Bets and masks fall during Gaza's latest saga

Israel has the right to be proud of it being a demonic destructive state excelling in the annihilation of the human race. Its record in the region is proof that Israel deserves the top prize for a number of things, including its creativity and artistry in destroying all religious and historical sites, murdering innocents, depriving people of their basic needs, denying the dead coffins and cemeteries, and depriving the wounded from saving their lives. Israel should be proud that it was prepared militarily, politically and economically to corner its victim and promised its allies a swift victory and a final termination of the headache they have been trying to eradicate for some time.

The Arab and Islamic countries remained silent on the killing and destruction, while the Arab League, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), and billions of Arabs and Muslims turned a blind eye to the people of Gaza and its resistance. Throughout the 51 days of suffering, the resistance persevered, despite the siege imposed on Gaza and the criminalisation of the resistance by some the Arab courts. The resistance was able to face up to Israel, posing real competition and achieve a great victory. I am certain that God wanted this to be a miracle at a time when there have been no miracles and in an environment that Israel had prepared for disaster.

Israel counted on the defeating the resistance, but it was the resistance that rejected the terms of Israel’s truce. Israel also counted on the traitors of the resistance, but we have seen traitors hanged in the city squares as the cities come under fire from Israeli bullets and bombing. Israel also thought that there would be a break in the Palestinian ranks and a dispute between Hamas and Fatah would emerge. Yet the Palestinians have taken on one voice and one position and left no room for any conspiracies or backtracking. Israel wanted to intimidate the Palestinian people, but they insisted on dying on their land and did not flee.

The Rafah crossing closure was nothing but an excuse to prevent Gaza from occupying Sinai and by hitting the Palestinians for the thousandth time it just proved that the Palestinians are defending Sinai, not trying to take it over as some claim. The Egyptian media and some politicians were disappointed by this and those who supported Israel were the most disappointed.

Arabs in support of Israel bet that the resistance would fall and their weakness and fragility be exposed. In actuality the resistance defeated the army that had defeated those great Arab armies, without the resistance having any so-called war generals. Those who armed the resistance in Egypt were criminalised despite Israel being supplied with all sorts of weapons and ammunition.

The West lost their bets on Israel, which ended up being a victory for Gaza. Those Zionist Arabs and Muslims who supported Israel and the re-occupation of Gaza were disappointed. The resistance revived the Arab Spring revolutions thwarted by Israel’s spies and Washington’s pawns with a counter-revolution that Israel has linked its fate to.

The Zionist dependence on its genocidal army, on the shoulders of whom their state was built were disappointed. The more this army engages in acts of genocide, the more the citizens of Israel are at peace. However, today, the strength of this army is being shaken, first, by the liberation war in October, when the courageous lions taught Israel a lesson, causing Israel to conspire against this during Camp David. Secondly, when the Lebanese resistance drove Israel out of southern Lebanon in the year 2000, and the third time was when the Lebanese resistance imposed new demands on Israel in 2006.

Israel counted on Arab friendships and the preoccupation of the Lebanese resistance with Syria as part of a scheme plotted by Israel’s Arab allies. Even the former Israeli president confirmed that this was the first time Israel would wage a battle on Gaza with the cooperation of its Arab allies. Tzipi Livni made a similar statement, counting on her secret friendships and other well-known relationships with some Arab officials.

As their bets have collapsed, so too have their masks. Arabs have not made sacrifices for Palestine, they are actually the ones who have hindered the cause and the Palestinian cause has now reached a high level of hypocrisy. The Arab leaders have tried to use the legitimacy of the Palestinian cause to rise to power, Arab military regimes even justified their oppression and fight against democracy as a means to make quick military preparations to liberate Palestine.

During his invasion of Kuwait, President Saddam Hussein justified the invasion saying it was in preparation to liberate Jerusalem, and that he needed to pass through Kuwait to reach Jerusalem. The invasion actually made the liberation of Palestine impossible. He also said he would not withdraw from Kuwait unless Israel withdrew from Palestine, but instead, Iraq was destroyed, Saddam was executed, Israel flourished, Palestine and the Palestinians lost ground and the gap between Jerusalem and liberation grows wider.

The issue of Israel must be isolated from all other issues, as the Zionist project, its resistance or support, whether directly or indirectly, is at stake. There are Arab and non-Arab countries that engage in battles that strengthen Israel and some distracted the axis of resistance and supported Israel, while other countries remained neutral in the unbalanced conflict between Israel, the strongest force in the region and the resistance in Gaza.

However, we must reconsider all the issues associated with the conflict. The conflict must be transformed, once again, from being a Palestinian-Israeli conflict to being an Arab-Israeli conflict, and the Arabs and Palestinians must restore their unity because Gaza’s victory does not end the story, as Israel will not retreat due to its failure to achieve the objectives of the Gaza operation. The international community must also take action and call out Israel as a state against humanity, and go through with the consequent political and criminal measures. The siege imposed on Gaza must also be truly lifted, the crossings must be opened, and Gaza must be rebuilt, and Egypt must revive its role regarding its national security and stress that political differences are only passing and that Egypt’s national interest is supporting its Palestinian neighbour and weakening Israel, the true threat to its security.

The door is open for those Arabs who wish to return before it is too late, the aim should be not to reach a settlement with Israel, but to eliminate the Israeli occupation and put an end to settlement expansion. The Palestinians must all rise to reclaim their land, while the Islamic forces must recognise that their preoccupation with other issues will lead them to lose Jerusalem from right under their noses.

The victory of the resistance in Gaza does not mean the demise of the Israeli danger, nor will it end plots against Palestine. Israel will insist on the first plan it came up with when it began its operation in Gaza, to eliminate the resistance by preventing their armament. Israel will then insist that the existence of the resistance in Gaza is the greatest threat to its security, especially as the Israeli Prime Minister promised the Israeli people complete security, though resistance rockets do not impact the lives of the Israel. They are a nation keen on living life to its fullest, and they know that because they are thieves their existence is forever temporary as long as the indigenous people of the land remain committed their right to live in their land.

Israel has realised that the Palestinian people and their courage will make them determined to claim their land, unlike the oppressors who rely on all sorts of aid. If Israel would face the Palestinian resistance, even under the depressing circumstances they live under, relying upon their own strength, without resorting to external aid, then the resistance would be able to terminate the myth of Israel, which promotes stories of its defeat of the Arabs during military confrontations.

It is still too early for Israeli citizens to sense that their army is no longer able to provide the security and type of life they want. The Zionist media has excelled in juxtaposing the Palestinian youth who blows himself up in an Israeli nightclub where the youth are committing various acts of promiscuity, with the Israeli youth who hangs on to life. To them, the former is seeking death and meeting with the young Israeli man who is escaping death. The Zionist media has concluded that the Palestinian youth is destructive by nature, while the Israeli youth loves life. This is a skewed understanding because the Palestinian youth, whose life, land, and dignity was taken away for the benefit of the Israeli youth, lessens the value of his undignified life in order get revenge. This scene has been exhibited during the short period of the ground operations between Israel and the resistance during Gaza’s latest saga.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.