The Israeli assault on Gaza, which began on 27 December, has provoked international outrage. Yet western governments have observed the usual rules of subterfuge and ambiguity. When the attacks commenced, Sky News reported that London and the Vatican called for ‘calm’. Considering the apathy shown by Europe towards these atrocities, one can only interpret such bland pronouncements as meaning ‘Calm down, it’s only the Palestinians, this story will pass when another of our banks goes bust! Besides it’s the Palestinian’s fault, they went out and voted for a party we disapproved of, so now they’re paying the price.’
When the financial crisis hit Europe, emergency meetings were held to cope with the trauma. But when a country which enjoys close relations with Europe embarks upon a rampage of murder, Europe calls for calm! As usual, the western media reported on the causes of the attacks: Hamas rocket fire on Israel, killing fewer than 10 people. There was no mention of the fact that Gaza has been suffering a blockade by Israel for the past year and a half, leading to serious food, medical and fuel shortages; no mention that Hamas’ rockets were in retaliation for Israel’s incursions into Gaza on 4 November in breach of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in June of last year.
The Israelis had been planning this attack for months, and they used the age-old tactic of provoking Hamas’ aggression to serve as a pretext for massive retaliation. Since then the death toll speaks for itself: 900 dead, thousands wounded. Speaking on French radio last week, a Palestinian doctor claimed that more than 35 per cent of the patients he had to deal with were women and children. This is a frightening figure, but what about all the innocent men who have been injured and murdered by the Israeli war machine? Does anybody know the percentage of super-armed psychopathic terrorists who were killed by the Israelis?
Thousands of people took to the streets of Paris last week to vent their rage, not only at the crimes of the Israeli government but in particular at Europe’s apathy and hypocrisy in its diplomatic relations with that country. One only has to look to our new EU presidency to see how indifferent Europe is to Israeli atrocities. The Czech government announced that Hamas were the cause of the conflict. This should have provoked a diplomatic crisis at the heart of the EU, but it was politely ignored, as it is the position held by most EU governments.
Israel’s intention is to destroy Hamas. This it readily admits. But what is Hamas? It is the organisation that was democratically elected by the people of Gaza to restore law and order to the region. Since then, Hamas has been true to its word, setting up social programmes, improving hospitals, the water supply and charities as well as attempting to put in place an effective police force. Hamas is a grass-roots organisation intricately interwoven into life in the Gaza Strip. That is why Hamas is popular there. Its aim has always been to unify the Palestinians, bring more extreme, rogue organisations under control and wipe out corruption. Although it did once claim to stand for the destruction of Israel, Hamas has since manifested a willingness for dialogue which Israel and the western powers have ignored.
As Hamas represents such a diverse social network, the attempt to annihilate the group is nothing other than the desire for a ‘final solution’ to the Palestinian problem. Since the war started, Israeli fighter jets – the third most powerful air force in the world – have bombed schools, hospitals, police stations as well as government and countless civilian buildings. This is not a conflict. It is the massacre of the innocents – in a word, genocide. The Israelis believe that if they kill and starve enough people, they can force them to submit to Israeli oppression.
The transition in the White House has also worked in Israel’s favour. Probably realising that an Obama presidency presents the possibility of a re-think on the US-Israeli relationship (although this is unlikely), the Knesset decided to take military action before the changeover. Some say this is Ehud Barak’s personal war. As the Israeli elections are coming up, Barak is using military action in Gaza to boost his party’s chances in the polls.
It is possible that once the Israelis are satisfied with the death toll in Gaza that a temporary end to hostilities will be put in place. In such an abysmal society, the dead are the only ones who can be counted among the lucky. For the survivors, the suffering will only continue.
metrogael.blogspot.com / gaelmetro@yahoo.ie
