Gaza witnesses the beginning of the end of the siege

Until the eleventh hour it seemed that the visit would be derailed. On Monday, Israeli jets carried out three waves of attacks on Gaza, raising security concerns over whether the Emir of Qatar should actually go to the enclave. However, Sheikh Hammad bin Khalifa was not deterred. He was determined to make a historic statement. The overall significance of his whirlwind visit will remain a subject of debate but whatever the interpretations, it would be disingenuous to deny its intended humanitarian purposes. A few hours after the departure of Sheikh Hammad, Israel resumed its attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Politically, reactions have ranged from strong condemnation to glowing praise. Israel and the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah were outraged for almost the same reason. They both regarded it as a ringing endorsement of the Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas.

Writing in Ad Dustour newspaper, the Jordanian columnist Urayib al Rantawi said that it was impossible to view the visit in isolation from Qatar’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Tunis, Syria and Palestine. Like him, several secularist writers claimed that the visit would further cement the political rift between the West Bank and Gaza, much to the satisfaction of Israel.

As for Sheikh Hammad, he told students at the Islamic University of Gaza that it was the steadfastness of Gaza’s resistance during the 2008-09 Israeli war which had inspired the Arab Spring. He acknowledged that without the support and cooperation of the new government in Egypt his visit could not have taken place.

It is no secret that the Mubarak regime had become a surrogate for the promotion of foreign interests in the region. Egypt’s new foreign policy towards Israel, particularly, will not be the same. For sure, there will be no megaphone diplomacy. President Mohamed Morsi has demonstrated clearly that he knows how to conduct business; fewer words and more action. His handling of the Sinai attack proved that unlike his predecessor he is prepared to place Egypt’s interests above all others.

In a special message to the Egyptian and Arab people to mark the Muslim pilgrimage to Makkah, Morsi said, “We don’t declare war on anyone, but we affirm in the clearest terms that the Palestinian people will not be abandoned; we are with them in the face of any aggression.”

On the streets of Cairo, Tunis or Sana’a, no one expects that the Americans and Europeans will break the siege. They will issue fine statements about human rights and the rule of law and do nothing, as they have done for decades in response to Israel’s crimes. During a visit to Turkey two years ago Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron condemned the blockade of the Gaza Strip, saying, “Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp.” Did he do anything practical to end the Palestinians’ misery? He has told the United Jewish Israel Appeal, “Britain will always stand by Israel, protect Israel…”

Conversely, Hammad bin Khalifa was prepared to do what none of the “leaders” of the “free world” were prepared to do by putting his words into action. This is not the first time that Qatar has sought to rebuild a country devastated by Israel. In 2010 Sheikh Hammad received a hero’s welcome in south Beirut after funding and expediting much of the reconstruction there. He fulfilled his pledge over Lebanon, and now he has embarked on the reconstruction of Gaza; delivering homes, medical care, schools and jobs.

As long as Israel’s blockade and attacks continue, there will be unrest in the region. Sheikh Hammad recognises that change must come from within the region, especially with the help of Egypt. During a visit to Cairo in September 2011, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan broached the idea of a visit to Gaza. He was discouraged by the then ruling military council.
With a new political dispensation in Cairo and a leadership that is prepared to take decisions, this visit should now clear the way for others to follow. This, in fact, is what officials in Gaza are hoping for. The PLO, though, has called on other leaders not to do so because that would reinforce the division.

Doha has differed with Ramallah over Gaza before. In January 2009 when Qatar called an emergency Arab summit to discuss the Israeli assault on Gaza, the PA was conspicuously absent along with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait.

To some, the Qataris may be “mavericks”, but their reading of the situation reflects an ability to stay ahead of events. First, they realise that Hamas is a major player in Palestine that no regional power can ignore. Second, the transition to democratic rule in the region will, inevitably, restore Palestine to its natural position, atop of the regional political agenda. In the new era of accountability, Arab governments will have to respond to the people, for whom Palestine remains the central issue. Though the Israelis and their supporters may think that the end of the medieval siege is still some way off, the people of the region know otherwise. The Emir of Qatar’s visit is indeed the beginning of its end.