Anthony Manduca
Israel's gamble in Gaza
Israel's attacks on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, the biggest military operation against Gaza since the 1967 war, represent a dangerous gamble by the Jewish state and have led to renewed tension in the Middle East.
The war has further radicalised Muslim and Arab public opinion against Israel, the US and moderate Arab countries and has increased the pressure on the Palestinian National Authority led by the secular Fatah movement to adopt a confrontational approach towards Israel.
The resumption of fighting between Hamas and Israel is not surprising. Israel says it wants to stop the Hamas rocket attacks against its citizens and the smuggling of weapons into Gaza from Egypt, while Hamas says any ceasefire must include an end to Israel's blockade of Gaza.
While I feel that Israel's response to the Hamas rocket attacks is disproportionate - it has led to the deaths of hundreds of innocent Palestinian civilians - besides reducing the living conditions of the population to deplorable levels - Hamas must also assume its responsibility for this crisis.
Did Hamas really believe the Israelis would do nothing as it fired its rockets at them a couple of months before voting in a general election?
The electoral factor cannot be overlooked. The two main Israeli protagonists in this war, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, leader of the Kadima Party, and Defence Minister Ehud Barak, leader of the Labour Party, are trying to outdo each other in hawkishness to emerge stronger after February's election and claim top prize, that of Prime Minister. They don't want to look weak and allow Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the opposition Likud Party, to gain any electoral advantage.
There is little doubt that Hamas believes it could emulate Hizbollah's 'victory' in southern Lebanon in 2006 when the Shi'ite group successfully withstood an Israeli attack in response to its firing of rockets into Israel. Lebanon suffered tremendously but Hizbollah was not destroyed. The rocket attacks on Israel continued throughout the war, the radical Islamic Shi'ite movement scored a massive propaganda victory over Israel and its leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, became a hero to the Arab masses.
Although Israel has taken a huge risk by bombing Gaza and sending in ground troops - it could well get bogged down there and locating and destroying all of Hamas' rockets may prove impossible - Hamas is militarily not as strong as Hizbollah and its network has been heavily hit by the Israeli military strikes.
However, should Hizbollah open a second front against Israel from Lebanon, then that would represent a very dangerous escalation of the war. Last week, in fact, rockets were fired into northern Israel from Lebanon, but it is believed that the attacks were carried out by one of the armed Palestinian groups that operate in Lebanon and not Hizbollah.
Although Hamas' electoral victory three years ago was a major setback to the Middle East peace process, it has to be acknowledged that Hamas won the elections because Palestinians were fed up with Fatah's inability to stop the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and the lack of progress over the creation of a Palestinian state. There were also many allegations of corruption among Fatah circles.
Since Fatah and Hamas quarrelled 18 months ago - leading to Hamas' control of Gaza and Fatah's control of the West Bank - Israel has sought to isolate Hamas by imposing a blockade on the 1.5 million Gazans, with food, medicine and fuel being rationed.
Furthermore, the US and the EU have no direct links to Hamas. Unfortunately, whether we like it or not, Hamas is now part of the equation in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute and cannot be ignored. It was the Israeli occupation, after all, which created the conditions for an organisation such as Hamas, with its generous welfare programmes, to thrive.
There are certainly no easy solutions to the dispute, especially since Hamas will be looking for a psychological victory and Israel probably wants to prove that its policy of deterrence, which took a battering in the 2006 war in Lebanon, is still valid. The diplomatic efforts undertaken by Egypt, France and the European Union to end this war are to be welcomed, but the absence of any genuine US effort at solving this crisis - the outgoing lame duck Bush presidency has not shown any interest in working towards a diplomatic solution - has certainly been felt.
Let us hope that the incoming Obama administration will give the Israeli-Palestinian dispute the importance it deserves and will work hard towards reaching a two-state solution.
What is needed as soon as possible, however, is an internationally monitored ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the lifting of the blockade of Gaza by Israel. Furthermore, a rapprochement between Fatah and Hamas, with the possibility of new Palestinian elections in the near future, will also be helpful.
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A. Muscat
Jan 11th 2009, 16:31
Part 2
If, uprooting terrorism and self-defense are the keywords Israel uses to justify its aggression, on the other side, HAMSA strategy is to create as much fears as possible by using home made cheap rockets that costs few euros. Please visit (www.bbcnews.com)
Peoples of HAMAS understand this very well while Israel hasn’t learned the new war orders yet!
But what money has got to do with this?
With the international financial crises hitting the global economy, the USA coming government probably would revise its unlimited-aid policy toward Israel. Would USA tax payers accept paying 1.5 Millions USD per hour to support Israel? I very much doubt!
Would Israel deal with HAMAS?
Why not? The USA has done this, so why not Israel.
Do you remember Lockerbie bombing? Wasn’t Libya a number one ‘terror-sponsor state’? What happened? Does money baptize terrorists? In terms of money, yes it does. Libya is no longer in terror-list after paying compensation of $2.7 billions.
As far as ‘terrorism’ is concerned, we should pray that, no OIL would be discovered near the Vatican, otherwise, USA, Israel war against terrorism would include the Pope.
A. Muscat
Jan 11th 2009, 16:30
Jew-less-er State?
The times of Malta on Thursday, 8th January 2009 reported:
Egypt deports Eritreans despite torture risk
‘Many African migrants, some of whom are killed by Egyptian police as they scale the border fence with Israel, seek work in the Jewish state’
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090108/world-news/egypt-deports-eritreans-despite-torture-risk
Despite the massive attack by the expensive (in terms of money)state-of-the-art killing machines being used in Gaza now and in 2006 on Lebanon, the equation on the ground remained unchanged. HAMAS are still firing the daily rockets at Israel sending double, if not quadruple fears to Israeli peoples in many parts of Israel, while few days ago four stray missiles hit northern Israel. How many thousands of fearful Israeli peoples flew from Israel after Lebanon war despite Israel unlimited efforts to attract more Jews from all over the globe to live and do businesses in Israel? Has any body bothered about this Jew exodus? In fact Mr. Olmert, Ms. Livni and Mr. Barak do, and are very worried and they should ask themselves, would the Jew-state afford consecutive failure?
Any war without political gains or changing facts on the ground equal-zilch. Simple and plain.
M. Brincat
Jan 11th 2009, 14:04
Election melee for a terrorist government?
How many kids, women and civilians should be killed to fill a ballot box Israel’ desperate-for-victory (Ms. Tzipi Livni and Mr. E Barak) in the coming election?
What would atrocities, infanticides and mass murder of today’s peoples would produce in the coming future?
This conflict can never end up by wars; it needs political will from both the EU and USA and the Palestenian authority (including all fractions). If Hamas finishes, Israel have already created the conditions for more hamas’s to come. The aim of what Israel believes to be an as much land as they want is an illusion and the very core of a Jew state is currently at stake.
I join my voice the millions of peoples demonstrating on the four corners of the globe and loudly say.
If Israel wants peace, then stop war now.
Go for UN resolution of 1967
Stop building more settlements on Palestinian peoples lands.
Stop occupation to both Lebanon and Syria
Your self-defense claims do not hold water any more.
Peter Sammut
Jan 11th 2009, 13:23
Mr Manduca & Flynn, of course you are entitled to your opinion re the palestinian $ Israeli defensive war.
The trouble with some people lies in the fact that their opinions are founded in lies and in the refusal to acknowledge the true facts of the situation when their hatred against Jews and their love of arab terrorists blinds them against logic and reason.
William P Flynn
Jan 11th 2009, 12:49
Pardon me. Is there a contradiction here? First you say:
"Hamas must also assume its responsibility for this crisis".....then a bit further down:
"...18 months ago - leading to Hamas' control of Gaza .... Israel has sought to isolate Hamas by imposing a blockade on the 1.5 million Gazans, with food, medicine and fuel being rationed".
"Blockade". What is it really? Allow me to show the dictionary definition:
block·ade (bl-kd)
n.
1. The isolation of a nation, area, city, or harbor by HOSTILE ships and forces in order to prevent the entrance and exit of traffic and commerce.
In this case , "traffic" meant food, medicine and other necessities of life. Israel bragged it was going to put Gazans on a "diet". Another common word. But the Gazans were reduced to just above famine.
The Israeli blockade did vastly more harm than the Hamas rockets.
Israel started hostilities the moment it started the blockade; Israel is the bully; Israel is the guilty nation. Shame on it. The world is sick with revulsion.
Can its mighty ally, the greatest "good guy" of all time deliver the promised "change"?
Yes it can!