, democratic and even military resistance by the Palestinians against Israeli state terror is justified and necessary. However, the reactionary, inhumane ideology and approach of the Islamists of Hamas or Hezbollah – with their supporters from various sheikhdoms, Iran and various imperialists including even the Zionists – is the complete opposite of this. [Annotation]
Of course, one cannot ignore the fact that the State of Israel is a product of British and later US imperialism to dominate the Arabian Peninsula – essential to control over oil and natural gas – which from the outset was based on war, terror and the expulsion of the people local Palestinians based. One should also not forget that for years Israel has fought and undermined the democratic liberation struggle of the Palestinians under the leadership of the PLO using all means (war, terror, continued land theft, corruption, support of Islamist forces such as Hamas).
Every attack by Hamas or Hezbollah is responded to by the Israeli military with massive bombings and so-called punitive operations, in which thousands of innocent civilians have already been killed. The Gaza Strip is repeatedly sealed off and more than 2 million people are taken hostage.
However, the current development is not really surprising. For decades now there has been an intensification or provocation, one terrorist act after another. However, the scale of the current attacks is new and striking, and many are also asking the question why Israel did not see Hamas’ massive military buildup coming, since they supposedly have the best secret service in the world. Egypt is also said to have warned against this.
Why are these massive attacks by Hamas now? This terror against civilians, which of course forces Israel to react and defend itself. This has to do with both the geopolitical situation and the internal contradictions in Israel itself.
Not just since the war in Ukraine, no, since the global economic crisis of 2007/08, the contradictions between the imperialists, between the USA and Russia, between the USA and China, between the so-called “West” and the countries in Latin America and Africa have been intensifying and Asia. The capitalist states are seeking – as they have done several times in history – a way out of the crisis by putting pressure on the masses worldwide, and are not afraid of war. Distraction from internal contradictions through external attacks. This applies to both Hamas and the Israeli state.
For months, a significant part of Israeli society, including members of the military, have been demonstrating against the judicial reform of the Netanyahu government coalition. And now? First of all, yesterday’s snow. No more demonstrations, Netanyahu is aiming for a government of national unity, and opposition leaders have already declared their fundamental willingness to do so. Everything is now geared towards the war against Hamas. There is already massive bombing, with no regard for civilian casualties, ground troops are being gathered and the Gaza Strip has been completely sealed off, electricity, water, food and fuel supplies blocked. The border with Egypt was also closed. Over 2 million civilian Palestinians are imprisoned and taken hostage. Even in the UN facilities in Gaza they are not safe. The UN rightly criticizes this approach as a war crime.
Netanyahu’s statements give rise to fears of the worst. He even said that the Middle East would be different after the war. Do the Zionists want to completely drive the Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip and occupy the area? Do you want to expand the war to Lebanon or even against Iran? You can’t rule that out. The terror of Hamas is now followed by the terror of the Israeli Zionist state.
As always, the people are footing the bill in this war, on both sides.
We are further away than ever from a solution to the Palestinian question; the danger of a conflagration and the expansion of the war is great. Although the Iranian leadership denies active involvement, it expressly welcomes Hamas’ terrorist actions.
All progressive forces are called upon to put a stop to terror against the masses. That’s easy to say, but how are you supposed to get there given the current situation? How to get out of this vicious circle of terror against the masses?
We wrote back in 2002, and unfortunately it is still relevant today: “The Palestinians essentially have only one choice, namely to return to their democratic program, to isolate Islamism, and then to deal with the people of Israel, who are participating in a civil one are interested in working together to find a solution, and that ultimately means the overthrow of Zionism as a whole. Otherwise this slaughter, including this slaughter among civilians, will continue, feeding the fundamentalism and racism of both sides and blocking any progress.” (from: The Fate of the Palestinians and the Year 1982)
As I said, they have deteriorated. Some nuggets of brilliance might remain but this is bad, reducing it to “both sides are equally bad,” making abandoning Islam a prerequisite for success, attempting to hold the army of the oppressed to a higher moral standard than the one of their oppressors, I could go on. There’s no nuance here and the author doesn’t even delve into the differences between an obvious third world country such as Iran, a perhaps-maybe first world contender like China and the chief parasite of the world, namely the United States. And this from an organisation who used to write on these things brilliantly in the past.
I could even do a detailed breakdown but it’s a bit like shooting fish in a barrel.
Posted by: Tichy | Oct 14 2023 13:37 utc | 948
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