Arab Connivance in the
Gaza Massacre
By Alberto Cruz,
December 30, 2008 -- Ceprid -- With the connivance, acquiescence and
approval of the United Nations, Europe the United States and reactionary Arab
governments, Israel is engaged in a campaign of extermination, a holocaust
against the Palestinians. Israel has never wanted peace, only surrender. The
Israeli vision of any peace process is based on a list of "no's" : no to the
right of return, no to a recognition of the historic and political rights of the
Palestinians in Jerusalem, no to the dismantling of settlements, no to a
sovereign Palestinian State.
With the final objective of dictating its own vision of peace, Israel is fully
prepared to degrade the lives of Palestinians, limiting their freedom of
movement by means of murders and arrests, blockades, destruction of homes,
universities, mosques, hospitals and agricultural and fishery resources. The
siege of Gaza is self-evident proof of the behaviour of 21st century nazis : the
Zionists. The massacre of Gaza is self-evident proof of the new SS : Zionist
soldiers. The alternatives to the Palestinians are clear : abandon Hamas or die,
either by military means or by "civil" means like blockade and siege. A lesson
in democracy in the purest form by the "Middle Eastern democracy" par excellence
For that purpose it can count on its best allies, who are not, despite
appearances, the United States or the European Union, but the reactionary Arab
regimes. Saudi Arabia and Egypt were informed in advance of the attack, as the
daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported in its edition of Sunday December 28th. As proof
that they could hardly care less: one hour before the attack started, Saudi
communications media were already blaming Hamas for what happened while their
London newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat published an interview with Shimon Perez
saying that Israel was not going to attack Gaza and that the Israelis were
"ready for peace". Obviously, an interview that has to be regarded as one of the
Zionist decoy manoeuvres so as to allow the massacre to be as complete as
possible, a measure clearly explained by the reporter for Ha'aretz, the Israeli
daily, in its edition that Sunday.
For days, Israeli newspapers had been reporting the "green light" given by
reactionary Arab regimes for the elimination of the main leaders of Hamas. Just
as they did during the Lebanon war in the summer of 2006, the reactionary Arab
regimes feel a cold chill along their spine when political -military movements
like Hizbollah defeat the omnipotent Zionist army or when political military
movements like Hamas win democratic elections and are able to resist a siege
lasting over a year and a half. The reactionary Arab régimes can endure one
defeat (which Hizbollah dealt them, since one should not forget that thanks to
that defeat they dusted off the Peace Plan approved by the inoperative and
inefficient Arab League in 2002) but not two. And Hamas is not Hizbollah. It is
much weaker and that fact has permitted and encouraged this massacre. The most
obvious case is Egypt, which reinforced the closure of the Rafah crossing just a
week prior to the Zionist massacre.
Hizbollah's Secretary General Hassan Nasrallá is right when he accuses these
regimes of collaboration and of acting in this way so as to defeat "the least
glimmer of resistance" to the neo-colonial project advanced by imperialism in
the Middle East. He knows what he is talking about because it had already been
done to them in 2006. And so that no one forgets that Israeli arrogance has no
limits and that the UN lets the Zionist regime do what it likes, on Sunday
December 28th, while the Gaza massacre was in progress, five Zionist war planes
again violated Lebanese air space, flying over Nabatiye, Marjaoun, Jiam and
Arqoub. What did the UNIFIL troops do? As usual : nothing. They are there to
protect the Israelis, not the Lebanese.
The reactionary Arab regimes are there to protect themselves, not the
Palestinians. Egypt and Saudi Arabia have managed to put back until December
31st the "urgent meeting" of the inoperative and inefficient Arab League. Just
as they did in Lebanon, they prefer to make time for Israel to finish off or
weaken Hamas. For them that political military organization is the problem, not
the Zionist regime.
Egypt has never forgotten that Hamas refused to accept bringing forward
elections as Egypt had suggested so as to reinforce Abbas. Nor was it pleased
when Hamas withdrew from the "national dialogue" talks overseen by Cairo until
the Mubarak regime opened the Rafah frontier crossing. Egypt could not accept
that and it has been the reason for its approval of the massacre carried out by
Israel.
But the most wretched of all the Arab leaders is Mahmoud Abbas, who styles
himself, "President of the Palestinian Authority" at the same time as he accuses
Hamas of responsibility for the massacre for refusing to give in, as he himself
has done, to Zionist and Western designs. Taking advantage of the bloodletting,
he has already said he will take over the administration of Gaza if Hamas is
defeated. We are faced with a Vichy-style West Bank regime, with Abbas as its
Pétain, serving the 21st Century nazis, Israel.
Dumping such individuals into history's dustbin is a duty. Overthrowing the
reactionary Arab regimes is a right. Solidarity with Arab people's movements and
especially with Egyptian trades unionists (1) ought to be a leading priority for
the world anti-imperialist movement.
And the same could be said as regards the European and United States
governments. The Greek flame, like the Olympic one, should not just be allowed
to go out but rather spread in the cause of peace and social justice. Capitalism
offers only one kind of peace, the truly democratic one of the cemetery.
Notas:
(1) Hossam El-Hamalawy: "La resistencia en Egipto"
http://www.nodo50.org/ceprid/spip.php?article265
Alberto Cruz is a journalist, political analyst and writer, specializing in
international relations -
[email protected]
Centro de Estudios Políticos para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Desarrollo
(www.nodo50.org/ceprid)
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